Peter O'Toole & Kathryn Hepburn two great actors, with a young Anthony Hopkins. Truly great story with all the power struggles and scheming of the times.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great production the quality was excellent, very entertaining the twists and turns are intherawing. Enjoyed every moment.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Excellent film
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
THE LION IN WINTER - All time favourite This is one of my all time favourite films. I was fortunate to be in NY in 1966 and was taken by friends to the Colonial Theatre to see the stage production of James Goldman’s play starring the incomparable Robert Preston. I must admit that I was not terribly impressed with the play although Robert Preston’s performance was marvellous. The Lion in Winter is a fictional account set during Christmas 1183, at Henry 's court in France. Henry wants his favoured younger son John to inherit his throne, whilst Richard is suported in his claim by Queen Eleanor who has been temporarily released from captivity by the King, and the third brother Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany conspires with Philip of France and John to declare war against their father. In fact there was no Christmas court at Chinon in 1183 and there is no historical record confirming that Henry, Eleanor, their sons and Philip of France were ever gathered together at this time, and some characters such as Henry’s mistress are a merging of more than one real life persons; but the events and issues are historically correct. I had forgotten most of the plot by 1968 when the film version was released with screenplay by Goldman (who also wrote the screenplay for ‘Robin and Marion’), and starring Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn with a supporting cast that today reads like a Who’s Who of the British theatre, and films in the UK, Ireland and France. This was in fact Peter O’Toole’s second outing as Henry II having previously played the younger Henry in the film ‘Becket’ opposite Richard Burton in 1964. I was totally stunned by this film, I remember seeing it at the local cinema three times in the first week and again the following week as it was retained for an extended run. O’Toole and Hepburn were superb as Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine with exceptional performances from Anthony Hopkins (as the future Richard I) and Timothy Dalton (as Philip II of France) both making their film debut, and more than ably supported by Nigel Stock, Nigel Terry and John Castle. To my knowledge the film was never released in 8 mm in the UK but as soon as it was released on VHS tape I bought a copy and have since replaced that with the DVD which I still re-visit at least once a year.Read full review
This is a really unusual film. It invites you in with it's clever characters and ingenuous script. The Queen (Hepburn) and the King (O'Toole) are brilliant characters and these two classic actors have a marvellous rapport on screen. Their love/hate relationship is very believable, a real emotional roller coaster ride. The real thrill, for me, came with the insolent arrival of the King of France (Timothy Dalton). Havoc ensues in the castle when each of the King's sons confide in the not-to-be-trusted King of France, betraying their Father and their siblings, conspiring to become next on the throne... Dalton has each son hide in his room, in turn, and has them spilling the beans whilst the others eaves-drop on their plan... Only to happily volunteer this information to their Father and then sit back and watch them all destroy themselves. They don't make films like this any more! I am a huge fan of Timothy Dalton, the main reason for choosing this film but Hepburn and O'Toole are the real scene stealers! Better watched without interruptions as the dialogue is quite intense :-)Read full review
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