Heinrich V (1944)
Henry V is a British historical film from 1944 based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare , with around half of the original text being used. The title role as well as the direction and production was taken over by Laurence Olivier , who earned the film an honorary Oscar and great recognition as a film director.
Exposure
The film begins with a panoramic shot of London in 1600 and the Globe Theater , where the historical Shakespeare had acted. The choir, embodied by Leslie Banks, performs and recommends that viewers use their own imagination to visualize the locations. The first scenes that follow are still strongly connected to the theater, as the film continues to use more and more typical cinematic stylistic devices and paints the locations of the action in large pictures.
action
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely are deep in discussion when King Henry joins them. A present from the French Dauphin has arrived. These are tennis balls that are supposed to allude to Heinrich's youth and inexperience, which outrags the king. The French ambassador is sent away. Henry prepares to take the French throne, which he considers his property. When Heinrich evacuates his armed forces, his mentor Falstaff dies. The fleet leaves the port of Southampton and lands in France. The troops' route runs through France to the city of Harfleur , which is then besieged by the English. Only after a rousing speech by the king can the city be taken. Then the troops march to Agincourt . Before the battle breaks out, the king strolls through the camp to find out what the mood of his men is. At dawn, just before the battle, he gives his famous St. Crispins Day speech .
The battle of Azincourt begins. Heinrich's archers shoot at the French who are hindered by the mud in the fields. Heinrich lets his riders advance in order to take advantage of it. The French Dauphin, surprised by the attack, attacks the English camp and kills all the men left behind. Heinrich is outraged and tries to provide the French troop commander. In the following duel with the commander, Heinrich suffers a head wound. The stunned king is disarmed by a sword blow on his hand. Even so, he can kill the commander by killing him with his gauntlet.
The battle is won. King Heinrich moves to the French court to court Princess Katherina. King Charles VI. Henry is adopted by France, and the French throne is now under English control.
background
With a budget of around two million US dollars, the film was the most expensive British production to date. Laurence Olivier originally wanted William Wyler to direct the project. But Wyler, who had previously made the Brontë film Sturmhöhe (1939) with Olivier , declined on the grounds that a Shakespeare play could only be staged by Olivier himself. Olivier's wife Vivien Leigh wanted to play the role of the princess, but her studio refused to allow her because the role was too small. In contrast, there was John Gielgud , who did not like the offered role of the French king.
The effects of World War II were also felt in the production of the film. Because of the shortage of metal, all armor parts had to be imitated with silver-dyed wool. In order to be safe from disturbances caused by the war, the film was also shot in neutral Ireland .
Winston Churchill wanted to see this film as a moral armament for his troops. Some passages, for example the execution of a friend of Heinrich as an example, were not included in the film. Some passages in the Shakespeare original that could be interpreted as criticism of the king were also omitted.
The original title The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France , which is usually abbreviated as Henry V in English-speaking countries, is the longest title in a film that has ever been nominated for an Oscar.
Reviews
Bosley Crowther of the New York Times described the film at the time as an “astonishingly brilliant and fascinating screen spectacle”, which was “rich in dramaturgical ideas” and “heroic imagery” and also dignified consideration for “the conventions of Elizabethan theater”.
The film-dienst was full of praise and called Olivier's adaptation a “[c] ingenious transfer of Shakespear's royal drama, which starts from the stage setting of the historic Globe Theater and, in search of a typical cinematic look, experiments with mass arrangements and pale colors that are borrowed from contemporary tapestries. […] You experience the award-winning actors in their entire form, not only following their facial expressions, but also their gestures and movements, which gives the film a dynamic and charisma that is unusual for traditional theater adaptations ”. The conclusion was: "Aesthetically demanding and attractive and not just a pleasure for Shakespeare admirers."
According to the reference work 1001 Films , Henry V was “the first Shakespeare film that succeeded in being both truly faithful to Shakespeare and absolutely cinematic”.
Awards
At the Academy Awards in 1947 , the film was nominated for an Oscar in the categories of Best Picture , Best Actor , Best Score and Best Production Design ( Paul Sheriff , Carmen Dillon ) . Olivier, as lead actor Fredric March in The Best Years of Our Lives was beaten, was instead with the honorary Oscar for his outstanding performance as an actor, director and producer of Henry V excellent. As early as 1946, the National Board of Review had given the film a prize in the categories of Best Film and Best Actor . That same year, Olivier also had the price of the New York Film Critics Circle as Best Actor receive.
The British Film Institute chose Henry V in 1999 to 18th place of the 100 best British films of the 20th century .
synchronization
A first German dubbed version was made in 1950, in which Laurence Olivier was dubbed by Paul Klinger . In 1976, another synchronization was produced by Studio Hamburg Synchron GmbH on behalf of ZDF. Werner Bruhns was responsible for the dialogue book and the dialogue direction .
Further adaptations of the Shakespeare drama
- 1953: Henry V - British television film directed by Peter Watts
- 1966: Henry V - British television film directed by Lorne Freed and Michael Langham
- 1979: Henry V - British television film directed by David Giles
- 1989: Henry V. - British feature film by and with Kenneth Branagh
- 2003: Henry V - American television film directed by Neal J. Gauger
literature
- William Shakespeare: King Henry V Henry V./King . Reclam-Verlag, 2007, ISBN 3150098998 .
- William Shakespeare: King Henry V Complete Edition . Ars Vivendi 2005, ISBN 389716177X .
- William Shakespeare: King Henry V (English edition). OUP, 1998, ISBN 0192834231 .
- Anthony Davies: Filming Shakespeare's Plays: The Adaptations of Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Peter Brook, and Akira Kurosawa . CUP, 1990, ISBN 0521399130 .
Web links
- Heinrich V in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Heinrich V at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Background report on the film ( Memento from January 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on film.u-net.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ "A stunningly brilliant and intriguing screen spectacle, rich in theatrical invention, in heroic imagery and also gracefully regardful of the conventions of the Elizabethan stage." Bosley Crowther : The Screen . In: The New York Times , June 18, 1946.
- ^ Heinrich V. In: Lexicon of the international film . Film service , accessed June 24, 2017 .
- ^ Philip Kemp: Heinrich V. In: Steven Jay Schneider (Ed.): 1001 films . Edition Olms, Zurich 2013, p. 195.
- ^ Heinrich V. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on June 24, 2017 .
- ^ Heinrich V. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ See synchrondatenbank.de ( Memento of the original from April 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
