 In 1943 , at the behest of the Ministry of Information , Olivier began working on Henry V. Originally he had no intention of taking the directorial duties , but ended up directing and producing , in addition to taking the title role . He was assisted by an Italian internee , Filippo Del Giudice , who had been released to produce propaganda for the Allied cause . The decision was made to film the battle scenes in neutral Eire , where it was easier to find the 650 extras . John Betjeman , the press attaché at the British embassy in Dublin , played a key liaison role with the Irish government in making suitable arrangements . The film was released in November 1944 . Brooke , writing for the BFI , considers that it " came too late in the Second World War to be a call to arms as such , but formed a powerful reminder of what Britain was defending . " The music for the film was written by William Walton , " a score that ranks with the best in film music " , according to the music critic Michael Kennedy . Walton also provided the music for Olivier 's next two Shakespearean adaptations , Hamlet ( 1948 ) and Richard III ( 1955 ) . Henry V was warmly received by critics . The reviewer for The Manchester Guardian wrote that the film combined " new art hand @-@ in @-@ hand with old genius , and both superbly of one mind " , in a film that worked " triumphantly " . The critic for The Times considered that Olivier " plays Henry on a high , heroic note and never is there danger of a crack " , in a film described as " a triumph of film craft " . There were Oscar nominations for the film , including Best Picture and Best Actor , but it won none and Olivier was instead presented with a " Special Award " . He was unimpressed , and later commented that " this was my first absolute fob @-@ off , and I regarded it as such . " 
 In 1943 , at the behest of the Ministry of Information , Olivier began working on Henry V. Originally he had no intention of taking the directorial duties , but ended up directing and producing , in addition to taking the title role . He was assisted by an Italian internee , Filippo Del Giudice , <a href='null_relcl' title='1'><mark>who</mark></a><a href='been_done' title='2'><mark>had</mark></a> been released to produce propaganda for the Allied cause . The decision was made to film the battle scenes in neutral Eire , where it was easier to find the 650 extras . John Betjeman , the press attaché at the British embassy in Dublin , played a key liaison role with the Irish government in making suitable arrangements . The film was released in November 1944 . Brooke , writing for the BFI , <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>considers</mark></a> that it " came too late in the Second World War to be a call to arms as such , but formed a powerful reminder of what Britain was defending . " The music for the film was written by William Walton , " a score <a href='null_relcl' title='4'><mark>that</mark></a><a href='uninflect' title='5'><mark>ranks</mark></a> with the best in film music " , according to the music critic Michael Kennedy . Walton also provided the music for Olivier <a href='null_genetive' title='6'><mark>'s</mark></a>next two Shakespearean adaptations , Hamlet ( 1948 ) and Richard III ( 1955 ) . Henry V was warmly received by critics . The reviewer for The Manchester Guardian wrote that the film combined " new art hand @-@ in @-@ hand with old genius , and both superbly of one mind " , in a film <a href='null_relcl' title='7'><mark>that</mark></a>worked " triumphantly " . The critic for The Times considered that Olivier " <a href='uninflect' title='8'><mark>plays</mark></a> Henry on a high , heroic note and <a href='None' title='9'><mark>never</mark></a> <a href='negative_concord' title='10'><mark>is</mark></a> <a href='dey_it' title='11'><mark>there</mark></a> <a href='negative_concord' title='12'><mark>danger</mark></a> of a crack " , in <a href='None' title='13'><mark>a</mark></a><a href='negative_concord' title='14'><mark>film</mark></a> described as " a triumph of film craft " . <a href='dey_it' title='15'><mark>There</mark></a> <a href='uninflect' title='16'><mark>were</mark></a> Oscar nominations for the film , including Best Picture and Best Actor , but it won none and Olivier was instead presented with a " Special Award " . He was unimpressed , and later commented that " this was my first absolute fob @-@ off , and I regarded it as such . " 
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