O’Toole and Hepburn set Family Dysfunction back 800 Years

DIRECTED BY ANTHONY HARVEY/1968

BLU-RAY STREET DATE: MARCH 5, 2024/ KL STUDIO CLASSICS

Family drama and throne drama conflate in the medieval Angevin Empire in director Anthony Harvey’s lauded and lofty stage adaptation, The Lion in Winter.  A tale of historical fiction about King Henry II and his estranged queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, whatever liberties that The Lion in Winter takes with their true-life story of are immediately forgivable in the face of the lavish film’s overall solidity.  As a friend declared about it on Letterboxd, “That script. This cast. Those performances. The score!”

“It is 1183 in the medieval Angevin Empire.”, we’re told right away.  For our characters, residing amongst the rarified upper echelon as they do, that means stone castles, travel by boat and/or horseback, and layers of finely stitched clothing, much of it more decorative than practical.  The film however, being a production of turbulent 1968, goes the extra kilometers to dull whatever romanticism these tropes may wantonly evoke.  

Thanks largely to the cinematography of Douglas Slocombe (Raiders of the Lost Ark), The Lion in Winter is about as visually stunning as a mostly castle-bound stage adaptation can be.  The widescreen film looks appropriately dark yet colorful on this new Blu-ray edition of a 4K restoration from KL Studio Classics.  For that reason, fans of this sort of thing absolutely won’t want to miss slipcovered special edition disc.

Peter O’Toole (in old age makeup) and the immortal Katharine Hepburn fully embody Henry and Eleanor in their love story for the ages.  I’d wish their relationship on no one, at least no one unsuspecting.  The bold screenplay by James Goldman (adapting his own play) does not hold back, with Henry almost immediately proclaiming to her, “In my time I’ve known contessas, milkmaids, courtesans and novices, whores, gypsies, jades, and little boys, but nowhere in God’s western world have I found anyone to love but you.”  “His time” being anytime.  But then, this is an equal opportunity open union.  Later, he showers her with, “I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.”  Her reply?  “At my age there’s not much traffic anymore.”  Well!  These two clearly deserve each other.  Would they have it any other way?  Perhaps she would change the fact that he literally keeps her locked up except for special holidays.

Among the juicy supporting cast- which includes a young and precise Timothy Dalton as Philip II, Jane Merrow as Alais, Nigel Stock as Captain William Marshall, O. Z. Whitehead as Hugh de Puiset- is none other than Anthony Hopkins in his big screen debut.  Hopkins plays Robin Hood’s future favorite king, Richard the Lionheart, the eldest surviving son of Henry and Eleanor.  The character’s younger brothers are portrayed by John Castle as middle son, Geoffrey and Nigel Terry as youngest son, John.  With the help of their sly mother, the three ambitious brothers aim to force their aging father to name an heir to the throne.

Bonus features are relatively sparse for a film of this pedigree and caliber, though it does include a short interview with the sound recordist, Simon Kaye.  Kudos to whoever thought to reach out to Kaye and to whoever made this chat happen, as on-set sound technicians are typically among the most overlooked crew members, even while filming.  Invariably though, they prove to be the most interesting people in terms of stories and personality.  Kaye, discussing the unique challenges of shooting in ancient locales with creative actors, is no exception.  As interesting is late director Anthony Harvey’s commentary track, ported over from an earlier release of the film in 2000.

The open union at the heart of The Lion in Winter is one of occasional bitterness, frequent jealousy, palpable lust, and chronic one-upmanship.  If that’s not irresistible, it’s hard to know what is.  The film is a rarity for cinema, particularly in this day and age: a sharp-edged costume drama that doesn’t hold back educated wit nor cutting complexity.  Another of its grand exchanges comes to mind…

John: “A knife! He’s got a knife!”

Eleanor: “Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It’s 1183 and we’re barbarians! How clear we make it. Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war: not history’s forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor any other thing. We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it like syphilis inside. Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten. For the love of God, can’t we love one another just a little – that’s how peace begins. We have so much to love each other for. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world.”

But, they didn’t.  As consolation, however, we can bask in their storm.