Silenced Voices: A Reactionary Streamlined "Henry V" in "The Hollow Crown"

Abstract

Perhaps no other play in Shakespeare’s oeuvre has been so misunderstood and bowdlerized as Henry V. It is nevertheless one of the most popular of Shakespeare’s plays and has been made into several well-known films. The film versions, however, have seen the play streamlined, with the removal or shortening of so-called episodes or “throw-away” scenes with a consequent misrepresentation of the issues of war, patriotism and nationalism. In addition, the minor characters, so key to reaching an understanding of the play in my reading of the work, are often silenced or neglected. I would like to argue that those elements, repeatedly cut from the film versions, actually provide possible alternative readings of the play which turn it from a flag-waving jingoistic celebration of Britain’s superiority over France into a profound critique of honour, nationalism and religion used to justify military aggression. I would like to use the latest film version, the final segment from the four-part, critically acclaimed The Hollow Crown series, directed by Thea Sharrock in 2012 as a study in point. Although visually spectacular and brilliantly acted, the film once again butchers the play and thereby neglects much of the subversive details and characters. There are three previous film renderings of the play worthy of note. The first was Laurence Olivier’s version from 1944 which he both directed and starred in. The film was unashamedly created as war propaganda and even dedicated to British soldiers fighting in World War II. Deborah Cartmell (96) summarizes the approach succinctly, “Laurence Olivier eliminates half of the play’s lines (most notably, episodes which cast doubt on Henry’s motives and heroism) and produces the unity which critics had found missing.” The most faithful film rendition of the play is the BBC production from 1979 directed by David Giles and starring David Gwillim. Kenneth Branagh’s version from 1989, with Branagh again as director and headliner star, was extremely popular and influential, providing the Northern Irishman with