1
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:11,600
He'll make a good king.

2
00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:14,159
He'll be ready.

3
00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:15,759
That's the way.

4
00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:17,800
Come on, my son!

5
00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:24,199
The Oscar-winning 1968 historical
epic, The Lion in Winter,

6
00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,079
starring Peter O'Toole,
and a sublime Katharine Hepburn,

7
00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,759
ranks as a psychological thriller,
a dark love story,

8
00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:34,359
and a crucible of devious plotting.

9
00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:38,080
There are few family Christmas
gatherings to rival it.

10
00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,359
How would you describe
the family gathering

11
00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,799
at the centre of The Lion in Winter?

12
00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,239
Well, Henry II,
who is the King of England

13
00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,159
and vast parts of France,

14
00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:51,999
well, he owns the territory
in vast parts of France,

15
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,679
has decided the time has come
to appoint his successor,

16
00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,759
and this is accurately in the
days before the assumption was

17
00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:00,639
the oldest son inherited,

18
00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,999
so he can choose who he
wants to take his crown.

19
00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,839
So he has sort of the arrogance
to bring these people together,

20
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:09,799
bring his wife and
his mistress together,

21
00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:11,519
bring the King of France together,

22
00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,479
it's a massive power play really,

23
00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:15,959
a huge display of arrogance
and power, to say,

24
00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:19,919
"Right, come on, all of you who
I know at various different times,

25
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,839
apart from my mistress,
have conspired against me,

26
00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,519
I'm going to get you in here and
I'm going to tell you what to do."

27
00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,399
So it, and that's really
essentially what happened.

28
00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,279
Have you found religion, Henry?
Eh?

29
00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,519
Will you look down from heaven and
see who is sitting on your throne?

30
00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:38,480
I must know before I die.

31
00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,479
There's a legend of a king
called Lear,

32
00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,759
with whom I have a lot in common.

33
00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:46,919
Both of us have kingdoms
and three children we adore,

34
00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,679
and both of us are old,
but there it ends.

35
00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,199
He cuts his kingdom into bits,
and I can't do that.

36
00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,679
I built an empire
and I must know it's going to last.

37
00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:58,399
All of Britain, half of France,

38
00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,479
I'm the greatest power in 1,000
years, and after me comes John.

39
00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,759
The year is 1138,
and O'Toole's Henry II

40
00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,919
calls his three disappointing
sons to join him at Christmas.

41
00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:39,799
Anthony Hopkins'
intemperate Richard, is the eldest.

42
00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:45,799
John Castle's cold Geoffrey,
is the forgotten middle child,

43
00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:50,079
and Nigel Terry's ignorant
rube John, the youngest,

44
00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,079
has somehow become the favourite.

45
00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:56,439
Unexpectedly,
Henry also decides to temporarily

46
00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,319
release his estranged wife
from prison.

47
00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:03,039
Manipulative, aggrieved,
and very vocal,

48
00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:07,000
Hepburn's Eleanor of Aquitaine,
is the star of the show.

49
00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:19,360
Your majesty?

50
00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,680
There is to be a Christmas court.

51
00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:26,840
Yes, madam.

52
00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:29,240
Where?

53
00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:31,000
At Chinon.

54
00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:41,399
The Lion is Henry II, surely
he is in the winter of his life.

55
00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,319
He has reached 50,
which is a ripe old age

56
00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:48,839
for a man in the 12th century,
and he has three sons,

57
00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,999
who are apparent heirs and
successors to the throne,

58
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,279
and he must decide whom
he favours amongst them.

59
00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:58,959
He and his estranged wife,

60
00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,439
who he has locked away
in a prison for a decade,

61
00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,439
due to their political scheming
and disagreements with one another,

62
00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,839
which have led to various
revolts across the country.

63
00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:11,239
Henry is 50.

64
00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,559
He says actually,
I'm the oldest man I know,

65
00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,919
which for medieval times,
is a pretty good age.

66
00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,759
So he knows that, you know,
he's in his twilight years,

67
00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:21,999
and that he has to do
something fairly quickly.

68
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,959
What he decides to do is to invite
everyone to the castle in Chinon.

69
00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,239
for Christmas Day
and for a festivity,

70
00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:34,759
and also to decide who will
succeed him on the throne.

71
00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,759
This will involve negotiations
with the French King, Philip II,

72
00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:44,399
whose sister Alice,
is currently Henry's mistress,

73
00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,679
but is promised to the person
who will become king,

74
00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:50,919
i.e. in his eyes, John.

75
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:52,959
This is the background to it.

76
00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,359
It's a kind of complicated
family saga,

77
00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,839
involving politics and succession.

78
00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:01,319
None of this is exactly festive.

79
00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,839
Henry has a scheme in mind,
as do they all.

80
00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:08,079
Secrets will emerge,
layers within layers,

81
00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,960
wounds that run as deep as history.

82
00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,559
There's already a lot of problems
with this whole situation.

83
00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,479
and it does not get better
from then on, basically.

84
00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,239
All of the decisions
and choices that everyone makes,

85
00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:25,879
whether we can trust them or not,

86
00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,799
whether they're allegiances or
decisions or alliances, work,

87
00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:32,919
they all largely seem to be
looking for the main opportunity

88
00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,439
to turn each other over
and get what they can.

89
00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,679
So this is a very, very
vicious bout of politicking.

90
00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:44,519
So is it fair to say the film
is pretty historically accurate?

91
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:49,439
Yes, I mean, it is
because Henry II's reign

92
00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:53,439
was really largely dominated by the
rebellions of his sons against him,

93
00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:57,439
who formed various allegiances
with and without the King of France.

94
00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,639
Finally, after this film is over,
Henry loses a rebellion

95
00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:04,639
between- where Philip and
Richard rise against him,

96
00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:06,359
he has already had a rebellion

97
00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:09,399
where Geoffrey and his previous son
had risen against him.

98
00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,319
All the time the sons'
ambitions are rising up

99
00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:17,239
and they're trying to take tracts
of land or overall power.

