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