The Lion in Winter – 4K
Katharine Hepburn gets one more first-class filmic go-round, in James Goldman’s highly entertaining story of home life with those wild and crazy Plantagenets … how do three angry sons, one imprisoned Queen, the King of France and a frustrated paramour decide who gets the throne? Peter O’Toole is likewise excellent under the fine direction of Anthony Harvey, as are Nigel Terry, John Castle, Jane Merrow and new film personalities Timothy Dalton and Anthony Hopkins. Douglas Slocombe’s cinematography and John Barry’s music score are a big boost, in 4K Ultra HD.
The Lion in Winter
4K Ultra-HD
Studiocanal Vintage Classics
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date February 17, 2025 / Available from Amazon UK / £19.16
Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Peter O’Toole, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, Nigel Terry, John Castle, Jane Merrow, Nigel Stock, Kenneth Ives.
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe
Art Director: Peter Murton
Costume Design: Margaret Furse
Film Editor: John Bloom
Original Music: John Barry
Screenplay by James Goldman from his 1966 play
Executive Producer Joseph E. Levine
Produced by Martin Poll
Directed by Anthony Harvey
We’ve seen a great many excellent discs from Studiocanal, holder of a huge library of feature films, especially English and continental titles. Their expanding Vintage Classics line now presents a 4K estoration of the warmly-remembered The Lion in Winter, the Oscar-winner for Katherine Hepburn, adapted by James Goldman from his own play. For some foreign markets it was premiered in in 70mm, as was The Wild Bunch.
Kino Lorber released a domestic Blu-ray of this show in March of 2024; Studiocanal offers three separate UK import releases in 3 formats.
In 1968 we associated The Lion in Winter with Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet in that it steered away from the traditional sober costume epic about medieval times. Lion was sold almost as a comedy, with Katharine Hepburn grinning as she delivers wicked bon mots to a fulminating Peter O’Toole. The play is loaded with ironic zinger dialogue lines.
Peter Goldman is the older brother of screenwriter William Goldman. He also wrote the play and screenplay for They Might Be Giants and the screenplays for Nicholas and Alexandra and Robin and Marian. In The Lion in Winter he turns the problem of succession in the Plantagenets into a messy Christmas gathering. The showcase theatrics of Hepburn and O’Toole got the public’s attention, as several scenes become verbal battles almost as vicious as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Every third dialogue line is quotably clever or witty. But at heart the play is a cold reminder of how relationships are warped in a familial competition for power.
“In a world where carpenters get resurrected, anything is possible.”
The Lion in Winter is also remembered as the first feature film appearance by star Timothy Dalton and the first substantial role for Anthony Hopkins. For the record, although Goldman’s drama is fiction, Henry II did indeed imprison his wife for quite a few years. He is the same historical personage dramatized in the earlier play and film Becket — played there by Peter O’Toole as well.
It is near Christmas in 1183 in a castle on the French coast. Henry the II (Peter O’Toole) tells his foreman William Marshall (Nigel Stock) to round up the family. With his designated heir Young King Henry dead in battle, he must settle on which of his three surviving sons should be the next King of a realm that includes England, Wales and a big chunk of France. The politics are thick, to say the least, as Henry has kept his Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn) locked up in a tower for almost ten years, as punishment for goading her sons against him. A boat must be sent for her. Henry’s stable paramour at the moment is Alais (Jane Merrow), the half sister of King Phillip of France (Timothy Dalton) with whom Richard must strike a deal — Phillip and Eleanor have certain land rights from an earlier pact.
“If you’re a prince, there’s hope for every ape in Africa.”
The bad blood in the family makes almost any communication difficult. Nobody trusts anyone. Henry wants the throne for his favorite son Prince John (Nigel Terry), but the young man is immature, awkward and unkempt. Henry fears the other two surviving sons. Prince Geoffrey (John Castle) is a sly plotter, the most intelligent and the least trustworthy. Geoffrey has been helping the third brother Richard (Anthony Hopkins) to put down some local revolts. Richard is the obvious heir — he’s been in charge of the army since he was 16 and has been successful in battle. But Henry doesn’t want Richard or Geoffrey, who with Eleanor tried to push him out ten years ago.
