The Lion in Winter

I watched A Lion in Winter with my mom and sister, while I spent a little time at home.  Supportive of my blogging mission, they were excited to watch a best picture nomination with me.  Shortly into the film, they both had their questions and comments.  “Which Henry is he again?  John looks like such a slob.  Is that Katharine Hepburn?”  I always enjoy a little banter while watching these films.  However, about an hour into the movie, mom had fallen asleep and my sister spent most of the time looking at her phone.  I warned them that A Lion in Winter may not be their taste in movies, but I think they were curious as to what a “British costume drama” actually was.

After the film ended and my mom woke up, I gave her the gist of what happened.  I could tell they both lost interest because of the historical time period, rather than the dramatic family based plot.  King Henry II (Peter O’Toole) has allowed his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn) to leave the Tower of London over the winter holiday so they may all visit with their three sons, who all want to be named successor to the throne.  Henry also has his mistress, Alais (Jane Merrow) around, whom he wants to marry, and her brother, King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton), who starts to make deals with each of the possible future kings behind Henry’s back.

The pull over which brother will be named the future king of England is the main source of family tension.  Richard (Anthony Hopkins in his debut role) is the strongest and most handsome of the brothers, but has a quiet and meek side as well.  While Eleanor is pushing for Richard, Henry would rather give the throne to the youngest son, John (Nigel Terry).  Just by his appearance we see what a mistake this would be, John is a messy-haired slob who can’t stand up straight.  Plus, he just whines and expects the throne because daddy promised it to him.  Then there is poor Geoffrey (John Castle), the crafty but forgotten middle son who just is not satisfied with being a duke.

The character chemistry is what works best in this film.  With Eleanor trying to manipulate Richard with guilt, Geoffrey trying to lead John, and all three sons scheming with Philip, all these alliances flow and intertwine flawlessly.  Best of all are the scenes between Henry and Eleanor.  O’Toole and Hepburn make their characters interact with the most fluid mix of love and loathing that makes this film a shear joy to watch.  At one point, I made some natural chuckle of delight watching these two in an argument, to which my sister looked up and asked what was so funny.

When I asked my sister what she thought about the movie, she said, “It was good, but all they did was talk.”  For your casual, twenty-first century movie goer who generally doesn’t watch movies more than twenty years old, that seems like a normal reaction.  No harm, no foul.  Yes, most of the action comes in the form of dialogue and long eloquent speeches, but they’re so telling and beautifully delivered. The part that made me smile though, is that my sister did recognize that it was good.  There’s no hiding that.  And Katharine Hepburn simply should not have shared that Oscar, it was all hers.

“I could peel you like a pear, and God, himself, would call it justice.”

The Last Emperor

Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, The Last Emperor is an epic biopic about Pu Yi, a boy crowned Emperor of China at the age of two in 1908.  Through the use of the film flashing backwards and forwards in time, we are shown his whole life and its events against China’s shifts in government and culture through the mid-twentieth century.

For most of the film, the present takes place within a prison for war criminals that Pu Yi (John Lone) was held in for ten years.  As he is interrogated and events unfold in the present, we are taken back to see his childhood as the Emperor of China.  He is spoiled as a child simply because he is the emperor, and if you tell a child they are powerful enough to do anything, they will test that.  As Pu Yi grows and is taught by his Scottish tutor, Reginald ‘R.J.’ Johnson (Peter O’Toole) he learns more about the world outside his Forbidden City that he is not allowed to see, including the civil revolution brewing just outside the Forbidden City’s walls.  He takes a wife as empress, Wan Jung (Joan Chen) and a concubine, Wen Hsiu (Vivian Wu) at the same time and continues to live lavishly until 1924 when he is expelled from the Forbidden City.  Suddenly the young man is out on his own, and eventually becomes exploited by the Japanese.

The early scenes of the boy emperor are especially beautiful.  There are amazing images of the toddler Pu Yi squirming off his throne and teetering out to see thousands of people, clad an traditional robes filling the courtyard to worship the tiny emperor.  Between the thousands of extras and all the details put into every scene, this film is something to behold, especially in the age of cut and paste CGI.

The beautiful soundtrack is a great mix of Eastern and Western culture.  As the film progresses and Pu Yi starts pulling away from his roots, the music begins to change along with him and his surroundings, but always with slight Eastern influences elegantly slipped in.

Peter o’Toole’s role as R.J. is a wonderful and essential performance.  It is R.J. who fuels Pu Yi’s interest in western culture, tries to expand his mind to issues further than the Forbidden City walls.   R.J. also shows us that the boy is a lonely prisoner in the Forbidden City.  However, O’Toole’s role is at a minimum in this long film.  Don’t see it just for him, but still see it.

The Last Emperor is an obvious ruler over the films of 1987.  Molding a rich historical story into a personal biography where we can feel a human connection to Pu Yi is no easy task.  Turning it into a lush, beautiful epic showcasing the beauty of Chinese culture and its Forbidden City is absolutely amazing.  Everything this film attempts is done with such a high level of excellence.  The Last Emperor easily won all nine of it’s Oscar nominations, and didn’t leave many left for the other Best Picture nominees.  They just cannot compare to this beautiful film.

