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The Lion in Winter (1968)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
30 October 1968 (USA)
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Tagline:
The most significant reserved seat attraction of the year!
Plot:
1183 AD: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. They and his wife variously plot to force him. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars.
Another 11 wins
&
16 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
Swank's 'Amelia' Performance Gets First Oscar Kiss
(From Get The Big Picture. 20 October 2009, 3:02 PM, PDT)
Anthony Harvey Recalls Directing "The Lion In Winter" At Loews Jersey City
(From CinemaRetro. 1 May 2009, 1:14 PM, PDT)
(From Get The Big Picture. 20 October 2009, 3:02 PM, PDT)
Anthony Harvey Recalls Directing "The Lion In Winter" At Loews Jersey City
(From CinemaRetro. 1 May 2009, 1:14 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
More TRUE than a factual documentary could accomplish
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Peter O'Toole | ... | Henry II |
 | Katharine Hepburn | ... | Eleanor of Aquitaine |
 | Anthony Hopkins | ... | Richard |
 | John Castle | ... | Geoffrey |
| Nigel Terry | ... | John |
 | Timothy Dalton | ... | King Philip of France |
 | Jane Merrow | ... | Alais |
| Nigel Stock | ... | Capt. William Marshall |
| Kenneth Ives | ... | Queen Eleanor's guard |
| O.Z. Whitehead | ... | Bishop of Durham |
| Fran Stafford | ... | Lady in Waiting |
| Ella More | ... | Lady in Waiting |
| Kenneth Griffith | ... | Strolling player |
| Henry Woolf | ... | Strolling player |
| Karol Hagar | ... | Strolling player |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
134 min | UK:137 min (70 mm version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) |
Mono (35 mm prints)
Certification:
Iceland:16 |
Australia:PG |
Canada:PG (Ontario) |
Argentina:13 |
Finland:K-12 |
Sweden:11 |
USA:PG |
West Germany:12 |
Germany:16 |
Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) |
Singapore:PG |
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) |
UK:A (original rating) |
UK:15 (video rating)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Eleanor greets King Philip by telling him that she could have been his mother. This is in fact, true. Eleanor's first husband, Louis VII, later fathered Alais by his second wife and Philip by his third. Eleanor's marriage to Louis was annulled by the Pope when she was unable to bear him sons. She gave Henry five boys, two of whom died before the action of the movie takes place.
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Goofs:
Continuity: During the fight between Eleanor's guard and the jail-keep, Eleanor's guard pushes the other against the wall and knocks the sword out of his hand. When the jail-keep draws his knife, suddenly Eleanor's guard is against the wall instead.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered (2003) (V)
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FAQ
Is this movie based on a novel?Is this movie based on real events?
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It's been eight years since I first saw this movie, and it is still my personal live-action gold standard (Lilo & Stitch being my animated film gold-standard). It combines drama, tragedy, razor-sharp comedy, great performances, and the best dialogue that has ever been spoken on film, period.
I found this movie quite by accident--I was a sixteen-year-old with a Katharine Hepburn fixation. She mesmerized me; I wanted to BE her--smart, beautiful, sexy, and unwilling and unable to take anything off of anybody (except for Spencer Tracy, but that's another story). Honestly, I had no idea that there really had been such a person as Eleanor until I saw this movie. After watching my heroine portray her, I was determined to find out, though...so I have Katharine Hepburn to thank for my discovery of a new personal hero, and for my passion for medieval history.
It is true that this movie is not 100% factually accurate, not only because movie making dictates tinkering with history to create an interesting film, but also because, unfortunately, not too much is known about Eleanor herself. In the middle ages, women, even powerful, intriguing women like Eleanor, were not considered "important" enough to merit full biographical treatment. Most of Eleanor's history is recorded in the context of her sons and husbands. A good deal of this history was written by her detractors--people who disliked or disapproved of her for one reason or another. The simple explanation is that they felt that as a woman, she overstepped the bounds of what was considered "acceptable behavior" for a woman of the period.
That being said, this movie is 100% spiritually accurate. It perfectly captures the intrigue, the complexity of emotions and relationships, and tone of the age and the situation at hand. Though the sharp and witty dialogue is often considered a historical anachronism, this is not strictly true. Contrary to popular belief, people WERE educated in the middle ages, even women, if they were fortunate enough to be brought up in noble households, as Eleanor was. She was a brilliant woman, raised in a household where poetry and intelligent conversation were staples (her grandfather, after all, was one of the first troubadours). Henry was an intellectual powerhouse as well--he was a voracious reader who was often caught reading in church instead of paying attention to the sermons! It is unthinkable that these two minds would have produced stupid children, and the notion that the entire family should have only spoken in grunts and simple phrases is equally ludicrous.
Though not historically accurate, as other reviewers have noted, the strength of this movie lies in it's perfect portrayal of some of the most fascinating and complex personalities in recorded history. Henry, Eleanor, Richard, et al., make today's political and royal figures seem like low-rent bumbling hucksters.