The ‘holiday’ social interaction becomes a difficult series of negotiations. Henry maneuvers for position and uses his authority to intimidate the others, including King Phillip, who must be part of any deal. Phillip has only been in power three years but is learning fast. As soon as all are assembled, Eleanor and Geoffrey begin scheming again to force their choice for the crown, and to obtain Eleanor’s freedom.
“I haven’t kept the Great Bitch in the keep for ten years out of passionate attachment.”
Henry doesn’t know what he wants, but he can’t let himself project indecision. He proposes deals only to provoke Eleanor, Geoffrey and Richard into ‘showing their cards.’ What he learns strikes Henry hard: “I have no sons!” Infuriated, he opts to seek a divorce from Rome, marry Alais and raise new heirs. That scheme stalls when Alais reminds him that doing so requires that he lock up his three sons with their mother, to prevent them killing his new family. The dysfunctional family is more at each other’s throats than ever.
An impressive production from top to bottom, The Lion in Winter is a superior production with pro input in all areas. It was filmed partly in France but the interiors were shot in Ireland. Extra walls, etc., were added to an old French Abbey, to represent part of the castle. Although not taken to a ‘mud and rags’ extreme, this part of the Middle Ages looks plenty primitive. Douglas Slocombe’s cinematography captures the mood beautifully; John Barry’s music makes use of choirs, whose heavenly voices contrast with the scheming of everyone we see. There is no righteous character to champion, not even the clever Eleanor. She has sincere emotions; she both furious at and deeply in love with her problem husband Henry.
“Don’t look sullen, dear. It makes your eyes go small and piggy and your chin look weak.”
Katherine Hepburn gets top billing; all the actors have great roles to play but hers gets the best zinger lines. Many are funny and even partly reflexive, but Goldman’s dialogues never become parodic. These schemers make a keen use of manipulative psychology, hundreds of years before the word was invented.
Hepburn must have liked her costume — her chin-hugging hood lets her natural complexion show, but hides her neck entirely. Eleanor is supposed 60 and Henry 50, which makes Hepburn age-appropriate at 61 and O’Toole looking good at a very worn 36.
“I’ve suffered more defeats than you have teeth. I know one when it happens to me. “
Henry really isn’t very reasonable but he puts up a terrific show when bending his relations to his will. That he catches them all in yet another scheme puts him in a frame of mind to threaten violence. He’s in great shape and is Richard’s equal in a fight, yet knows that swordplay will bring the end of everything. Having lost his favored son, Henry hasn’t the necessary ruthlessness to proceed in a bloodsoaked direction.
Anthony Hopkins is commanding as Richard (the Lionheart!), the brother too smart to unleash his emotions and too ethical to rely on dirty tricks … most of the time. He’s a strong man but also a thoughtful one. John Castle’s Geoffrey is cold and calculating. History is not certain if Eleanor really conspired with her sons, and the general texts haven’t decided whether or not Richard once had a homosexual affair with young Prince Phillip. The dialogue gets into that area, just as Eleanor sometimes waxes nostalgic for her fading beauty. She has bawdy memories, too. We don’t expect Katharine Hepburn to talk about her nipples. Eleanor recalls that when she accompanied her first husband to the Crusades, she proudly rode bare-breasted part of the way.
Timothy Dalton is on his game as well, as a political relation who contrasts well with Henry’s sons. In one of their best exchanges, his Phillip moves to excuse himself after one of Henry’s abusive tirades. Henry immediately changes tone, and suggests that Phillip must learn to get into the proper spirit, and bellow back.
Nigel Terry’s John is an appropriately unpleasant brat. Geoffrey easily cons his younger brother into defying his father, ruining his chances for the throne. Playwright Goldman pulls off one scene that requires most of the cast be hidden in Phillip’s bedroom, as in a bawdy farce. Everybody overhears everybody else’s cheap schemes, leaving Henry with the upper hand … and a crushed heart. He didn’t realize how much he needs love and loyalty.
