1183 A.D.: 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.
Related News
-
Bow down to see which 12 royal roles in Oscar history have led to nominations for actresses
4 days ago | Gold Derby -
Patrick Stewart returning to ‘Star Trek,’ but can he finally win Emmy for his iconic role? Make it so!
06 August 2018 | Gold Derby -
Peter O’Toole movies: 12 greatest films, ranked worst to best, include ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ ‘The Lion in Winter,’ ‘My Favorite Year’
02 August 2018 | Gold Derby
"The Sinner" star talks us through his arc in the show's just-finished Season 2.
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The Lion in Winter (1968)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
User Polls
Learn more
More Like This
Becket
(1964)
Biography
|
Drama
|
History
Director:
Peter Glenville
Stars:
Richard Burton,
Peter O'Toole,
John Gielgud
A Man for All Seasons
(1966)
Biography
|
Drama
|
History
Director:
Fred Zinnemann
Stars:
Paul Scofield,
Wendy Hiller,
Robert Shaw
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
(1967)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Stanley Kramer
Stars:
Spencer Tracy,
Sidney Poitier,
Katharine Hepburn
On Golden Pond
(1981)
Drama
Director:
Mark Rydell
Stars:
Katharine Hepburn,
Henry Fonda,
Jane Fonda
The Philadelphia Story
(1940)
Comedy
|
Romance
Director:
George Cukor
Stars:
Cary Grant,
Katharine Hepburn,
James Stewart
The African Queen
(1951)
Adventure
|
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Humphrey Bogart,
Katharine Hepburn,
Robert Morley
Anne of the Thousand Days
(1969)
Biography
|
Drama
|
History
Director:
Charles Jarrott
Stars:
Richard Burton,
Geneviève Bujold,
Irene Papas
Edit
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 | ... | Philip II | |
| Jane Merrow | ... | Alais | |
| Nigel Stock | ... | William Marshal | |
 |
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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See All (47) »
Storyline
It's Christmas 1183, and King Henry II is planning to announce his successor to the throne. The jockeying for the crown, though, is complex. Henry has three sons and wants his boy Prince John to take over. Henry's wife, Queen Eleanor, has other ideas. She believes their son Prince Richard should be king. As the family and various schemers gather for the holiday, each tries to make the indecisive king choose their option. Written by Jwelch5742
Plot Keywords:
king henry ii | extramarital affair | british royal family | royalty | husband wife relationship |Taglines:
The most significant reserved seat attraction of the year!Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
30 October 1968 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
El león en invierno See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$4,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$5,339, 16 December 2016, Limited ReleaseGross USA:
$22,276,975, 20 January 2017Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (70 mm)Color:
Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
Did You Know?
Trivia
Anthony Hopkins, in the Royal National Theatre at the time, had to get permission from the RNT's director Laurence Olivier to join the production. See more »Goofs
Eleanor refers to her first husband as "Simon pure and Simon simple", both of which are anachronisms coming from a late-12th century character. The former refers to a character in the play "A Bold Stroke for a Wife", which would not be written until the early 18th century. The latter refers to the English nursery rhyme "Simple Simon", which cannot be found in any reliable source before the late 17th century. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
See more »Contribute to This Page
Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video.
I love this film. I love this film. I am not sure that I can say that phrase enough when describing this movie. Lion in Winter is quite simply one of the strangest and most beautiful movies that I have ever seen. It is some wierd amalgam of a 'home for the hollidays' type family drama, and Machiavellian political intrigue.
The essential plot is that it is 1183 and Henry II must declare his successor to the Plantagenet throne. He invites his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (played by Katherine Hepburn), who is in exile, and his sons to along with king of France, to Christmas dinner. Over the course of the evening truths are told and arguments are had, the film rolls over all of the conventions of the many genres that it plays with and turns them into something new and beautiful.
The film could have been written by Machiavelli himself, and often smacks of the Mandragola. The film demonstrates family disfunction within a very interesting, medieval paradigm. While the film is about issues such as family, loyalty and love, ultimately is most gratifying as a vehicle for O'Toole and Hepburn to chew the scenery and dig into a few truly juicy roles.
It is fantastic film that any lover of dialogue driven drama-comedy should rent and watch over and over again.