The Lion in Winter (film)

The Lion in Winter (The Lion in Winter) is a 1968 British historical film directed by Anthony Harvey. Written by James Goldman (based on his own play of the same name); produced by Joseph E. Levine Jane C. Nusbaum and Martin Poll; and starring Peter O'Toole Katharine Hepburn John Castle Anthony Hopkins (in his first major film role), Jane Merrow Timothy Dalton (in his film debut) and Nigel Terry.

It is based on Christmas 1183, in which Henry II gathers his family in the castle of Chinon to announce which of his sons will be his successor: Richard (Lionheart), Geoffrey or Juan (Landless). Hanging over the family intrigues is the intelligent and fearsome Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Enrique II, who has been imprisoned for ten years by her husband for conspiring against him, and who will try to thwart her plans.

The film was a commercial success and won three Oscars including Hepburn's historic tie with Barbra Streisand for Best Actress making Hepburn the first woman to win three Oscars. There was a TV remake in 2003.

Plot

Henry II, King of England (Peter O'Toole), celebrates Christmas 1183 at Chinon Castle and orders his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn), out of confinement where she is being held since ten years ago. In the castle (today in France), where Henry lives with his lover Alais (Adela of France), he also gathers his three sons, the eldest and bravest Richard (Anthony Hopkins), future Richard I of England, Lionheart, manipulative Geoffrey (John Castle), future Godfrey II of Britain, and young John (Nigel Terry), future John I of England (Juan sin Tierra), to decide who succeeds him on the throne.

Between Leonor and Enrique there will arise a dispute over the succession to the throne: Ricardo is his mother's favorite and Juan his father's.

King Philip II of France (Timothy Dalton) visits the English king to solve the problem of his sister Alais (Adela of France), promised as the future wife of whoever the future English king is, and already converted into Henry's lover II. After a series of plots , the King of France, who hates Enrique, reveals to Enrique the ambitions of his sons, and he renounces them after a discussion with Eleanor. He also discovers in the conversation with Enrique, that Felipe II and Ricardo had been lovers.

The king forces Philip II of France to leave and plans to have children with Alais, but she refuses because of the danger that her children would be in the presence of those she already has. Additionally, Eleanor of Aquitaine does not want to allow what Henry II plans and acts against him. Finally, in a final showdown, Henry II discovers that he cannot kill his children, disowns Alais and, defeated, decides to leave things as they are. He also promises Eleanor of Aquitaine that she will be able to return to him for Easter.

Cast

Katharine Hepburn at one of the scenes of the film, an interpretation that earned him his third Oscar Prize

• Peter O'Toole as Henry II King of England Lord of Ireland Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine Count of Anjou (This is the second time O'Toole interprets Henry II, after Becket of 1964 with Richard Burton).
• Katharine Hepburn as Leonor of Aquitaine his queen separated
• Anthony Hopkins as Richard Heart of Lion his eldest son
• John Castle like Geoffrey his medium son
• Nigel Terry as John without land his younger son
• Timothy Dalton as Philip II king of France
• Jane Merrow as Philip's sister Alais and Henry's lover, promised Ricardo for prior agreement.
• Nigel Stock as Captain William Marshall
• Kenneth Ives as Queen Leonor's guard
• OZ Whitehead as Hugh of Puiset the bishop of Durham

Production

Casting

Abbaye de Montmajour, castle used to film the film.

Castillo de Trascon, used to shoot the film.

Poll was set to make a film with Joseph Levine and Peter O'Toole's The Ski Bum (to be written by James Goldman's brother, William). That project fell through and Poll suggested they do "Lion in Winter" instead. O'Toole, who was 36, plays Henry II at 50. He had played the same king when he was young in the Becket movie just four years earlier.

In October 1967, the actors rehearsed at the Haymarket Theater in London. Production began in November 1967 and continued until May 1968.

Filming

The film was shot at Ardmore Studios in Bray, County Wicklow Ireland, and on location in Ireland, Wales (Marloes Sands), and in France at Abbaye de Montmajour Arles Castle in Tarascon and Tavasson, Saône-et-Loire.

The sculpted stone figures that appear during the main title music were a lucky and unexpected find for the director while filming scenes in France. They were filmed along the artist's driveway and later edited to create the title sequence where they appear to be on the interior walls of the castle.

Historical context

Map of France in 1180. The Vexin is located northwest of Paris, between it and Rouen. It should be noted that the film is set during the Middle Ages

Although the background and eventual fates of the characters are generally accurate, The Lion in Winter is fictional: while there was a Christmas court in Caen in 1182, there was none in Chinon in 1183. In reality, Henry had many mistresses and many illegitimate children. children; the " Rosamund" mentioned in the film was his lover until his death. The revolt of 1173-1174 provides the historical background leading up to the events of the play. There was also a second rebellion, when the young Henry and Geoffrey revolted in 1183, resulting in the death of the young Henry. Although some historians have theorized that Richard was homosexual, it is not completely certain.

Geoffrey died in 1186 in a jousting tournament held in Paris (with some speculation that Geoffrey was involved in a plot against Henry with Philip at the time). A third rebellion against Henry by Richard and Philip in 1189 was finally successful, and Henry decisively defeated withdrew to Chinon in Anjou, where he died. Richard the Lionheart succeeded Henry II, but spent very little time in England (perhaps 6 months), after which he became a central Christian commander during the Third Crusade leading the campaign after Philip's departure. Richard won some considerable victories, but failed to recapture Jerusalem. Landless John finally succeeded Richard in 1199 after the latter's death. During his failed reign, he lost most of his father's possessions in northern France and angered the English barons, who rebelled and forced him to sign Magna Carta. Landless John is also known to be the villain of the Robin Hood legends. Lastly, William Marshall who during the film is harassed by Henry II, outlived the English royal family and eventually ruled England as regent for the young Henry III.

Reception

The film was released on October 30, 1968 (London premiere on December 29, 1968) where it was well received by both critics and the public.

The film earned approximately $6.4 million in rentals from distributors in the domestic North American market during its first year of release. It was the 14th most popular film at the US box office in 1969.

Renata Adler of The New York Times wrote that the film was "for the most part, outdoorsy and fun, full of the kind of plot and action people used to go to the movies for".

Variety called it "an intense, fierce personal drama presented by outstanding performances by Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn. Anthony Harvey, a relatively new director, has done an excellent job with a generally strong cast, a literary adaptation of the author, and terrific production values put together by Martin H. Poll, who produced Joseph E. Levine's performance under the banner of the Embassy".

Roger Ebert gave the film 4 stars out of 4 and wrote: "One of the joys that movies very rarely provide is the opportunity to see an intelligently handled literary script. 'The Lion in Winter' succeed in that difficult task; not since ' A Man for All Seasons' we've had such an able handling of a story about ideas. But 'The Lion in Winter' it also works on an emotional level, and I think it's the best movie ever".

Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times stated: "Top honors can be awarded today for the most cultured film of the year and for the best, most imaginative and fascinating evocation of a historic time and place to 'The lion in winter".

Pauline Kael of The New Yorker was less positive, writing that the film miscalculated by attempting to elevate the melodramatic plot "with serious emotions, more or less authentic costumes and sets, pseudo-Stravinsky music, and historical pageantry. And it just won't. have the actors act as if it were a genuine and 'deep' historical play; on the order of 'A Man for All Seasons'... They are interpreting a camp historical play as if it were real: delivering commercial almost poetry like Shakespeare".

Awards and nominations

Oscar

BAFTAs

Golden Globes

Laurel Awards

• Best actress award for Katharine Hepburn