The Lion in Winter
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Movie Reviews of The Lion in Winter
Movie Review: A Royal Dispute
Summary: 5 Stars
Anthony Harvey directs this 1968 film based on a screenplay by James Goldman on the reigns of Henry II of England (Peter O'Toole) and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katherine Hepburn.) The film is more a theatrical piece as it is shot almost entirely in a studio/indoors and is also equally devoid of any action besides dialogue: but what great dialogue! Worthy even of the Bard's applause!
In the late 12th century, the royal Norman family of Anjou/Plantagenet is in a squabble. Eleanor D'Aquitaine is hostage to her husband Henry II in an English castle and each place their weight with their sons to ensure their prosperous reign in the years to come. Princes John (Nigel Terry: Arthur in 'Excalibur') and Richard (Anthony Hopkins) come to meet their feuding parents on Christmas Eve to discuss the succession to the throne. Intrigue is plenty as each monarch seeks to win the allegiance of their favorite son: one prefers the fierce Richard while the other prefers the moody Prince John. There's also a brief appearance by the King of France Philippe Le Bel (Timothy Dalton.) Again, the film has no action and the scenes are primarily limited to Eleanor's place of confinement. The script/dialogues are excellent and filled with passion and intrigue. A great film showing the woes of monarchy and succession and the intrigues of Medieval courts.
This is a powerful drama providing a good glimpse into the complexities of Medieval dynasties and English/French history. The disputes represented in the film were never really settled as Henry's marriage to Eleanor would later become the grounds of the Hundred Years War between England and France during the 14th-15th centuries. This film is ideal for audiences who either like history and/or theatrical dramatic plays as opposed to purely action-based Hollywood drama. For a good fictional novel on this subject, I would recommend Maurice Druon's saga titled 'Les Rois Maudits' (English translations are available) covering the dynastic reigns of England and France during the Middle Ages: an excellent work of literature. For a romantic novel on this period, the best is probably Sir Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe' which covers in rich and abundant detail all of the nuances of English culture/politics during that period of time.
Movie Review: Henry and Eleanor Picnicing on Each Other...
Summary: 5 Stars
When Katharine Hepburn utters the line "There's going to be a Christmas Court" you can see the wheels start grinding in her head. She thanks Henry for letting her out of jail for the festivities. Her children bicker and snipe at each other throughout the holiday. Henry kisses his mistress in front of his wife, and he can't decide which son should marry the mistress. This is certainly not the first or last dysfunctional royal family, but it is the most witty and entertaining! Settle back and enjoy the carnage. Verbal duals. Manipulation. Treason. Rebellion. Possible execution. Painful memories. An evening in the dungeon. Just an evening of fun and games with Henry, Eleanor and the boys. Henry, an infamous womanizer and King of England, must decide which son should inherit his crown. He's old and tired at 50. Eleanor prefers professional soldier Richard; Henry wants the ineffectual John. Caught in the middle is a third son, Geoffrey who asks "What's the nothing Geoffrey gets?" Philip, King of France and brother to Henry's mistress Alys, arrives with an ultimatum -- the marriage of Alys to one of the Princes, or return of lands in France.
Sparks fly in several scenes between O'Toole and Hepburn as they rehash past indiscretions. Stellar performances by newcomers Timothy Dalton and Anthony Hopkins -- it was the film debut of both actors and they couldn't have done better. Another favorite of mine for years, John Castle -- young, incredibly handsome, understated -- plays Geoffrey as "all gears and wheels" pitting one prince against the other. Nigel Terry, later King Arthur in "Excalibur" is John, the young king-in-training getting a fencing lesson from his father. You'll have to see this film to see who almost wins the crown. And you will never see so many blue eyes darting at each other as in the dungeon scene.
Favorite lines abound -- you almost expect to hear a referee saying Point, Match Point, after each line. The royal castle in 1183 includes chickens in the courtyard, livestock at the front door, and rough, almost monastic, fabric for the clothing. Very few jewels and velvets worn by royalty in those days.
I love this film -- it will make you realize your own family isn't so bad after all.
