Pros: Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn shine as King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, who is painfully underportrayed in Hollywood, though she certainly lived a rather adventurous and colorful life. The acting is top notch, as each actor chews the scenery off the wall in each scene. Hepburn fully deserved her third Oscar for this film.
Cons: Despite the solid acting and top-notch dialogue, all the characters are conniving and cunningly cruel, each son wants the thrown and each parent has their favorite, and they each have their own wants that they are desperate to fulfill. In the end, none of them win, and the brothers hate each other more than when they started and Henry and Eleanor still both love and hate each other. And King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton), son of Eleanor's first husband, might or might not be at war with them, over some disputed land.
Recommend: Yes
Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Hollywood has tons of films and TV shows and/or miniseries about the British monarchy but not enough about Eleanor, a rare woman landowner in the latter half of the 12th century. Plus, she had two rocky marriages and gave birth to ten children.
-Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as a young Richard the Lionheart and he's magnificent.
-A homosexual relationship between Richard and Philip is heavily implied.
-The setting is rather stark and cold though I suppose it was realistic as everything was crude and simple back then.
-Though the film occurs at Christmastime, it is far from a cheery celebration, though Eleanor is finally out of prison. Yes, that's right, Henry has her confined because that's how much she pisses him off.
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