The Lion in Winter

Product Description King Henry II summons his prison-bound wife and three double-crossing sons to a Christmas holiday reunion where he plans to announce his succession plans. Amazon.com Schemes and double-crosses abound in The Lion in Winter , the story of England's King Henry II (Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: The Next Generation , X-Men ) as he manipulates (and is counter-manipulated) by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons , Fatal Attraction ), and their three ambitious sons, each of whom hopes to ascend to the throne. The ghost of the 1968 film version hangs over this 2003 miniseries; Stewart and Close can't match Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn in that classic. Nonetheless this new version is solid work, and though the witty dialogue verges into camp, the script's cunningly orchestrated machinations work like a charm, drawing the viewer in with every fiendish ploy and overturned expectation. Also featuring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers ( Velvet Goldmine , Bend It Like Beckham ) as the King of France. --Bret Fetzer