Palace drama is a difficult type of film to make: first of all, the monarch is also a mortal, but often the crown has created many unusual talents. In this way, the requirements for the quality of the actors are relatively high. On the basis of thoroughly understanding the historical prototypes, they must be able to add their own understanding and interpretation, and erase redundant emotions to shape characters. The second is how to find a good entry point based on the history of that bad debt, and shoot the shining points of human nature from ancient times to the present. Hollywood has many masterpieces that celebrate the truth, the good and the beautiful, but compared to giving a role model, how to inspire others from a negative case is the real technical work. Finally, there is a very important point. Shooting Gong Wei is very expensive. Clothing, beauty fingers, photography, etc. are also related to the persuasiveness of the film, which in turn is related to the quality of the film, but it should not make the gorgeous setting overwhelm the guest. Just look at the famous counter-example, Elizabeth Taylor's "Cleopatra", which lost money to the point where 20th Century Fox almost wiped out its investments. From the above points, it can be judged that "Winter Lion" is a palace movie with very strong and distinct characters, and it has a very deep portrayal of human desire for power.
Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn showed the love-hate relationship very vividly, and their excellent acting skills were amazing, and Katharine Hepburn made this film after winning the Oscar for the third time. At that time, Katherine Hepburn was already middle-aged, and this age was more suitable for playing the British queen who was abandoned by Henry, Eleanor, who had mothered women in Britain and France, but the years were indeed inspiring, and she was imprisoned by her husband. For ten years in the cold palace, although she is old and fading, she cannot destroy her wise head. There are many ghosts but entangled emotions. In several scenes of repeated inner battles, Katherine Hepburn's superb performance Astonishing. Before I came into contact with "Winter Lion", my personal favorite foreign court movie was "Elizabeth". Its star, Cate Blanchett, is so dazzling that it steals the brilliance of every other character, which is one reason it ultimately falls short of The Lion in Winter. Cate Blanchett is brave and good at fighting, after all, she is only fighting alone. You must know that almost all the most exciting scenes in "The Lion in Winter" come from the rivalry between Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn. of the most vivid.
Let's go back and look at history a little: Henry II was the son of Matilda, daughter of King Henry I of England, and his father was Godfrey V, Count of Anjou. So Henry is half French. At the age of 19, when he was Duke of Anjou, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine (30). Thus Henry inherited Normandy from his mother, Anjou from his father, and Aquitaine as a dowry, thus making him effectively the greatest lord of France. Henry II, who became the king of England, was historically known for his ability to play tricks and tricks, and his famous wife, Eleanor, was not inferior. Before marrying Henry, Eleanor was the wife of King Louis VII of France. , and later divorced Louis VII for fornication. Their three sons, one of whom is the legendary Lionheart, and one who is a signer of the Magna Carta that has influenced it to this day. In a word, there is definitely drama in this couple. In the movie, Henry repeatedly emphasized that he married Eleanor just for the sake of territory. Although he also admitted that he had loved Eleanor, it was obvious that this kind of love seemed to exist and was easily denied by him. Henry, who struggled to ascend to the position of the supreme ruler, would not be interested in the love of his children.
In this way, his original love for Eleanor, which was not pure, ended with the passage of time and Eleanor's old age. Because for him, love is just a means, otherwise he would not have almost married his mistress Alice to the eldest son Richard in order to ensure the security of the territory in the film. Eleanor's life is as she said, everything she does is to fight against Henry tirelessly, maybe only in this way, as a woman, can she feel a little bit of the attention she needs. . Look at Katherine Hepburn's arguably great performance: lying in bed, she angers Henry by blaming her for an affair with Henry's father. She portrayed the vixen's face to the fullest, shamelessly recalling every detail of the affair, and occasionally inserting seemingly sincere sighs, until Henry was furious. And it was such a woman who knew how to turn herself into a sharp blade to attack. At the end, after she had actually won the absolute victory in the battle for power, she leaned on Henry's arms and cried bitterly. But at this time, Henry, who was obviously on the loser's side, put his arm around her and told her gently, "We're all still alive. Who knows? This is hope." Look at this dialogue, it's quite suitable to reverse the saying - - Hateful people must be pitiful. What a tangled and confusing foe. Both of them take the pleasure of harming each other to gain profits, so that they will inevitably lose both in the end. Even the children are the tools and chips they use one after another. He asked Henry playfully, "I want to know, have you ever loved me?" After getting a negative answer, she smiled slightly, "It's much better this way." Perhaps as they themselves said: they are animals in the jungle, the darkness surrounds them, and countless eyes are watching them in the darkness, and the darkness can see them. looking eyes. They will eventually die, but until death comes, they still have to fully enjoy the fun of torturing each other.