Henry is cruel but consistently honest with the befuddled Alais, who at one point is roused from sleep for an impromptu marriage to Richard. Even she suspects that it’s another Henry charade, so he can determine what his relatives really think. Things get so turned around that Henry and Eleanor let go of their temperament and begin to play as if some fabulous reconciliation can occur. It makes for some high emotions, backed by Goldman’s polished dialogue lines.
Anthony Harvey had a brilliant career as a film editor. Ten days of rehearsal helped iron out the performances; we’d think everyone had been playing their parts for years. Harvey’s flawless camera direction makes the unfolding of the story eventful and exciting. He underlines the play’s elegant symmetries — it begins and ends with the arrival and departure of Eleanor by river boat. Compared to Liz Taylor in Cleopatra, this Queen is a glorified prisoner taking a lowly swamp ferry … but Ms. Hepburn gives it an unpretentious regal dignity.
“What family doesn’t have its ups and downs?”
Studiocanal Vintage Classics’ 4K Ultra-HD of The Lion in Winter is a restoration-rescue by Studiocanal that reportedly worked its way through imperfect film elements. The company’s promotional text says that it was scanned in 4K and that “digital restoration specialists used image processing tools to remove many thousands of instances of dirt, eliminate scratches, mould, film joins, flicker, and other imperfections. This restoration was particularly challenging because of a high number of tramline scratches that need to be repaired.” ‘Tramline’ is a UK term for vertical film scratches, the kind that might cover an entire reel.
The result looks quite good, a big improvement on old flat TV copies. Colorists have given the film better contrast and the color we remember from when it was new. *
Of the older extras Anthony Harvey’s audio commentary is still a fine listen; it’s his most prominent film. He openly discusses all the locations and his directing choices, such as only moving the camera when an actor moves. He gets away with a number of zoom shots, yet maintains a formal sense. Some earlier interviews are added, but Studiocanal has obtained a relatively new one from Anthony Hopkins. It’s twenty minutes of mostly happy memories — being asked to audition by Peter O’Toole. Hopkins describes himself as a confused actor, even when he’s playing big parts on stage and understudying for Laurence Olivier.
Hopkins’ Richard is the same historic personage who 1) became King, 2) went to the Crusades, 3) was captured and ransomed on the way back, and 4) was apparently not freed by the efforts of patriots named Ivanhoe or Robin Hood.
We also like Studiocanal’s new Behind The Scenes photo montage … photo coverage from this show never was the best.
Audiences love the verbal scrapping and dirty dealing in The Lion in Winter, it’s a favorite of theater-minded viewers that like their stage repartee articulate and witty. We responded more to the sad aspects of the play — why can’t people get along any better than this? If money doesn’t always warp family politics, maybe power doesn’t have to either. It looks like Henry and Eleanor will have a ‘normal’ relationship in the future: she’ll be let out at Christmas and Easter, to come home and fight him some more.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Lion in Winter
4K Ultra-HD rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
New Supplements:
Interview The Heart of a Lion with Sir Anthony Hopkins
Interview Shooting Stars with camera assistant Robin Vidgeon
Behind the Scenes stills gallery
2024 Trailer
Older extras:
Audio commentary with Anthony Harvey
Interview with actor John Castle
Interview with editor John Bloom.
Deaf and Hearing-impaired Friendly? YES; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: One 4K Ultra-HD in Keep case
Reviewed: January 21, 2025
(7264lion)
* Yes, we saw it new but at 16 years old and knowing nothing about much of the content, I can’t say I even kept the characters straight. So it was a relief seeing it for the second time 57 years later, that it wasn’t difficult to follow.
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How is the soundtrack? Was their a magnetic stereo track for the 70mm blowup?
It was Peter O’Toole who brought the production to Ireland, Ardmore Studios in the seaside town of Bray a few miles outside of Dublin. It was the first time he filmed here.
By all accounts, Ms Hepburn loved it, going for a swim every morning in the cold Irish Sea.
This one has always been just a bit too arch for my taste.
I actually saw it a few months before Katharine Hepburn’s death. I was surprised when her character mentioned sex, even using the word. I didn’t expect to hear a doyenne of old Hollywood talk about intercourse in a movie, even if it was acceptable by that point. I hadn’t yet learned of Kate’s general sassiness about her generation’s mores.