100
00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,239
I mean it's just constant seething, turmoil.

101
00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:21,679
This is not like Succession,

102
00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:23,719
where there's a father
who has absolute control.

103
00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:25,919
Henry does have a lot of control,

104
00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:30,279
but he keeps being faced with these
enormous allegiances against him.

105
00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,639
So he wants to try and sort
this out because it's, you know,

106
00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,719
he has built this enormous empire.

107
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,439
I mean historically at that point,

108
00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,199
the amount of land he was in control
of, thanks to the weddings,

109
00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:47,799
thanks to the wars, is vast,
and he's, you know- so the Pope

110
00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,119
has to take him seriously,
you know, he's a real player.

111
00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:53,479
But he wants to make sure that
that survives after he's gone.

112
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:58,519
Director Anthony Harvey, stirs
up a great thunderstorm of a film,

113
00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,599
a reminder of the forgotten art
of theatricality.

114
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,800
Descend your story to the rafters.

115
00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,079
The fate of a nation is at stake,

116
00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:11,599
as torrents of pent-up emotion
crash upon the castle walls.

117
00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:16,079
Eleanor of Aquitaine was a very
important and quite remarkable woman

118
00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,879
from medieval history, who in
spite of circumstances often

119
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,999
being stacked against her,
was courageous and a survivor,

120
00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,759
born into immense wealth with a
great amount of land to her name,

121
00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,919
which sort of then came into Henry
II's holdings after their marriage.

122
00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,919
She bore him several heirs.

123
00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:39,359
For a while she only had girls,
so that created some complication,

124
00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:45,119
but she was always
kind of her own person,

125
00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,359
who was very much responsible
for her own political decisions,

126
00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:52,959
and sometimes acted completely
independently of Henry II,

127
00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:55,839
which eventually led
to her being locked away

128
00:07:55,840 --> 00:08:00,079
in increasingly
small towers and prisons.

129
00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,159
And so she faced a great deal
of hardship throughout her life,

130
00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:08,439
but ultimately she survived, which
was no small feat in those days.

131
00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:12,239
In marrying Eleanor,
he claimed her land of Aquitaine,

132
00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,079
which is a huge section of France,

133
00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:18,079
And of course, he had other sections
in Northern France as well,

134
00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,519
which he had conquered basically.

135
00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:25,519
So as a ruler, he ruled not only
England, but also quite a- quite

136
00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:30,559
a large proportion of France, more
so than the King of France, Philip.

137
00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:34,519
Given it was such a complicated
piece of European history,

138
00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,319
why do you think they thought
there was a film in it?

139
00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,479
Well, it started as a play,
and the playwright, James Goldman,

140
00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:45,239
looked at this period and he thought
well what if these warring,

141
00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:50,319
this incredibly complex, violent
warring family, was just like us,

142
00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,919
it was a 20th century family in a
sense, that they, they were sulky

143
00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,679
and they were moody and that
they were in and out of love,

144
00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:01,599
and everything followed the dynamics
of a very, very brittle,

145
00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:03,359
brutal family Christmas in a sense.

146
00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:07,439
And that's the humour and the
tragedy and the drama of it, is to-

147
00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:09,999
they don't really behave
like medieval characters,

148
00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:11,799
they behave like 20th century
characters,

149
00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,199
with enormously flowing medieval
text

150
00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,359
and ambitions and arguments
over land deals.

151
00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,999
But they are together as a family

152
00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:21,759
in the way that we would
recognise them.

153
00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:26,399
The Lion in Winter is a testament
to how the power of performance

154
00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,319
can fill a cinema screen
like a landscape.

155
00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:31,559
Ah, Christmas.

156
00:09:31,560 --> 00:09:35,639
Warm and rosy time, the hot wine
steams, the Yule log roars,

157
00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:37,799
and we're the fat
that's in the fire.

158
00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:39,399
She'll be here soon, you know?
Who?

159
00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,000
Mother.
Does she still want you to be King?

160
00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,839
While fictional, the story
offers an accurate portrayal

161
00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,879
of the Angevin dynasty
in the 12th century.

162
00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:37,239
Essentially, Henry II is plagued
by the question of succession,

163
00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:41,999
with his three surviving sons,
Richard, Geoffrey, and John,

164
00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,519
all manoeuvring to be named heir.

165
00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:48,759
The drama circles which parent
is backing which son.

166
00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,879
Eleanor is pushing for Richard,
and Henry, for John.

167
00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,959
But they are both hiding
deeper motives.

168
00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,559
And so therefore it's incredibly
easy to watch them

169
00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:01,199
going through their misbehaviours,

170
00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:03,719
and understand them in a way that-

171
00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,959
I mean as when we look at even
Shakespeare sometimes, we struggle

172
00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,119
to understand the motives
of some of the characters,

173
00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,279
and he is making them
very much like us.

174
00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,439
And Shakespeare is an interesting
point, isn't it?

175
00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:14,719
Because, in a sense,

176
00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:17,079
Goldman is playing to the
Shakespearean tradition,

177
00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,439
he even references King Lear
in the film,

178
00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:20,999
but also he's rising,

179
00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,559
or doing something slightly
different from it.

180
00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:25,999
Yes. He has, at one point, Henry II

181
00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:27,759
talks about this man
he knew called Lear,

182
00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,959
who had a similar problem but
with daughters instead of sons,

183
00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,959
and how he came to an unsatisfactory
conclusion over that.

184
00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:38,919
Adapted by the Chicago-born James
Goldman from his own Broadway play,

185
00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,239
the script is a thing of wonder.

186
00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:46,279
This mix of poetry and sarcasm,
historical detail,

187
00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,999
and snappy frisson
of Hepburn's Hollywood classics.

188
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,439
Backed by independent producer
Joseph E. Levine,

189
00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:57,399
director Anthony Harvey does
a remarkably confident job

190
00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:00,960
in enlarging the scope of
the play for the big screen.

