It's 1183 and the English Royal family are holding Christmas court. The agenda being that everyone wants to hurt everyone else. Cue a historical soap opera complete with draughty castles, blustering kings, and scheming queens.
As a historical film, this one pales against its contemporary A Man For All Seasons and the more recent Elizabeth, but it is not without interest. Kate Hepburn and Peter O'Toole are wonderful as the 'gorgon' Queen Eleanor and the unloved and unloving king Henry II, despite a great age gap which I have to say doesn't show.
Anthony Hopkins plays a sensitive Richard Lionheart, in his debut; Nigel Terry's prince John is a whining little bore; and Timothy Dalton plays the spoilt and vain Philip of France with the same aplomb he gave to Darnley in Mary, Queen of Scots a few years later.
Everything is dark and gloomy in 12th century England, and, dialogue aside (some of it is pretty good but doesn't ring true for the period!), not a bad attempt at making a good story out of a few snippets and rumours from history.
As a historical film, this one pales against its contemporary A Man For All Seasons and the more recent Elizabeth, but it is not without interest. Kate Hepburn and Peter O'Toole are wonderful as the 'gorgon' Queen Eleanor and the unloved and unloving king Henry II, despite a great age gap which I have to say doesn't show.
Anthony Hopkins plays a sensitive Richard Lionheart, in his debut; Nigel Terry's prince John is a whining little bore; and Timothy Dalton plays the spoilt and vain Philip of France with the same aplomb he gave to Darnley in Mary, Queen of Scots a few years later.
Everything is dark and gloomy in 12th century England, and, dialogue aside (some of it is pretty good but doesn't ring true for the period!), not a bad attempt at making a good story out of a few snippets and rumours from history.