As Ponty and I have been going through the worst movies ever, it seems like a palette cleanser is in order. Too much of a good thing is a problem, but too much of a bad thing is probably worse (by definition, I suppose it is!).
Thanks to good ol’ Audre Myers, we have a reminder that plenty of good—indeed, great—things have been imprinted on celluloid. Not every film is a woke stinker with a strident “strong female character” who lacks any flaws or shortcomings.
Indeed, this film demonstrates how really to write a “strong female character”—and it was released in 1968! I thought those philistines were still dragging women to their caves by the hair back then. Well, they don’t come much stronger than Eleanor of Aquitaine; portrayed by the hyper-patrician Katharine Hepburn, 1968 Hollywood would run circles around Brie Larson.
Well, enough of my pontificating. Here’s Audre Myers’s—our own “strong female character” here at TPP—and her exquisite review of 1968’s The Lion in Winter:
The problem with art of any nature is that it’s subjective – junk to me is gold to you and vise versa. However; there are times a particular piece of art transcends and rivets one’s attention and makes a lasting impression upon the person apprehending the art. The 1968 movie The Lion in Winter is one such transcendent film.
Always a Kid for Today, a contributing writer and frequent commenter on this blog, wrote a review of the movie Love Actually. You can read the ‘last rites’ given to the movie written in Kid’s own words (https://theportlypolitico.com/2022/08/01/monday-morning-movie-review-pontys-top-ten-worst-films-2-love-actually-2003/). I’ve never seen Love Actually and will, for the rest of my life, avoid it at all costs based on Kid’s review. But what happened, after finishing his exquisite demolishing of the movie, was that I remembered one of the very best movies I have ever seen about ‘love’ and the ways in which love is affected by life.
All of the celestial tumblers fell into place and the result is a story unlike any that you can call to mind. 1968 saw the release of the movie The Lion in Winter, starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn. The starring actors’ names alone should be a lock for movie lovers. In this movie the quintessential of talents – writing, staging, set direction, pacing, casting, cinematic quality, and acting – come together and deliver a performance unparalleled on the silver screen.
It’s Christmas time in 1183, King Henry the Second has ordered that his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, be released from her prison to share the holiday with him and their three sons – Richard (Anthony Hopkins – before he was knighted), Geoffrey ll (John Castle), and John (Nigel Terry), at a castle away from London. Also at the castle is Henry’s girlfriend Alais (Jane Merrow) and they are expecting the arrival of King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton). Philip is not there to celebrate the holiday but to see that either his sister Alais is married to Henry or Henry gives back her dowry – a piece of land that is convenient for Henry should he decide to declare war on France. In addition to the dowry dispute, the three sons are in competition to see which one Henry names as his successor.
But the love story – that story shared by Henry and Eleanor – is remarkable. Deeply in love and yet … intellect, battling wills of strength and domination, and a constant tally of wins and losses scored against each other has twisted that love into something difficult to define. It is love but it’s a kind of love that no longer resembles what poets might name as love.
You will find that there are lines from this movie that become part of your psyche, such as, “I wonder … do you ever wonder …” or the brilliant little speech by Geoffrey about ‘knowing’. There is humor – of the biting sort – and a good deal of irony. There is reference to sex and adultery and the real reason for tapestries and this all comes together to create a story and a film that is as satisfying as a good dinner after a day of heavy work.
The thing that you’ll remember most, years after viewing this movie, is the incredible talent of O’Toole and Hepburn. ‘Power house’ is weak when speaking of their performances; masters of their craft and at the height of their talent and ability.
The Portly Politico 
As always, Port, your intro is far better than my article. Thank you for all you do.
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Pishposh! My paltry introduction doesn’t hold a candle to your superb review. Thank YOU for this wonderful contribution.
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Superb, Audre. 🙂
Tina and I will be adding this to our next Amazon shop. I’m intrigued, not so much by the stellar cast, but by the setting – I don’t know why but I get the impression the season will have as much a say in the direction of the film than it might be given credit for. We shall see. Your review has certainly intrigued us enough to buy it.
