By John Barry. Score. 15 pages. Published by Chris Siddall Music Publishing.
With actors Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn at the heights of their careers, gripping first feature film appearances from Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton and a wickedly brilliant script, Anthony Harvey’s 1968 big screen adaptation of the stage play The Lion in Winter could quite easily have supported an understated score.
Appointing John Barry to composing duties was a surprising choice, given that he was mostly known for his James Bond scores and jazz band recordings at this time, but his friendship with director Harvey allowed him the opportunity to create a dark, menacing and gothic score that would change the public’s impression of him forever.
