Henry V (1944)

Henry V (Laurence Olivier) decides to invade France as he feels through his ancestry that he is the rightful heir to the throne of France. Based on the THE LIFE OF HENRY THE FIFTH by William Shakespeare and directed by Laurence Olivier (RICHARD III) in his film directorial debut. I'll be upfront and admit that HENRY V is not one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Olivier's film was made during WWII and intended to boost the morale of Great Britain (it was partly funded by the British government). As such, it's a perfectly decent propaganda piece. But it's more than that. It's a colorful film epic with first rate Technicolor cinematography by Robert Krasker (THE THIRD MAN), art direction by Paul Sheriff (Huston's MOULIN ROUGE), costumes by Roger Furse and score by William Walton. All of which make the film a visual treat which compensates for my lack of enthusiasm for the work itself. For his first time behind the camera, Olivier shows an adept ability for cinema. With Robert Newton, Leo Genn, Max Adrian, Renee Asherson, Felix Aylmer, Robert Helpmann, Freda Jackson and Niall MacGinnis.