The Lion in Winter (2003)

King Henry II meets with Eleanor of Aquitaine at Christmastide 1183 to choose one of his sons as his successor.

Director:

Andrey Konchalovskiy (as Andrei Konchalovsky)

Writers:

James Goldman (play), James Goldman (teleplay)

Stars:

Glenn Close, Andrew Howard, Antal Konrád

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glenn Close	...	Eleanor
Andrew Howard	...	Richard
Antal Konrád	...	Toastmaster
John Light	...	Geoffrey
Soma Marko	...	Young John
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Phillip
Rafe Spall	...	John
Patrick Stewart	...	Henry
Yuliya Vysotskaya	...	Alais
Clive Wood	...	William Marshall

Storyline

King Henry II (Sir Patrick Stewart) keeps his wife, Eleanor (Glenn Close) locked away in the towers because of her frequent attempts to overthrow him. With Eleanor out of the way, he can have his dalliances with his young mistress (Yuliya Vysotskaya). Needless to say, the Queen is not pleased, although she still has affection for the King. Working through her sons, she plots the King's demise and the rise of her second and preferred son, Richard (Andrew Howard), to the throne. The youngest son, John (Rafe Spall), an overweight buffoon, and the only son holding his father's affection, is the King's choice after the death of his first son, young Henry. But John is also overly eager for power, and is willing to plot his father's demise with middle brother, Geoffrey (John Light) and the young King of France, Phillip (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Geoffrey, of course sees his younger brother's weakness and sees that route as his path to power.

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Plot Keywords:

king henry ii character | queen eleanor of aquitaine character | mistress | tv mini series | knife fight | 

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Taglines:

All of Britain and half of France were his kingdom. But there was one thing Henry II would never control . . . His Family. (DVD)

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Patrick Stewart previously played Henry's son, Richard the Lionheart, in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).

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Goofs

Eleanor refers to syphilis in one of her speeches, an impossibility in 1183 England. Syphilis was not named such until 1530 by Hieronymus Fracastorius. Regardless of whether Europe even had the disease prior to 1200, it could not have been known by that name to the Queen.

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Quotes

Geoffrey: I know. You know I know. I know you know I know. We know Henry knows, and Henry knows we know it. We're a knowledgeable family.

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Connections

Featured in 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2005)

User Reviews

THE TRIUMPH OF "INFERIORITY"

Perhaps the viewer that seems to think that this production is "inferior," is because he may be too enamoured with the "stars" of the first.

The original star-studded production, though excellent, suffered from Hollywooditis. O'Toole never let up from being O'Toole. Hepburn did a better job at playing the character.

The current production boasts actors of at least the same quality and the story was allowed to develop without seeing the "stars."

Close, Stewart and an evenly matched cast played to the storyline without playing to the camera.

The tale became the "star," not the players.

Bravo!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 May 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lion in Winter

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Company Credits

Production Co:

Flying Freehold Productions, HCC Happy Crew Company, Hallmark Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

167 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1