191
00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,879
So The Lion in Winter was a stage
play in New York originally,

192
00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,439
and it wasn't actually very
successful when it first ran,

193
00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,479
but it was seen by some influential
people who saw the promise in it.

194
00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,799
And one of those people was
Martin Poll, a film producer,

195
00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:20,439
and he, along with the influential
producer Joseph E. Levine,

196
00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,959
decided that it would be
a great project

197
00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:24,719
to be adapted into a screenplay.

198
00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,079
Poll was already
working on another film,

199
00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:33,119
written by Goldman's younger
brother, William Goldman,

200
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,439
and he had taken that to Joseph
Levine who was going to produce it.

201
00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:38,959
That fell apart,

202
00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:43,919
and Peter O'Toole, who was
involved in the other project,

203
00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,559
said well perhaps we should
look at The Lion in Winter.

204
00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:50,879
They looked at the screenplay
that James Goldman had produced

205
00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,919
and they said
right, OK, we'll do this one.

206
00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:58,879
Levine liked the idea of it and
that's how the project started.

207
00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,679
They had Harvey involved
because Peter O'Toole,

208
00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:04,839
who of course made a huge
contribution to this,

209
00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,119
because he was a big star and
therefore he could call a few shots,

210
00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,359
said I want Harvey, I think
he could do this really well.

211
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,399
Harvey came on board as a director,
which was a great thing

212
00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,199
because not only was
Harvey a great editor,

213
00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,959
and proved to be a great director,

214
00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,319
but he also got on very
famously with everyone.

215
00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,039
It is a work of rare beauty,

216
00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,919
a foundation stone for a collection
very much alive today.

217
00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,839
Shakespeare's first folio
was published in 1623 by two

218
00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,839
of his friends, fellow
actors in his King's Men group.

219
00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,239
Half the plays had never been
printed before,

220
00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,959
making Ben Johnson's prefatory poem
all the more apt.

221
00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,519
Thou art a
monument without a tomb,

222
00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,959
and art to lie still
while thy book doth live.

223
00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,199
Goldman was knowingly playing
on Shakespearean tradition.

224
00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,079
Henry even has the line,

225
00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,639
"There is a legend of a king
called Lear,

226
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,799
with whom I have a lot in common,

227
00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,479
though he is frustrated by sons
rather than daughters."

228
00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,479
There are even touches of Hamlet
in his circling doubts.

229
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,559
But Goldman injects
a modern sensibility

230
00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:15,599
between the fluent lines.

231
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:20,039
The story of a broken marriage
anyone can relate to.

232
00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,839
Goldman uses Shakespeare
in a very interesting way.

233
00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:27,159
The language, although it is
not actually Shakespearean,

234
00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,959
uses the Shakespearean rhythms.

235
00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:34,199
There are even, if you listen
really carefully, there are some

236
00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:38,239
couplets in there, which
sort of we can usually come out

237
00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:43,319
of the mouth of Katharine Hepburn,
and so she- some- he somehow manages

238
00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:48,439
to make it sound Shakespearean,
but also with a contemporary edge.

239
00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,799
And it's that balance of language

240
00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:58,239
and that balance of something
that is archaic and contemporary,

241
00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,039
that he manages to pull
off extraordinarily well.

242
00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:03,879
You don't feel that there's
any anomaly there at all.

243
00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:08,599
Goldman will pull together phrases
which sound almost Shakespearean,

244
00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:13,119
and then he will undercut them
with sort of 20th century sarcasm,

245
00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,039
or you know, screwball comedy lines.

246
00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:20,159
At one point, Katharine Hepburn
says "Hush boy, Mummy is fighting,

247
00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,559
which is the kind of thing that
clearly is very much of our time.

248
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:28,759
So the game is to take a potentially
Shakespearean concept,

249
00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:31,919
mention Shakespeare, pay tribute,
play with his language,

250
00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,759
but also kind of not rip it apart,
it's not a satire,

251
00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,399
it's just playing with it,
it's a playful piece.

252
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:42,599
It always strikes me as a very
unusual variety of historical epic

253
00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:46,079
because it's claustrophobic,
it's incredibly talkie,

254
00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,319
it's about family dynamics.

255
00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,279
They get the kind of big battle
scene over and done with

256
00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:52,679
in the first sequence.

257
00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:54,999
Yes, I mean it's an epic in reverse
in a sense.

258
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,919
A lot of epics will build up to
the climactic violent confrontation.

259
00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:03,239
This film starts with a joust
and a battle on a beach,

260
00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,919
and then actually the scenery gets
closer and closer and closer,

261
00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:11,919
until the final scene really,
is the entire cast in single cellar,

262
00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,319
having the sort of the final
confrontation.

263
00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:16,279
So the space just diminishes

264
00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,679
and the conversations
become ever more important

265
00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:20,159
and that's all they have left,

266
00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:22,639
is the rows that they
have with each other.

267
00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,359
Secretly, Henry has a plan
to disinherit his offspring

268
00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:28,399
and annul his frozen marriage.

269
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,919
But Eleanor is more than
a match for his plotting.

270
00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,999
The question is,
what do they really want?

271
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,879
They may not even know.

272
00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:41,279
Meanwhile, Timothy Dalton plays
Philip II, King of France,

273
00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,519
who has arrived to discuss peace,

274
00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,559
only to be swept up
in the family squabble.

275
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,559
My Lord!

276
00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:55,960
Your Grace!

277
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:58,120
Welcome to Chinon.

278
00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,600
Ah, that's better.

279
00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:16,439
There is the historical perspective
on the complexity of kings

280
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:20,279
choosing their children, between
their children, for who should

281
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:25,239
inherit the throne, and we all know
now of the sort of palace intrigue

282
00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:29,479
story, whether that's in film or on
television, of children and nieces

283
00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,959
and nephews backstabbing one another
in order to get access to power.

