Themes: Fathers and Sons, Mothers and Sons, Crowned Heads
Main Cast: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Merrow, John Castle, Timothy Dalton, Anthony Hopkins, Nigel Terry
Release Year: 1968
Country: UK
Run Time: 134 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
The year is 1183. Like many a modern-day politician, Britain's King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) finds it occasionally useful to take his wife out of mothballs and parade her before the public. Henry's Queen Eleanor (Katharine Hepburn), long exiled to a faraway castle, is "invited" to join Henry and their three sons for a family reunion. In this way, Henry hopes to maintain a stronghold on his Empire and to prevent the balance of power from shifting to Eleanor or to one of his sons: Richard the Lion-Hearted (Anthony Hopkins in his movie debut), Prince Geoffrey (John Castle), or Prince John (Nigel Terry). Also on hand for the get-together is Henry's mistress Princess Alais (Jane Merrow) -- who covets the King's influence -- and the Princess' brother, King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton). Despite Henry's efforts to keep his wife and offspring at arms' length (and away from the throne), Eleanor successfully reunites the brood, assuring that her power will not only be restored, but will last long after her death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Barbed tongues wound to the quick in this James Goldman screenplay about England's King Henry II (1133-1189) and his dysfunctional family. Peter O'Toole dominates the film with his forceful portrayal of the legendary Henry. As ruler of a vast Anglo-Norman kingdom, the 50-year-old monarch holds sway over all that he sees -- except his wife and three sons. At Christmas, the family gathers in Chinon, France, as Henry considers who will inherit the crown. He favors John (Nigel Terry). His estranged wife and queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn), favors Richard (Anthony Hopkins). His third son, Geoffrey (John Castle), bitter that no one has championed his cause, schemes for the leavings of power. And then Henry fires the first salvo of the verbal war: "What should we hang -- the holly or each other?" O'Toole gives one of his finest performances, spitting volleys of sarcasm and mockery at his wife and sons. Hepburn as the queen, returns insult for insult while also acknowledging that embers of love for Henry -- whose mistress abides nearby -- continue to burn. Meanwhile, the sons plot against Henry and each other. Hopkins, as Richard, gets the prize for delivering the best verbal low blow when he calls crybaby John a "walking pustule." Metaphors of better and more elegant quality season the dialogue throughout the film, allowing the actors to wring brilliance from their tongues. Credit writer Goldman, who adapted the script from his own play, for this achievement. During the film, the choral music of John Barry sets an appropriately ominous mood. And director Anthony Harvey occasionally mixes in action sequences, featuring poised lances and gleaming daggers, to pick up the pace. The costumes, the gloomy castle, and the clip-clop of snorting steeds, all accent the period ambience, but in the end it is the wonderful acting -- in particular O'Toole's and Hepburn's -- that carries the day and makes The Lion in Winter a masterpiece worth viewing again and again. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Peter Murton - Art Director, Gilbert Margerie - Art Director, Margaret Furse - Costume Designer, Kip Gowans - First Assistant Director, Anthony Harvey - Director, John Bloom - Editor, Joseph E. Levine - Executive Producer, John Barry - Composer (Music Score), John Barry - Musical Direction/Supervision, Bill Lodge - Makeup, Douglas Slocombe - Cinematographer, Martin Poll - Producer, Peter James - Set Designer, Simon Kaye - Sound/Sound Designer, James Goldman - Screenwriter, James Goldman - Play Author
As a ruse, Henry agrees to give Alais to Richard and make him heir. He makes a side deal with Eleanor for her freedom in return for Aquitaine, to be given to John. The deal is revealed at the wedding, making Richard refuse to go through with the ceremony. Eleanor, having lost again, masochistically asks Henry to kiss Alais in front of her, and then looks on in horror as they perform a mock marriage ceremony. Having believed Henry's intentions, John, at the direction of his other brother Prince Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany (1158-1186), plots with Philip to make war on England. Henry finds out, dismisses all three sons as unsuitable, and locks them in the dungeon. He makes plans to travel to Rome for an annulment, so that he can have new sons with Alais, but she says he will never be able to release his sons from prison or they will threaten the new sons. Henry sees that she is right and condemns them to death, but cannot actually put them to death and lets them escape. He and Eleanor go back to hoping for the future.
The Lion in Winter is fictional: there was no Christmas Court at Chinon in 1183; there was a Christmas court at Caen in 1182; none of the dialogue and action is historic, though the outcomes of the characters and the background are historically accurate. In reality, Henry had many mistresses and many illegitimate children; the "Rosamund" mentioned in the film was Henry II's mistress until she died. The article on the Revolt of 1173-1174 describes the historical events leading to the play's events.
