The Lion in Winter (1968)

The Lion in Winter (1968) Director: Anthony Harvey Watched: April 2018 3/10 {Clue: This film would have been better categorized as such} Challenging and exhausting film to watch and not in a good way, Outside research necessary to better understand (e.g., Eleanor has been imprisoned for aiding their eldest son- now deceased- in treason), Maybe an entertaining read or play where the overacting, yelling, and ruthless but witty banter might be better received, Every time it seems the serious part is about to begin or one feels something approaching care, it is revealed as an artifice, Downright chaotic and difficult to take seriously with every character having multiple ulterior motives, endless inconsequential feuds, cruelty laced altercations that somehow warp into love scenes and back again, and constant retracting of words and nullification of actions, Yes, even Henry and Eleanor's closing lines are laughs- as he is sending her back to prison- mere moments after Henry tried to execute his sons as a punishment for treason, but instead lets them run away! Acrostic is a form of poetry where the first letters in each line, paragraph, or word are doubly used to spell a name, phrase, or word. The word "acrostic" comes from the Greek words "akros" (outermost) and "stichos" (line of verse). Read the appropriate letters in the poem vertically to reveal the extra message, called the "acrostich"! #Acrostic #PoemReview

Most people seem to exalt this film to supreme top standard, while no one finds anything wrong with it. Maybe it's time for some alternative view.It's good, of course, everything is excellent, the acting is perfect, Katharine Hepburn reigning supreme and defeating everyone by just being what she is, and her part of the dialogue strikes everyone down. Peter O'Toole is next to it, and the three intriguing sons, only one of them being a bastard while he denounces them all three as bastards, add to the total family conflict. This could actually be the inner conflict of any family, these controversies are quite normal, and you could find the same pattern even in almost any Danish dogma film. Their quarrel isn't unique, they just carry it to extremes by overdoing it with a vengeance, and all except Katharine Hepburn almost go under in the process.So the story isn't really very remarkable. They just happen to be royalties, a king and queen and princes, and that's all. It all happens within the castle, almost within four walls, and is really a chamber play, unlike the four years earlier 'Becket', which was much more of a monumental story and drama and historically more correct, although they also took considerable liberties with facts there. Here it's all conjecture, it's a mess of a speculation in intrigue, and they even mix homosexuality into the slander to make it as worse as possible. Hence it's actually a rather artificial concoction of a drama just for showing off, but it's splendid theatre all the way. The dialogue is a feast of sumptuous quarrelsome eloquence, and especially the Queen constantly surpasses herself in delivering poisonous knockouts under the belt.Peter O'Toole was even better in ' Becket', but here he repeats the same role as a 12 year older man and convincingly. He is aging, he is losing control, he has reasons enough to worry about the future, while his sons are more than catching up with him. Prince John is something of a caricature and almost a parody of himself, Anthony Hopkins as Richard is not quite ready yet and too much into his mother to be recognizable as Richard, while Geoffrey is the best of them as a cool calculating bastard.Rosamund, his mother is constantly mentioned while she does not occur in either of the films, although her part in fact was extremely important, especially in the circumstances of Becket's death, but here at least her presence is constantly felt, as something of a bad conscience and lingering wet blanket for the entire all too powerful family for their own good. Neither Richard nor John became very happy as kings, which all films and history show, let alone Walter Scott.John Barry's music, finally, adds to the genuineness and atmosphere of the 12th century. He used to make music to thrillers and James Bond, but he is just as eloquent here with choirs and nunneries and efficient medieval bells.It's a great film, of course, but I still prefer 'Becket'.

I have given this film 7 out of 10 mainly because of the location scenes and the costumes. Generally the acting was superb but totally marred for me by the horrendous mistake of casting Katherine Hepburn as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. OK - she can act - BUT a medieval French lady with a broad American drawl totally spoilt most of her scenes. In the version that I have there are 9 subtitle languages but no English in sight. What an oversight, especially when conversations get heated and background noise is rather intrusive. Very disappointing for those who are increasingly hard of hearing. With all of that plotting going on it's a marvel that many of them lived so long!

There are few actors who made a bigger impact on film than the likes of Peter O'toole and Katharine Hepburn. When you get the chance to see them both grace the screen together, you have to take it. Both of them have very memorable scenes and give legendary performances. Unfortunately the film as a whole isn't their best, but the dialogue and performances are enough of a reason to give this film a look.They play king and queen, but in reality they are very far from being a happily married royal couple. Throw in Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton, who launched their career with their roles and you get a cinema classic. Hepburn plays an emotionally unstable queen who always seems to have something new up her sleeve. Not only does she plan against King Henry, but convinces her sons to do the same. Its refreshing to see Hepburn in a role other than her earlier roles where she simply throws herself at every man. In this movie, you don't want to mess with her, she threatens with words but the look on her face just shouts power. She shares some of the most memorable scenes, in particular with Henry.But the craziest and must gut wrenching scene involves Henry, his three sons, and King Philip. The film suffers a bit by not having any fast moving scenes. The finale does deliver on the thrill of how much these people would do for power. Its quite ridiculous to think that people in this time period would put their family and closest friends in danger to secure royalty. But there are still times that the sons feel a bit comical. Anthony Hopkins is good but the other sons don't feel like real people. Doesn't take away from the tremendous lead performances in what is a pretty good film.+Hepburn and O'Toole give legendary performances+dialogue and script is top notch-sometimes comical characters-long running time7.6/10