284
00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:38,519
And this is a film which very
much trades in this family,

285
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,919
kind of constantly
selling each other out,

286
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,079
for lack of a better way of putting
it, constantly tricking each other,

287
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:49,759
constantly using emotion
as, as a weapon and using

288
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:54,079
emotional blackmail as a weapon,
but then also sometimes there

289
00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,839
being real genuine feeling in what
that, you know, behind that emotion.

290
00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,279
And so it becomes a very complex
game that's being played

291
00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,119
between all of these characters
for succession to the throne.

292
00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:08,919
It also puts the O'Toole character,
Henry II, in the position

293
00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:14,719
of having to give away some of his
power, to accept that he is ageing,

294
00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,359
to accept obsolescence and
that is a real problem for him

295
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:22,039
because he is such a proud,
arrogant man, and he does not want

296
00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:26,399
to give up his power really, and he
is not one to accept his mortality.

297
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,639
Well, what should we hang?

298
00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,519
The holly or each other?

299
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,399
Would you say, Father, that
I have the makings of a king?

300
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:34,759
Splendid king.

301
00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,559
And would you expect me, Father,
to give up without a fight?

302
00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,879
Of course you fight,
I raised you to.

303
00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:41,839
The film is an unusual epic

304
00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,319
in the sense that it's
set in medieval times,

305
00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:48,239
it has an unbelievable
authenticity to it,

306
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:52,839
which means that you don't have a
lot of sort of great shining armour

307
00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:54,919
and knights and God knows what.

308
00:18:54,920 --> 00:19:00,119
It's very, very intimate, and
you get a real sense of what it

309
00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:03,479
must have been like to actually
live in those times.

310
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:09,439
It's fairly sort of grubby, but
and it's obviously incredibly cold,

311
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:13,159
which is something that comes
across very well, so you've got

312
00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:17,999
a sense of discomfort, just personal
discomfort, of all these people.

313
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,519
The great thing about it is that it
also shows these people to be very

314
00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:27,759
articulate and witty, and educated,
as indeed they would have been.

315
00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:32,319
Most previous historical epics
are of course full of cod sort of

316
00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,559
Shakespearean, semi-Shakespearean
language that doesn't ring true.

317
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:41,839
Goldman really nails this,
and so the banter between them all

318
00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:45,839
and the intellectual
sort of manipulation,

319
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:51,039
is not only incredibly interesting
to listen to and very funny,

320
00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:56,319
a great deal of it, but it's also
quite authentic because these people

321
00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,119
at this level, would have had
a very, very good education.

322
00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:05,119
By 1968, Peter O'Toole was 35,
and a complicated star.

323
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:08,399
He was celebrated for the edginess
he found in characters,

324
00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,639
a physical actor
with a penetrating voice.

325
00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:15,999
He had done Hamlet with Olivier,
won hearts as Lawrence of Arabia,

326
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,599
and was born to play soured kings.

327
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:24,359
His Henry II is a man
trapped by duty, titanic ego,

328
00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:29,000
and the buried emotions he might
yet have for his wife and sons.

329
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,559
Peter O'Toole, who is this
incredibly talented and famous actor

330
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,679
at this point, was known for
having been in Lawrence of Arabia,

331
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:41,879
but also for being in Becket in
1964, where he also plays Henry II.

332
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,879
So it's funny that O'Toole should
want to play the same role again,

333
00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,879
but he was personally very drawn
towards the historical figure.

334
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:53,359
He felt that he was witty and
literate, who was capable of

335
00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:58,559
many war-like acts and you know,
decisiveness, but also was somebody

336
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,159
who preferred diplomacy,
if possible, and was very clever.

337
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,479
So O'Toole appreciated the
contradictions of this character,

338
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:09,719
and wanted to return to it, and he
also proved instrumental in choosing

339
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:12,239
a director,
the director Anthony Harvey,

340
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,279
for eventually embarking
on this project.

341
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:19,159
Peter O'Toole is perfect
for the role of Henry II,

342
00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:23,159
yet he was quite a lot younger than
the character, he was 35 playing 50.

343
00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:25,439
But what is it?
What is the meeting of minds here?

344
00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,119
You know, what is it about O'Toole

345
00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:29,919
that makes him fit
this spoiled king?

346
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:34,559
I mean he rises, I think, to this
in a way- if you look at his film

347
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:39,719
career, he has spent a lot of
time playing very beautiful men,

348
00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:42,999
very few beards for a start,
and he's got these cheekbones,

349
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:44,799
I mean if you think
of Lawrence of Arabia,

350
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:46,559
which is a good few years ago,
earlier,

351
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:48,599
he has got these piercing
blue eyes in that film.

352
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,319
David Lean shoots him
as a very beautiful man.

353
00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,239
And "What's New Pussycat?"
he had just been in,

354
00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:55,879
and that was a very, again,
he played a sort of a sixties fop.

355
00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,679
So he's quite often played these
elegant, beautiful people.

356
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:04,359
So to see him don the beard
and the animal skins and to roar

357
00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:07,719
and stomp around the place,
it's a big jump.

358
00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,999
But it's not a big jump
because he's so skilful at it.

359
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,279
He inhabits that role
wholeheartedly.

360
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:16,559
How was your crossing?

361
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,640
Did the channel part for you?

362
00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,719
It went flat when I told it to.

363
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,480
I didn't think to ask for more.

364
00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:41,359
How dear of you to
let me out of jail.

365
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:44,199
Arriving by barge
on the River Rhone,

366
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:47,919
there is no doubt that Katharine
Hepburn is a Hollywood superstar.

367
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:52,359
After Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,
she was flourishing in later career,

368
00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:56,599
finding emotionally fraught roles
that played on her legacy.

369
00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:02,119
Eleanor is a wronged woman set aside
by Henry for a succession of lovers.

370
00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,439
Hepburn's clipped
mid-Atlantic accent,

371
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,519
adds a delicious
self-awareness to the Queen.

372
00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,119
"I am not one of the ones
who gives a damn",

373
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:14,959
she sneers, a line straight
of her forties' heyday.

