The Lion in Winter

"What family doesn't have its ups and downs?"

1968 2h 14m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 421

DramaHistory

Synopsis

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Christmas 1183, Angevin Empire: King Henry II plans to announce his successor to the throne. 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, believes their son Prince Richard should be king. As family and various schemers gather for the holiday, each tries to make the indecisive king choose their option.

“What family doesn't have its ups and downs?”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Anthony Harvey
Writers: James Goldman
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.6× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

58 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Anthony Harvey, shot by Douglas Slocombe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Bloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What family doesn't have its ups and downs?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Anthony Harvey directs. Douglas Slocombe behind the camera. John Barry scores. John Bloom cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 5.6× over at the box office.
358 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Anthony Harvey, shot by Douglas Slocombe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor John Bloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "What family doesn't have its ups and downs?".
9IMDB entry: tt0063227 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 16 themes, including "infidelity", "france", "england", "queen".

The technical file

Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe
Original score: John Barry
Editing: John Bloom
Costume design: Lee Poll
Makeup / hair: Bill Lodge
Runtime: 134 min · 2h 14m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Box office: $22,300,000
Return: 558% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Lion in Winter (1968)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Original Score, no Musical

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Anthony Harvey

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-01-12
★ 9/10
I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody. The Lion in Winter is directed by Anthony Harvey and adapted to screenplay from his own play by James Goldman. It stars Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Merrow, John Castle, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, Nigel Stock and Nigel Terry. Music is by John Barry and cinematography by Douglas Slocombe. 1183 A.D.: King Henry II's (Toole) three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. His sons and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Hepburn), variously plot to force him into a choice - but he himself has is own agendas as well. An utter lesson in theatrical tropes shifted to the screen with brilliant results. Set over the Christmas period, Henry II has called all the family together to the family castle in France, for what proves to be a blindingly sharp game of human chess. Essentially it's one giant family squabble of huge political importance, a conniving dynasty war that could shape history. The script sizzles with literate smarts and firey dialogue, with performances from the top draw, while costuming, set design and Barry's melancholy score seal the deal for what is a true genre classic. 9/10
CinemaSerf2022-06-21
★ 8/10
Katherine Hepburn is simply superb in this depiction of the truly dysfunctional relationship between Eleanor of Aquitaine, the estranged queen of England's King Henry II and her spouse. Peter O'Toole reprises his characterisation from "Becket" (1964), and together they spar and spat with aplomb. Aided by a wonderful screenplay from James Goldman that is full of sarcasm, pith and some wonderfully effective (and brutal) put-downs, we play through this most bizarre of family dynamics. It all centres around a Christmas court for which the Queen is released from her Salisbury house arrest to join the couple's three sons: the ambitious, but sexually ambiguous Richard (Anthony Hopkins), the King's favourite, but pretty weak John (Nigel Terry) and the clever, silent-type, Geoffrey (a lovely, understated, effort from John Castle) at Chinon, where they will also be joined by the young and naive Philippe II, King of France (Timothy Dalton). Director Anthony Harvey now presents us with a stylish and quickly paced illustration of just how this devious, untrustworthy and potentially murderous family were prepared to conspire and manoeuvre to ensure who, eventually, succeed to the English throne. Hepburn and O'Toole have a distinct and effective chemistry between them. She has the best lines, I think, and delivers them with a razor sharp wit - you are never quite certain what either she, or her equally and skilfully manipulative husband are plotting as the sons prove to be pretty selfish, fickle and sometimes quite imbecilic. The film looks great, the sets and costumes are spot on and the whole thing offers an excellent appraisal of the antics of a collection of shrewd 12th century despots.