The Lion In Winter (1968) April 24, 2009

A VERY RARE Big Screen Presentation Of

"The Lion In Winter"
Hosted By Its Director Anthony Harvey

Screened in the only known surviving 35mm print, from the archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

Friday, April 24 8PM

At the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre
A Historic Movie Palace Now Open As A Non-Profit Multi-Discipline Arts Center
54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel: (201) 798-6055 Web: www.loewsjersey.org Email: [email protected]

A visually stunning saga filmed in CinemaScope, with razor-sharp dialogue that crackles with rapier wit delivered by a stellar cast -- including Peter O'Toole in one of his greatest performances, paired against Katharine Hepburn in her third Academy Award Winning Best Actress role.

Don't miss this chance to see this W-I-D-E screen masterpiece on the Loew's Jersey's BIG 50 foot W-I-D-E screen.

"The Lion In Winter" Starring Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, Jane Merrow, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Nigel Stock, John Castle. Directed by Anthony Harvey. (1968 -- 134mins. -- Color -- Avco Embassy Pictures. Rated PG)

It's the year 1183.

Peter O'Toole is England's legendary King Henry II -- an old man for his era at age 50. " I've snapped and plotted all my life. There's no other way to be alive, king, and fifty all at once."

Katharine Hepburn is his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine -- whom the King keeps imprisoned in a distant castle. "What family doesn't have its ups and downs?"

They have three sons -- all of whom are scheming against Henry and each other to become King.

Henry has brought them all together for Christmas. "What shall we hang first? The holly or each other?"

Joining them is the young King of France -- who despises Henry and has a dark secret -- AND Henry's mistress -- who happens to be the sister of the King of France.

. . . It probably won't be a very happy holiday. -- See "Film Notes" below for more info.

Anthony Harvey began his long career as a stage actor in the early 1940s. He appeared in the 1945 film Caesar and Cleopatra, starring Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh. By the end of the decade he was editing film, eventually cutting such legendary films as Stanley Kubrick's Lolita and Dr. Strangelove. Eventually, Harvey moved into the director's chair. The Lion In Winter, his second directorial effort, is considered one of his greatest.

Mr. Harvey will be interviewed on stage by Foster Hirsch, Professor of Film at Brooklyn College. There will also be a Q&A with the audience.

Admission for the screening, interview and Q&A is just $7 for adults; $5 for seniors (65+), children (12 & younger).

The Loew's Is Easy To Get To: The Loew's Jersey Theatre, at 54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ, is directly across JFK Boulevard from the JSQ PATH Center with trains to and from Lower and Midtown Manhattan and Newark's Penn Station, is minutes from the NJ Turnpike & easily reached by car or mass transit from throughout the Metro Area.

Half-price off-street parking is available in Square Ramp Garage adjoining the Loew's. Patrons present a coupon to garage attendant when they leave. Coupon is available at our box office.

What's Special About Seeing A Movie At The Loew's? The Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre is one of America's grandest surviving Movie Palaces. We show movies the way they were meant to be seen: in a grandly ornate setting -- on our BIG 50 ft wide screen! The Loew's runs reel-to-reel, not platter, projection, which often allows us to screen an archival or studio vault print that is the best available copy of a movie title.

The Loew's Jersey is managed by Friends of the Loew's, Inc. as a non-profit, multi-discipline performing arts center.

For directions or more information: Call (201) 798-6055 or visit www.loewsjersey.org.

Classic Film Weekends are presented by Friends of the Loew's, Inc.

FILM NOTES
Based on the historical figures of King Henry II of England, his queen Eleanor of Aquitaine – whom Henry keeps imprisoned in a far castle -- and their three sons, The Lion in Winter is as much family drama as it is historical set piece. As ruler of a vast Anglo-Norman kingdom, the 50 year-old Henry wields absolute control over all that he sees -- except his wife and offspring. On Christmas Day 1183, the family gathers as Henry considers who will inherit his crown. He favors John (the evil Prince John of Robin Hood fame). Eleanor favors Richard (who comes down to us as The Lion Hearted). Their third son, Geoffrey, bitter that no one has championed his cause, schemes for the leavings of power. Added into the mix is the presence of the young King of France, a rival to Henry on the Medieval world stage, and of Henry’s young mistress, who is the sister of the King of France. Meanwhile, the sons plot against each other as they all plot against Henry.
The film is a masterpiece on several accounts: Unlike too many other films depicting the Middle Ages, the sets and costumes do not seem like idealized conceptions of what we imagine those times to have looked like. Rather, they look real and lived in as Henry kicks aside chickens on his way through the courtyard and wears clothing that obviously is more intended to keep him warm than make him look regal. There are dogs and dirt floors, rough fur skins, pots of stew, pigs, mud, and dark, shadowy castles. But the location filming in Ireland, Wales, and France and Douglas Slocombe’s skillful CinemaScope photography does add a sense of grandeur to the film. The result is that The Lion In Winter has some of the greatest ambiance ever created on screen.
Then there is the dialogue. Film aficionados often cite All About Eve as having the perfect script, with lightening quick, witty and biting repartee. But The Lion In Winter is at least its equal.
The film’s greatest strength, however, is the collective performance by the entire cast in delivering that brilliant, biting dialogue -- most especially Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn who create one of cinema’s most remarkable (if less than happy) couples. O’Toole gives one of his finest performances, spitting volleys of sarcasm and mockery at his wife and sons. Hepburn returns barb for barb while – incredibly – making us realize that on some level she still loves Henry. Anthony Hopkins as Richard also turns in a riveting performance in his first major screen role. (Also look for Timothy Dalton making his screen debut as the King of France.)
Director Harvey also deserves much credit for keeping the pace moving while occasionally leavening in just enough action sequences of poised lances and gleaming daggers to assure that what is essentially a word play feels very dynamic.
In this alchemy between set, cinematography, dialogue, pacing and acting, the titanic and cathartic clash of egos and agendas seems at once larger than life and very believable. And this is what makes The Lion In Winter such a magnificent film.

Official Website: http://www.loewsjersey.org