History Film / TheLionInWinter

[[redirect:Theatre:TheLionInWinter]]

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheLionInWinter_7349.jpg]]
->'''Eleanor:''' Out Eleanor... in Alais. Why?\\
'''Henry:''' A new wife, wife, will bear me sons.\\
'''Eleanor:''' ''That'' is the single thing of which I would have thought you had ''enough''.

->'''Henry:''' What shall we hang, the holly or each other?

A 1966 play written by James Goldman (adapted for film two years later) about the troubles in the family of [[TheHouseOfPlantagenet Henry II of England]] and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The 1968 movie and its acting got high acclaim. Creator/KatharineHepburn went on to win an Oscar for her role as Eleanor. It was also the film debut of Timothy Dalton and AnthonyHopkins, who would later go onto fame as JamesBond and [[SilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]], respectively. PeterOToole, who played Henry, also played the role in the earlier film ''Becket'', which many consider an unofficial prequel to this film. In 2003, it was adapted again for TV, with PatrickStewart and Glenn Close.

All of Henry's three sons aspire to be king. Both he and his wife favour a different son and since she has instigated rebellion against him before, Henry had her locked up. This experience hasn't dampened her spirit and when this lovely family goes to celebrate Christmas with the French king, the power play begins in earnest.
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!!''TheLionInWinter'' provides examples of:

* ArrangedMarriage
* BelligerentSexualTension: An astounding amount between Henry and Eleanor.
* BlackVikings: In the 1999 Broadway revival of the play, African-American actors LaurenceFishburne and Chuma Hunter-Gault were cast as Henry and Richard, respectively. The actors who played Eleanor, Geoffrey and John were white.
* BloodlessCarnage: Only one character is actually killed on screen in the 1968 film: [[spoiler: The guard outside the cellar where Henry's sons are locked in.]] Despite the lack of blood, the scene is brutal and disturbing.
* ButtMonkey: [[BadKingJohn John]]. [[TruthInTelevision Historical in that as the youngest son]] he'd traditionally inherit the least (hence the real-life nickname of "Lackland"). Made painful in this telling because Henry's attempts to favor him over Richard and Geoff have turned John into a clueless spoiled brat.
-->'''John''': Who says poor John? Don't everybody sob at once! My God, if I went up in flames there's not a living soul who'd pee on me to put the fire out!
-->'''Richard''': Let's strike a flint and see!
* CheshireCatGrin: Eleanor.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Geoffrey, even more than the others.
* CueTheFlyingPigs: "There'll be pork in the treetops come morning"
* CurtainCamouflage: Taken up to eleven when Philip hides multiple people behind multiple hangings. His lampshading of it is the trope's page quote.
* DawsonCasting: A rare inversion, as Peter O'Toole was 36 when the movie came out. His character claims to be 50. (In contrast, Katherine Hepburn was in her sixties at that time.)
* DeadlyDecadentCourt
* DeadpanSnarker: Henry, Eleanor and Geoffrey have honed their sarcasm into fine-cutting weapons. Philip and Richard aren't as clever with words but can give as well as they can take. If you're John and Alais, you can't keep up.
* DefiantToTheEnd: "When the fall is all there is, it matters."
* DidIMentionItsChristmas
* DuelingStarsMovie: Two of Hollywood's best.
* DysfunctionalFamily: You think?
* EvilMatriarch
* ExactEavesdropping: Subverted: [[spoiler:Philip made more and more people hide behind a curtain and then exposed things with every newcomer, while also showing the latest curtain-inhabitant that he was overheard himself. (Good job if you understood that sentence after reading it only once!).]]
* FamilyDisunion
* GambitPileup: Pretty much every character is running one, and it's complicated by the fact that Henry, Eleanor, Geoffrey and Philip are particularly capable of XanatosSpeedChess.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: when it's Eleanor of Aquitaine, a Real-Life ChessMaster and trouble-maker...
* GoodIsBoring: What makes this movie so interesting is that none of them claim to be this.
* GoodFeelsGood: Henry claims that, since he hasn't been to war in years, he's learned "how good it is to write a law, or make a tax more fair."
* GreyAndGrayMorality: None of the characters are particularly decent people, especially towards each other. [[spoiler: And their plotting can actually get other people killed]].
* HamToHamCombat: When Henry and Eleanor put away the [[SnarkToSnarkCombat Snark Daggers]] and break out the Ham Cannons, there may as well be no-one else in the room.
* HeyItsThatGuy: [[BringingUpBaby Susan Vance]] is married to [[{{Pixar}} Anton Ego]], the king of England.
** And their son [[SilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]] is sleeping with the king of France, JamesBond.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The [[TheHouseOfPlantagenet main characters]], including RichardTheLionHeart.
** Katherine Hepburn is a descendant of Eleanor of Aquitaine - not only through Eleanor's marriage to Henry II but also Eleanor's earlier marriage to the French King Louis VII.
* IHaveNoSon: Henry saying this to his three sons upon learning they were plotting against him.
* IKnowYouKnowIKnow "I know. You know I know. I know you know I know. We know Henry knows and Henry knows we know it. We're a knowledgeable family." Just so you know.
* InTheBack: Or perhaps, better said, 'in the front', since everybody is quite honest about wanting to deceive each other.
* JacobAndEsau
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: They are, but despite the constant bickering, it's clear Henry and Eleanor still have feelings for each other.
* MiddleChildSyndrome: Geoffrey is a painfully pure example of this trope.
-->'''Geoffrey''': It's not the power I feel deprived of... ''it's the mention I miss''. There's no affection for me here: You wouldn't think I'd want that, would you?
* MommasBoy: Richard as a child. Not any more now that he's grown up, though.
* MoodWhiplash: Like crazy. Generally from laugh-out-loud funny to crushing tragedy in the course of just a few lines.
* MyBelovedSmother
* OedipusComplex: Richard probably has one of the worst cases in all of history.
* OneLiner: Many, so many.
* ParentalFavoritism: They're very blatant about it and a major driving force in the plot.
* ThePawn: Alais, as she says so herself. She claims that because of this, she has nothing to lose.
* PlayingGertrude: A male version of this, as Peter O'Toole is only five years older than Anthony Hopkins.
* PsychoticSmirk: Geoffrey has a rather good one.
* QueerRomance: [[spoiler: Philip and Richard.]]
* RequisiteRoyalRegalia: Interestingly enough, Henry (the King Of England) is often dressed in rather simple, unadorned clothing, with fingerless gloves and a rather unkempt appearance. When he goes out to greet the King of France (who is dressed well in royal blues), an extra coat and a simple crown is all he dons.
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:Philip went through a LOT of trouble to screw Henry over... just because Henry constantly picked on Philip's daddy years prior. Could also be a very subtle case of FeudingFamilies.]]
* RevengeByProxy: [[spoiler:Philip using [[RichardTheLionHeart Richard]] to get to Henry.]]
* RoyalBrat
* RoyallyScrewedUp
* SarcasticClapping
* SeenItAll: Henry II is so old he's got ten years on the Pope, and uses those years of experience in dealing with Philip.
** Eleanor has some interesting history herself. Her backstory involving the Crusades would count as a NoodleIncident if she hadn't given the audience TooMuchInformation...
-->'''Eleanor''': Louis had a seizure and I damn near died of windburn. (smiles) But the troops were ''dazzled''...
* SiblingRivalry: played at the level of a contact sport, if not outright war.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Becket'' where Peter O'Toole played Henry II as a young man.
* StraightGay: [[spoiler: Richard and Phillip both.]]
* SuccessionCrisis: It doesn't help that the parents can't agree about which son should inherit. [[spoiler: Making it worse is Henry's idea of having ''more'' children with Alais]].
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Princes John (for Geoffrey) and Richard (for Philip).]]
* WarriorPrince: Richard.
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: For all the sound and fury of the story, absolutely nothing actually changes... except for the poor nameless guard who gets killed when Eleanor goes to free the princes.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: King Philip of France is only seventeen, but one of the more able plotters.
* WomanScorned: One of the reasons Eleanor is pissed.
* WorldOfHam: [[RuleOfCool But it works.]]

