Ever since studying 'Macbeth' and 'Twelfth Night' in Year 6 (consisting mostly of reading the text out aloud and analysing it), there has been high appreciation, and even love, for William Shakespeare's plays and his mastery of language. 'Henry V' is not one of my favourites of his, though am not sure whether it would be counted as a lesser play in my book because it does have a lot of powerful text (the Crispin's Day speech being one of the bard's finest) and an interesting titular character.
Between 1978 and 1985, the BBC did a series of performances of all Shakespeare's plays. While quality-wise it is not consistent, the BBC Television Shakespeare series is a fascinating one. It is great to see Shakespeare mostly adapted and performed faithfully and with respect, to see all of Shakespeare's work as part of one project and seeing so many talented actors at various career stages either in signature roles/styles or against type. There are so many fine and more performances in the series, though not all have worked, and the production values and stage direction also varied. This 1979 BBC production of 'Henry V' is not one of the best of the BBC Television Shakespeare series, though not quite a lesser one at the same time. It is somewhat of a let down after the wonderful 'Henry the Fourth' productions and do consider the Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier films superior. That is not discrediting the production in any way though because there is a good deal to like here.
'Henry V's' production values may not be lavish or grand, but they didn't always come over as ugly or tacky to me and served their purpose well. Considering that the budget wasn't a big one they could have been far worse. The camera work doesn't try to do too much or anything too fancy that it comes over as chaotic and has intimacy when needed, though it could have opened up more. As an adaptation, there are cuts and abridgements but they are ones that are tasteful and make sense, not affecting the story's coherence.
While the staging didn't blow me away, that it's cohesive and doesn't do anything that's tasteless or gratuitous is laudable. The humour, authority and emotion are generally there and in the right places. Shakespeare's writing shines through with wit, intelligence and emotion, and mostly it is delivered very well with a few disappointments. Found the supporting cast to be excellent, with them being funny and touching in all the right places without mugging or being overwrought. Bryan Pringle (enjoying himself), Brenda Bruce, Anna Quayle and Thorley Walters all deliver, as does Alec McCowen. Jocelynne Boisseau is a touching Katherine. While David Gwillim is not as consistent (his delivery of the Crispins Day speech is agreed anaemic) and was much better in the 'Henry the Fourth' productions, which also did much better with Henry's character growth and conflict, much of his performance is still authoritative and moving.
Did find though that the production was a bit drab and in places static. Liked that the staging was respectful but later on it could have been bolder and had much more tension.
The momentum is not always there and parts were on the too safe and bland side, character development not always growing enough (i.e. Katherine).
Overall though, an interesting and decent production, but there is a preference for the Branagh and Olivier versions. 7/10 Bethany Cox
