From December 16-27, Film Forum will present a brand new 4k restoration of Anthony Harvey’s The Lion in Winter. Featuring one of the greatest ensembles in history, led by Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn, the film is one of the most effective examples of how to turn a theatrical piece into a cinematic event. Set during Christmas in 1183, the plot centers on the power dynamics between the English royal family as King Henry II (O’Toole) and his estranged wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Hepburn) quarrel over which of their sons will inherit the throne. Considering Henry has imprisoned Eleanor, and allows her to leave her tower for the holidays means we’re in for the dysfunctional family reunion to end all dysfunctional family reunions (the film offers further proof that politics have shattered the holidays for as long as we can remember). Here are 5 Reasons why the film should not be missed:
5) The screenplay
Over his decades-long career Goldman wrote only a handful of plays, of which Lion is the best remembered. And how could it not? Featuring zinger after zinger (“Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It's 1183 and we're barbarians!”, “in a world where carpenters get resurrected, everything is possible”), the film became one of the most quotable works of the 60s.
4) The 4K transfer
Douglas Slocombe’s tableaux, mostly consisting of inventive framing in which several actors are in focus as they tear each other apart, have the beauty and drama of medieval paintings. They have never looked more powerful than in the pristine 4k transfer released by Rialto Pictures. The detail of the set design, costumes and impeccable hair and makeup is on display like never before, which is great for a film that’s always been applauded for its literacy but rarely for its beauty.
3) The score
John Barry’s tenebrous music for the film recalls the glory of conquer, and the fear of those who are conquered. The title credits which show details of statues against dimly lit backgrounds, accompanied by a choral piece can give anyone goosebumps as they are more terrifying than most modern horror films.
2) Peter O’Toole
The legendary actor played Henry II twice in his career, the first time a mere four years before Lion, when he starred opposite Richard Burton in Beckett. Even though both films show Henry II at different times in his life, O’Toole found the way to unite both performances without making the latter an extension of the first. His King in Lion is world weary, lustful and scared, while i Beckett he appears almost undefeatable. His tender scenes with Jane Merrow, who plays his mistress, are unlike anything else in O’Toole’s career filled with a childlike sense of abandon that makes one wonder why he didn’t play, less perverse, romantic leads more often.
1) Katharine Hepburn
During a time in their lives when most actresses are shunned in favor of younger women, Hepburn simply kept knocking them out of the park performance after performance carving her untouchable place as the Queen of cinema. Her Eleanor of Aquitaine is a turn that’s in equal parts frightening, hilarious, heartbreaking and inspiring. Her scenes with O’Toole are filled with the longing and disdain of someone in a marriage that meant more to one than the other, but Hepburn was too proud an actress to make us pity Eleanor, rather we are invited to empathize with her, we don’t look down at her pain, we share it.
For more on The Lion in Winter visit Film Forum.