374
00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,279
Katharine Hepburn,
by the late 1960s,

375
00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,719
had this already remarkable
legacy from her screwball days

376
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,439
in the great comedies opposite Cary
Grant, Bringing Up Baby, et cetera,

377
00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:31,559
in the 1930s, and was hugely
respected as a political,

378
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:37,559
intelligent, sort of self-contained,
and independent woman of that era,

379
00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:43,399
when many of those women from her
kind of contemporary star stable,

380
00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,559
were a little bit more made out
to be glamour girls.

381
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,279
And she, whilst very glamorous
in her youth,

382
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,639
had a certain kind of strength of
character that really shone through,

383
00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:56,439
and I think she had great respect
from all different walks of life.

384
00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,319
Certainly Peter O'Toole

385
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,479
and all the rest of the casting crew
on the set of The Lion in Winter,

386
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,159
to hear tell of it,
were pretty much in awe of her.

387
00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,079
There is no doubt that the
casting of Katharine Hepburn

388
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,919
is absolutely crucial
as Eleanor of Aquitaine.

389
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:16,919
She brings with her, her own
sense of being Hollywood royalty.

390
00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:21,639
She is a veteran now,
she is a survivor,

391
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:25,559
she has survived a- Hepburn herself
of course, survived, you know,

392
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:30,759
the rises and falls and rise
again of a career in Hollywood,

393
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:36,599
much like Eleanor herself, who sort
of rose, fell, rose again finally.

394
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:38,919
So they're both survivors.

395
00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,479
But what I think is really
important is that she can-

396
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,079
she's got the right kind of spirit.

397
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:49,519
She has that indomitable female
spirit that is half masculine,

398
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,919
but she's still a woman.

399
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,519
So she can, you know, she can
argue against Henry with the best-

400
00:24:55,520 --> 00:25:01,519
She's Henry's equal in terms
of just intelligence, and wit.

401
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:06,159
And that's what makes the battle
between them so interesting.

402
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:12,160
It also allows her to show at some
stage, her own vulnerability

403
00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,159
and Hepburn was vulnerable
at the time of the casting,

404
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,559
because she hadn't long lost the
love of her life, Spencer Tracy,

405
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:25,279
and it was Peter O'Toole who had
to persuade her to take this role.

406
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,079
Where is Henry?
Upstairs with the family at home.

407
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,599
That's a mean and tawdry
way to talk about your fiancee.

408
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:32,719
My fiancee.

409
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:36,119
Whosever fiancee, I brought her up
and she is dear to me and gentle.

410
00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:39,239
He still plans to make John king.
Of course he does.

411
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:41,639
My, what a greedy
little trinity you are.

412
00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:43,359
King, king, king.

413
00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:45,679
Two of you must learn to
live with disappointment.

414
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:47,119
Ah, but which two?

415
00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,359
Next to nigh them
all and live forever.

416
00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,399
Tusk to tusk through all eternity.

417
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,959
In only his second film,
Anthony Hopkins demonstrates

418
00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,039
the intensity that has
marked out his career.

419
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,039
As the story has it,
constant soldier Richard,

420
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:06,199
is a guarded homosexual, desperate
for his father's attention.

421
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,359
John Castle gives
the most intriguing performance

422
00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:11,119
as discounted Geoffrey,

423
00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:15,239
a young man made of wheels
and gears as his father puts it.

424
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,799
Nigel Terry's guileless John
is clearly the wrong choice.

425
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,359
A whingeing brat,
desperate for his inheritance.

426
00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:26,879
Richard, played by Anthony Hopkins,
is obviously the warrior, and he's

427
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:32,039
obviously the man who loves going
to war and fighting in battles.

428
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,759
You see him at the beginning
having a duel with somebody,

429
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,959
and he's about to sort of kill him,

430
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,799
and it's not actually supposed
to be a lethal battle,

431
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,119
but you see his face and you
realise that he could be psychotic.

432
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:48,599
I mean his face is sort
of like frenzied with bloodlust,

433
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:50,999
and you think, whoops, he's a
guy you want to keep an eye on.

434
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,239
Geoffrey, the second one,
John Castle, is the most mysterious,

435
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:59,439
because he's the one that you
can't read, he's obviously clever,

436
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:04,439
he's obviously sort of slightly
sidelined by the other two,

437
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,719
being the middle brother, but you
can tell just through his eyes,

438
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:10,919
that he's constantly scheming,

439
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:14,959
that he will, you know,
he will scheme and plot

440
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,479
and it doesn't matter who with, as
long as it will be to his advantage.

441
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:19,960
He's a total strategist.

442
00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:25,239
John, played by Nigel Terry,
is a bit oafish,

443
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,799
probably a little too oafish.

444
00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:33,560
But the three of them naturally
form this kind of little cabal.

445
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,479
Weirdly enough,
that sets up a tension,

446
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,599
not just between the three of them,

447
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,799
but also between them
and their parents.

448
00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:46,039
And I think that's real smart work.
I think that's very, very clever.

449
00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:49,119
A nation is a human thing,
it does what we do for our reasons.

450
00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:51,559
Surely if we're civilised,
we can put away the knives,

451
00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:52,680
we can make peace?

452
00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:55,199
We have it in our hands.

453
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,159
I have tutors of my own.

454
00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,399
- Will that be all?
- Oh, think.

455
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:00,799
You came here for a reason.

456
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:02,719
Don't you want to ask me
if I've got an offer?

457
00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,079
Have you got an offer?
Not yet, but I'll think of one.

458
00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:06,080
Oh, by the way,

459
00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:11,200
you're better at this
than I thought you would be.

460
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:13,840
I wasn't sure you'd noticed.

461
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:19,279
Timothy Dalton is such a revelation
and a surprise in this film.