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* RequisiteRoyalRegalia

* RevengeByProxy: [[spoiler: Philip using [[RichardTheLionHeart Richard]] to get to Henry.]]

'''Eleanor:''' That is the single thing of which I would have thought you had enough.

A 1966 play written by James Goldman (adapted for film two years later) about the troubles in the family of [[TheHouseOfPlantagenet Henry II of England]] and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The 1968 movie and its acting got high acclaim. KatharineHepburn went on to win an Oscar for her role as Eleanor. It was also the film debut of Timothy Dalton and AnthonyHopkins, who would later go onto fame as JamesBond and [[SilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]], respectively. PeterOToole, who played Henry, also played the role in the earlier film ''Becket'', which many consider an unofficial prequel to this film. In 2003, it was adapted again for TV, with PatrickStewart and Glenn Close.

* WarriorPrince: Richard.

* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: Alais is the only one who doesn't join in the plots and counter-plots, but points out what the others are doing with loathing.
** Slightly subverted at one point, when Alais attempts a few stabs at Eleanor. [[spoiler:It fails rather quickly, however, and she ends up crying in the queen's lap.]]
*** She becomes a bit corrupted near the end, [[spoiler: when she's offered the chance to become Henry's new queen and insists that he lock his sons up forever to make room for hers. She even goes down into the wine cellar to help him do it! Justified in that if she has sons while Richard, Geoff and John are still alive, her children would be victims the second Henry dies.]]

* AloofOlderBrother: more like long-dead Older Brother. Young Henry was the original heir to Henry II's throne, but died of dysentery in 1183 leading a rebellion (supported by Eleanor, Richard and Geoffrey) against his father. Young Henry's actions underlie the conflict within the play/film.

* ButtMonkey: John. [[TruthInTelevision Historical in that as the youngest son]] he'd traditionally inherit the least (hence the real-life nickname of "Lackland"). Made painful in this telling because Henry's attempts to favor him over Richard and Geoff have turned John into a clueless spoiled brat.

'''Eleanor:''' That is the single thing of which I would have thought you had enough.\\