Henry V Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Henry V Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 21, 2015

The play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.

That famous Shakespeare quote comes from Hamlet, of course, but actor-director Kenneth Branagh may have been thinking of it long before he filmed the Bard’s tale of the melancholy Dane. Both the conscience of the king and the artifice of presentation are part and parcel of Branagh’s thrilling take on Henry V, a Shakespeare opus that is certainly iconic and beloved, but which perhaps has never quite entered the top tier of the legendary playwright-poet’s works like the aforementioned Hamlet, Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet. Henry V is actually the final play in a tetralogy which includes Richard II and the bifurcated Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II. English audiences of Shakespeare’s time would have already been well aware of at least the broad outlines of these historical figures, and in fact when the play was first performed (most sources cite circa 1599), Henry’s reign from 1413-1422 wouldn’t exactly have been “ancient” history. Shakespeare’s initial concerns wouldn’t have been audience familiarity with the character and story, but instead with how to portray such an epic tale with the basic stagecraft of the day, and in fact the Chorus (portrayed in the film version by the lone figure of Derek Jacobi) invites the audience to fire up their imaginations (in so many, albeit much more redolent, words) to help them envision the “vasty fields of France.” Branagh doesn’t shy away from the “play”- fulness of the opening monologue, having Jacobi traipse through an abandoned (and initially darkened) movie soundstage, as if to convey to the audience, “Yes, we know—we’re making a movie of a play. Deal with it.”

Of course the very artifice that Shakespeare self consciously deprecates in the Chorus’ opening monologue is something that movies are supposed to handle with ease, and yet Branagh plays his cinematic cards fairly close to his vest in the early going, once the actual storyline starts unfolding and we’re introduced to both young King Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) and his machinating court. Branagh plays many of the film's opening sequences in near darkness, with a minimum of production design distracting from Shakespeare's dense language, and with an emphasis on almost microscopic level close-ups rather than a traditional so-called "opening up" that films often exploit when transferring a stage piece to the new medium.

Part of the opening schemes between the Archbishop of Canterbury (Charles Kay) and the Bishop of Ely (Alec McCowen) are a bit discursive, but it quickly becomes evident that the Church would prefer Henry to pursue claims to the French throne rather than hang around England and stir up trouble for the Catholics (this was of course pre-Henry VIII and so pre-Anglicanism). Henry seems amenable to the suggestion, and becomes much more than that when he’s slighted by an emissary of the French Dauphin (a slight involving a gift of tennis balls which Shakespeare comically uses to provide Henry a wonderful double entendre referring to male chutzpah).

If Richard III is Shakespeare at his most trenchant in portraying the absolutely corrupting influence of absolute power, Henry V offers a somewhat more nuanced, if ultimately not that much less ruthless, account of the vagaries of a royal mindset. Of course Henry V does decide to invade France, something that worries the resolute but clear headed Charles VI of France (Paul Scofield) despite the more sanguine blandishments of the Dauphin (Michael Maloney). In the meantime, both before and during the first skirmishes, Shakespeare lays out an oddly bifurcated operational mode on the part of Henry. He is charming and accessible, but he is also absolutely ferocious if he feels he’s been crossed. That doesn’t necessarily mean he feels remorseless, as one devastating scene proves where Bardolph (Richard Briers), a friend of the king’s, is brought to justice.

Branagh interpolates material from other Shakespeare plays into Henry V, though he keeps the general structure of the original play more or less intact. It’s interesting to note that Shakespeare himself tends to forestall the romantic angle between Henry and Charles VI’s daughter Katharine (Emma Thompson), leaving the consummation (such as it is) for the final scene in what is supposed to augur a kind of “happily ever after” for combatant nations along with the betrothed. A large and extremely colorful array of great British character actors fills every nook and cranny of Henry V with delicious bits. Judi Dench, Geraldine McEwan, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Holm and Robert Stephens all do great work, bringing the sometimes impenetrable language of the Bard fully to life. The film is also notable for how kind of unvarnished it is. This is not a big, glossy “Hollywood” production and instead trafficks more in an almost verité style, especially with regard to the battle scenes (though Branagh goes a little “Peckinpah” at times with slow motion effects). The incredibly evocative score by Patrick Doyle is one of the film’s chief accomplishments, supporting the action effortlessly without ever intruding on the redolent language.

Henry V Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Henry V is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Culled from the MGM catalog, the elements utilized for this presentation are serviceable but at times problematic. There are quite a few instances of dirt, small scratches and especially minus density (look at screenshot 8 both on and to the right of Robbie Coltrane's face), something that's probably more apparent than it might have otherwise been since so much of the film is so dark. That darkness also presents additional problems, with unconvincing shadow detail and outright crush in several sequences. A kind of sickly yellow hue overlays much of the first part of the film, making fleshtones pretty sallow looking. The film never even really ventures out of doors during the day until around the hour mark, simply limiting the amounts of detail and especially fine detail that can be presented appealingly. Grain is rather variable and again tends to look the least organic in a lot of these darker sequences, where it sometimes has a slightly yellow, clumpy appearance. Grain also tends to look less organic in some of the battle or outdoor scenes where Branagh and his DP Kenneth MacMillan prefer mist strewn ambiences or things like blue filters, neither of which are especially helpful in offering a more natural looking grainfield. All of this said, when the film finally ventures into more brightly lit outdoor scenes (a somewhat relative term, given the rainy, grimy environment much of the film takes place in), things improve markedly. Grain doesn't swarm unnaturally, colors perk up visibly and clarity and sharpness also become much more pleasing, though the overall look of the transfer is on the soft side. Aside from some minor telecine wobble during the credits, the image is otherwise stable with no issues to report. There's been some discussion about the relatively anemic bitrate on this release (as well as the fact that Shout! opted for a BD-25), as opposed to a much healthier stream on a BD-50 on the German Blu-ray which was released a few months ago. It's at least arguable that some incremental improvement could have been made with an increased bitrate and the increased breathing room of more real estate on a dual layer disc. The bottom line is, while this isn't optimal and has room for improvement, it's watchable and at least doesn't have overt signs of intrusive digital tweaking.

Henry V Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Henry V features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that capably supports the film's acclaimed score by Patrick Doyle and the frequently dense dialogue. Branagh ups the sonic ante in some of the battle scenes, with fierce explosions and other conflagrations which are reproduced here with appropriate vividness. Fidelity remains excellent throughout this presentation and there are no issues of any kind to report.

Henry V Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (480p; 2:10)

Henry V Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

History, or at least Shakespeare's version of it, comes alive in Henry V and Kenneth Branagh had a rather auspicious directorial debut with this feature, one which preserves the heady language of the Bard while also offering a uniquely intimate cinematic adaptation of a kind of thorny work. Performances are absolutely perfect all around, with Branagh offering a superbly nuanced portrait of a character who must be both ruthless and sympathetic, and he's matched by a starry cast of British superstars. As a film, Henry V deserves an unfettered recommendation. There are some issues with the video presentation here that may detract from the film's impact, but with caveats noted, Henry V on Blu-ray comes Recommended.