MovieChat Forums > The Lion in Winter (1968) Discussion > Shakespearean

Shakespearean

posted 10 years ago by BrokenBadly
2 replies | jump to latest

This movie felt very Shakespearean to me. Of course, any royal family drama is going to seem that way to some extent just by the nature of the subject matter, but there were other little touches as well, like the scene in Philip's room when John, Richard, and Geoffrey were eavesdropping behind the curtains.

Do you think that Goldman made a conscious choice to write a pastiche of Shakespeare, or is that just kind of where it ended up?

[–] ronfirv 10 years ago

I think the writer drifted into a form of Shakespearean drama, given the subject matter.
One might say Henry, for a few seconds here and there teetered on being almost Lear-like.

[–] syntinen 10 years ago

I wouldn't go as far as calling it a pastiche, but he was certainly quite consciously playing with tropes that are as old as Shakespeare, as when he has Philip say 'That's what tapestries are for'.