462
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:22,839
When he turns up, he's the new king
of France, his father has passed,

463
00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,599
he's young, he looks young,
he's this very pretty,

464
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,519
almost teenage looking young man,

465
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,439
and he keeps being called
boy and lad, and given advice

466
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:38,319
by the much older King Henry
and this infuriates him to no end.

467
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:43,759
So it's a, you know, there's no love
lost here between these two rulers,

468
00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,519
and Henry, because he has
such large holdings of land

469
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:52,319
across all of France, has far
more power than young King Philip.

470
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,879
So Philip is keen to get
the upper hand wherever he can.

471
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,879
This is a study of the mind games
played between all the characters.

472
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:03,439
And the acting is boldly dramatic,
to match the occasion,

473
00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:06,239
often to the point of hysteria.

474
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,719
The voluble chemistry between
the leads was helped by the fact

475
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,599
that O'Toole and Hepburn,
were close friends.

476
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,359
They are clearly thrilling

477
00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:17,439
to the dance of this love-hate
relationship.

478
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,039
Now we should, before we get
into the actors themselves,

479
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:21,839
we should talk about acting.

480
00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:24,479
Because I imagine modern
audiences might look at it

481
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,359
and think this is over the top,
this is too much, everybody is

482
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:31,719
shouting, everyone is collapsing in
a heap, there's a lot of hysteria.

483
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,359
But to my mind, it's a particular
skill, this kind of theatricality,

484
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,440
this kind of power that it has,
and the actors really go for it.

485
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,959
Yes, and I think partly perhaps
because of the scenery,

486
00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:49,879
it's shot on location in, well
a castle-style abbey in France,

487
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:54,039
and then they reconstruct
that in the studio as well.

488
00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:59,919
The backdrop is vast and stone,
so in a way, the backdrop absorbs

489
00:29:59,920 --> 00:30:03,719
some of the excessive drama
of the actors, and you don't

490
00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:08,279
feel quite as much as if you're
watching an over-the-top episode

491
00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,919
of a TV programme where people
are blasting away over-loudly.

492
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:14,639
You know, they are bearded
and they are shouting "Boy!"

493
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,399
But it doesn't-
it just manages to stay

494
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:21,079
within what I think is a fully
acceptable modern film.

495
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,239
They, partly because they,

496
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:28,479
they slide very quickly
into very close, very small,

497
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:32,679
very despairing emotions,
loving emotions, moments of silence.

498
00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:36,399
So it's not as if the whole thing
is performed at the bluster

499
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:40,799
and, you know, corny sort of take
on what a medieval epic would be,

500
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,279
they are able to move
into these very tight,

501
00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:46,919
very intimate performances,
almost on the turn of a heel.

502
00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:51,719
Filmed in Ireland, Wales, and at
the Abbaye de Montmajou in France,

503
00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:54,119
the look is wonderfully evocative.

504
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,359
The use of natural light
and shadows,

505
00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:02,319
the flickering candles, and how the
walls bear down upon the characters.

506
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:06,479
It may be the most claustrophobic
epic ever made.

507
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:09,919
The director escapes
the script's theatrical roots,

508
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:12,039
via astonishing close-ups.

509
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:16,680
Eyes are a central motif,
gateways to troubled souls.

510
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,119
The studios
were in Ardmore in Ireland,

511
00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:25,679
but the film locations
were in Wales, and France,

512
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,399
and especially Carcassonne, so
anywhere that there was sort of mid-

513
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,799
still had sort of medieval
looking places and walls,

514
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,279
so he went around a bit.

515
00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,919
I think that's probably what
gives it its great, its great

516
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:42,879
sense of atmosphere and history,
without sort of overdoing it.

517
00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:44,599
They didn't have to build
too many sets,

518
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:47,599
all the interiors are done,
but that's fine, they're all

519
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:51,319
sort of stone corridors and walls
and steps and things like that.

520
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,919
But the exteriors
are the real thing.

521
00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:58,519
So I think the whole design of
the film and the way that it was

522
00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:02,879
sort of, they, the actors use
those sets, is very important.

523
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:06,959
It all adds to the idea that
you are in a different world,

524
00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:08,639
you're in a different era.

525
00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:11,479
There is nothing fake about it.

526
00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,919
I mean you know, the fact
that you've got live animals

527
00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:16,359
running around all over the place.

528
00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:18,479
When King Henry
sort of walks into the market place,

529
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,479
he kicks a couple of chickens
out of the way.

530
00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,639
And there's even in the corner,
there is a bear, a real bear,

531
00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:24,759
who is being fed.

532
00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:27,679
It's obviously one
of the bear-baiting you know, bears,

533
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:29,359
but he seems to be perfectly happy.

534
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:32,079
And you think God, this is a tiny
little detail, I mean you can hardly

535
00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:35,719
see it, but it's there, and I think
that that's what's important.

536
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:39,479
It gives the idea that this is,
this is life as it really was.

537
00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:43,279
Costumes by Margaret Furse
deserve special mention.

538
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:46,679
The characters are robed
in their personalities.

539
00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:52,079
Eleanor in regal colours, but
confining her like a nun's habit.

540
00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:57,560
Henry in a drab peasant tunic, as if
rejecting his very station as king.

541
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:02,959
Richard with hints of armour,
Geoffrey in featureless robes,

542
00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,879
and John an unkempt street urchin.

543
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:09,039
And Philip as dapper as a peacock.

544
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:12,279
Meanwhile,
John Barry's glorious fanfares

545
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,359
remind us that this
is royalty at war.

546
00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:18,399
The costuming of The Lion in
Winter, is really important,

547
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,439
not only in the fact of Peter
O'Toole's costuming being rather

548
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:25,759
understated, or the John character,
the youngest son, looking you know,

549
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:30,279
kind of scruffy and like a peasant,
and Anthony Hopkins with typical,

550
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:34,919
the typical wit, of the screenplay,
calling him a walking pustule.

551
00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,079
There is a real kind of
earthiness to a lot of it,

552
00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:39,639
but then on the flip side,

553
00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:42,879
you get the way that Furse
dresses Katharine Hepburn.

