In both films the directors played Henry themselves. I believe this was so they could convey the exact message of the play as they wished. Laurence Olivier had performed many times in Shakespeare’s plays. For example he played Romeo and Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet” in London in 1935. (www.imdb.com)He was also a famous film actor, appearing in many box office hit films including “Wuthering heights” and “Fire over England” with his wife Vivien Leigh. After directing “Henry V” in 1944, he was knighted in 1947 becoming Sir Laurence Olivier. Olivier was too old to fight in the Second World War and so became director of the film. By portraying war as he did in Henry V he wished to reassure the British people, most of whom had family directly involved in the second world war, that the sacrifices being made were majestic and patriotic.
Branagh also appeared in many of Shakespeare’s plays after joining the Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of 23. He then formed his own company, called the Renaissance Theatre Company. He directed and starred in Henry V at the age of just 29. This film brought him Best Actor and Best Director Oscar nominations (www.imdb.com). As it was post-Vietnam war, Branagh’s aim of making this film was to give society a realistic representation of what war was really like and the difficulties of being a leader. The blood, gore and extremely emotional scenes were used to shock the audience. We can tell by watching both films, that Olivier’s view of war was different to Branagh’s. Olivier was obviously very nationalistic and felt war was a majestic thing, something to be proud of as we were fighting for our own country. Branagh obviously felt war was not something to be proud of; it was bloody and full of violence and death. It was a depressing time for everyone and it showed that even though Henry was a good leader, all his good efforts were lost at the end when he died. Olivier’s film is very much a ‘feel good’ film whereas Branagh’s is a realistic representation to show us what war is really like.
Olivier had a much larger budget than Branagh but this doesn’t seem to be a major problem for Branagh as he worked around the lack of money and actors. In the shots during battle, Olivier shows many mass shots from aerial views to emphasise the large number of men fighting in battle whereas Branagh shows many close up shots of individual fighting to show the goriness and violence of battle. The sets in the battles are similar as they’re both outside but the costumes make a large difference. Olivier’s version had men dressed in armour on horses with flags and props. Branagh only had basic costumes that did not match and were all different and poor looking. Olivier’s soldiers all had matching costumes and armour. Olivier was able to make many mass shots as he had large numbers of extras. Branagh had very few actors due to the small budget, limiting his ability to do large panoramic shots with lots of soldiers. Instead, he did close up shots which in the end result, was effective in showing the feeling of the soldiers and the individual fights.
The two versions of these battles are extremely different. In Olivier’s version, none of the actual battle is shown. Only the preparations to the battle. It starts with the men coming off the ship onto land where the battle is to take place. We can see the castle of Harfleur in the distance. The men stand in matching costumes in the daytime. None of them look scared, more heroic and eager to fight. It is very clichéd in that it is quite comedic. The men start shouting and run off the set shouting. We assume they are off to Harfleur to fight the battle. Conversations are shown with men laughing and joking about the battle. Unlike Branagh’s version there is no sense of fear in the soldiers. When the men have run off cheering, we hear a few explosions and we see them return. None of them look dirty, bloody or tired. Here Henry speaks very clearly with no fear at all. We would have not guessed they had been in a battle. There is no sense of death of injuries. This is very unrealistic and seems like a game to the men. It is very light-hearted.
Branagh’s version is much different. It starts with a large explosion in the castle and men run out. It is set at night. The air is filled with smoke and screams of pain and anger are heard. Explosions and sounds of bombs are going off in the background. It is very realistic. During Henry’s speech, he is dirty and bloody. He seems frail and cannot speak very clearly unlike in Olivier’s version. The speech is very heroic as Henry increases volume towards the end to psyche his soldiers up. Near the end he begins to shout as explosions go off in the background. They all seem worn out, covered in blood and dirt. The music is fast and solemn sounding. There are dramatic images with sweat, blood and dirt. Not many actors are shown but techniques are used to make us imagine there are more actors standing behind. An effective technique is used when Henry’s horse rears on its hind legs as he is silhouetted against the explosions and fire. There are conversations like in Olivier’s version but the men are fearful and tired. Their topics of conversation are much more appropriate to the situation than in Olivier’s version.
Both Branagh’s version and Olivier’s versions included the battle of Agincourt but in enormously dissimilar ways. Olivier portrayed war very light-heartedly. The previous night is portrayed very similarly to the play. Special lighting is used to highlight only certain parts of the faces of the men. This was experimental use of Technicolor. The lights show Henry’s face as a silhouette. This makes it all look more overcast and makes Henry look thoughtful. In the morning’s preparations, the set for the French’s side is very circus like. They all look joyful and confident. They are more relaxed than a realistic army would appear before battle. It shows all the armour and men looking strong and well protected. It then changed dramatically from the upbeat French preparations to the slow and depressing set of the English. There are no sound effects here. It appears very cold. There’s a large set with many actors. The mood within the English bases is very nervous and low whereas the mood within the French bases is positive. The French are shown drinking and not worrying about the battle whereas the English are shown preparing hard for battle. The camera switches between the two bases to show a comparison of the moods there.
