‘The Lion In Winter’ (Special Edition) Blu-Ray Review – A Masterclass In Acting Lead By Hepburn & O’Toole

Acting greats Peter O’Toole (Lawrence of Arabia), Katharine Hepburn (The Rainmaker), Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) and Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights) star in this epic masterpiece directed by Anthony Harvey (They Might Be Giants). Behind the great stone walls of an English castle, the world’s most powerful empire is in crisis. Three sons struggle to win their father’s favor, as well as his crown. King Henry II (O’Toole) and his queen, Eleanor (Hepburn), engage in a battle of royal wits that pits elder son Richard (Hopkins) against his brothers John (Nigel Terry, Excalibur) and Geoffrey (John Castle, Man of La Mancha), while the cunning King Philip of France (Dalton) takes advantage of the internal fracturing in his bid to destroy their kingdom. Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actor (O’Toole), Director (Harvey) and Costume Design (Margaret Furse) and winner of 3 Academy Awards – Best Actress (Hepburn), Adapted Screenplay (James Goldman) and Music Score (John Barry).

For thoughts on The Lion In Winter, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic: 

[youtube https://youtu.be/3x0xakJG6zw?si=Vu3HD3p8NbOHrbIt&t=60]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents The Lion In Winter with a pretty decent 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K restoration finished in 2K that was conducted back in 2016 by StudioCanal. Unlike some recent “Special Edition” releases of older titles from their catalog with new encodes and special features, this is the exact same Blu-Ray disc released in 2018, only now it comes with a slipcover for its first printing. While a 4K UHD Blu-Ray would have been amazing to witness with this new release, this Blu-Ray provides a fine viewing experience within the limitations of the source. The movie is good enough that you will want to own a copy regardless. 

The film features some robust, natural colors within the costumes and production design which saturate the screen to good effect. The color temperature does fluctuate quite a bit, especially in the earlier scenes. Black levels struggle somewhat with stability throughout. The detail and clarity that we get on this Blu-Ray are generally pleasing with most of the natural film grain intact. The film is a bit inconsistent when it comes to how the grain resolves, and there does seem to be a touch of filtering applied. The film avoids most of the major signs of dirt and damage, but it is clear the source has not been well maintained over the years. For instance, you will spot some wobbling during the opening credits. Unwanted digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, and other nuisances are kept to a minimum. The transfer handles any limitations as well as you would hope. Kino Classics has done a nice job until better elements are found. 

Audio Quality

The film has been given both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio presentation that handles this material well given its age and condition. Dialogue comes through decently without being overcome by any competing elements. The track balances vocals with the environmental noises with decent clarity. The surround sound track seems to use the mono base while expanding it out to feel slightly more immersive in some regards. The Oscar-winning John Barry score maintains a formidable fidelity with almost no drop in quality. There is only a slight bout of tinniness that you might observe. You will not find very many moments when the track shows other anomalies such as popping, dropouts, or blatant signs of damage. Kino Classics has provided a consistent audio presentation that presents the film to a nice effect. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary: Director Anthony Harvey provides a commentary track recorded in 2000 in which the filmmaker discusses the production of the film, where they filmed the imagery from the title sequence, developing hepatitis, how Anthony Hopkins broke his arm, working with the performers, how he nearly had the editing duties taken away from him, certain stylistic choices he made within the film, and more. 

• Interview with Sound Recordist Simon Kaye: A nearly 11-minute piece with Kaye in which he discusses his working relationship with Anthony Harvey, figuring out how to capture usable sound to avoid looping, the challenges that were faced, the ultimate success of the film, and more. 

• Trailer: The three-minute theatrical trailer for The Lion In Winter is provided here. There are also trailers provided for A Delicate Balance, The Trojan Women, Juggernaut, and When Eight Bells Toll. 

Final Thoughts

The Lion In Winter is a masterclass in acting as you have a peerless ensemble delivering some of the best work of their individual careers with material that is easy to devour. What could be a stuffy, overlong narrative is kept narratively nimble and engaging throughout. With such careful attention paid to every element of the craft and a strong directorial vision, this one is not to be missed. This Blu-Ray release from Kino Classics offers a pretty decent A/V presentation and a nice selection of special features. If you are a fan of any of the performers or period pieces in general, this should be in your collection. Recommended

The Lion In Winter (Special Edition) is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.