554
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:48,599
And Eleanor of Aquitaine, in spite
of her kind of imprisonment,

555
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,919
is somebody who commands
great dignity,

556
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:53,839
and you see that in
her sweeping clothes.

557
00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:57,279
There's a beautiful red dress
that she wears,

558
00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:01,839
and all this jewellery that she
kind of almost plays dress up with

559
00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:06,519
because she's confined and bored and
left to her own devices, and lonely,

560
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:10,359
and sort of thinking about the past
and what she's achieved within it.

561
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,079
And she's looking at her crown,

562
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:14,479
she's looking at all
of her grand jewels,

563
00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:17,959
and so the role of costuming
and jewellery

564
00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:19,719
to the Eleanor of Aquitaine
character,

565
00:34:19,720 --> 00:34:22,799
I think, is particularly important
because she's still so queenly,

566
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:26,759
in spite of her being in
this marginalised position.

567
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:29,880
Ah. There you are.

568
00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:35,320
My comfort, and my company.

569
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:40,640
We're locked in for another year.

570
00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:46,080
Four seasons more.

571
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,000
What a desolation.

572
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:56,080
What a life's work.

573
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,239
There is something
of Edgar Allan Poe's House of Usher

574
00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:40,319
in The Lion in Winter's
warped family dynamics.

575
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:44,919
It is the story of the ruin parents
can bring upon their children.

576
00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:48,959
It is about language,
power, and manipulation,

577
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:52,159
and finally,
about the turmoil of love.

578
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:56,079
The film is seeking to grasp
what this raging couple actually

579
00:35:56,080 --> 00:36:01,159
mean to one another, ending on
the delightfully light-hearted note.

580
00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:04,879
"You will let me out for Easter,"
urges Eleanor,

581
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:08,040
as if all this was simply
a family tradition.

582
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:13,959
Now one thing theatre can't do
that movies can, is the close-up.

583
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,319
And you've mentioned how
good the close-ups were,

584
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:19,559
but what do they give this film,
the idea of studying faces?

585
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,799
Well there's
a lot of silence in this film.

586
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:27,319
Even though it's people speak loudly
and powerfully,

587
00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,039
there's an awful lot of silence,
and this is one of the things

588
00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:32,759
I'm sure we'll come onto the score,
one of the things about the score

589
00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,759
is it's absent, critically, for
very, very long periods of time.

590
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:37,799
There will be periods of time
where all you have

591
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:41,759
is a close-up on a face,
reacting to what they're observing,

592
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:44,159
or to what they are understanding
to be true.

593
00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:48,359
There's quite a lot of people
understanding something and weeping,

594
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:50,839
but not because they're
obviously royal family,

595
00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:53,839
not bursting into tears, there's
just the tears pouring from their

596
00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:57,439
eyes as yet another of their great
dreams and hopes has been dashed.

597
00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,079
And these are, these are moments
where the camera just stays

598
00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:03,519
painfully long on faces.

599
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:05,759
They rehearsed a long time.

600
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:09,799
So he would get the cast
to go through the scene,

601
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:10,999
go through the scene,

602
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,839
and then he would plot out where
the camera would be, to make sure

603
00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:17,119
that he would get the faces, and
hold them for as long as possible.

604
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:20,919
There is one 11-minute sequence
where the camera only cuts twice,

605
00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:23,519
and the final cut
is at the end when he,

606
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:25,919
when the camera leads them
downstairs.

607
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,679
But most of the time, there
can be quite, can be long,

608
00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:31,999
single shots, and you don't even
notice they're long, single shots,

609
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:33,919
because the passion
and the drama on screen,

610
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:36,000
you don't need to cut away from it.

611
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:38,919
Following the events of the film,

612
00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:42,759
Henry had to deal with yet another
revolt, which he lost, and so he

613
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:46,999
basically retired to a castle,
and spent his last days there.

614
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,919
He died about two years later.

615
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:54,319
Eleanor actually was freed
from her incarceration.

616
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,039
Eleanor of Aquitaine got her wish.

617
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,479
Her son Richard,
ascended to the throne

618
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:00,799
and became known as
Richard the Lionheart.

619
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,719
However, he left on the Crusades,
and did not return,

620
00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:08,199
so his youngest brother, John,

621
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:11,439
who in the film is very much
the idiot son,

622
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:13,959
then becomes King John,

623
00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:16,839
and he is actually the famous
King John of Robin Hood.

624
00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:21,199
So we see the, the line go forward,

625
00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:24,559
and it's very interesting to me
that Eleanor of Aquitaine,

626
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:29,159
not only outlives her husband,

627
00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:31,119
but then outlives her imprisonment.

628
00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:32,439
She is freed upon his death

629
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:35,799
and gets to return to the corridors
of power in many ways.

630
00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:39,479
So it does feel, as great
as Peter O'Toole is in the film,

631
00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:43,239
that history shows that he was
bested in some ways, by Eleanor.

632
00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:46,399
The Lion in Winter would be
a great success both critically

633
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:47,879
and at the Box Office.

634
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:51,479
It would be nominated for seven
Oscars, including Best Film,

635
00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:52,999
and Best Director.

636
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:57,039
Goldman would rightly win
for Best Adapted Screenplay,

637
00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:01,679
and Hepburn would receive her
third Oscar for Best Actress.

638
00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:04,359
Eleanor is one of
the great achievements

639
00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:06,239
of an extraordinary career,

640
00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:09,919
standing out in a film
that is all performance.

641
00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:12,559
How do we now look back on
The Lion in Winter?

642
00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:14,119
Why has it lasted so long?

643
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:15,959
I think it's lasted so long

644
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:19,839
partly because its quality
was so impressive,

645
00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:22,239
that Hollywood has
never forgotten it.

646
00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:24,839
So you will find,
for instance in the West Wing,

647
00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:29,879
they are constantly
referencing that Bartlett,

648
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:31,999
that's his favourite film, and he,

649
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,759
they just, you know, there
are these teaser lines about

650
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:37,679
The Lion in Winter as being the best
way to understand the presidency.

