A Reading of Shakespeare's The Life of Henry the Fifth in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V.
This paper argues a comparison of Branagh's and Shakespeare's texts, that the power of the film derives from Branagh's awareness of the necessity of translating the text to film as opposed to simply adapting it. It will be shown that Branagh's success in Henry V is a product of his situating the film in a Hollywood cinematic context as opposed to a West End or academic Shakespearean context, and this should not be seen as "selling out", but rather acknowledging Branagh's part in contextualizing the Shakespearean playtext in a new medium. 10.5 pgs. 19f/c. 8b.
