The Lion in Winter (1968 film)

For the 1966 Broadway play, see The Lion in Winter.
The Lion in Winter

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Anthony Harvey
Produced by
Written by James Goldman
Starring
Music by John Barry
Cinematography Douglas Slocombe
Edited by John Bloom
Distributed by Avco Embassy Pictures
Release dates
  • October 30, 1968
Running time
 134 minutes
Country
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Language English
Budget $10 million
Box office $22.3 million[1]

The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama film made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E. Levine and Martin Poll from Goldman's adaptation of his own play, The Lion in Winter. The film stars Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, John Castle, Anthony Hopkins as Richard the Lionheart (in his film debut), Jane Merrow, and, in early appearances, Timothy Dalton and Nigel Terry.

The film was a commercial success (the 12th highest grossing film of 1968) and won three Academy Awards, including one for Hepburn as Best Actress. There was a television remake in 2003.

Plot

The Lion in Winter is set during Christmas 1183, at King Henry II's château and primary residence in Chinon, Anjou, within the Angevin Empire of medieval France. Henry wants his youngest son, the future King John, to inherit his throne, while his estranged and imprisoned wife, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, favours their oldest surviving son, the future King Richard the Lionheart. Meanwhile, King Philip II of France, the son and successor of Louis VII of France, Eleanor's ex-husband, has given his half-sister Alais, who is currently Henry's mistress, to the future heir, and demands either a wedding or the return of her dowry.

Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine.

As a ruse, Henry agrees to give Alais to Richard and make him heir-apparent. He makes a side deal with Eleanor for her freedom in return for Aquitaine, to be given to John. When the deal is revealed at the wedding, Richard refuses to go through with the ceremony. After Richard leaves, Eleanor masochistically asks Henry to kiss Alais in front of her, and then looks on in horror as they perform a mock marriage ceremony. Having believed Henry's intentions, John, at the direction of middle brother, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, plots with Philip to make war on England. Henry and Phillip meet to discuss terms, but Henry soon learns that Phillip has been plotting with John and Geoffrey, and that he and Richard were once lovers.

Henry dismisses all three sons as unsuitable, and locks them in a wine cellar, telling Queen Eleanor, "the royal boys are aging with the royal port."[2]. He makes plans to travel to Rome for an annulment, so that he can have new sons with Alais, but she says he will never be able to release his sons from prison or they will be a threat to his future children. Henry sees that she is right and condemns them to death, but cannot bring himself to kill them, instead letting them escape. He and Eleanor go back to hoping for the future, with Eleanor going back on the barge to prison, laughing it off with Henry before she leaves.

Though the background and the eventual destinies of the characters are historically accurate, The Lion in Winter is fictional; none of the dialogue or action is historical. There was a Christmas court at Caen in 1182 but there was no Christmas Court at Chinon in 1183. In reality, Henry had many mistresses and many illegitimate children; the "Rosamund" mentioned in the film was his mistress until she died. The article on the Revolt of 1173–1174 describes the historical events leading to the play's events. As a matter of historical record, Richard the Lionheart succeeded Henry II, and was followed by John. Geoffrey died before his father.

Cast

[Note: The names in brackets are the full names of the historical individuals portrayed in the film.]

Background and production

In October 1967, the actors rehearsed at Haymarket Theatre in London.[3] Production started in November 1967[4] and continued until May 1968.[5]

The film was shot at Ardmore Studios in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, and on location in Ireland, Wales, and in France at Abbaye de Montmajour, Arles, Château de Tarascon, Tarascon, and Tavasson, Saône-et-Loire. The film debuted on 30 October 1968 (29 December 1968 London premiere).

O'Toole, who portrays Henry II at age 50, had played the same king as a young man in the film Becket just four years earlier.

The sculpted stone figures appearing during the main title music were a lucky, unexpected find by the director while shooting 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 interior walls of the castle.[6]

Reception

The film earned an estimated $6.4 million in distributor rentals in the domestic North American market during its initial year of release.[7] It was the 14th most popular movie at the U.S. box office in 1969.[8] The Lion in Winter currently holds a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

The film received three awards out of seven nominations.

BAFTA Awards

The film received two wins out of seven nominations.

Golden Globe Awards

The film received two wins out of seven nominations.

Other awards

British Society of Cinematographers

David di Donatello Awards

Directors Guild of America Awards

Laurel Awards

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Writers' Guild of Great Britain

Writers Guild of America Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Lion in Winter, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  2. ↑ quote from the 1968 movie, "The Lion in Winter".
  3. ↑ Bergan 1996, p. 155.
  4. ↑ Callan 2004, pp. 90, 100, 105.
  5. ↑ Wapshott 1984, p. 145.
  6. ↑ Director Anthony Harvey, Audio commentary in Lion in Winter, 2000.
  7. ↑ "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15
  8. ↑ "The World's Top Twenty Films." Sunday Times [London, England] 27 Sept. 1970: 27. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. accessed 5 Apr. 2014

Bibliography

    External links

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