“The Lion in Winter,” March 8, 2014 (1968), DVD. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I never saw this remarkable piece of film Despite their age differences, Peter O’Toole as Henry II (nominated for best actor) and Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine (she won the Oscar for best actress) play brilliantly together in this adaptation of the stage play It won the Oscar for best adaptation but lost out to “Oliver” for best movie Go figure This is a stellar bit of writing that crackles with wit, energy, passion, and malevolent bile Set in 1183, it pits Henry against Eleanor against Richard against John against Jeffrey and against Philip of France The question of who shall inherit this Anglo-French Empire is truly up for grabs Will Henry’s dynasty survive?. It is an anachronistic vision, full of Freudian allusions, but a joy to watch Hepburn is stunning She shared the Oscar with Barbara Streisand for “FUNNY. GIRL”. Only five years younger than O’Toole, Anthony Hopkins played Henry’s son Richard; he shines in the movie despite a bad fake beard Then 23-year-old Nigel Terry as the 17-year-old week Prince John provides one of the film’s only unconvincing performances It is full of stunning lines John: “He’s got a knife!”. Eleanor: “Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It’s 1183 and we’re barbarians! How clear we make it Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war: not history’s forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor any other thing We are the killers We breed wars We carry it like syphilis inside Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten For the love of God, can’t we love one another just a little – that’s how peace begins We have so much to love each other for We have such possibilities, my children We could change the world”. Of course, she is one of the great Furies. The ending is hokey and very Hollywood