LAURENCE OLIVIER: HENRY V

Recorded Broadcast with Greek Subtitles
 
In the framework of the British Council’s global programme “Shakespeare Lives”, marking the 400^th anniversary of the great English playwright’s death, the Thessaloniki Concert Hall joins forces with the British Council and the British Embassy in Greece to host a film tribute that opens with one of the most important adaptations of Shakespeare’s work for the big screen.
Broadcasts will be accompanied by commentary on the projects and discussions with local experts in the fields of film and theatre.
 
Henry V (1944) by Laurence Olivier
Acting as the ultimate rallying cry, Laurence Olivier’s film is a patriotic masterpiece full of stunning scenes, battles, romanticism and political duplicity.
Aiming to boost British morale during the darkest hours of World War II, the movie is inspired by Henry V and his French wars and culminates with his famous St Crispin’s Day Speech to the troops and the emblematic and bloody depiction of the Battle of Agincourt.
Transferred from the Globe’s bare stage to realistic battle positions with a cast of thousands of extras, the film won Olivier an Academy Honorary Award and is now considered to be the first Shakespeare film to be both artistically and commercially successful.