As the battle begins, drums come into it. The French are being hoisted onto their black horses with black armour. This is to represent the evil in the French. Here the audience will feel that the enemy is evil and will feel patriotic in that their troops are destroying evil. In the battle scene there are many aerial views and mass shots. At the beginning, a tracking shot is taken as the horse’s pound towards the English. Here it shows the vast numbers of French on horses with armour and flags. In Olivier’s version, the men English show no fear and there are less facial shots. As the English begin to shoot arrows, heroic music begins and carries on throughout the whole battle. It is a bright day and is a light-hearted battle with only views of arrows heading through the air towards the French. There is little blood and gore and few shots of individual fighting; just panoramic shots of the large numbers of men fighting each other. There are horses rearing to show the frightening side to battle and lots of action between shots accompanied by fast heroic music. This scene depicts battle as very heroic and with little violence and blood. It almost seems cheerful. There is a scene quite like Robin Hood where the English pounce on the French from above in the trees. There are sword sounds throughout the battle but we do not see many sword fights as the camera seems to focus on flags during a lot of the fighting.
The battle does become more depressing and realistic as the tents are set on fire and we see the dead page boys and men crying by their friends. This shows the sad part of battle but only very slightly. At the end of the battle, there is an aerial view of the dead on the field before the English flag goes in the air to patriotic music. It’s a very patriotic and heroic finish, it shows little realism and lots of celebration
Branagh’s version of the battle is entirely different in that it shows the realism of battle and makes it much more gruesome. The depiction of this battle was to shock the audience. Even though Branagh had a much lower budget than Olivier, he still manages to convey his desired message of battle. There’s a difference in this battle in that there is no sense of the number of men fighting as there are no mass shots due to the shortage of extras to do this.
The music creates anticipation with the roll of strings and beating drums. Only small sections of soldiers are shown but it appears that there would be more behind them. It does show the French on horseback like in Olivier’s version, but only in one’s or two’s. There is a misty, murky background. It is quite the opposite of Olivier’s battle in that they do not show the French horses galloping towards the English, merely the fear on the men’s faces. Many men are looking frightened and signing the cross. A technique is used in that the French appear to be looking down on the English. The music becomes faster indicating the ferocity and speed of the battle. One of Olivier’s techniques is used in that arrows are shot towards the French and a sea of arrows is shown. The difference is that Branagh shows the men being shot by arrows and dying in pain and suffering. The battle is very graphic and gory, showing many individual fights and men being killed very violently. As it starts to rain, the lighting becomes darker making the mood generally more depressing. The battle goes into slow motion and only the sound of the rain and swords clanging are heard with the occasional scream as men die. Then the music becomes mournful with thunder in the background. Henry is covered in blood and mud looking weary and desperate. The close up conversation with Henry and the French herald shows the intensity of the situation. A tracking shot is shown following the men carrying the dead page boys. During this, many dead bodies are shown very brutally killed, along with pools of blood and mud. It is very realistic and gory. Singing starts with an unaccompanied solo slowly followed by the army joining in with vocal harmonies and string instrumentation. Here we wouldn’t know Henry was king as he joins in with the carrying of boys. The anger of mothers of the dead is shown as women try to attack Henry. As Henry lowers the boy down, he does not seem happy as in Olivier’s version but seems victoriously sad as he has further responsibilities.
The music in both films is used effectively to give the right mood to the situation. In the battles, both directors used beating drums and fast music to give an idea of lots of action. In Branagh’s version, sad music is used during the slow motion event in the Battle of Agincourt. The music at the end of the battles in Olivier’s version differs completely to Branagh’s. In Olivier’s version, heroic upbeat music is used as the men celebrate the victory of the battle. It gives a mood which is very happy and proud. This differs to Branagh’s end of battle music. The music used includes a lot of string pieces. When the men walk through the battle field with the page boys, a Latin song is sung by men with later accompaniment by strings. It is very victorious music but at the same time it gives a mood of death and sorrow.
In Olivier’s version, many things are omitted that were included in Branagh’s version. The scene in which the traitors are found out is absent. At the time any mention of British soldiers being traitors would have caused uproar. The film was aimed to make the audience proud to be English and entering scenes in which English are being punished for treachery would not put across the right message. The scene in which Bardolph is killed is also omitted in the Oliver version as again the English would not have liked to be called traitors. It’s also a very gory and emotional scene which may have had an adverse effect on the audience
Branagh includes these scenes to show the realism of society and that not all people can be trusted. It conveys the message not to be too proud to be English as not all English are loyal to the country. The scene in which Bardolph dies would flatter the queen in that it shows that leaders have to stick to orders even if they do not want to. It also shows the emotional side to Henry’s nature making us feel we know more about his character.
Both films were a product of their times and society giving different ideas of war and leadership. Both productions were performed to communicate the director’s feelings on war to the audience and were performed when war had played a part in recent history. Although Branagh used many of Olivier’s techniques and ideas, the purpose of the film was very different. Both films turned out to be hits even though Branagh had a restricted budget with few actors and less advanced sets and costumes than Olivier. The differences in the films are understandable bearing in mind the difference in the times. If Branagh’s film had been shown to the 1940’s society, its accurate depiction of war would have caused uproar. If Olivier’s film was shown to the 1980’s audience, people would not be shocked by it as it was too light-hearted for that society who had become more used to seeing shocking events on the screen.
Both were effective in conveying the desired idea of war relevant to the times of release and the director’s view. Both were undoubtedly successful in entertaining their respective audiences.
