History Theatre / HenryV

''Henry V'' has been adapted twice in film: the first [[Film/HenryV1944 in 1944]] by Creator/LaurenceOlivier, the second [[Film/HenryV1989 in 1989]] by Creator/KennethBranagh (featuring Creator/BrianBlessed, Creator/EmmaThompson as Katherine, and a very very young Creator/ChristianBale as Falstaff's page). There are several television versions, including a 1979 presentation that was part of ''Series/BBCTelevisionShakespeare'' which was directed by David Giles, and starred David Gwillim as Henry. There is also the 1989 television version with Michael Pennington (best known as Moff Jerjerrod in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'') as Henry, which is part of a live taping of ''Series/WarOfTheRoses'', a series of plays by the English Shakespeare Company, directed by Michael Bogdanov. And more recently, there is also the 2012 BBC version with Creator/TomHiddleston as Henry as part of ''Series/TheHollowCrown'' series.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Henry orders his men to execute their unarmed prisoners in response for the French murdering the unarmed boys keeping the English supplies.

* GenderNeutralWriting: The Chorus's gender is never specified, though in Elizabethan times women weren't allowed onstage.

* ThisIsUnforgivable: Everyone in the English army has this reaction to the death of the Boy, Falstaff's former page. Not only was the Boy tasked with simply guarding the English's possessions, he ''wasn't armed at all.'' It's a violation of the martial laws that existed at the time, and the sight of the dead child deeply affects the entire group.

* WhamLine: In Act Two Scene Two, the tavern gang of Henry's youth enters, and Pistol is the one to announce "For Falstaff...he is dead." It's a sign that "Harry" is truly gone for good, and that Henry V has permanently taken his place.

* EnsignNewbie: totally lampshaded with Auncient Pistol (Auncient, or Ancient, being another word for Ensign).

* MoralDissonance:
** Before the final attack on Harfleur, Henry delivers the rousing "Once more unto the breach" speech. Yay! But after the battle, he threatens the governor of Harfleur with what he and his soldiers will do if the governor doesn't surrender, including the (graphically described) rape of virgins, the bashing of elderly fathers' heads against the walls and "your naked infants spitted upon pikes." Note: This is actually fair by the standards of the day. Once a "Practicable Breach had been made in a city's walls, it's fall was just a matter of time, and very little at that. ''everyone'' knew that. Therefore, the laws of war were that once a breach was made, the city was obliged to surrender, because if the soldiers had to fight their way in, knowing that every one of their friends who were killed in the battle died essentially for nothing, there was absolutely no way any commander could prevent the loot, murder, and rapine that would inevitably follow. The laws of war actually said that if a city refused to surrender after a breach, the attackers had the right to put every living soul in the city to the sword, after doing whatever they want to them first. Henry isn't making bloodthirsty threats, he's reminding them of the inevitable consequences.
** After the adorkable wooing scene with Katherine, Henry and Burgundy exchange some mildly dirty DoubleEntendre remarks about her, while she is still standing right there, and Henry knows very well she doesn't understand what he's saying.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GenderNeutralNarrator: The Chorus's gender is never specified, though in Elizabethan times women weren't allowed onstage.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: In the French of Shakespeare's time, oi was pronounced "way" rather than "wah", and in the time the play is set, the French had yet to start dropping the final vowels.

''Henry V'' (or to give its full original title, ''The Chronicle Historie of ''Henry'' the fift: with his battel fought at ''Agin Court'' in ''France''. Togither with Auncient ''Pistoll.) is a play by Creator/WilliamShakespeare, in which Henry V (the former Prince Hal from ''Theatre/HenryIV'', Parts 1 and 2) goes and beats the French in one of the most spectacular military victories in English history. And then marries Catherine of Valois to boot, uniting England and France under one heir and setting the stage for Henry VI (already published by Shakespeare).

* UnderestimatingBaddassery: The French reckon England to be 'idly kinged' because of Henry V's exploits while he was prince of Wales, and perhaps because of his young age when ascending the throne (though 26 is a fairly ripe old age by the standards of that time). That proves to be a false assessment.

** The military ranks - Lieutenant Bardolph, Ancient (an archaic form/corruption of Ensign) Pistol, Corporal Nim - all much later designated ranks (the 15th century had the Ventenar who commanded 20 men, and the Centenar who commanded 100 men i.e. 5 Ventenars). Totally in character for Shakespeare, who was fond of this throughout his work.

** The military ranks - Lieutenant Bardolph, Ancient (ensign) pistol, Corporal Nim - all much later designated ranks (the 15th century had the Ventenar who commanded 20 men, and the Centenar who commanded 100). Totally in character for Shakespeare, who was fond of this throughout his work.

* InsigniaRipOffRitual: In the Kenneth Branagh film, the Duke of Exeter strips insignia pendants from Cambridge, Scrope, and Grey while formally arresting them for treason.

* RuleOfFunny: In RealLife Henry would have been able (at the very least!) to speak that era's version of French, since the French language was still a fairly important part of the king's rule - but it's ''much'' funnier to watch him attempt to court Katherine in the broken forms of ''both'' their languages.
** Still, this could actually be slightly TruthInTelevision -- while Henry V spoke French, yes, he and his father were the first English kings since the UsefulNotes/NormanConquest that ''didn't'' speak French as their native tongue.

