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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Happy St. Crispin's Day!
2007-10-25
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Posted by:Mike

#8  Elder Daughters were so taken with Branagh's film that they and I learned the "Non Nobis" and sang it in the car for a long time afterward.
Posted by: mom   2007-10-25 23:14  

#7  EJ...that was awesome!
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2007-10-25 21:34  

#6  And, it's the anniversary of three of the greatest battles of all time:

  1. The Battle of Agincourt, 1415

  2. The Battle off Samar, part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944

  3. Game 6, 1975 World Series. As Roger Angell wrote in Agincourt and After, “Game Six, Game Six … what can we say of it without seeming to diminish it by recapitulation or dull it with detail? Those of us who were there will remember it, surely, as long as we have any baseball memory, and those who wanted to be there and were not will be sorry always. Crispin Crispian: for Red Sox fans, this was Agincourt.”



Posted by: Eric Jablow   2007-10-25 20:54  

#5  Please remember that Olivier's version was made in 1943 on just a tiny budget. The chain mail was made of knitted wool, because of metal shortage.

Remember also that it was wildly successful in raising British morale during a critical part of the war. It was no surprise that he was knighted in 1947.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-10-25 20:04  

#4  Have to agree with all here...Branagh's recitation is one for the ages.
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2007-10-25 19:08  

#3  When I saw Branagh give that speech, it transfixed me and gave me goosebumps all over.

Wow.

Don't remember if I ever saw Olivier do it, but it couldn't have been as inspiring. (Olivier was an excellent actor, but he was too poncey for this.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2007-10-25 18:48  

#2  Branagh's Henry V is sheer genius, unafraid to portray a Christian King in a Christian age. Olivier's is a 'Public School' version.
Posted by: Lampedusa Craviting2407   2007-10-25 18:24  

#1  Both the Sir Lawrence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh version are top notch. Branagh was reportedly scared to death, because Henry V was regarded as Olivier's second best Shakespeare performance after Richard III.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-10-25 17:09  

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