Henry V
If ever a film needed to be put into context, it is Laurence Olivier’s Henry V . Partly government funded and made at the behest of Churchill , who wanted the director to score propaganda points with it, Henry V achieved that aim and so much more, which given wartime limitations was miraculous. Released less than a fortnight after the D-Day invasion began, Henry V filled its morale boosting brief, for which Shakespeare can claim rather more than an assist. Laurence Olivier ’s early acting can seem mannered now, but he was imaginative as a director, and the film is a unique piece of artistic cinema. The theatrical origin of the piece is beautifully exploited by Olivier, beginning and ending the action as if it were being acted at The Globe . In between the sets are stylised, then realism albeit in magnificently over the top colour is given sway for The Battle of Agincourt , before the stylised backdrops recommence. Strangely for such an epic production, the cast other than Olivier is far from starry: Robert Newton as Pistol; Jimmy Hanley as Williams; and George Robey acting Falstaff; but the names we recognize now mainly went on to make their names later: a youthful George Cole ; John Laurie ; and Valentine Dyall the voice of blessed memory. Much of the cast was effectively Olivier’s repertory company, their confidence with Shakespeare apparent throughout.
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