British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Henry V

Synopsis
Feature film and Olivier’s directorial debut. The film opens with a typical performance at the Globe Theatre in 1600, moves gradually into reality for the battle and then returns to the Globe. Intended as wartime propaganda and dedicated to the commando and airborne troops of Great Britain.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Film; Video
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
1944
Duration
137 mins; 12,332 feet
Availability
Hire (film or video - Filmbank) Sale (video and DVD - all other distributors)

Credits

Director
Laurence Olivier
Producer
Laurence Olivier
Cinematographer
Robert Krasker
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
William Walton
Costume
Roger Furse
Art Direction
Paul Sheriff
Cast
Laurence OlivierKing Henry V
Leslie BanksChorus
Felix AylmerArchbishop of Canterbury
Renee AshersonKatherine
Max AdrianDauphin
Arthur HamblingJohn Bates
Brian NissenAlexander Court
Esmond KnightFluellen
Frank ListerDuke of Orleans
Freda JacksonHostess, formerly Mistress Quickly
Frederick CooperNim
George CaseEarl of Westmoreland
George ColeBoy (Falstaff’s page)
George RobeySir John Falstaff
Griffith JonesEarl of Salisbury
Harcourt WilliamsKing Charles VI of France
Janet BurnellQueen Isabel
Jimmy HanleyMichael Williams
John LaurieJamy
Leo GennConstable of France
Michael WarreDuke of Gloucester
Morland GrahamSir Thomas Erpingham
Nicholas HannenDuke of Exeter
Ralph TrumanMontjoy
Robert HelpmannBishop of Ely
Roy EmmertonBardolph
Russell ThorndikeDuke of Bourbon
Valentine DyallDuke of Burgundy
Vernon GreevesEnglish Herald

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Historical period
Medieval
Plays
Henry V
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items
Henry V Globe Theatre
Music of the ‘Speare
Play’s the Thing, The
Shakespeare’s Theater

Notes

Notes
A version with French subtitles is available from Filmbank Distributors Ltd. Also available from Filmbank are the following study extracts: The Globe Theatre - Prologue, Act 1 scenes i and ii (22 min); the Battle of Agincourt - Act IV (8 min).

Budget: £475,000 (50% more than estimated).

Birmingham Shakespeare Library holds a typescript - ` revised treatment for a technicolor film’.
General
"It was the mixture of conviction with ability which made this the first true marriage of Shakespearean drama and the cinema" (McKernan & Terris, Walking Shadows: Shakespeare in the National Film and Television Archive (London: BFI, 1994), p. 69.
Awards
4 Academy Award nominations (but no award) for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Colour, Best Music and Best Picture.
Documentation
Study notes prepared by Ron Hammond, Oxford Polytechnic (1985), available from Trumedia.
Reviews
C. Clayton Hutton, The Making of Henry V (London, 1945). [Printed by E.J. Day & Co.]

Production Company

Name

Two Cities Films

Distributor

Name

Carlton Visual Entertainment

Web
http://www.carlton.com External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7486 6688
Fax
020 7486 1132
Address
5th Floor
35-38 Portman Square
London
W1H 0NU

Distributor (Hire)

Name

Filmbankmedia

Email
info@filmbankmedia.com
Web
https://www.filmbankmedia.com/ External site opens in new window
Phone
+44 (0) 20 3866 6525
Address
1st Floor, 67-74 Saffron Hill
London
EC1N 8QX
UK
Notes
The main source in the UK for hire of feature films for non-theatrical presentations. The extensive catalogue includes vintage classics, independent films and big blockbusters. Available on 16mm as well as VHS and DVD. Also provides advice on contractual matters.

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets

Name

Trumedia Ltd

Contact
Bill Cotton
Email
sales@trumedia.co.uk
Web
https://trumedia.co.uk/ External site opens in new window
Phone
01865 847837
Fax
01865 847837
Address
9 Meadow View
Kidlington
Kidlington
OX5 2XY
Notes
Trumedia supplies video tapes and DVDs to UK schools, colleges and universities and is geared up to take official orders from educational institutions. The catalogue highlights programmes likely to be of use in the curriculum, but the company can supply any video in current UK distribution, as well as some deleted titles. Particularly strong in the areas of English literature and drama, as well as history, natural history, art & artists, and foreign language films.

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