651
00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:40,799
Succession really, is of course
essentially The Lion in Winter,

652
00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:43,479
but without the level of cunning
and manipulation, you know,

653
00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:44,879
the kids are not as clever.

654
00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:46,999
They're wimpy compared
- to Lion in Winter.
- Yeah.

655
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:48,439
There are so many of those films.

656
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,719
I mean Game of Thrones is
essentially this film just

657
00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:52,479
played out over a long period
of time.

658
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,279
They have been constantly going
back to and referring to this idea,

659
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:57,839
and what happens if you
take this struggle for power

660
00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,439
and you play it out
in a contemporary era.

661
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:03,639
So it's changed-
it changes our understanding

662
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:06,439
of what it is to be powerful.

663
00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:08,639
It takes the medieval concept
of power,

664
00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:10,559
and it makes it
completely accessible.

665
00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:11,999
But it still holds back

666
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:15,279
because we are talking about
absolute power of life and death.

667
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,919
And so every time someone sets
out on another project to discuss

668
00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,239
the power of life and death, they
will back-reference Lion in Winter,

669
00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:26,159
and you'll see it in almost any film
in which there is someone who is

670
00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:29,879
with, unless it's a pastiche or it's
poorly written, someone desperately

671
00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:33,639
trying to engage with the concept
of how you would struggle for power.

672
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:37,759
There's The Lion in Winter
somewhere, it's an eternal film.

673
00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:42,119
It's a gangster movie, it's a,
it's a space epic, it's just,

674
00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:45,639
it's the story that Hollywood
constantly back-references.

675
00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:50,799
But also I think you could almost
say that it's the first film

676
00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:55,919
that makes us as a viewing public,
think our royal family,

677
00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:59,239
they are like us,
they are human beings too.

678
00:40:59,240 --> 00:41:02,119
It comes at that point in
the sixties where there's

679
00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:05,079
a beginning of a breakdown of
a certain kind of deference,

680
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:08,719
and that's when we start to think
about our rulers as the British

681
00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:12,199
and the Americans start to think
about our rulers and say well maybe

682
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:15,119
they're not born to rule, maybe
they're not destined to be elected.

683
00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,159
Maybe all these people
are just like us.

684
00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:20,439
So it's part of a social change
as well as a filmic change.

685
00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:25,519
And so therefore it echoes on and on
and on and on, just that one movie.

686
00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:29,199
The thing, the ripples it
sets up, are still going.

687
00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:31,439
The legacy of The Lion in Winter,

688
00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:35,679
is that all subsequent historical
films,

689
00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:40,079
could not get away with
sloppy historical detail.

690
00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:42,559
They needed to be slightly
more forensic,

691
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:45,399
they needed to be slightly
more authoritative.

692
00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:51,400
Also, they, it showed that you
could put two older stars together

693
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:54,319
and make it Box Office.

694
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:58,799
In fact, this went on to say Richard
Leicester's Robin and Marian,

695
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:02,039
where you had an ageing Sean Connery
and Audrey Hepburn,

696
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:03,559
and they were wonderful,

697
00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:06,199
also written as it happens,
by James Goldman.

698
00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:11,999
So this gave, it sort of
opened up the idea of films,

699
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:16,319
historical films that were
A, not boring, B, very witty,

700
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:22,320
and incisive, C, funny,
and yet still authentic.

701
00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:27,959
So the legacy of The Lion in Winter
was, was kind of huge immediately,

702
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:30,519
it was a great success
internationally, it was nominated

703
00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:35,399
for all of these Oscars, and rightly
celebrated for its performances.

704
00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:39,759
It is a film that I think maybe
younger viewers might hesitate to

705
00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:43,479
come to because if you look it
up and you see that it's about

706
00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:48,479
the political complications of
choosing a king in 12th century

707
00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:53,079
England and France, that seems
intimidating, or maybe a bit stodgy.

708
00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:57,959
But if you watch Jesse Armstrong's
TV show Succession,

709
00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:02,959
and you like the talkie,
complicated, nasty, funny characters

710
00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:06,639
of that show, then you should look
no further than The Lion in Winter

711
00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:08,639
as one of its huge influences.

712
00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:12,719
There's a beauty, isn't there,
because finally it's about a man

713
00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:15,919
who realises he can't,
whatever the power play may be,

714
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:20,079
he can't kill his son, he can't
destroy- he loves his family.

715
00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:22,879
Although he's driving him mad,
he loves them.

716
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:26,319
And also, he realises it's
his fault, that's the thing,

717
00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:30,959
is that he, at the end,
he realises what he's done.

718
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:33,799
It's not quite that he ever says
anything as obvious as, "Oh my God,

719
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:35,679
what have I done,
what has my life become,

720
00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:37,119
what have I done with my life?"

721
00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:43,080
But we have this story constantly
told that the person in a position,

722
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:46,799
who looks back on what they've done
with their life, and they realise

723
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:49,439
that they've just
done everything wrong.

724
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:52,679
It's Arthur Miller, you know,
it's so many writers

725
00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:55,799
trying to explore the idea
that at that moment in your life

726
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:59,959
where you look back and you realise
you have broken everything good.

727
00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:02,919
And that's, that's a story
that we never tire of.

728
00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:06,919
Television drama Succession has
nothing on The Lion in Winter.

729
00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:10,199
What is so powerful,
is the unshakeable humanity

730
00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:14,160
that runs through it, and how
wholly entertaining it remains.

731
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,279
This glorious film invites us

732
00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:22,359
into a visceral and witty
psychological battleground that

733
00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:25,079
few other films have even dared.

734
00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:32,639
You'll let me out for Easter?

735
00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:36,359
Come the Resurrection,
you can strike me down again.

736
00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:38,359
Perhaps next time I'll do it.

737
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:39,760
And perhaps you won't.

738
00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:47,360
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