Henry V, the young king of England, leads his army to France — and, at Agincourt, wins a battle against overwhelming odds.
In Henry V (1944), Laurence Olivier both directed and starred as Henry, the king who, after a youth of wild living, claims the throne of France and invades with a small army. The film follows him from the court in London to the battlefield at Agincourt, where, on St Crispin’s Day, his outnumbered soldiers defeat a much larger French force.
Olivier’s Henry is a leader who grows into his role. He is playful with his soldiers, stern with his enemies, and inspiring in his famous speech before the battle, in which he calls his men a band of brothers. The film, made during the Second World War, begins as a stage play at the Globe Theatre and then opens out into full colour and action, a clever way of showing how Shakespeare can move from stage to screen.
Henry V is a landmark of British cinema, and Olivier’s performance as the king is one of his defining achievements: a hero who is both a man and a symbol.