Derek Jacobi as Chorus recites the opening lines of Kenneth Branagh’s 1989 adaptation of Henry V by William Shakespeare.
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act,
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leash’d in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire
Crouch for employment. But pardon, gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that hath dar’d
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object. Can this cockpit hold
The vasty fields of France? Or may we cram
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt?
O, pardon! since a crooked figure may
Attest in little place a million;
And let us, ciphers to this great accompt,
On your imaginary forces work.
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
Are now confin’d two mighty monarchies,
Whose high upreared and abutting fronts
The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder;
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts:
Into a thousand parts divide one man,
And make imaginary puissance;
Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them
Printing their proud hoofs i’ the receiving earth.
For ’tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings,
Carry them here and there, jumping o’er times,
Turning the accomplishment of many years
Into an hour-glass: for the which supply,
Admit me Chorus to this history;
Who, prologue-like, your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
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It doesn't get much better than Jacobi reading Shakespeare
Oh he is magnificent!
"TURNING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MANY YEARS INTO AN HOUR GLASS." Proceed with all units to the Northern border.
"A KINGDOM FOR A STAGE…!"
The NINE HAVE THIS INSPIRATION…TRADE PLAGUE FOR WAR..
What a CONFLAGRATION!
His appearance is similar to Peter Brook
ugh. Nice diction… projected feeling… but no understanding of the meaning and intent of the words. None. Lucky for him there is dramatic music.
Good, but nothing on Toole or Burton.
Brilliant.
Could this have begun any better than with Derek Jacobi welcoming us, the audience?
Equaled, maybe. But not bettered. Not then, not now, and not ever.
This is literally the moment I discovered Shakespeare for myself! In this one scene Derek Jacobi & Kenneth Branagh undid all the damage that my school had done. That match literally ignited my love of Shakespeare, and I will be forever grateful!
For when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner.
Lights!
Knowing Jacobi he probably got this in one take.
Best Shakespeare movie ever.
I got lost in the pomposity of how he is performing it. A more real approach would be more effective to communicate the words. While it is grand and melodic, this is why no one understands what is going on. Bad acting.
This is how one does Shakespeare đ
And all in one take, no cut at all⊠Just brilliant!
Fun fact: Shakespeare was actually NOT tripping balls when he wrote all this shit.
Derek Jacobi was Kenneth Branagh's acting teacher, and the soul of Laurence Olivier flowed through them both in this movie, and in Branagh's later adaptation of "Hamlet".
You'll never hear that speech done better.
Derek Jacobi was my first, and honestly only, celebrity crush. I saw him in a BBC production on a crappy tv screen in my high school literature class in 1994. I was 16. This clip reminds me why I was right then, and right now. At the time of writing I am 43 and he is 83. And I'd still take a run at him. đđ€©
My light on moment was judi dench in the mckellen Macbeth the had washing scene, Will these neâer be clean. Utterly magical. Like a light switching on in my head
Superb!
This scene reminds me of Olivier's version. It was clever, but it was also brilliant!
To think this play started me on my decades-long Shakespeare journey only solidifies my sheer admiration for The Bard. This opening Chorus justâŠgoosebumpsâŠevery time.
All those people killed … for What? Almost 6,000 Frenchmen lost their lives during the Battle of Agincourt, English deaths amounted to over 400. But wait – there's more. Henry THEN lost 5,000 men at Harfleur, due to disease contracted in his invasion of France. All these people died….. for What? Wasn't Britain enough for one man to 'own'? Henry is a great example of what is worst in the human species. A monster like that man in Russia who always wants 'more'. Alan Cumming was right to return the OBE. The monarchy was/is toxic.
One of the COOLEST opening scenes ever.
1989 – freshman in college at Michigan State University. I walked into East Lansingâs art house Odeon Theater for the first time, never having heard of Kenneth Branagh. I sat captivated through the entire experience. Rewatching it still takes me back to those early days of an academic awakening, before I knew I would become an English major and a Professor of English Literature.
Still raises the hairs seeing it all these years later. But what brilliance from Shakespeare to basically say, "Look, we're going to put on a huge spectacle on this crummy little stage â we need you, our audience, to help out by using your imagination!"
I wonder how many times the match blew out going down those stairs.
He doesn't sound at all like he did in that episode of Frasier
No. Stillted and histrionic.
I was performing Shakespeare (MacBeth) in a small community theater when this came out. it altered the way we viewed the production we were working on in a fundamental way: shifting from a "presentational" style to a more personal "experiential" approach. I came to deeply love Shakespeare during the two hours of this movie, and I've never stopped. I believe it was the greatest cast ever assembled for a Shakespearian movie. Thank you to Mr. Branagh, Mr. Jacobi, Ms. Thompson, and all the other brilliant actors. This will always be one of my top two or three movies ever, and I still have several of the soliloquies memorized.
oh so that's what rocky quoted
âI am the Master, and you will obey me.â
A courageous choice of concept – but it works. Sir Derek is superb in this.
From Caligula's uncle Claudius to this, and every role in between, Derek is an actor's actor.
Amazing. I remember talking to my father about this many many years ago, and we agreed that it was a good thing, and now my beloved papa is gone, and this is still a very very good thingâŠ
He did not realize that Richard Brier played the part of pistol, and we had been watching âgood neighborsâ on PBS, and when I mentioned it to him, he ran in and told my mother, âdid you realize that Richard Brier played pistol?â
That was a good timeâŠ
Amazing