Henry V is a 1989 British historical drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh in his feature directorial debut, based on William Shakespeare's history play of the same name.

Early 15th century in England: The Bishop of Ely and the Archbishop of Canterbury collude to distract young King Henry V from passing a decree that might confiscate property from the church.

Supported by the noblemen Exeter and Westmoreland, the clergymen manage to persuade Henry to declare war on France if his claim on the French crown is denied.

Henry tricks three high-ranked traitors into pronouncing their own sentence by asking advice on the case of a man who drunkenly shouted insults at him in the street.

He informs them that Henry demands the French crown and is prepared to take it by force if it is withheld, and delivers an insulting message to the Dauphin.

When the Dauphin fails to relieve the city in time, the governor surrenders in return for Henry's promise to do Harfleur's population no harm.

Katherine, a French princess who had been engaged to marry King Henry in an arrangement made before the war, asks her lady-in-waiting Alice to teach the English for some parts of the body.

The French herald Montjoy arrives and demands Henry pay a ransom for his person or place himself and his entire army at risk.

Henry encourages his troops with his St Crispin's Day Speech and responds angrily when Montjoy renews the Dauphin's offer of ransom.

The battle begins with the charge of the French cavalry, but the English archery and countercharge cut down a large part of the advancing army before it ever reaches their lines.

While the French and English royal delegations negotiate the Treaty of Troyes, the sides take a brief intermission in which Henry privately speaks with Katherine (Kate).

Olivier's movie also uses an older actor to play Charles VI (Harcourt Williams, who was 66 years old at the time of filming).

The opening monologue, originally written to compensate for the limitations of a theatre-staged production to represent the historical scenes presented, is delivered on an empty motion picture sound stage with unfinished sets.

[6] Patrick Doyle also appeared in the film as the first soldier to begin singing "Non Nobis, Domine" following the battle at Agincourt.

[8] Online versions of the digitised script and storyboards from the film are part of the Renaissance Theatre Company Archive held at the University of Birmingham.

MGM Home Entertainment later released Henry V on DVD 18 July 2000, also preserving the widescreen format of the original theatrical presentation.

[11] Henry V received near-universal critical acclaim for Branagh's Oscar-nominated performance and direction, for the accessibility of its Shakespearean language, and for its score by Patrick Doyle.

The site's critics' consensus reads: "Pehaps [sic] Kenneth Branagh's most fully realised Shakespeare adaptation, Henry V is an energetic, passionate, and wonderfully acted film.

[14] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, praising Branagh's performance and writing, "There is no more stirring summons to arms in all of literature than Henry's speech to his troops on St. Crispan's [sic] Day, ending with the lyrical 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.'

"[15] Variety magazine also gave the film a positive review, calling Henry V "A stirring, gritty and enjoyable pic which offers a plethora of fine performances from some of the U.K.'s brightest talents.