On this coming Tuesday it will have been 590 years since the battle of Agincourt was fought between the army of Henry V of England and the forces of the French dauphin. The result was a decisive victory for the English and the treaty signed in its aftermath had the potential to end the hostilities in what would come to be called the 100 Years War. This was not to be so and the French would end the war being the victors thanks in no small part to the role of Joan of Arc. However, the battle would live on in English memory as a glorious announcement of their national identity and remains so today. A mere two hundred years (give or take a few) after the battle The Artist William Shakespeare would write the history play Henry V, making use of the battle of Agincourt as the climax of the drama. In this form the memory of the battle developed incredibly long legs, most recently being imagined in the 1989 film by Kenneth Branaugh, Henry V.The movie is breathtaking cinema and well worth a glance. What is also of interest is the way in which the movie has defined all subsequent epic historical dramas of a military nature. To name a few: Braveheart, Gladiator, Troy, Alexander, King Arthur and Kingdom of Heaven. While some are pale imitators at best, if not absolute rubbish, the ones that have succeeded have done so on the grandest of levels. The visceral, realistic style of Branaugh's vision resides in all these productions. But it is not only in this genre where this style has taken off. In fact, I believe it can be argued that if it were not for the 1989 movie the most explosive movie event in recent memory may never have occurred.
Yes, I am referring to Peter Jackson's epic The Lord of the Rings. Though of course there are so many elements that make those amazing movies work so well, it is their action sequences, especially the battle scenes in the last two films that elevated them to the status of conquering blockbusters. I am not making this observation to lessen the importance of the many other factors behind this trifecta of artistic brilliance (like maybe the fact that they were based on the best novel of the 20th century), but merely to point out its connection to the films that came before it. Surely Mr. Branagh must be smiling at the dominoes that have fallen.
2 comments:
"The fear in your eyes would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, but it is not this day, a day may come when the walls of man come crashing down to the cry of wolves, but it is not this day, this day we fight!" -LOTR (more or less). Yea I guess one could say Peter Jackson's speeches in ROTK symbolize ideals of comradeship amongst brothers in arms during times of war. Interestingly enough, I see Aragorn's speech in the same light that I see Henry V's fabricated speech (from the wonders of Shakespeare) in the sense the multitude and malignant intentions of the Morder hordes is comparable to the French. Hah, take that one Mr. Chirac.
All of what you say is well noted. In fact, I now wish I could rewrite my earlier post highlighting how the manner in which Henry V's speech concerning comradeship amongst brother in arms during times of war is so blatantly copied in the subsequent films I mentioned. Of course in Lord of the Rings this makes great sense as it was in many ways written as therapy/catharsis/an answer for the horrors Tolkien witnessed during The Great War. And though we who have not been in war can only substitute meager experiences in an attempt to identify with the brotherhood shown in these films, it can only be admitted that these films must speak most loudly to veterans of armed conflicts. I imagine then for those of us not initiated in combat that these movies, books and plays can be seen as a conduit to aid us in understanding our human brethren who have fought in war and in achieving an appreciation for the very human bonds that are created when we face the darkest of times.
Post a Comment