Shakespeare's Henry V Act IV, Scene III by Lawrence Olivier

Crispian's Day speech

after that is several minutes of the battle scenes at Agincourt. Not the most accurate battle scenes, of course, but the importance of the famed English longbow to the eventual victory is given proper emphasis.

Fine music by William Walton.

Laurence Olivier ... King Henry V
Gerald Case ... Earl of Westmoreland
Griffith Jones ... Earl of Salisbury
Ralph Truman ... Mountjoy

From the film "The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France" (1944)

directed by Lord Olivier

James Agee on Olivier's "Henry V":

...Olivier does many other beautiful pieces of reading and playing. His blood-raising reply to the French Herald's ultimatum is not just that; it is a frank, bright exploitation of the moment for English ears, amusedly and desperately honored as such, in a still gallant and friendly way, by both Herald and King. His Crispin's Day oration is not just a brilliant bugle-blat; it is the calculated yet self-exceeding improvisation, at once self-enjoying and selfless, of a young and sleepless leader, rising to a situtation wholly dangerous and glamorous, and wholly new to him. Only one of the many beauties of the speech as he gives it is the way in which the King seems now to exploit his sincerity, no to be possessed by it, riding like an unexpectedly mounting wave the astounding size of his sudden proud awareness of the country morning, of his moment in history, of his responsibilty and competence, of being full-bloodedly alive, and of being about to die.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Shakespeare
• Laurence
• Olivier
• Henry
• fifth
• William
• Walton
• Agincourt
• play
• theatre

[fritzVirginSteeler]

The armors are of an accuracy I've rarely seen in any other movie about the middle ages.

[pete44443]

HISTORY - An English army, outnumbered, decimated by illness and tired from long marches, engaged and defeated a greater French army, through simpler weapons & tactics.

[tigranvartanovitch]

@codymhill And which English brains were these?

[transonicbuoy1]

@fritzVirginSteeler Wow. Spot on.

[kvarnerinfoTV]

Knights were never lifted to the horse wit crane....such stupid scene!!!

Heaviest armours were 24-27 kilograms (max 80 pounds)

[Willysmb44]

Why do I think of the depiction of the French in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" when I see the French getting ready for battle by drinking?

[codymhill]

@Wankawika1 were fighting the United States in the war of 1812 at the time. the French "Grand Armee" were beaten by a scrapetogether force, of Germans Dutch and Prussians, led by English brains. France has been militarily flacid since then and probably will continue to be for the rest of time.

[codymhill]

@Wankawika1 oh wow, trying to defend french cowardice in WW2, French military ineptitude (mind u Napoleon was Corsican, practically italian) ever since the Carolingian line colapsed, and the many failures, despite France's many opportunities is like trying to defend china being overpopulated. The claim that France was beaten by non Englishmen at Waterloo works against you, as those men were all inexpeirenced farmers compared to the british regulars who fought in the peninsular war and who,

[codymhill]

@Wankawika1 ha ur a french nutjob, french believe they invented things like the telephone, the blowjob cars and all kinds of crap, I don't know what they teach for history there. Also, england was conqured by the normans, who immediately after the death of Will promptly declared war on France.....hmmm..... the normans were a nation seperate from France really, as you can see from all their foregn conquests apart from the nation of France.

[codymhill]

@Wankawika1 normans not french conquered england, so the english owe their demi french heritage to a viking tribe that conquered french italian and british lands. That whole french thing doesn't hold so much water when scrutinized. Also, the brits won just about every war they ever fought with the french save the end years of the hundred years war. France has a loong history of failed military campaigns and it's inability to defend it's own soil........viking tribes kicked ur ass then the saxons

[MultiAngryguy]

The French descend from a Germanic tribe known as the Franks. Going by your logic Wankawika1 the Hundred years war was a German civil war.

[Wankawika1]

@Play3DS

Rothschild paid for the Napoleon campaigns too.

When the french came in England, they founded a country, when the English came in France, it's only to die for or against the French.

Nobody saved your anglo saxon arses since 1066 (anglo saxons germans were your last master before the French) :)