Part of Buddy the Elf, What's Your Favorite Color?

“I hope we never die.” “So do I.” “Do you think there’s any chance of it?”

The year was 1969. Nominations for the 1968 Academy Awards were soon to be announced. Naturally, the films leading the Oscar discussion and the nomination field were 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick’s dazzling venture into the far reaches of space, human evolution, and the future, and Rosemary’s Baby, Roman Polanski’s American debut featuring an oustanding Mia Farrow performance and a memorable exploration of maternal anxiety and paranoia. The two films combined to sweep the ceremony held in March, with 2001 winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Cinematography,…

Katherine Hepburn’s voice really annoys the shit out of me. It was always irritating but as she grew older it got worse. It makes me want to stick ice picks in my ears. That’s not to say she isn’t a great actress because she is. But she sounds like a pretentious death rattle.

Peter O’Toole was the star of my favorite film of all time so he gets a free pass for everything he ever did. Even Caligula. I own Caligula on Blu-ray.

Sooooooo, I’m sort of typing this while I’m watching it because it’s preeeeeeetty boring. 2 hours and 14 minutes huh? Pfffffffffffff. Twiddles thumbs. I’ve never written ‘twiddled’ before now. I guessed right. Great cast. 2 great actors…

Based on a play by James Goldman that is fictional but centers around historical facts and characters, The Lion in Winter is a historical drama about King Henry II and his family during Christmas of 1183. Henry (Peter O'Toole) has to decide which of his three sons will inherit the throne: Richard (Anthony Hopkins in his debut), a formidable soldier with a heart made of stone; Geoffrey, a cold and calculated man lacking honor; and John, the youngest and Henry's favorite, a simpleton with no muscles nor brain. Henry allows wife Eleanor (Katharine Hepburn) out of imprisonment for the holiday while King Philip II of France is Henry's guest at the castle.

The movie takes place almost entirely inside or…

"Power is the only fact"

Ah. A good, old fashioned medieval drama. This is the original game of thrones (without all the incest).

The Lion in Winter is a criminally unseen period drama. It's a master class in acting, presenting an interesting plot filled with memorable characters and one hell of a script. It's a tour-de-force in nearly all it's aspects, whether they be technical or human.

The film takes place during Christmas 1183, King Henry II desires for his youngest son Prince John to inherit his throne, while his estranged wife Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (whom he keeps locked away) favours their oldest son Prince Richard the Lionheart. Meanwhile, King Philip II of France, Eleanor's ex-husband, has given his…

A marvelous piece of writing and an absolute blizzard of great acting. I didn't know that Peter O'Toole could be this ferocious and sharp-tongued, yet so heartbreakingly vulnerable.

This is a story about people who merely THINK they're playing at Machiavellian scheming. But, underneath is all is the same soft and delicate emotional insecurity like anyone else.

The dialogue absolutely sizzles. So much wit and poetry. So much depth of expression. A taste --
"You chivalric fool. As if it mattered how one fell."
"When the fall is all there is, it matters a great deal."

Katharine Hepburn is a delight here, too. She's so swift and grand with her delivery. Chews scenery in the most delightful way.

Anthony Hopkins…

Lion in Winter is one of my favorite movies. Based on the James Goldman play, Lion details a Christmas late in the reign of Richard II (Peter O'Toole) when the royal family converges on a castle in Chinon to connive, buttkiss, and doublecross each other in the hopes of gaining the throne once dear Richard kicks the bucket. The dialogue is sly and vicious ("What shall we hang? The holly or each other?") and is lifted almost word-for-word from Goldman's play. But what really makes this movie special, is the performances.

Kate Hepburn's performance as Eleanor of Aquitaine is my favorite in a career full of extraordinary work. Hepburn by this time had become an older woman, and in her…

Katherine Hepburn won an Oscar for her role as Queen Eleanor. A monologue during the film where she utters these words...

"Of course he has a knife. He always has a knife. We all have knives. It’s 1183 and we’re barbarians. How clear we make it. Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war. Not history’s forces nor the times nor justice nor the lack of it nor causes nor religions nor ideas nor kinds of government nor any other thing. We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it, like syphilis, inside. Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten. For the love of God, can’t we love one another just a…