Still the definitive Robin Hood movie
Wouldn't you agree?
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MovieChat Forums > The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Discussion > Still the definitive Robin Hood movie
For sure. Kevin Costner's was average and the American accents along with Morgan Freeman was too much. Russel Crowe's was a borefest and I turned it off after 20 minutes and I won't even bother with the new one which of course has the black man training the quintessential English hero. Standby for the next film which casts a black man as Robin Hood who is also Muslim and gay.
shareI think they're getting worse, actually.
Erroll Flynn set the high bar with his merry adventure story. It's like a fudge brownie with ice cream on top: it's delicious, filling, and who cares about nutrition? Beat it, buzzkill!
The next big release was Prince of Thieves, wasn't it? There are a myriad of Robin Hood films, but most of them are kind bargain bin stuff. Somebody with more knowledge on the cinematic history of Robin Hood correct me, here...?
Anyways, regardless, Prince of Thieves came along and tried to be the next Big Robin Hood - whether vying with Flynn or somebody else. It's tonally all over the place, flip-flopping between comic adventure and dark realism faster than Costner slides in and out of his accent, with about the same success rate. Rickman's a treasure, though.
After that was the Ridley Scott/ Russell Crowe Robin Hood, sacrificing the brave outlaw's legend on the altar of "gritty reboots" so popular in the late '00s. What really crushed me about this one was that there were traces of a better epic historical drama about the political clashes that lead to the signing of the Magna Carta. That could've been cool, especially with the Gladiator duo back.
The latest was the Taran Egerton bomb. I haven't seen it, but reviews were merciless, box office was worse, and the trailer made it look horrid. If you can't clip together a fun trailer... I mean, they turned bow fighting into gun-fu from Equilibrium and managed to run out of cool moves in the three minute trailer - it was already repetitive. They also appeared to have climbed up on some kind of political soap-box and made it ANTIFA Robin Hood who was trained by Little John (?) who just happened to be a Muslim...? What...?
I remember liking Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) as a kid but I think Flynn's is still the best version. Funny thing about the Scott/Crowe film is I can remember the care they took with the landscape and how good Cate Blanchette was but nothing else about the film.
shareIt wasn't a huge hit and I don't know how much was expected of it, but 1976's Robin and Marian, with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn and Directed by Robin Lester, was definitely a major production.
shareI've always wanted to see that one. I thought the concept was neat and I always enjoy "aging hero" stories.
shareIt's a beautiful, bittersweet film. Goldman's book about making the film, complete with screenplay, talks a lot about his love of the swan song, someone going out with one last reminder of all that made him memorable & beloved, then the graceful letting go into eternity. I'd say that he accomplished exactly that for Robin & Marian in this film. And also for a surprisingly sympathetic Sheriff of Nottingham, now as old as Robin & in many ways like him in character, with full respect between them as worthy adversaries—Robert Shaw is very good in the role.
shareI'll definitely have to check it out.
shareagreed
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shareAbsolutely
shareWithout a doubt.
shareI'd only seen the Costner version before this one and this is certainly the better one, though I have a nostalgic fondness for the 91 film.
And Errol Flynn is perfect as Robin Hood. Hard to see anyone topping him. Not just the physicality of the role, which he does incredibly well, but the acting is first-rate. This is the first film I've seen of his and I want to see more of them.
In Ivanhoe (1952), Robin Hood does show up as a minor character who plays an important role in the film but the actor playing him wasn't memorable.