* OriginalPositionGambit: Henry asks the nobles plotting against him what he should do to someone who's committed treason. When they say he should execute traitors, he agrees -- and executes them.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The scene in Act IV when Pistol tells the young interpreter that he will rape the French soldier named "Master Fer! I'll fer him, and ''firk'' him, and ferret him". [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19271_8-filthy-jokes-hidden-in-ancient-works-art.html Of course, the word "firk" sounds like the other "F word"]], almost like a PrecisionFStrike according to Cracked.com. Also, the example given under BilingualBonus counts as this as well.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething. Henry again. Compare to the feeble King pf France and the useless Dauphin.

''Henry V'' (or to give its full original title, ''The Chronicle Historie of ''Henry'' the fift: with his battel fought at ''Agin Court'' in ''France''. Togither with Auncient ''Pistoll.) is a play by Creator/WilliamShakespeare, in which Henry V (the former Prince Hal from ''Theatre/HenryIV'', Parts 1 and 2) goes and beats the French. Then marries one of them.

* AsideGlance: In the Olivier version, Creator/LeslieBanks plays the Chorus and delivers the Prologue to the audience at the Globe, but at one point he walks up to the camera and looks straight into it, seemingly acknowledging the film audience as well.

* IndecisiveMedium: Both film adaptations used this trope.
** The Creator/LaurenceOlivier version looks like an Elizabethan-era performance of Henry V; at the beginning, we get to see some glimpses of the backstage. As the film goes on, it gets less and less theatrical, presumably corresponding to the audience's increased immersion in the plot.
** The Creator/KennethBranagh version has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5dI65LvbrE The Prologue]] - which is about making theater magic by suspending your disbelief over the people prancing about on stage are pretending to be the real Henry V etc. - is said in an empty soundstage. Then at the very end: "Who, Prologue-like, your humble patience pray / Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play!" and he throws open some doors showing a production utilizing the hyperrealism of film.
* TheOner:
** The charge of the French cavalry to begin the battle of Agincourt in Olivier's film.
** The king's slow walk through death and mud at the end of the same battle in Branagh's.
** Both films feature the scene at Eastcheap where Mistress Quickly tells of Falstaff's death as one long shot.
* PicturePerfectPresentation: This is how Olivier makes his transition from the filmed-play portion to the cinematic story.
* PragmaticAdaptation:
** Both film productions understandably cut the part between discovering the boys had been killed and Henry's anger, as there is a time and a place for discussing Alexander, and mourning over slaughtered children is '''not''' it.
** Both films include a smattering of dialogue from the ''Henry IV'' plays, so that Falstaff can be an onscreen character and the references to him won't seem as odd to anyone unfamiliar with the preceding plays.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: The Archbishop of Canterbury only speaks in the first 5 or so minutes, but his validation of Henry's claim to the French throne helps set the whole war in motion.
* WarIsGlorious: A notable exception of the War is Hell interpretation was Olivier, in the midst of World War II, presenting a glorious British resistance against an evil foreign empire.

''Henry V'' has been adapted twice in film: the first [[Film/HenryV in 1944]] by Creator/LaurenceOlivier, the second [[Film/HenryV1989 in 1989]] by Creator/KennethBranagh (featuring Creator/BrianBlessed, Creator/EmmaThompson as Katherine, and a very very young Creator/ChristianBale as Falstaff's page). There are several television versions, including a 1979 presentation that was part of ''Series/BBCTelevisionShakespeare'' which was directed by David Giles, and starred David Gwillim as Henry. There is also the 1989 television version with Michael Pennington (best known as Moff Jerjerrod in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'') as Henry, which is part of a live taping of ''Series/WarOfTheRoses'', a series of plays by the English Shakespeare Company, directed by Michael Bogdanov. And more recently, there is also the 2012 BBC version with Creator/TomHiddleston as Henry as part of ''Series/TheHollowCrown'' series.

''Henry V'' has been adapted twice in film: the first in 1944 by Creator/LaurenceOlivier, the second [[Film/HenryV1989 in 1989]] by Creator/KennethBranagh (featuring Creator/BrianBlessed, Creator/EmmaThompson as Katherine, and a very very young Creator/ChristianBale as Falstaff's page). There are several television versions, including a 1979 presentation that was part of ''Series/BBCTelevisionShakespeare'' which was directed by David Giles, and starred David Gwillim as Henry. There is also the 1989 television version with Michael Pennington (best known as Moff Jerjerrod in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'') as Henry, which is part of a live taping of ''Series/WarOfTheRoses'', a series of plays by the English Shakespeare Company, directed by Michael Bogdanov. And more recently, there is also the 2012 BBC version with Creator/TomHiddleston as Henry as part of ''Series/TheHollowCrown'' series.

* BadassArmy: The English at Agincourt for fighting sixty thousand men.
** Exaggerated for effect, as modern estimates place the French army at 20,000 strong against 6,000 English. Still badass though.
*** Then again, Shakespeare puts the English numbers at 12,000 ("'Tis five to one, and they are all fresh") so it's not as bad as it could have been.

* {{Adorkable}}: Harry, when he's with Katherine. He goes from eloquent battle commander and king to stammering schoolboy in her proesence.