The Story Archive

The Lion in Winter

Anthony Harvey · 1968 CE · Film · English · Contemporary

Henry II brings his imprisoned queen to Chinon for Christmas in 1183 to settle which of their three sons will inherit, with the young king of France and his sister both in the castle and both usable. Alliances form and dissolve across a single holiday, every declaration of love doubling as a manoeuvre. James Goldman's modern, wisecracking dialogue inside a cold medieval hall won Katharine Hepburn a third Oscar.

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Attributes

Genre
HistoricalTragicomedyPolitical
Theme
Power & CorruptionBetrayalLegitimacyLoveDuty & Honor
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
Ruler / KingVillain / TyrantTrickster
Plot structure
DialogueIronic Reversal
Symbol / motif
The CrownWinterThe Prison
Conflict
vs Personvs Society
Mode / tone
IronicComicTragic
Culture / tradition
English

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