Visualising Conflict: Shakespeare’s Soldiers on Screen

This diploma paper focuses on four film adaptations of Shakespeare’s 'Richard III' and 'Henry V' – Laurence Olivier’s 1944 'Henry V' and 1955 'Richard III', Kenneth Branagh’s 1989 version of 'Henry V', and Richard Loncraine’s 'Richard III', released in 1995. The primary aim is to explore the differences between the source plays and the films, focusing on the treatment of ambiguities in the characterizations of the two titular characters. A secondary aim is to point to consistencies in the portrayal of those characters over time, thereby drawing attention to a dominant (and potentially entrenched) reading of those characters. For that purpose, emphasis is placed on the military aspect of the plays, as chivalry plays an important role in the character development of the two protagonists. By examining more closely how the adaptations treat chivalry and military conflict visually, the thesis tracks the changing perceptions of Shakespeare’s 'Henry V' and 'Richard III'