The Lion in Winter (1968)

Director:

Anthony Harvey

Writers:

James Goldman (screenplay)
James Goldman (play)

Release Date:

30 October 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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.

Plot Keywords:

King | Christmas | Mistress | Throne | King Henry II

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Peter O'Toole	...	Henry II
Katharine Hepburn	...	Eleanor of Aquitaine
Anthony Hopkins	...	Richard
John Castle	...	Geoffrey
Nigel Terry	...	John
Timothy Dalton	...	Philip II
Jane Merrow	...	Alais
Nigel Stock	...	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
David Griffith	...	Strolling Player (as Mark Griffith)

Directed by
Anthony Harvey

Writing credits
James Goldman		(screenplay)
James Goldman		(play "The Lion in Winter")

Produced by
Joseph E. Levine	....	executive producer
Jane C. Nusbaum	....	associate producer
Martin Poll	....	producer

Original Music by
John Barry

Cinematography by
Douglas Slocombe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Bloom

Casting by
Paul Lee Lander		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Peter Murton

Costume Design by
Margaret Furse

Makeup Department
Bill Lodge	....	makeup artist
A.G. Scott	....	hairdresser

Production Management
Basil Appleby	....	production manager
Jim Brennan	....	unit manager
René Brun	....	production manager: France
Víctor Merenda	....	production manager: France
John Quested	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Burgess	....	second assistant director
Kip Gowans	....	assistant director
Patrick O'Brien	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Ted Clements	....	assistant art director
Peter James	....	set dresser
Gilbert Margerie	....	art director: France
Gus Walker	....	construction manager
Alan Roderick-Jones	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Chris Greenham	....	sound editor
Gerry Humphreys	....	dubbing mixer (as Gerry Humphries)
Simon Kaye	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Browne	....	chief electrician (as Michael Brown)
Robin Vidgeon	....	camera assistant
Michael Walter	....	grip
Chic Waterson	....	camera operator
Keith Blake	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Bob Penn	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
David Baker	....	wardrobe
Vi Murray	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Lesley Walker	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Barry	....	conductor
Sidney Margo	....	music contractor (uncredited)
Robert Richards	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
John Scott	....	musician: flute (uncredited)

Other crew
Emanuel Azenberg	....	play produced on Broadway in association with
Pamela Carlton	....	continuity
Walter Hyman	....	play produced on Broadway by
Alan King	....	play produced on Broadway by
Joseph E. Levine	....	presenter
Jilda Smith	....	production secretary
Eugene V. Wolsk	....	play produced on Broadway by

Production Companies

• AVCO Embassy (as an Avco Embassy film)
• Haworth Productions (uncredited)

Distributors

• Embassy Pictures Corporation (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• AVCO Embassy (1968) (UK) (theatrical) (as an Avco Embassy Pictures release)
• BMG Video (1998) (UK) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS) (for New Line Home Video)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• Globo Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Magnetic Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Nelson Entertainment (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• New Line Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1981) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2000) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• L. & H. Nathan  costumes (as L.& H. Nathan Ltd.)
• Lee Electric  lighting equipment (as Lee {Electric} Ltd.)
• Solters & Digney  publicity (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

134 min | UK:137 min (70 mm version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2003) | 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) (1986) (1998) (2000)

Filming Locations:

Abbaye de Montmajour, Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

AVCO Embassy

Trivia:

This was the second time that Peter O'Toole played King Henry II. The first time was in Becket (1964). He received Academy Award nominations for both performances.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Wake from the boat carrying the camera and crew visible when Eleanor is being ferried to Henry's castle.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Henry II:Come for me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered (2003) (V)

More TRUE than a factual documentary could accomplish

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.