Henry V (Laurence Olivier-1944)

As I've said before, I don't really like classical acting, and classical acting represents everything wrong with this movie.  So much about it just seems so fake.  The Technicolor, the obviously painted backdrops, the acting-the guy who plays Pistol should have been taken out and shot with one.  And-white tights in the wooing scene?  What was Olivier thinking?  Nobody's legs are that good.  If I were Catherine, I would have rejected him just for that.  This movie starts out being supposedly a performance at the Globe, which is a great idea, showing the backstage area and all, but this distracts from the action more than adding to it, and it also patronizes the viewer in the first court scene-we don't need or want the audience's laughter to show us that the archbishop is supposed to look stupid.  And yet this movie is not hopeless.  The transition from the stage into the scene is quite well done, and I like the idea of the mass in Southampton.  Which reminds me of something.  Olivier made this movie in the heart of World War Two in order to glorify Henry, the position of authority in general, and war.  Yet he completely removed the entire confrontation with the French conspirators at Southampton.  He also should have removed more of the scenes with Henry's old buddies, not just the hanging of Bardolph, since those scenes are what drags Henry down the most morally.  The battle of Agincourt is not nearly as gritty and realistic as in the Branagh version, but it is nevertheless pretty damn cool, especially the shot of the first volley of arrows heading for the French.  There is a scene of the English soldiers walking away from Agincourt singing a hymn, which is again not as good as the Branagh version but is still pretty good.  The scene after that, with Fluellen threatening Pistol, should have been cut-it ends up looking even more ridiculous than it should.  Not by much, maybe, but it's just painful to witness.  Overall, I felt slightly dissapointed by this version, but it could be much, much worse.  The shot panning over the English camp the night before Agincourt, before it focuses in, just the lights in front of the tents, was worth having to listen to Pistol's dialogue, as was the scene between the four army captains.  One problem with the glorification of war was that it contributed to the feeling of fakeness.  The "Once more unto the breach, dear friends" speech is supposed to be Henry's attempt to give his men courage in the midst of a difficult siege, but I don't even see any fighting during the entire speech.  And "my people are with sickness much enfeebled"?  Gimme a break.  Those guys hardly look like they've ever been sick.  If I were the French and the English army looked like Olivier's, I would consider that statement an insult.

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