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IMDbPro

The Lion in Winter

  • 19681968
  • PGPG
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
32K
YOUR RATING
Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter (1968)
Trailer for The Lion in Winter
Play trailer2:46
3 Videos
99+ Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they... Read all1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
32K
YOUR RATING
    • Anthony Harvey
    • James Goldman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Peter O'Toole
    • Katharine Hepburn
    • Anthony Hopkins
    • Anthony Harvey
    • James Goldman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Peter O'Toole
    • Katharine Hepburn
    • Anthony Hopkins
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 205User reviews
    • 77Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 3 Oscars

    Videos3

    The Lion in Winter
    Trailer 2:46
    Watch The Lion in Winter
    The Lion in Winter
    Trailer 3:18
    Watch The Lion in Winter
    The Lion in Winter - 4K Restoration Trailer
    Trailer 2:45
    Watch The Lion in Winter - 4K Restoration Trailer

    Photos158

    Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Peter O'Toole and Nigel Terry in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, and Jane Merrow in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Peter O'Toole, and Jane Merrow in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Jane Merrow in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Peter O'Toole and Jane Merrow in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Anthony Hopkins and Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Peter O'Toole and Timothy Dalton in The Lion in Winter (1968)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Peter O'Toole
    Peter O'Toole
    • Henry II
    Katharine Hepburn
    Katharine Hepburn
    • Eleanor of Aquitaine
    Anthony Hopkins
    Anthony Hopkins
    • Richard
    John Castle
    John Castle
    • Geoffrey
    Nigel Terry
    Nigel Terry
    • John
    Timothy Dalton
    Timothy Dalton
    • Philip II
    Jane Merrow
    Jane Merrow
    • Alais
    Nigel Stock
    Nigel Stock
    • William Marshal
    Kenneth Ives
    • Queen Eleanor's Guard
    O.Z. Whitehead
    O.Z. Whitehead
    • Bishop of Durham
    Fran Stafford
    • Lady in Waiting
    Ella More
    • Lady in Waiting
    Kenneth Griffith
    Kenneth Griffith
    • Strolling Player
    Henry Woolf
    Henry Woolf
    • Strolling Player
    Karol Hagar
    • Strolling Player
    David Griffith
    • Strolling Player
    • (as Mark Griffith)
      • Anthony Harvey
      • James Goldman(screenplay) (play "The Lion in Winter")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Katharine Hepburn bested Peter O'Toole as the top dog on the set. Known to be something of a tyrant on most of his shoots, O'Toole meekly obliged, when she told him, "Peter, stop towering over me. Come and sit down and try to look respectable." O'Toole readily admitted in her presence that she reduced him "to a shadow of my former gay-dog self. She is terrifying. It is sheer masochism working with her. She has been sent by some dark fate to nag and torment me." Her reply: "Don't be so silly. We are going to get on very well. You are Irish, and you make me laugh. In any case, I am on to you, and you to me."
    • Goofs
      Christmas trees were a somewhat obscure German tradition, not used by the English royal family until 1800, and not commonly decorated in English homes until the introduction of this custom by Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert in the 1840s. Even the concept of decorating with glass balls was unknown to the Germans until long after the 1180s when this film is set.
    • Quotes

      John: A knife! He's got a knife!

      Eleanor of Aquitaine: Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It's 1183 and we're barbarians! How clear we make it. Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war: not history's forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor any other thing. We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it like syphilis inside. Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten. For the love of God, can't we love one another just a little - that's how peace begins. We have so much to love each other for. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world.

    • Alternate versions
      A 70mm version was released in Australia in 1969, and in the UK in 1973.
    • Connections
      Featured in Precious Images (1986)

    User reviews205

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    More TRUE than a factual documentary could accomplish
    It's been eight years since I first saw this movie, and it is still my personal live-action gold standard (Lilo & Stitch being my animated film gold-standard). It combines drama, tragedy, razor-sharp comedy, great performances, and the best dialogue that has ever been spoken on film, period.

    I found this movie quite by accident--I was a sixteen-year-old with a Katharine Hepburn fixation. She mesmerized me; I wanted to BE her--smart, beautiful, sexy, and unwilling and unable to take anything off of anybody (except for Spencer Tracy, but that's another story). Honestly, I had no idea that there really had been such a person as Eleanor until I saw this movie. After watching my heroine portray her, I was determined to find out, though...so I have Katharine Hepburn to thank for my discovery of a new personal hero, and for my passion for medieval history.

    It is true that this movie is not 100% factually accurate, not only because movie making dictates tinkering with history to create an interesting film, but also because, unfortunately, not too much is known about Eleanor herself. In the middle ages, women, even powerful, intriguing women like Eleanor, were not considered "important" enough to merit full biographical treatment. Most of Eleanor's history is recorded in the context of her sons and husbands. A good deal of this history was written by her detractors--people who disliked or disapproved of her for one reason or another. The simple explanation is that they felt that as a woman, she overstepped the bounds of what was considered "acceptable behavior" for a woman of the period.

    That being said, this movie is 100% spiritually accurate. It perfectly captures the intrigue, the complexity of emotions and relationships, and tone of the age and the situation at hand. Though the sharp and witty dialogue is often considered a historical anachronism, this is not strictly true. Contrary to popular belief, people WERE educated in the middle ages, even women, if they were fortunate enough to be brought up in noble households, as Eleanor was. She was a brilliant woman, raised in a household where poetry and intelligent conversation were staples (her grandfather, after all, was one of the first troubadours). Henry was an intellectual powerhouse as well--he was a voracious reader who was often caught reading in church instead of paying attention to the sermons! It is unthinkable that these two minds would have produced stupid children, and the notion that the entire family should have only spoken in grunts and simple phrases is equally ludicrous.

    Though not historically accurate, as other reviewers have noted, the strength of this movie lies in it's perfect portrayal of some of the most fascinating and complex personalities in recorded history. Henry, Eleanor, Richard, et al., make today's political and royal figures seem like low-rent bumbling hucksters.
    helpful•97
    15
    • mazonis
    • Dec 7, 2002

    FAQ6

    • What is 'The Lion in Winter' about?
    • Is 'The Lion in Winter' based on a book?
    • Where is Aquitaine?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 30, 1968 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • English
      • French
      • Latin
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Abbaye de Montmajour, Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
    • Production company
      • Haworth Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 14 minutes

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