Rent The Lion in Winter (1968)

3.7 of 5 from 132 ratings
2h 9min
Rent The Lion in Winter Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
"The Lion in Winter", is set in England during Christmas 1183. Henry II (Peter O'Toole) is deliberating over who to chose as his successor, and plans a family reunion in the hope to resolve this. His scheming wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn), and 3 sons: Richard the Lion-Hearted (Anthony Hopkins), Prince Geoffrey (John Castle), and Prince John (Nigel Terry) are all in attendance, and are all vying for the throne. Princess Alias (Jane Merrow) - Henry's mistress whom he wishes to marry and her brother, the young and crafty King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton) are also at the reunion.
With much at stake, rebellion, treachery and deception is rife as everybody fights for their position on the throne.
Actors:
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Directors:
Producers:
Martin Poll
Writers:
James Goldman
Others:
Katharine Hepburn, John Barry, Simon Kaye, Douglas Slocombe, Chris Greenham, Margaret Furse
Studio:
Momentum
Genres:
Classics, Drama
Collections:
10 Films to Watch if You Like: Raise the Red Lantern, 10 Films to Watch if You Like: The Bishop's Wife, A Brief History of Singer Biopics, A History of British Queens in Film, Acting Up: British Actors at the Oscars, Award Winners, Films to Watch If You Like..., Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Cate Blanchett, Getting to Know: Catherine Deneuve, Getting to Know: Vanessa Redgrave, Introducing the EGOT Crowd, Oscar's Two-Time Club, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Sidney Lumet, The Instant Expert's Guide to William Wyler, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Charles Crichton, Top 10 Best Picture Follow-Ups, Top 10 Films and Shows About British Princes, Top 10 Films By Year, Top Films, Top Films of 1968
Awards:

1969 BAFTA Best Actress

1969 BAFTA Best Music

1969 Oscar Best Actress

1969 Oscar Best Adapted Screen Play

1969 Oscar Best Music Original Score not a Musical

BBFC:
Release Date:
08/09/2003
Run Time:
129 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, English Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.35:1
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Audio commentary by director Anthony Harvey
BBFC:
Release Date:
17/10/2016
Run Time:
135 minutes
Languages:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.35:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • New Interview with John Castle
  • New Interview with Editor John Bloom
  • Director's Commentary
  • O'Toole on Hepburn: 5 min Excerpt from TCM Interview
  • 25th Anniversary Interview with Anthony Hopkins

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Reviews (2) of The Lion in Winter

Depends on you..... - The Lion in Winter review by SB

Spoiler Alert
15/02/2023

Whether you will enjoy this film - it is primarily a feast of acting and words rather than action, which goes no further than Peter O'Toole striding about shouting, and his sons waving daggers. The setting is medieval muck in a French castle on Christmas Eve 1183. The script is highly literate, of a sort producers nowadays would run away from, and is the bedrock for the duel of wills between Hepburn's Eleanor of Aquitaine and O'Toole's irascible Henry II, one of England's greatest kings although little known today. The script dances with humour and repartee, but you need to pay attention through 135 minutes to get full benefit from it. There is little concession to those who do not know their history, although it could be said that the details of the situation facing Henry don't matter a lot - this is about people, and it could be any family anywhen and anywhere. As Eleanor remarks after one bruising encounter, 'all families have their ups and downs' - although these are very intense.

Hepburn has the showier yet also more subtle role, and it was right that she got an Oscar, although she is hard to warm to. But then her character, one of the most powerful women in medieval Europe, was not a nice person. O'Toole, bundled up in about 20 layers to make his slim form heavier and bulkier, more like a rampaging bull-king, snarls a lot - but is not without guile and humour. It could be said that this was one of his best performances ever, because he is up against a better one. The roles of the sons offer opportunities to three then-young actors, John Castle, Anthony Hopkins and Nigel Terry, which they take good advantage of. The only other role, the somewhat ancillary one of Henry's French mistress/prospective daughter-in-law Alais, is played quite well by Jane Merrow, whose career did not gain as much thereby as it might have done.

The sound and picture on the restored blu-ray version are excellent.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Medieval Melodrama. - The Lion in Winter review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
05/02/2024

This adaptation by James Goldman of his own stage play imagines a power struggle between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine as they plot for succession between their three sons in 1183. What it most resembles is a medieval variation on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? And the history is fictionalised into a star vehicle for Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn.

Both actors give big, boisterous performances as the battling Plantagenets, as they manoeuvre for control. Hepburn creates one of her signature roles and won a deserved Oscar. While it's more of a comedy than a serious historical document, the locations, sets and costumes make the period feel unusually authentic and lived in.

The three sons each represent a key characteristic of the King. Anthony Hopkins as Richard (the Lionheart), is a warrior. John Castle as Geoffrey, is a schemer. And Nigel Terry as John, is a grotesque. Though the constant internecine intrigue is elaborate, it's easy to follow, and entertaining.

O'Toole gives a more irreverent interpretation of Henry than he does in Becket. Though he's palpably the same man, but older. The dialogue is intentionally anachronistic and stacked with great lines and memorable insults. Everything is exaggerated. Maybe it struggles to sustain the pantomime all the way to the fade out, but it's still a lot of fun.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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