Tina thinks she’s seen it but can’t remember. Nevertheless, she loves historical dramas and has a couple of recommendations to throw your way. A Man For All Seasons (1966) and Anne Of The Thousand Days (1969). She says you’ll love them.
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Thanks, 39; you are always so kind. Please tell your lovely English rose that I have seen A Man for All Seasons and it’s excellent, start to finish. I’ll have to track down Anne of the Thousand Days. I’ll let you know when I watch it.
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Does every English rose have its thorn? 🌹
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I had the same thought, Ponty: gonna have to check this one out. The historical figures intrigue me, too.
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As I recall, the setting is supposed to be Chateau Gailliard in Languedoc, that French air always makes problems 🙂 Henry was rarely in England. It’s tough to find a more powerful woman in human history than Eleanor, reputed to be the most beautiful woman in Europe, divorcing the King of France to marry the King of England and thus endowing him with more of France than the King of France owned. I’m not sure Tina did, maybe just heard a lot about it, Katharine Hepburn, never very forgettable, was incomparable in this role.
I see Tina is a fellow Tudor enthusiast, Thomas Moore, and Anne Boylen do indeed make compelling characters on screen, I heartily second her choices, but not anything by Hilary Montel.
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Let me note today’s date … I’m afraid you’re wrong (!!!!) at least as far as the movie is concerned. They are at Chinon.
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I am indeed. But then I haven’t seen the movie in at least 30 years.
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And you were a mere child at the time …
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Sadly no, merely a bored reasonably youyng adult with nothing better to do. And Katharine Hepburn! 🙂
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I always loved how the King of England owned huge chunks of France thanks to Eleanor of Aquitaine.
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Henry had a pretty good chunck onhis own, but yeah, it amuses me too. Talk about marrying well!
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Tina and I spend a lot of time talking about films and I reckon, if she did her own top 10, it’d be a collection of historical dramas and films from the black and white era. I’ll give it a pop (no peeking from Tina) and say that her top 3 are Sunset Boulevard, Anne of The Thousand Days and A Man For All Seasons. I’ll let you know whether I got that right or wrong! 🙂
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Please keep us posted! Maybe Tina could write some reviews of her favorite films.
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‘Does every English rose have its thorn?’
Yes, it does and you have to handle it carefully, lest you get pricked! 🙂
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Not all pricking is objectionable, Ponty.
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And that, much like Captain Thorpe from Errol Flynn’s The Sea Hawk – though completely unlike Mr. Flynn himself, who dearly loved and English rose, Marjorie Bickham – I prefer the Spanish rose, it being without such thorns.
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Funny, I always figured the Spanish roses, while more passionate, also came with a few more thorns.
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It was in reference to a line from The Sea Hawk. In point of horticultural fact though, Flynn’s line was inaccurate. Thornless rose cultivars have only been around for 150 or so years. 😉
https://www.tcm.com/video/341080/sea-hawk-the-1940-movie-clip-my-lady-of-the-roses
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Ha! Gotcha. I thought we were being metaphorical.
Thanks for your insights into roses, jonolan. A rose without thorns does sound like a rather modern contrivance.
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I do so love The Lion in Winter, but it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure me. I’m more than a bit of a historian and the characters were based upon some of the most lurid descriptions of the actual historical people – and there was no Christmas Court at Château de Chinon in 1183.
I will, however, praise their costuming department for basing all the costumes on what depictions we have of the actual peoples’ clothing.
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(chuckling to myself …) I didn’t even know where to begin to find the spelling of Chateau de Chinon, lol! That’s why I dropped back and said a castle not in London. Blushing … but laughing!
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Haha, your “a castle not in London” is good enough for this blog, Audre!
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Well, it wasn’t at the Tower of London, so you were correct, if a bit imprecise. But then why would anybody stay in London over the winter if they owned Chinon?
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Thanks for the historical perspective, jonolan.
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Darn, you’re right, it was Chinon, my memory ain’t what it used to be. Yes, it is overblown, not that there wasn’t some truth to it, rather like Hilary Montel on Henry VIII.
But then I’m a longstanding fan of Kate Hepburn as well, so I can easily over;ook it.
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Port … (shrug) laughing.
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Indeed, my friend.
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Yessir! She was a force.
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