After the 134-minute film, I wondered about the meaning of the film's title. Who is this winter lion referring to? The desolate taste conveyed by the whole film, against the background of the ferocious stone carving faces in the film, could not help but make the film. The viewers have a sense of despair from the bottom of their hearts. Katherine Hepburn's fiery, combative, and fickle Eleanor in "The Lion in Winter" is one of the most radiant images ever made on film. In the 1960s, when nearly all Hollywood actresses were relegating their status to roles in novels and plays, Katharine Hepburn ruled the big screen as a scheming medieval queen — skilled with delicious grace and wit Cleverly planned and manipulated. You can totally understand why Henry II loved her and felt more secure when he was with her in prison. Even though Eleanor pits her children against each other, Katharine Hepburn lets us see her vulnerable side - the most shocking scene, when she lets her hair down late at night and stares at the dangling figure in the mirror. hair. This extremely plump scene, only the unparalleled "Katherine Hepburn" performance can completely take it down. When Katharine Hepburn meets the best lines, she doesn't just deliver them brilliantly, she goes a step further and steals the fruits of the other actors' budding maturity.
To appreciate Eleanor's emotional world as she perfected it is to appreciate the most intense form of emotion in the performing arts. She is the epitome of never-stagnant dynamism and inspiration, the embodiment of slightly trembling colors and shades. She dwells in passion, power, upbringing, deceit, despair, and has the role. In chess, this is the most dangerous and most variable piece, but Katharine Hepburn went far beyond matching her identity and became a most valuable opponent, taking the best opportunity to put her "You". "Winter Lion" director Anthony Harvey once said: "Working with Katharine Hepburn is like a 17-year-old coming to Paris for the first time, and everything you see is a treasure of art." So the Oscar for the four-time filmmaker The post-comment films "Morning Honor," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and "Golden Pond" were almost all wrong except this time. The performance of the young Anthony Hopkins in "The Lion in Winter" was also commendable, but to be dazzling, Anthony Hopkins is not as good as Timothy Dalton who played the French King Philip, Pierce Dalton. Brosnan's former 007 actor.
Timothy Dalton's sinister and cunning interpretation is eye-catching. In the story, the three princes went to his room to talk. The purpose was either a conspiracy or a request. The three hid in a corner of the room because the other party came. , and Philip still received everyone without changing his face, until the arrival of Henry II, Philip was full of provocation, vicious and tyrannical, when he pulled out that Prince Richard was a comrade and violated him, his face It is really unforgettable and unforgettable. As a person who has been neglected since childhood and full of resentment, he plays well. In fact, Anthony Hopkins' performance is not bad, and his rivalry with Katherine Hepburn is also superb. Between family affection and power, he lived a painful life, but this scene was better than the second prince. Well, the sad thing about the second prince is that he has neither the power to control nor the love of his parents, but he is the most resourceful of all the sons. In terms of pain, he can be said to be equal to the King Philip of France. As for being spoiled The third prince, John, is the most unpopular and deserves to be a puppet for the rest of his life. According to historical records, in addition to provoking Prince Richard to rebel against King Philip of France, when Richard was imprisoned by the Kaiser, Philip provoked his younger brother, the third prince, John, to rebel, and even took the opportunity to invade Normandy. As for the French princess Alice, except that she is the only beauty in the film, there is nothing to say. She is Philip's sister and has long been a victim of the power struggle. Although she is a future prince and concubine, she is also Henry II The mistress of the world, the most chilling thing about this vase is the line at the end that Henry wants to quickly choose. She really is a woman who pretends to be a pig and eats a tiger, which is really not to be underestimated.
"Winter Lion" won Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score at the 1969 Oscars, and was nominated for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Costume Design . Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn are the most bewildering "war couple" on screen. I have always felt that Peter Ottobe is the reason why Katharine Hepburn is aggrieved. In 2007's "The End of Eros", the actor of "Lawrence of Arabia" has won the Oscar nine times, and all nine times are bad feathers. And return. Katherine Hepburn, with her four-time actress qualifications, has become an existence that cannot be surpassed so far. With such an arrangement, I don’t know what Mr. Peter O’Toole will think every time he talks about it. It is worth mentioning that this film The soundtrack was written by Academy Award-winning master John Barry for his score for "Born Free" (1966), "Out of Africa" (1985), "Dancing With Wolves" (1990), Religion in the Middle Ages The music is powerful, the sound effects are amazing, the soundtrack album is still widely praised, and the soundtrack of the film has also won an Academy Award.
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