“-Is it true, Mr. Johnston, that many people out there have had their heads cut off?
–It is true, your majesty. Many heads have been chopped off. It does stop them thinking.”

Lawrence of Arabia

Before the film begins, the screen is black and music plays, just as David Lean intended.  I know it’s tempting to skip the Overture, but don’t do it.  Relax.  Close your eyes.  Unless you’ve already seen the film, what you imagine is nothing to the expansive natural imagery you’re about to witness.  The crisp blue sky will lay perfectly on the soft clean sand.  Huge red canyons and rocks as tall as skyscrapers look like they were just set there perfectly.  When a tiny camel shaped dot comes running across, you’ll realize the grand scale and openness of this land.  This is the only music that could explain this land, and let you take it all in and sigh at it’s beauty.  Cherish the moment.

The film is based off of T.E. Lawrence’s autobiography, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.  In WWI Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) is a British intelligence officer who seems bored with his work in Cairo.  When he is given leave to investigate the Arab revolt against the Turks, he unites the Arab tribes led by Auda Abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) and Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness).  He becomes accepted and honored by the Arabs and leads them across the desert to attack the Turks.  The British army did not expect this from the young man, especially when he shows up wearing white Arab robes, but they cannot argue with his results.  As Lawrence continues to lead the Arabs in desert raids, including derailing Turkish trains, he becomes more and more conflicted between his British ties and Arab friends, who at times seem to worship him.

In a conversation, we see Lawrence remembered as both a great hero and “the most shameless exhibitionist since Barnum & Bailey.”  Peter O’Toole plays Lawrence is an unusual but charismatic man.  He enjoys letting matches burn down to his fingertips and believes being in the desert will be “fun.”  There is an odd sense of determination about him and regularly puts himself in mortal danger but becomes a hero in his survival.  By the second half of the film, it seems he’s just asking for it and gloats his acceptance and power over the Arabian troops.  This seems to go to his head,  he tries to blend in and pass himself off as an Arab, but to no avail.  As he becomes driven by new found blood lust, his friend Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) holds his barbarous secret.  Through it all, we love Lawrence, we understand his human flaws and conflict between loyalties.  And is crystal blue eyes are the one thing that can match the desert’s beauty.

The desert is full of exciting obstacles that Lawrence must brave.  Learning to ride a camel is the least of his worries when he learns that men from one tribe do not permit men from another tribe to drink from their well.  Ali kills his first guide over a well dispute.  There are also natural threats, like sand storms, the beautifully eerie sand cyclone and quicksand that can swallow a man in moments without leaving a trace.  These seem to frighten Lawrence and fuel his curiosity as much as ours.

Over the years, Lawrence of Arabia has been hailed as one of the best films ever made.  It won seven of it’s ten Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and holds the fifth highest spot on AFI’s top 100 films list.  Stephen Spielberg once viewed the film with David Lean and claims to watch Lawrence of Arabia before directing all of his movies.  But be warned, Lawrence of Arabia is a nearly four hour epic.  It may not be the best film for fair-weather film fans who buy tickets mostly for romantic comedies.  However, for anyone who wants to claim even a mild interest in film, this should be at the top of your must-see list.  No excuses.

“What attracts you personally to the desert?
It’s clean.”

Becket

This is the story of King Henry II and his friend Thomas Becket.  When we first meet them, they are thick as thieves drinking and finding new women every night.  It isn’t long before we see that the partying is all Henry’s idea, and Becket tags along to keep him out of trouble.  Lately, tensions have been rising between the King and the Church.  Henry starts to worry that the Church is not loyal enough to him.  When the position opens, he appoints his dear friend Thomas as Arch Bishop of Canterbury, thinking that he will lay low and be loyal to the Crown.  But when a Lord kills a priest, Henry realizes too late that his friend has taken his new role seriously and cannot be loyal to both the Church and the King.

Becket (Richard Burton) is a very soft spoken and peaceful man who only drives the story by doing what is right.  He’s such a goody-goody that he even gives away all his possessions to the poor before being appointed as Arch Bishop.  Though both roles were nominated for Best Actor, it’s King Henry II (a much younger Peter O’Toole) who explodes with royal angst and propels the action forward.

O’Toole plays such a rousing Henry II; he’s a wily, hot headed brute who drinks too much and is always on the prowl for a new mistress.  He clearly voices his hatred for his mother, wife and four sons, repeatedly.  The best human trait about him is his never ending love for his friend, Becket.  Even after the lines have been drawn, Henry is rooting for him to find a way out of trouble.  Above all, he just wishes Becket would be his friend again, like old times.

Now, there are broken links between both historical accuracy and the 1959 play that were made to mold the story to the screen.  I would suggest only looking them up if you’re interested in the history, otherwise they could cause some unnecessary dislike to such a well done film.  It really is a good story that, though set in the middle ages, can ring true to this day.

Watch Becket if you’re interested in English history or want to see Peter O’Toole in his hay day.

“It’s funny! It’s too funny! Becket is the only intelligent man in my kingdom, and he’s against me!”