MOVIE
TV
Leo the Lion
Leo the Lion is a sequel to the Japanese-American co-produced series "Jungle Emperor", or Kimba the White Lion. Osamu Tezuka had always wanted his story of Kimba to follow Kimba's entire life, and the Jungle Emperor/Kimba series was such a hit in Japan that Dr. Tezuka produced a sequel, without his American partners, in 1966.
Making the series without a co-producer gave him complete creative control. For example, Dr. Tezuka changed the conclusion of his original manga story to a happy ending.
Leo the Lion does not follow immediately from the end of the Kimba series. Instead, the story begins a couple of years following the end of the previous series. To English-speaking audiences, the behavior of the title character is inexplicably out of line with what was established in the first series. At the end of the first series, in the original Japanese script, Kimba promises to keep his animals separate from humans. It is this promise that drives the seemingly hermit-like Leo in this series.
As the series unfolds, the focus shifts from the title character to one of his cubs, the male named Rune. This series as a whole is about Rune's growth, from a whining weakling to a confident leader.
MOVIE
Kimba, the White Lion
The story of a white lion cub growing to become the king of the jungle. The movie is an edited version of the 1965 Japanese television series of the same name based on the eponymous 1950s manga. The first 2 minutes of this film are taken from the Jungle Emperor Leo (1965) TV series, while the rest is all original. Tezuka was very pleased that this film conveyed his story accurately, something he wasn't able to do with the TV series.
MOVIE
The Lion in Winter
King Henry II (Patrick Stewart) keeps his wife, Eleanor (Glenn Close) locked away in the towers because of her frequent attempts to overthrow him. With Eleanor out of the way he can have his dalliances with his young mistress (Yuliya Vysotskaya). Needless to say the queen is not pleased, although she still has affection for the king. Working through her sons, she plots the king's demise and the rise of her second and preferred son, Richard (Andrew Howard), to the throne. The youngest son, John (Rafe Spall), an overweight buffoon and the only son holding his father's affection is the king's choice after the death of his first son, young Henry. But John is also overly eager for power and is willing to plot his father's demise with middle brother, Geoffrey (John Light) and the young king of France, Phillip (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Geoffrey, of course sees his younger brother's weakness and sees that route as his path to power. Obviously political and court intrigue ensues
MOVIE
The Lion Roars
During the Soong Dynasty, a beautiful woman named Liu is searching for a husband, but is unable to find one until she hears the avant-garde poetry of Chen. Soon the two are married and Chen discovers that his new bride is violently temperamental and insanely jealous, who limits his activities and lifestyle. When a princess falls in love with the poet and the Emperor decrees that Chen must take the princess in as a second-wife. The love between Liu and Chen is put to the test.
MOVIE
Sign of the Lion
An American in Paris lives by sponging off his working friends, and throws a party using borrowed money when his rich American aunt dies, believing firmly in his horoscope.
MOVIE
Androcles and the Lion
George Bernard Shaw’s breezy, delightful dramatization of this classic fable—about a Christian slave who pulls a thorn from a lion’s paw and is spared from death in the Colosseum as a result of his kind act—was written as a meditation on modern Christian values. Pascal’s final Shaw production is played broadly, with comic character actor Alan Young as the titular naïf. He’s ably supported by Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Robert Newton, and Elsa Lanchester.
MOVIE
Richard the Lion-Hearted
Wallace Beery repeats his role of King Richard, a role he played so sucessfully in Robin Hood the previous year.
