For a director debut Kenneth Branagh knocks it out of the park with a very creative look into the "great" King Henry V.

A stunning version with an all star cast. Beautifully done but the Olivier film still just wins the day. Marvellous stuff. Comments written today on the 609th anniversary of the Battle Of Agincourt

Excellence in Shakespeare and war movie making and a phenomenal soundtrack. Best of 1989.

St Crispins Day! The greatest speech by the most outstanding actor of the last 50 years. Next to Olivier, Branagh is KING!

A Classic War Drama of a Shakespheare play. Everything is really well done with the standout being Kenneth who commands every scene he is in. Sometimes the flashbacks can be a little abrupt and this seems very faithful to the source material. Perhaps a little too faifthful at times. For me the dialouge is over my head but I could follow it very well because of the acting and production value really immersing me quite well. I will say despite how good this is it defintely is an acquired tase and isn't necessarily for everyone. Anyone who is a big fan of Shakespheare or Branagh will like this a lot.

Incredibly moving. A masterpiece.

In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415... Henry V received near-universal critical acclaim for Branagh's Oscar-nominated performance and direction, for the accessibility of its Shakespearean language, and for its score by Patrick Doyle. Rotten Tomatoes consensus reads: "Pehaps Kenneth Branagh's most fully realized Shakespeare adaptation, Henry V is an energetic, passionate, and wonderfully acted film." On Metacritic it has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 17 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim". Henry V also ranks #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes list of Greatest Shakespeare Movies, beating Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) and Branagh's own version of Hamlet (1996), respectively ranking in second and third place. Roger Ebert, noted critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, praising Branagh's performance and writing, "There is no more stirring summons to arms in all of literature than Henry's speech to his troops on St. Crispan's Day, ending with the lyrical 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.' To deliver this speech successfully is to pass the acid test for anyone daring to perform the role of Henry V in public, and as Kenneth Branagh, as Henry, stood up on the dawn of the Battle of Agincourt and delivered the famous words, I was emotionally stirred even though I had heard them many times before. That is one test of a great Shakespearian actor: to take the familiar and make it new." Variety magazine also gave the film a positive review, calling Henry V "A stirring, gritty and enjoyable pic which offers a plethora of fine performances from some of the U.K.'s brightest talents." Kenneth Branagh´s 1989 adaptation of Shakespeare´s play feels pompous, theatrical and stiff today. Branagh himself feels as well as pompous as possible as Henry V and he really does everything he can to look like the ultimate Shakespeare interpreter in this film. It becomes silly and overacted in my opinion plus the film simply doesn´t hold up today in terms of the direction, look, feel and vibe. The film did receive worldwide critical acclaim and has been widely considered one of the best Shakespeare film adaptations ever made. For her work on the film, Phyllis Dalton won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and Kenneth Branagh, in his directorial debut, received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Director. I am afraid I can´t agree to this acclaim. I personally think that Justin Kurzel`s "Macbeth" from 2015 with Michael Fassbender is one of the best Shakespeare film adaptations.

One the best Shakespeare film adaptation I can think of.

I'm not a fan of Shakespeare, despite having to study him in university, but I couldn't stand this version. Kenneth Brannagh was awful in this movie.

Inspirational. This movie made me want to go and kick some French ass at Agincourt.

The best version of my favorite Shakespearean drama. Absolutely fantastic.

This is one of my all-time favorites. Branagh's interpretation of Henry V brings Shakespeare's play to life in a raw, gritty way. Branagh's interpretation of Henry is in line with Shakespeare's writing, hailing the king as a pious and well-intentioned sovereign. Historians can argue Henry V's true intentions and nature all they want, Shakespeare certainly saw him as one of the greatest heroes of English history, and Branagh bears this out. The Chorus part, as played by Derek Jacobi, moves in and out of the play almost like an historian in a documentary providing commentary. Brian Blessed strikes an imposing figure as the Duke of Exeter, particularly when he's decked out in full-plate armor. And the portrayal of Catherine of Valois, the daughter of King Charles VI of France by Emma Thompson provided a bit of levity and elegance to the otherwise raw feel of the play. My only real complaint is the way Branagh cut down the text of the play. Of course, this was largely done to shorten the run time - a full production would have been too long. But the way certain speeches were truncated doesn't sit quite as well with me. On the other hand, incorporation of some material from the Henry IV plays helps establish some of the back story for those not familliar with the play. Overall, this is an excellent production with masterful acting displaying a love and respect for the work of the author.

The acting is brilliant and high energy. It's a great film adaptation of Shakespeare's play. If you're into Shakespeare then you'll probably love it. I really enjoyed the acting in this one. It's worth watching just to see the Crispins day speech. If you're not a Shakespeare guy or you are just an uneducated swine, then the old English may go over your head. But dont blame the film just because you're a Philistine. All in all, it's a thumbs up from me. "Men of few words are the best men."

Not my cup of tea but very finely done. Hard to understand the Shakespeare.

Really liking the atmosphere of the movie. Why the fuck is King Henry wearing makeup. Like I get it's the 80's and all this endogenous shit was going on, but really? During medieval times? I really don't see how Americans can find this movie fun or interesting to watch. Unless you studied English literature or are obsessed with Shakespeare plays. I find it hard to watch and really care about this movie. I just can't. Not only is the dialogue a task to get through, but the story feels like its never going to get good. I'll have to try watching it some other time and give it a chance, but I have no patience to sit through this movie as of right now.

The most boring thing I've ever seen. How can anyone like this crap?! The way they talk is good though, if you need sleep. I have never been a fan of Branagh, and never will be. (I can't forget how he ruined Mozart's opera. ) "Superstar Branagh." Not my cup of tea.

Here’s how I typically react to Shakespeare. The first time I see a play/movie I struggle to understand what is going on. I do my best to infer what the dialogue is saying, but generally it’s a struggle. So I don’t love it on the first viewing. That was exactly how I felt after watching Henry V because this is my first experience with this particular work of Shakespeare. Admittedly, this is one of the simpler stories, so there were only some smaller details that I couldn’t understand but the overarching plot was fairly obvious. The language of these plays is always beautiful to listen to, and so I’m somewhat entranced by it even though I don’t always get it. It might have been delivered a little too melodramatic in this film, but I think the story lends itself to melodrama. The positive of Shakespeare is that his stories tend to stick with me, as Henry V has since I watched it. I find myself reading more about it, and learning all the little details that were lost in translation the first time. Then I can reexamine the play/film with a fresh perspective and will typically like it a lot more. All the elements are there for me to learn to love this film over time. It takes aspects that I imagine are tough to capture on stage and makes them cinematic, and it has some excellent actors. Kenneth Branagh in particular has a knack for getting to the emotion behind Shakespeare’s poetry and bringing that to the forefront. Most of my complaints are small and relate more to the script which was written centuries before this film was made. I think it’s a strong production and one I will see again someday.

I can't understand it.

It's the language that gets me. The actors might as well be speaking in Greek, and I have to have the subtitles on in order to follow the plot. Because of this I find Shakespeare films to be ok but never great. But that might just be me. This film is no different but it was still fairly enjoyable to watch. I have seen the Laurence Olivier version and this more recent version is far more realistic due to it's more modern filming techniques, sets, battle sequences, etc. If you like Shakespeare you will probably like this film.

Kenneth Branagh's Henry V is well acted and is epic in scope. It's emotional and a very ambitious project with brilliant mise-en-scene.