The Lion in Winter
It was Peter O'Toole's second turn as King Henry II (after Becket). This one takes place about thirteen years later. He's holding Christmas court at his French castle, Chinon, and arranges for his three sons to be there, along with his wife, Eleanor of Aquitane (Katharine Hepburn), whom he normally keeps in prison (she's attempted a few civil wars against him).
The first image of the film is two swords clashing, setting the tone for the rest that follows. O'Toole is practicing sword fighting with his youngest son, John (Nigel Terry), and says, "Come at me!" He will repeat this at the end of the film, when all three of his sons, including John, turn on him with knives. The film is like that three-level chess game in Star Trek--everyone is trying to deceive the other, in order to place their intended on the throne.
O'Toole favors Terry, who is a bit of simpleton (he is called "a walking pustule" by his older brother, Richard). In turn, Richard (Anthony Hopkins) is a brute, "a constant soldier and sometime poet," who is the rightful heir, and favored by Hepburn. Suffering like many middle children is Geoffrey (John Castle), who is the smartest, but "nobody talks of king and speaks of Geoff." Off to the side is the seventeen-year-old King of France, Louis (Timothy Dalton), who was Hopkins' lover.
This is of course historical, to some degree, but not as much a drama but a comedy. At many times it is laugh out loud funny. After failing to execute Richard for treason, Hepburn tells O'Toole, "You spare the rod you'll spoil those boys," and at times even meta when she says, "It's 1183, we're all barbarians!" The chemistry between Hepburn and O'Toole, two actors who came from much different backgrounds, is electric. She's still in love with him, and is crushed to think he would annul her and marry his long-time mistress, even though she's locked away most of the year. He says he never loved her, but there is obviously a spark if not of love than of respect and devotion between them. They parry and lie and scheme but they're stuck with each other.
Some might say there are no admirable characters in this film, and they might be right--O'Toole and Hepburn are both accused of being able to love nothing--but it's a grand pleasure to spend this time with such witty people. Even Hopkins gets some good lines, such as when John bemoans that if he were on fire, no one would piss on him to put it out. "Let's strike a flint and see," Hopkins replies without a beat.
Hepburn would win her third Oscar for the role (she tied with Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl). O'Toole was never better, and the whole cast is excellent. It was very early roles for Hopkins (just his second film) and Dalton, who would go on to play James Bond. In reality, both Richard and John would go on to become kings--Richard would gain the nickname "the Lion-heart" for his battles in the Crusades, and John would be a weak king, forced to sign the Magna Carta. Poor Geoffrey died in a jousting accident.
Though I've seen The Lion in Winter close to ten times, it's not my favorite film from that year, and I'm glad I didn't have a vote back then. My favorite will be the next film discussed from '68.
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