The king is Henry II, played (for the second time) by Peter O'Toole as a gruff, bearish figure of 50, stomping around, shouting angry orders, smoothly manipulating his women and everybody else. It's Christmas, 1183, and he invites his estranged and imprisoned wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, played by Katherine Hepburn, to a party at the castle. The three sons will be present as well, John, Geoffrey, and Richard. What a party they have.
James Goldman's script is witty, fast, commercial, sarcastic, and full of anachronisms but Goldman isn't the kind of guy who cares much about whether he's producing art or not anyway. O'Toole sweeps into the room, gestures at his family, and says, "Well, shall we hang the holly or each other?" Later, describing a trip through the south, Hepburn gets to say, "I damned near died of windburn."
It was sometimes amusing but I tired of the intrigues. Which of the three sons will get to be king? One is an effeminate wimp, one is Macher, and one is a sullen warrior. All are greedy for power. Sometimes they hate their parents and sometimes they seem not to.
I honestly didn't care and nodded out towards the end. If I remember, Richard, the warrior, gets to be king, later known as Richard the Lionheart. I understand he was a brutal swashbuckler in the Crusades but his sexual orientation was somewhat in doubt. I once had to memorize all the kings and queens of England. It was in high school. I've never forgiven the teacher, Mrs. Prudence Gruel, the old battle ax.
James Goldman's script is witty, fast, commercial, sarcastic, and full of anachronisms but Goldman isn't the kind of guy who cares much about whether he's producing art or not anyway. O'Toole sweeps into the room, gestures at his family, and says, "Well, shall we hang the holly or each other?" Later, describing a trip through the south, Hepburn gets to say, "I damned near died of windburn."
It was sometimes amusing but I tired of the intrigues. Which of the three sons will get to be king? One is an effeminate wimp, one is Macher, and one is a sullen warrior. All are greedy for power. Sometimes they hate their parents and sometimes they seem not to.
I honestly didn't care and nodded out towards the end. If I remember, Richard, the warrior, gets to be king, later known as Richard the Lionheart. I understand he was a brutal swashbuckler in the Crusades but his sexual orientation was somewhat in doubt. I once had to memorize all the kings and queens of England. It was in high school. I've never forgiven the teacher, Mrs. Prudence Gruel, the old battle ax.