One thing is fore sure: it takes some serious guts to remake a classic like Lion in Winter. That is especially true for Glenn Close, who dares to take on the role of Eleanore, which earned Katherine Hepburn her fourth academy award in the 1968 original.Somewhat surprisingly, I actually found this installment to be the better of the two. The story, very briefly, unfolds at King Henry II's Christmas court where his imprisoned wife, his warring sons and the King of France are present. The entire action is confined to a few days and concerns the machinations and intrigues surrounding the selection of Henry's heir. It's a film that is almost entirely carried by the characters and their various weird interrelations, although the costumes and the castle are actually really nice, especially considering that it was made for TV.Patrick Steward can truly shine here and one is duly reminded that he is a Shakespearean actor and not just the captain of the Enterprise. He is a much more nuanced and also humane Henry and makes Peter o'Tool in the 1968 installment look like a bone-headed brute. He makes it believable that he favors John, which I never quite understood in the original. Glenn Close's performance is also top notch and the chemistry between her and Steward is perfect. The reals standout performance for me however was Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the young king Philip of France. His portrayal of the spoiled kid become king is spot on and sometimes incredibly funny.The only reason I am not giving the full 10 stars here is actually the script. While it is fun to watch the scheming up to a point, I found it to be a bit too much towards the very end.All together however, this made for TV movie is a real treat.

I enjoyed this film a lot. I watched it for itself and didn't care to compare. I like the plot and the actors, and neither disappointed me. It doesn't matter whether the original was better, I like both. The story of this family is definitely a 12th century reality show. I would like to see them interviewed by Dr. Phil, or or playing on the "Family Feud." They are their own version of "Survivor." This is about relationships and feelings. There are self-esteem issues, great sibling rivalry, and a love/hate marriage of two strong characters. These same things are present nowadays. We can compare these similarities from then and now. Of course, now we do have modern plumbing - thank the heavens for that! And lastly, we are in the same position of trying to pick our leader, McCain (Richard), Obama (Geoffrey) and Steve Carell (John!). If you can't stand this remake, go to the library and try reading a book instead! Pj

OK performances but I have to say overall disappointing and utter crap. I usually adore Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close and their performances were quite good, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers was outstanding (didn't have enough screen time). The rest of the cast was nothing special. Maybe they were meant to be mediocre characters and in that case they did well.Yuliya Vysotskaya in her role as Alais was sensational and I hope to see her in future roles but this movie is just not worth the time it takes to see it. I didn't have any expectations when I rented it and it left me feeling unfulfilled. Have seen worse movies but it's in that category.

First of all, please don't be turned away by the title of my review, as this was an amazing remake of "The Lion in Winter". For some reason I wasn't even going to comment on the film, which is weird for me and my big mouth, but I had to reply to the first review that I read from "Tom Mack"....who said that in comparison to Katharine Hepburn, Glenn Close is an actor and Hepburn is a "movie star"?? Are you kidding me??? Don't get me wrong, Glenn Close is an amazing performer and her performance in this remake only reiterated that fact. Her emotional depth is always on point and I have never been disappointed in her talent and performance even if the film wasn't that great.But to compare her to Katarine Hepburn is asinine. A "movie star"?? Maybe you didn't see the original "The Lion in Winter", for which she won the Oscar for, or "Long Day's Journey Into Night" or "Suddenly Last Summer" or "On Golden Pond" for that matter... This is the same actor who NEVER attended a single Academy Award ceremony, just to avoid the "movie star" crap. The same award for which she was only nominated for lead acting roles, has won the most awards in history, and had the most nominations until recently. Please please please give her the credit and respect that she deserves. Glenn Close even stated that she was terrified to play the role because she had to follow-up Katharine's unbelievable performance and has stated on many occasions that Hepburn was/is her biggest inspiration for getting into the industry.At any rate, the remake was wonderfully made, performances were amazing, especially Glenn Close's. She continues to amaze me....but as for comparisons to Katharine, please don't do that. I mean my gosh, it's Katharine Hepburn for goodness sake... Thanx for reading :o)