Winter my foot!
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SeanJoyce — 13 years ago(August 04, 2012 07:52 AM)
Not all winters have snow on the ground, even in the 12th century.
That is not incorrect, however, it's baffling that snow was eschewed when a winter holiday remains a focal point of the story; it's like making a movie about the 4th of July and restricting it entirely indoors.
I did not need to see the thespians wading through snow-covered wastes to realise the freezing cold of that winter!
I don't get the same impression; it looks like a mild day in an unspecified time of year.
Admittedly, my grievance partly stemps from my preference for snow depicted in movies; the medieval castle and snow would have been aesthetically sumptuous. Still, from a logical standpoint, I can't see why the filmmakers opted to leave out snow entirely.
"
if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street.
" ~ an irate Tarantino -
SeanJoyce — 13 years ago(August 05, 2012 03:10 PM)
Nah, not joking.
The title is a double entendre, referring to both his advanced age and the season (the fictitious events depicted unfold at Henry's Christmas Court in Chinon.)
But you said "almost positive", so you're safe from ridicule
"
if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street.
" ~ an irate Tarantino -
ronfirv — 13 years ago(August 07, 2012 11:49 AM)
I haven't watched the movie for several months, or longer and without digging out my dvd, and finding the specific scene, I recall Henry in a bedroom in the castle (Chinon?), draped in a heavy fur cape and breaking thin ice in a bowl of water before cupping his hands in it to rinse his face? If my memory is correct, the director did pay that much attention to detail, small though it was.
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SeanJoyce — 13 years ago(August 07, 2012 08:21 PM)
You are correct, and that minute detail did not go unnoticed.
However, some ice in a pail isn't enough to convince me of the frigid temperatures. Moreover, it isn't exactly consistent with the weather outside; do any of the characters ever look cold? They stroll about and gallivant with seemingly no discomfort or bodily acknowledgment of the supposed time of year.
Call me pedantic, but I wanted blizzards and tall drifts of snow.
"
if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street.
" ~ an irate Tarantino -
ronfirv — 13 years ago(August 08, 2012 01:13 PM)
In all of your demands for snow, bear in mind it might have been another mild winter, and keeping actors, crews, and catering people et al, hanging around certain locations waiting on snowfalls or even significant flurries, cost money! Eats rapidly into a budget, so any director has to keep a best eye on authenticity and another on the film studios' bucks.
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schwapj — 13 years ago(March 01, 2013 10:59 AM)
Thank goodness you posted, Hygro. I could not believe I was halfway down the page before someone recognized that "Winter" in the title refers to the king's mortality, not that the story happened to take place around Christmas.
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SeanJoyce — 13 years ago(March 06, 2013 06:51 AM)
Read my reply to
gyro
it refers to both.
http://jmoneyyourhoney.filmaf.com/owned -
jxh13 — 13 years ago(August 08, 2012 08:23 AM)
Yeah, okay. There aren't that many shots of the hills surrounding Chinon, but there is no snow, and the plants look suspiciously green. I'm a fan of snow in movies, myself, and some packed snowbanks and swirling flakes might have added to the visuals.
For the sake of discussion, I could point out the Chinon is in the Loire River Valley, notable for its mild microclimate (think wine), and according to some figures online, the average December temperature in Chinon is over 40 degrees f. (5.5 celsius). The actors wear lots of furs, and there are fires in the fireplaces, and ice in the washbowls, so there is an effort made to provide a suitable wintry atmosphere. According to Mr O'Toole's biography, filming ran from November through May, so the exterior location shots may have been made in late Fall or even Spring.
So, we're faced with The Lion in Springtime, or The Lyin' in Winter? -
gingercata — 13 years ago(August 30, 2012 04:57 PM)
I'm with SeanJoyce in this and have had similar feelings over the years regarding snow. This has become one of my favourite Christmas films and the delicious sense of claustrophobia would have been enhanced with a few exterior snow scenes.
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student_points — 13 years ago(November 11, 2012 06:40 AM)
What a load of crock. It doesn't snow in Western europe every year.
In Belgium we have periods of 12 years without any snow whatsoever and it is more to the north than the Loire Valley. And as one poster said, the Loire Valley region is well known for its micro climate.
What are you complaining about? Because the sun is shining? The sun shines even in winter, it is not very unusual. The trees had no leeves, and that is the only thing that matters, that is the only way you can tell on a film if it is winter. Maybe you are worried the grass looked green?? Comes as a surprise but even in winter the grass looks green in Western Europe.
It looked to me like a perfectly normal winter.
Maybe you saw too many Bands of brothers. With the heavy snowfall in Bastogne in one episode. THAT actually was a very unusual winter.
Winters without any snow are more common than winters with snow, believe me -
spookyrat1 — 12 years ago(December 22, 2013 04:42 AM)
I'm with SeanJoyce
So am I. I think he makes a fair point and in doing so points to one of the film's weaknesses. That is, that it's a film and not filmed theatre as some posters seem to be treating it.
The film is supposed to be set around Christmas Eve in Northern Europe, yet with the few external shots we get, it always looks, as the OP points out anything but close to mid-winter.
The OP is simply saying the film makers could have made more of an effort than they did, which judged on appearances was minimal. -
Captain_Augustus_McCrae — 13 years ago(January 15, 2013 03:16 PM)
As mentioned, in one scene Henry washes his face in a bucket of water, breaking the ice in order to do so. This ice on a bucket of water stored indoors, mind you. OP's powers of observation need working on.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae -
syntinen — 13 years ago(February 14, 2013 06:09 AM)
And that's actually ludicrous, historically speaking. Henry's reign was smack in the middle of the Medieval Warm Period (anyone can google it) when the climate of Western Europe was so mild and balmy that grapes could be grown for wine production as far north as York (and they weren't unknown even in Scotland). No, you would
not
have expected to see snow around Chinon in December back then. -
ronfirv — 13 years ago(February 16, 2013 02:41 AM)
This is one of my favourite films, without doubt.
However, I doubt very much if Harvey sat down and thought, before commencing filming,now was this set in the Mediaeval Warm Period ? I am all in favour of historical accuracy, but isn't this almost paranoid attention to detail perhaps just a tad OTT? -
syntinen — 13 years ago(February 17, 2013 01:36 AM)
Yes, I love it dearly, too.
And nitpicking over its historical accuracy is quite pointless, given that the film (and indeed the play it's based on) employed deliberate anachronism in its vision of the Plantagenets' family life. It's not that Goldman didn't realise that 12th-century royalty didn't have Christmas trees, wrap and label Christmas presents, etc - he introduced these anachronisms quite deliberately, and avoided anything like real medieval manners, precisely so we would relate to them as a real dysfunctional family.
My point was that was the OP's nitpick was unjustified anyway, even if the film had been intended to be realistic.