The Film (5/5)

    Peter O'Toole seemingly crafted a little mini-section of his career in playing King Henry II. In 1964 he would play a younger version of Henry and document his dealings with Sir Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the film Becket. In 1968's The Lion in Winter we see O'Toole return to the role of Henry II late in his later years. In the Lion in Winter, Henry’s eldest son has recently passed away, and it is now time for Henry and his long imprisoned bride Eleanor  (Katharine Hepburn) to determine which of there 3 surviving sons Richard (Anthony Hopkins), Geoffrey (John Castle), or  John (Nigel Terry) shall be the heir to the throne. Of course, the choice will be anything but straightforward, as there will be much scheming and backstabbing on the way to the throne.

    The Lion in Winter is adapted to the screen from a play by James Goldman by the writer himself. The film also marks the feature film debuts by Timothy Dalton (Hot Fuzz, The Living Daylights) and Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Howard’s End). It is also well known for being a multi-award winner taking home Academy Awards for best actress for Katherine Hepburn, Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as BAFTA's, and Golden Globes.

    As the film was adapted from a play, by the playwright the film's dialogue is impeccable, and can be considered some of its greatest strength, and this is coupled with the power of the performances by the excellent main cast. With that being said, possibly due to the nature of the source material it does feel a tad stagey at times, but this does not detract from the film in my eyes, it is just something that might take certain modern viewers out of the film.   However, aside from that The Lion in Winter is such a powerful and engaging film with a plot that is full of intrigue that it is impossible to not get swept away in it.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    The Lion in Winter is absolutely a stunning transfer on this Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. The film is presented 2:40:1 in a 1080p AVC encode, and has more detail then any fan of the film has ever seen before, grain looks natural, colors are stable, and well reproduced, I could not detect any issues with the transfer here.

    The DTS-HD MA 2.0 track here delivers the excellent John Barry score quite well as well as make sure that every bit of James Goldman's dialogue is crisp and clear.

Extras (3.5/5)

    Most of the extras on The Lion in Winter are archival, but that is understandable as the film is 50 years old this year. We get a commentary by director Anthony Harvey that is quite informative, plus older interviews with Peter O'Toole and Anthony Hopkins. There are 2 new interviews with editor John Bloom and actor John Castle.

Overall

    The Lion in Winter is a sheer unadulterated classic of British cinema, and this 50th anniversary edition from Kino Lorber looks and sounds amazing bringing the film to home video life for a new generation. It also has quite a solid extras slate that helps to make this one a title that is easy to HIGHLY RECOMMEND.