Lion in Winter (The)
- Director: Anthony Harvey
- Writer: James Goldman
- Producer: Joseph E. Levine; Jane C. Nusbaum
CGiii Comment
Hollistory: a reunion of a Machiavellian and dysfunctional family for Christmas - isn't it just lovely to know that the Royals squabble too.
Gay Prince John is played idiotically, like a bumbling idiot - this is seriously bad acting.
But...O'Toole and Hepburn make up for all its flaws.
They are electrifying.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Christmas 1183--an aging and conniving King Henry II plans a reunion where he hopes to name his successor. He summons the following people for the holiday: his scheming but imprisoned wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine; his mistress, Princess Alais, whom he wishes to marry; his three sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John), all of whom desire the throne; and the young but crafty King Philip of France (who is also Alais' brother). With the fate of Henry's empire at stake, everybody engages in their own brand of deception and treachery to stake their claim.
Cast & Characters
Peter O'Toole as Henry II;
Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine;
Anthony Hopkins as Richard;
John Castle as Geoffrey;
Nigel Terry as John;
Timothy Dalton as King Philip of France;
Jane Merrow as Alais;
Nigel Stock as Capt. William Marshall;
Kenneth Ives as Queen Eleanor's guard;
O.Z. Whitehead as Bishop of Durham;
Fran Stafford as Lady in Waiting;
Ella More as Lady in Waiting;
Kenneth Griffith as Strolling player;
Henry Woolf as Strolling player;
Karol Hagar as Strolling player