“Old Men Forget”
And I did, too, until reminded by Dave’s post about St. Crispin’s Day. And I have to share why I have such fondness for Branagh’s “Henry the Fifth”. It’s not all the magnificence of a truly magnificent film.
In all of Orange County, it was only playing at a little art house theatre in Laguna Beach. I was desperate to see it and major dad thought we could hit their Saturday matinee with Ebola and be pretty safe. Getting there just as the theatre opened, we found seats we could isolate ourselves in and still see. We warned everyone who went to sit near us that “we’ve got a third-grader with us.” Almost to a one they all said “thanks for letting us know” and would move a row or two away. Except for one guy who, bless his heart, said “Really? That’s okay ~ I’d be curious to know what he thinks of it.” And he plopped down right in front of us.
This is no exaggeration ~ through the whole long thing, the one and ONLY time Ebola opened his mouth was as the French nobles were staging on the hill above the field. The English were done with “St. Crispin’s Day” speeches and scurrying through the cold and damp to their positions behind the barricades. As they stared at each other, Ebola whispered, “Mommy?”
“What honey?” I whispered back.
“Who are the bad guys?” he asked.
“The clean ones.”
“Okay.”
And that was it.
Magical.
Littrachure | Mr. Bingley | 
October 27, 2006 2:02 pm
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The French were the clean ones? Times change.
Great film! After the St. Crispin’s Day Speech (“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…”) I wanted to pick up my broadsword and take my licks at the French.
I remember watching it at the same place.
From an actor’s point of view, this movie is just one huge star turn for whoever gets Henry V – St. Crispin’s day, the “tennis balls” speech, unmasking the three traitors at Southampton, wandering incognito among the troops, the speech before Harfleur (“Will you yield, and this avoid/ Or, guilty in defense, be thus destroyed?”) Branaugh also had the fine sense to surround himself with some serious firepower in the supporting roles – Brian Blessed, Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, and of course Emma Thompson, who is great (though not nearly as well known at the time as those three gentlemen).
From my point of view, the thing rocks world. For Harry, England, and St George!
Just to be sure…..this the movie that clip came from? It looks great, and I want to see it!
No, that’s the Olivier version from 1944. This is from the Kenneth Branagh version from 1989.
Thanks, Dave!