James Goldman adapted his own play, but a mix of location shooting and artful staging makes this quite cinematic; editor John Bloom knows what he's doing. It's basically a family power play as aging king Henry II, Peter O'Toole, manoeuvres around his now imprisoned wife Katharine Hepburn and three competing sons: Anthony Hopkins, John Castle and foolish John Terry, also involving the king of France, Timothy Dalton. Jane Merrow is the king;s mistress who's being optioned out as a marriage bait for different parties. All the acting's great.
The funniest moment is when various parties visit the king of France and all get variously hidden behind curtains as more people come to visit. And Hepburn's line 'All families have their problems'.
I wasn't going to watch it, I was just editing the ads out, but I saw the name Chic Waterson and I just sort of fell into it. He does his usual great smooth job camera operating and his guvnor Douglas Slocombe as lighting the castles artfully (back then, it had to be lit). (Robin Vidgeon is camera assistant.) The zoom is used judiciously.
Also benefits for an unusual and mature score from John Barry. Gerry Humphreys is the sound mixer. Barry and Hepburn won Oscars and BAFTAs, Goldman won an Oscar, O'Toole was nominated for both
It goes on a bit, though (2 hours 10).
You would have guessed that some of the cast were also in the stage version but that wasn't the case.
It's apparently a favourite of Aaron Sorkin, but I can't actually substantiate that.
I guess it's also the unlikeliest Christmas film!
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