King Henry V (Branagh) is a young man determined to continue his ancestor's success in the Hundred Year's War. Using a French insult as an excuse, he invades France backed by loyal noblemen and their forces. The principal English nobles are the dukes of Westmoreland, York, Glouchester, Bedford, and Exeter, respectively played by Paul Gregory, James Simmons, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin, and the bearish and bearded Brian Blessed.
We also learn the identities of several common English soldiers (Richard Briers, Geoffrey Hutchings, Robert Stephens, Robbie Coltrane), who are apparently a merry, amoral, and middle-aged lot. Judi Dench has a brief turn as the wife of Stephens. Derek Jacobi is the easily excitable narrator.
Opposing Henry are French nobles, chiefly aged and tired King Charles (Paul Scofield), the arrogant Dauphin heir (Michael Maloney), killjoy Constable (Richard Easton), ubiquitous ambassador Montjoy (Christopher Ravenscroft), and the Duke of Orleans (Richard Clifford).
Because Henry eventually marries her, young French princess Catherine (Emma Thompson) shows up, portrayed as a naive beauty with governess Geraldine McEwan as a constant companion.
How others will see it. Henry V was highly successful. It was profitable at the box office, and was critically praised. At BAFTA it received six nominations, and Branagh won for Best Director. The Oscars double-nominated Branagh as director and best actor.
Today, the user ratings at imdb.com are very high and consistent. Surprisingly, women over 45 give it an 8.2, despite its many scenes of muddy warriors slaughtering each other on the battlefield, and despite the forced nature of Catherine's marriage to Henry. Presumably, women are charmed by Thompson's performance and regard Henry's passion for her as romantic rather than political.
How I felt about it. I admit that the movie is generally well made, but it often annoyed me, much more so than the Laurence Olivier version made when England was imperiled by the Nazi Luftwaffe. Olivier's interpretation was nearly a comedy, while Branagh wrings all possible angst from the source material.
Shakespeare's play, of course, has its drawbacks. There are far too many characters. Worse, it is propaganda. There is no mention, for example, that King Henry ordered the execution of thousands of French prisoners. The French murder of English child pages is a literary invention. We are to believe that Henry's cause is just, and it is fine for him to lay waste to half of France, because he was insulted by the gift of tennis balls.
Personally, I prefer Henry's successor, Henry VI, because he did nothing. This inaction undoubtedly saved tens of thousands of lives. One supposes that the poor peasants of France had enough troubles from plague epidemics, harsh winters, and summer droughts without the additional worry of which dictator-monarch deserved to lay siege, sack the town, or conscript the men.
So, Branagh gets Henry V wrong, portraying him as an honorable hero instead of a vanguard of death. Branagh takes Thompson like the high school quarterback takes the cutest cheerleader. It's good for the cameras, but it turns the daughter of King Charles VI into a simpleton.