The Lion in Winter

The Lion in Winter
by Andrei Konchalovsky

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Andrew Howard, Antal Konr?d, Glenn Close, John Light, Patrick Stewart
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Brand: Lions Gate
Producer: Patrick Stewart
Producer: Dyson Lovell
Producer: Martin Poll
Producer: Paul Lowin
Producer: Robert Halmi Jr.
Producer: Robert Halmi Sr.
Producer: Vicki Letizia
Producer: Wendy Neuss
Writer: James Goldman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 153 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-07-20
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Lions Gate

Movie Reviews of The Lion in Winter

Movie Review: A Different Vision, But Still A Great One
Summary: 5 Stars

Any depiction of The Lion in Winter must inevitably be compared with the magnificent 1968 production starring Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn. This version starring Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close has some significant departures from the 1969 gold standard, but nevertheless manages to be a superb dramatization in its own right.

Its Christmas, 1183, and King Henry II of England has called his family together for a happy holiday season. The problem is, he has his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine in prison, and she and their three sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John, are all thirsting for power. The King is growing old (he was to die in 1187) and he wants his youngest son John to succeed him. Eleanor's favorite is their oldest son Richard, while the middle boy Geoffrey is biding his time and waiting for his chance. Adding to the complications is the presence of Princess Alais of France, who was supposed to marry Richard but who has become King Henry's mistress, and her brother King Philip of France, 18 years old but already a master of intrigue and deceit.

While this version lacks some of the fabulous chemistry and sparkle provided by O'Toole and Hepburn, it makes up for it by the deeper, more somber interaction of Stewart and Close. This version doesn't make me laugh as much as the 1968 version does, but it definitely has an even deeper sense of gravitas and irony. Both dramatizations are superb, and my advice is to buy both and watch them on successive nights.

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Summary of The Lion in Winter

All of britain & half of france were his kingdom. But there was one thing he would never be able to control - his family. King henry ii summons his cunning prison-bound wife to his side as he prepares to announce the succession of the throne to one of his double-crossing 3 sons none of whom are qualified to rule. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 08/30/2005 Starring: Glenn Close Patrick Stewart Run time: 167 minutes Rating: Nr

Schemes and double-crosses abound in The Lion in Winter, the story of England's King Henry II (Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men) as he manipulates (and is counter-manipulated) by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons, Fatal Attraction), and their three ambitious sons, each of whom hopes to ascend to the throne. The ghost of the 1968 film version hangs over this 2003 miniseries; Stewart and Close can't match Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn in that classic. Nonetheless this new version is solid work, and though the witty dialogue verges into camp, the script's cunningly orchestrated machinations work like a charm, drawing the viewer in with every fiendish ploy and overturned expectation. Also featuring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Velvet Goldmine, Bend It Like Beckham) as the King of France. --Bret Fetzer

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