My favorite movie of all time is 1968's The Lion in Winter, staring Peter O'toole and Katherine Hepburn in the lead roles of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. When I heard several years ago that a new version was being made with Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close in the lead roles, I was both nervous and anxious. In interviews, Stewart spoke of this as a pet project of his and there was obviously a lot of love on his part going into it. So how did he and his fellow actors do? I'll get to that in a moment.
First, let me lay out the basic plot: The year is 1183 and Christmas is coming. King Henry II of England is having a Christmas court at Chinon Castle and has invited his three sons, his wife and the new King of France to join him. Earlier in the year, his eldest son Henry died in an accident and now the King has to decide upon a new heir. King Henry favors his youngest John, who nearly everyone else regards as an immature fool. Queen Eleanor, who has been imprisoned for the past ten years for staging a revolt against her husband, favors older and more experienced Richard. When they all finally converge, it will be a very bitter family reunion.
Chief amongst the reasons for this being my favorite film is the dialogue. It is sharp, smart, funny and incredibly quotable. It ranks equally with "All about Eve" in terms of great scripts. Given this, shouldn't the new film work just as well as the old one? Well, yes and no. The interpretations are different and this is sometimes good and sometimes bad. The best way to break this down is to take the seven principle characters and compare the two performances of each:
King Henry II (Peter O'toole and Patrick Stewart): It was Stewart's idea to do the remake so he coproduced the film. His love for the material motivated him, so as a fellow fan I applaud him for it. Still, I have to say that he may be the weakest performance of the new film. As good as Stewart is in general, he has a tough task in creating something as memorable as O'toole in the original. O'toole as Henry is a force of nature. He yells and growls and proves himself the Lion of the title, even though he has just reached 50 and is in his "winter" years. Stewart is too reserved and there is not enough of the passion in his performance. Perhaps after playing Jean Luc Picard for so long, this is the only way he can play a leader of men. The biggest comparison to make is Henry's "My life when it is written" speech to his three sons. O'toole speaks it slowly and softly and builds it to a crying yell which conveys his being torn apart inside. Stewart starts softly and build to sternness, as if the boys were simply very naughty, but really never treats the betrayals as anything more than an irritating inconvenience.
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Article comments
1 - JC
I have seen both versions of the movie and quite enjoyed your review. First of all, i completely agree with you when you say that King Henry's performance in the latter film was very disappointing. He lacked the conviction behind his words, he lacked great passion. Secondly, i agree with your opinion about Geoffery and his improvement. I do, though, highly disagree with you on the issue of King Phillip, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers of whome i believe pulled off a brilliant performance and should have been commended for it. I don't know how you came to the conclusion that he was not believable at all, in fact im clueless. Perhaps you could write to me, and explore with me further your reasons for which you so cruelly put down JRM. My favourite part in the film, i have to say, was the scene in which King Phillip plotted with each of the Princes. This is, of course where i was most amazed by his show of talent. Don't you agree???? Reply, enlighten me!!!!!
2 - Alonzo Mosley (FBI)
It's interesting. This review is a slightly edited version of one I did for my own blog last year, but I didn't catch the comment I made about JRM on my recent re-editing.
I said "Rhys-Meyers comes off as more of a boy than Dalton", and I can see how this is a kind of silly comment in the context of the film. The very first exchange between Henry and Philip concerns Henry's testing of how mature Philip has truly become. "You're still a boy", Henry says later, and he thinks he still has the upper hand, until curtains get drawn open and Henry's world falls apart.
So the statement of JRM being more of a boy doesn't make much sense when critiquing his performance. His appearance is supposed to be one you can't put a finger on. Is he still a boy, or has he become a shrewd grown up indeed?
I think the point I was trying to get across at the time (and I'd have to rewatch the remake as I haven't looked at it since I did the review) is that while Dalton's steel that emerged seemed from a person who had learned the savagery of political manuvering, JRM's apparent reaction was that of a kid who has pulled one wing off a fly and then watches him struggle to get airborn again.
Of course, you could make the argument that there's scarce difference between the two.
JRM is a talented actor (I've seen him in "Bend it Like Beckham" and "Titus", but missed the recent Elvis bio) and his performance is good, but I just think Dalton is a little bit better. Again, it could be my love of the original speaking, but it's hard to separate myself from that.
3 - Alonzo Mosley (FBI)
And on a compltely unrelated note, I find it highly amusing that Google Ads has apparently picked up on the names of John Castle and Patrick Stewart and has in turn produced an ad for the John Stewart book, "America".
To paraphrase Daria Morgendorffer, "There is no sadder sight on this earth, than an ad generator trying to think."
4 - Nancy
The historical personages were larger-than-life, and so, IMO, were the actors portraying them in the '68 film. I'll never forget Katherine/Eleanor playing with her necklace and saying, "perhaps I'll hang you from the nipples...but that would shock the children". Her acid & mocking tones played off wonderfully well against O'Toole. I had forgotten Hopkins was in that; a stunning performer even way back then. Who knew? I'll have to check both versions out this weekend and watch them both. Thanks for reminding me of an old favorite!