Movie Review: When the stars align
Summary: 5 Stars
Perfect is the word that best describes this film. Lead actors, direction, dialog, musical score, supporting performances all converge to make a glorious film. Henry and Eleanor are two of the most fascinating people in history. O'Toole and Hepburn bring them to life in a manner recognizable to anyone who cares to watch. Henry and Eleanor are the moon and sun and the supporting players revolve around them. These are two powerful people who started their relationship in a blaze of passion. Henry was a young Duke who wanted it all -- a kingship and the French Queen Eleanor.The older Eleanor already had a king and the richest duchy in Europe but she wanted Henry -- their adultery and the subsequent divorce and war made it all possible. They ruled together and apart and ultimately they turned on one another and did terrible things to each other. BUT after all of the venom, backstabbing, etc. at the end there is the fundamental truth that Henry and Eleanor love one another but so much has happened to them, they cannot live together because they cannot trust one another. Hepburn and O'Toole make you believe them when they are trying to verbally destroy one another and, in their tender moments, make you feel the love that is still there. Kate won the Oscar for this performance which is one of her finest. She is regal, beautiful, intelligent, domineering, scheming, and alone -- the personification of Eleanor. O'Toole is strong, cunning, wicked, and resourceful. You can believe that this man could have been bold enough to commit adultery with the Queen of France just as you can believe that this woman would have risked possible execution to consummate their passion. You believe that love and hate are two sides of the same coin depending on the circumstances. In this film, the coin spins as the circumstances change. This was Katharine Hepburn's first film role after the death of the love of her life Spencer Tracy, I think she brought the knowledge of great love and loss to this role and in doing so created an indelible performance that everyone else in the cast rose to meet.Movie Review: MEET ELEANOR AND HENRY
Summary: 5 Stars
This has to be my all-time favortie move. Singlehandedly it sparked my interest in British history. I saw it first in a theater and was overwhelmed, remembered it, and got a VHS version as soon as I was able. I have probably watched it at least 50 times since.
Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole are just SUPURB as Eleanor and Henry. Henry Plantagenet's rages were the stuff of legend during his lifetime, and the way O'Toole plays him you can see why. Why Peter O'Toole didn't get an Oscar for this I can't fathom. He IS Henry, as Eleanor says "With a mind like Aristotle and a form like mortal sin," just as Katherine Hepburn IS Eleanor, "I married out of love a woman out of legend..." It is almost like they channeled the personalities of these long-dead monarchs from the ether. Eleanor: "I rode bare-breasted half way to Damascus. Louie had a seizure and I nearly died of windburn....but the troops were dazzled."
I agree with the previous reviewer that Nigel Terry plays a dumbed-down, almost cariciture of John. John Castle plays Geoffrey to a "T", just how you would imagine him, caught between Richard and John, and coming up short in his parent's regard. My only quarrel with anyone in the cast is Anthony Hopkins. He is a wonderful actor, maybe it was the director, but he just doesn't seem right for this part. The historical Richard oozed charisma and confidence, this Richard seems more stolid and repressed, but that's probably just me, since no one else seemed to have a problem with how he was portrayed. Though I will say that in the chamber scene with King Phillip and Henry he is outstanding. Timothy Dalton as Phillip is just perfect.
The dialogue is amazingly crisp and witty, and the attention to historical detail has been well-researched. This movie has an almost intimate feeling to it, as if you are watching the machinations and plotting of a very dynamic and even more dysfunctional family who just happen to rule England, Ireland and half of France. This has to rank up there with one of the finest films ever made.
Movie Review: Pork in the Trees Come Morning
Summary: 5 Stars
Anthony Harvey, who replaced George Cukor as Katharine Hepburn's favorite director during this period, had his work cut out for him just keeping a cast of hotheads in line. O'Toole and Hepburn get most of the plum dialogue, though Anthony Hopkins does well with his portion. Henry gets sarcastic and nasty, always taking the dim view of things, whereas Eleanor is more pragmatic and even optimistic. Who can forget their exchange about hell freezing over? "The day those stout hearts band together is the day that pigs get wings," he raves. She takes a moment, glances mischievously, and replies, "There'll be pork in the trees come morning." Indeed the movie is one long debate about human nature and how and if it came be improved.
When I was a boy my favorite play was Goldman's LION IN WINTER and Dad took me to the Broadway version which starred Rosemary Harris, then very young, probably not even thirty yet, and she was outstanding. It was hard to see how a woman so young could have given birth to three grown sons. In the Broadway cast some of the sons were probably older than Harris. But as anyone knows, she is an extremely powerful actress with a sort of ageless craggy look. Probably even as a baby she never looked young, and she was perfect as Eleanor.
Another prominent reviewer credits "Julie" Harris with creating the part on the stage. No sir, I'm afraid you've got your Harrises mixed up. I like Julie Harris as an actress too, but the play would have ground to a halt with Julie Harris and her fey sweetness playing the tough as nails Eleanor of Acquitaine.
The play was great, but it didn't have Katharine Hepburn, and it didn't have the fantastic brass and metal clanging choral work of John Barry's famous film score. That music won't let you rest; more than any other element it brings the past into the action of the movie in an almost visceral way. You almost forget you don't actually speak Latin yourself, it sounds so natural.