Watches
July 27, 2023
Orson Welles does Henry IV, bringing his own play to the big screen. It's a pretty straightforward historical drama, with Welles playing what looks like a drunk Santa Claus. Somehow I find it impossible to take him seriously as an actor (or a director for that matter), but he had a decent eye for cinematography at least.
King Henry IV is trying to unite his country, but he's worried that his successor isn't taking his job seriously. Hal prefers to hang around with hoodlums, led by Falstaff, a lousy knight. To Henry's surprise, Hal finally caves under his father's pressure and starts to feel the urge to prove himself to his father.
The black-and-white cinematography is decent and harbors some pretty shots, though they are few and far between. I didn't care much for the plot, the performances were terrible and the two-hour runtime turned this into a sluggish film. Fans of Shakespeare and Welles might get something out of it, I didn't.