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THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD review
As the midnight hour passed, and it was inching
closer to One in the A.M., we decided to thread up
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.
The crowd had thinned significantly since TRON, but
most of who remained had never seen THE
ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.
It’s amazing to me, to believe that so many people
haven’t seen the film, which has been my favorite
film since the age of.... oh.... 4 or 5.
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD is a perfect
film for me. This film is tied with KING KONG
(1933) as my fave, and the one thing that joins both
of those films is the fact that neither film exists in
reality.
This is my number one pet peeve with modern
cinema. So many of the films we see today are set
within our time and our reality. Whether it be tidbits
of PC-ness.... Or we decide to research what the
costumes of the period Looked like.
In THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, this is
all gone. The costumes are those of the fuzzy
recollections of the books... the brightly colored
plates that illustrated every 20th page of the novel.
Who cares if TIGHTS didn’t exist.... They look right
dammit! They FEEL right.
Can you imagine have the talent all together to make
this movie today? I mean.... everyone that was in this
film were at their best. Be it Errol Flynn or Howard
Hill.
Howard Hill?
Oh yes.... Howard Hill. Many people don’t know this
man’s name at all, but he’s one of the PRIME reasons
this movie is AWESOME.
Howard Hill was the world’s foremost archer at the
Time of this film. The very next year my grandfather
saw him perform in San Francisco at one of the great
halls of the time period. At one point in the show, a
man stood up behind my grandfather (who was 18 at
the time) and started heckling Howard Hill.
Screaming out that it was all fake.
Suddenly Howard Hill turned to face the audience,
pulled out an arrow, and shot the man in the heart.
My grandfather nearly shat himself. Turns out that
the man in the audience was a plant. And that he had
a piece of 2 by 4 in place over his heart, and it was
this that Howard sunk the arrow into.
And in Robin Hood.... the people being shot with
Arrows are actually being HIT with the arrows. You
see the arrow enter the frame and into the chests or
the backs of the characters as they run. It is Howard
Hill that did this.
Or... there’s Erich Wolfgang Korngold and his score.
A score that is simply one of the greatest scores every
created by man. I have listened to this and the Max
Steiner KING KONG scores so often that I now every
note of the scores. Korngold’s score is the very
essence of adventure. You feel like swordfighting,
you feel like leaping from the tops of trees. You want
to fight Prince John. You want to duel with Sir Guy
of Gisbourne.
I sat on the edge of my seat the entire film. When I
heard some people in the backyard jabbering as if an
episode of FRIENDS was on, I screamed out, “Keep
it quiet over there!”
This is an energizing film. A movie that makes you
want to watch movies. That makes me feel like
staying awake all night talking about movies. (and I
did too)
There have been few films made that make you
completely believe in adventure. And this is my
favorite. As a kid, I used to work at the Texas
Renaisance Fair outside of Houston, Texas. And I
joined up with Robin Hood’s gang in Sherwood
Forest, sure it was make believe, but it was this movie
that I played in my head as I cornered people with my
sword and took them back to Robin.
One of the chief complaints that people have with
Robin Hood is the sure Joy that everyone seems to be
having. But that is one of my chief reasons for loving
the film.
When you are off on an adventure, you smile... you
laugh and you are in good cheer. Adventure is FUN.
You don’t get melancholy in an adventure. Sure there
is pain and agony in the film. The bad guys rape and
kill and rob families of everything they have... But
there is hope, and he wears green tights and he kicks
ass for Richard and England.
Sigh. It’s not something I can really explain... it’s
something that I... that I have to.... SHOW YOU. It’s
a visceral rush that comes over you whilst Korngold
plays, as Flynn waves his sword about.
God... If only Flynn could have been a Jedi. My god,
to have seen Flynn wave about a lightsabre and kick
ass.... Oh man. He was, is and always shall be my
favorite Jedi.
I hope you have seen this movie. If you haven’t...
RUN to your local video store (doesn’t matter which
one, they all have it) and check it out. There’s a spirit
of adventure that should get into you.
When I’ve had a bad day... Robin Hood cheers me.
When I’ve had a great day, it elates me. Doesn’t
matter how tired I am or how down I am, the movie is
always there as a bright non-toxic dose of fun.
Enjoy your first taste.... and your second, third,
fourth.....
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Actually, the costumes in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" are much more accurate than those in that worthless excuse for a movie, "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves". The getups of the baddies, the Sheriff and Guy of Gisbourne, are especially dead-on. And the tights themselves aren't too much of a problem; men of the late 1100's wore baggy breeches tucked into snug hose that might reach the hips; as long as the tunic goes past the pelvis (as I seem to remember it does with Flynn), then full-on tights would look the same.
I don't believe we can make 'em like this any more. We wouldn't be able to capture the lighthearted tone of either this movie or the original stories (The 30's tone would be thought too naive, and what medieval people considered lighthearted fun would be liable to stick in a modern moviegoer's craw). We would feel obliged to put in some hip, postmodernist irony, or some anachronistic PC crap to prove to ourselves that we and the protagonist are better than the benighted age we're depicting. Frankly, I hope they never try to make another "Robin Hood" movie; we should just accept that the best one's already been done. -
I saw 'Robin Hood' in a double feature with 'Captain Blood' at Don Pancho's theater in Albuquerque. 'Captain Blood' is a long time favorite, but 'Robin Hood' defined, for a long time, what a real hero should be.
An real hero is someone who, for a moment, has become the hand of fate. The hero doesn't know fear. The hero doesn't even really have resolve. In that moment, the hero's action is as natural as breathing.
