Henry V (play)

Henry V is a play by William Shakespeare based on the life of King Henry V of England. It deals with the events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years War.

Performance history

There is no evidence that Henry V was popular in Shakespeare's own time. However, it is now frequently staged and many of its speeches have passed into popular culture.

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There have been two major film adaptations. The first, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier in 1944, is a colourful and highly stylized version which begins in the Globe Theatre and then gradually shifts to a realistic evocation of the Battle of Agincourt. Olivier's film was made during the Second World War and was intended as a patriotic rallying cry.

Related Topics:
Laurence Olivier - 1944 - Globe Theatre - Second World War

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The second major film, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh in 1989, attempts to give a more realistic evocation of the period and lays more emphasis on the horrors of war. It features a memorably mud-spattered and gruesome Battle of Agincourt.

Related Topics:
Kenneth Branagh - 1989

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