The Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews
Just another heartwarming family Christmas story…except that it takes place in 1183, and this family is a little different from most…
This is one of those movies that I can remember staying up til all hours to see, in whatever wierd time slot the networks had scheduled it in, just because I loved it so much (that was in the days before videos, kiddies, you don’t know how lucky you are with your home dvd players…) Mostly I love it because the people in this movie made my dysfunctional family look almost normal…but the mayhem is fun to watch.
Peter O’Toole (serious honey) and Katherine Hepburn are Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, sparring over everything from her lands to which of their children will succeed Henry to whether or not she slept with Henry’s father…and they are wonderful to watch. A very young Anthony Hopkins plays Richard (soon to become I) and the other cast members aren’t far behind (including a very young Timothy “007” Dalton as Philip II of France).
This has to be seen to be believed…the amount of vitriol thrown at each other, the backbiting, the dirty tricks, the advantage they all take of each other, the maneuvering for position…just amazing. Go get it, it’s worth owning, you’ll want to see it more than once.
theotterlimits 