That's the feeling I have from the moment Robin Hood walks into the banquet hall with the deer draped over his shoulders. He walks into his enemy's stronghold, carrying with him a sign of guilt for his crime (poaching on royal land). He stands in front of his enemies without the slightest thought of self-preservation, and he gets out alive.
Maybe there's no possible reality to it, but no action hero in any movie touched that for me until I saw Chow Yun Fat.
A Triad leader in Vancouver is about to leave his stronghold. He's got guards on the walls, guards in his car. It seems half a city block is carrying guns and waiting for the gates to open so the car can pull into the street.
When they open, standing in the middle of the alleyway stands John Lee, in the white jacket that hasn't gotten so much as a wrinkle in two days of constant rolling, jumping and gunfire. He stands there, without moving, for a moment before the chaos of gunfire.
For me, it was Robin Hood and the deer all over again.
I wouldn't say that no one else could do what Erol Flynn could do. All he had was a cheerful defiance, but his one character was a archetype too pure for jaded American audiences. We spent decades in a spiraling outrage at our own indifference, and our heroes had a grim set and a burning anger over a rape, murder or both. -
For my moolah, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD is the greatest swashbuckler to grace the silver screen. Errol Flynn was at the top of his game in this epic (the part was originally offered to James Cagney!), and Basil Rathbone steals every scene he's in as the villainous Sir Guy of Gisbourne. This version is miles ahead of the other versions of the Robin Hood legend. True, the Kevin Costner version, ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES was darker and more violent, but the 1938 release is much more fun and magical (although I think Alan Rickman was brilliant in the Costner version--his "cancel Christmas" line gets me every time). Flynn's Robin Hood is more carefree and adventerous, and the man could duel like nobody's business.
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When I was in High School, I joined the Columbia movie club like when it first started. This was WAAAAAAY back in like '86. Anyhow, I took a chance on this movie and for two years straight I watched it like once a week. This movie has EVERYTHING. Errol Flynn was a complete and total bad ass. In all his films (especially Captain Blood, which I worship) he has this devil may care roguish charm, which changes only when A.) you learn there is a caring person behind the facade who is worried about the general welfare of the populace and B.) right before he kills one of the Big Boss bad guys. You see his face grow inexplicably sinister all of a sudden...it's dark work he's ultimately doing and he knows it well. But the Adventures of Robin Hood has some of the best actors of the day. Claude Reins...Olivia DeHaviland...Alan Hale Sr...and Basil Rathbone..BASIL FREAKING RATHBONE!! Now HE should've played the Joker in Batman, by God! He was just several decades too early. If you don't recognize the name, he played Sherlock Holmes in 14 films made by Universal in the late 30s and through the 40s. He is considered to be the definitive Sherlock Holmes, and he's who we usually think of when we picture him. He also played another bad guy opposite Errol Flynn in Captain Blood...which also starred Olivia DeHaviland (see a pattern?) Basil Rathbone is also probably the basis for such cartoon villains as Dick Dastardly and Snidely Whiplash, from Dudley DoRight. If you haven't seen Adventures of Robin Hood, then see it quick.
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Hi! I'm a long time reader, first time writer. Anyway I just had to comment on this one
I LOVE Errol Flynn/Swash Buckling movies. Captain Blood and Robin Hood are my all time favourites. I only wish people of my generation (I'm 21) would appreciate them more! I have a friend who once told me that he would never watch a black and white or old movie because of those qualities - how freaking ignorant is that!
Oh - and the idea about Flynn being a Jedi is to die for - ack! If only it could happen! Who can resist a guy who's movie tagline was "Six foot four of fighting manhood"?
Anyway, I just wanted to say how glad I am to hear people rave about this movie! It's hard to convince the average teen/20 year old that one of the greatest movies ever didn't need computer effects, gore or Leonardo De Caprio.
"And may I obey all of your commands with equal pleasure Your Majesty!" God I love that....
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Just thought I'd throw in "They Died With Their Boots On", as a GREAT Errol Flynn/Olivia DeHaviland movie... also their last one together. While not historically accurate, it's totally captivating,IMHO
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"We're man - we're manly men - we're men in tiiiiiiights..."
We could (and have) watched this show over and over again.
Mel Brooks rules!
from,
scifisuzi -
I've seen all of the Errol Flynn/Olivia DeHavilland pairings like a gazillion times. I have The Adventures of Robin Hood on laserdisc and it is just absolutely gorgeous Technicolor. This movie really deserves the overused description "magical".
I don't get to AICN as often as I would like, but I would sure appreciate some more reviews of older films. "Funga Din" surely ranks very close as one of the all time great adventure films; one which is a definite influence on the Indiana Jones films.
By the way everyone, if you can get to Dayton, you owe it to yourself to see "How the West Was Won" in its original Cinerama format...fantastic! -
I was wondering if anybody knows of the existence of Showtime's original TV series called The Adventures of Robin Hood. I'm hoping to find all the episodes on VHS or DVD to add to my collection. Anyone know where or if I can buy these episodes? I tried taping the series in re-runs, but you know how that goes... you forget to set the VCR one day, or the power goes out on your cable, or they show all the episodes out of the order they originally broadcast, etc. I really hope one day to get all of these. The movies might have been fine, but I liked the series better for character development, and for the wonderful musical arrangements by an Irish band named Clannad...
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Robin hood is number one for me. However, you should also see Ivanhoe from the same time period starring Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor. While the book is good, this movie has great battle scenes and an interesting plot. Ivanhoe and Henry V also have great flights of arrows hurling through the air. I have it on tape but would like to get both of these movies on DVD.
Does anyone know if Ivanhoe will be remade?
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