Robin Hood Week | | Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves {1991}

(FYI:  Hamlette is hosting a giveaway for the week!  Thank you so much, Hamlette!  Hop on over to her post and check out all the Robin Hood-themed goodies! :))

I liked this movie much more than I thought I would.  Having read some reviews, seen snippets, and watched the parody, Men in Tights, I was all set to be underwhelmed.  I had this nice, cutting review forming in my head, complete with reaction gifs, but then I actually watched it.  And liked it.  So that was a bit of a bummer. ;-P


No, seriously, though, I did enjoy it.  It's a good movie, on the whole.  There are several little moments that one could nitpick, but, again, it's very good overall.

Yes, Kevin Costner's English accent -- or lack thereof -- IS quite irksome (Cary Elwes' dig about it in Men in Tights is well-deserved), but then again, how do any of us know that we'd do any better?  And he also brought a kind of boyish bashfulness and playfulness to the role that was rather adorable.  I did find him endearing, I'll admit. ;)


Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham is, of course, quite popular, and deservedly so.  He's really good at portraying pure evil, you know?  He is fun to watch and acts his role very well.  (One quibble I have, though, is that some of his *ahem* characteristics -- shall we use the word lasciviousness? -- are portrayed as humorous, when they're really not humorous.  But "that's a minor thing," I suppose, especially as I'm sure the makers weren't really trying to downplay the seriousness of his wickedness.)


I was especially looking forward to disliking Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's Marian, but found I could not.  I saw one part near the end a while ago, so when I read a review that labeled her as lapsing into a "damsel in distress" role by the close of the film, I was prepared to agree.  However, having watched all of it now, I think that label is unfair.  (I mean, in that situation at the end of the movie, we'd ALL be damsels in distress, quite seriously.)  Lucy Griffiths' Marian will probably always be my favorite, but I felt like Mastrantonio's Marian was more accurate to the time (not surprisingly).  Also, I was surprised -- and somewhat disappointed -- to see how it seemed that the BBC show may have taken some ideas from this version. That disguise Marian is in the first time we see her is basically the Night Watchman outfit, and there were a few other parallels I noticed.  But p'raps it was incidental. ;)  Anyway, yes, I liked Marian in this version, too.


The whole thing with Will Scarlet was good, too -- plot twists for the win!  

I liked Morgan Freeman as Azeem, too.  You could still hear his American background when he spoke, but I felt like his accent attempt was more of a success overall. 

Honestly, I mainly just found myself feeling rather sorry for and amused by Guy of Gisborne.  I'm not really sure why. XD  Maybe that's just one's automatic response to any other Gisborne after seeing the BBC's?  Hehe. ;-P

Another aspect of this movie that I particularly enjoyed was the humor.  Seriously, the movie is legitimately funny, which was a delightful surprise and took the edge off the heaviness of the other subject matter.


In terms of content, it's not too bad.  The Sheriff is pretty promiscuous and it's clear that he's using several castle girls.  *semi-spoilers* He also tries to rape Marian at the end of the movie. *end of semi-spoilers*  Aside from the Sheriff, there are scattered innuendos and references, and a scene where Robin is skinny-dipping.  There's a lot of violence, but I wouldn't call it gruesome.  As for the witch, I looked up some pictures beforehand, so she actually didn't freak me out too much.  But we fast-forwarded most all of her scenes, so I also didn't really see a lot of her.  I'd still definitely recommend caution with, as they say, the younger viewers! ;-P  Also some language, including the Lord's name in vain and one usage of the F word.



All in all, I found this a really enjoyable movie that "I should not be sorry" to watch again sometime. ;)  Of course, it was a bit of a challenge to take it seriously, what with having all the quips from Men in Tights running through my head (i.e. when Duncan came out blinded -- WHICH ISN'T FUNNY -- all I could think was "'Ey, Blinkin!"), but if you can get past that, you can appreciate the movie for what it is -- a mighty fine adaptation of Le Hood. :)


Don't forget to leave links to your own Robin Hood posts HERE! :)

Comments

  1. Haha! Well, you certainly went into this with the lowest expectations possible, am I right? I suppose it's no surprise you ended up liking it better than you thought. :)

    I sure would love to see other versions of Robin Hood, like this one, but I'm afraid the content is too much for me. ;) Otherwise it does look fascinating! (And definitely more historically accurate. Sorry BBC.)

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    1. Haha, you know it. ;)

      Yeah, I understand. :-P It was pretty decent, on the whole! I was kind of surprised . . . well, I already wrote a review. ;) (Hehehehe, yeahhhhhh . . . )

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  2. I think I saw a music video that used clips from this movie once? H'm . . . let me see if I can find it . . .

    Yep, here it is! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGoWtY_h4xo

    Wait--does that mean this song was in the movie soundtrack? Because I think this is an official music video? If so, I MIGHT even be persuaded to watch the movie for that reason alone . . . (it's an old and dear favorite of mine, y'see ;-) )

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    1. Aww! Yep, 'tis indeed. The movie says that that's the theme song, but honestly I didn't hear it before now. XD I guess by theme song they meant the credit song, and I was thinking they meant it'd be incorporated into the score somehow? But maybe it was and I just missed it (more than possible, seeing as how I'd never heard it).

      But anyway, yes! Sure, give it a go! Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised with the movie, despite some minor quibbles. :-P Cute video, btw!

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    2. Yep, it sounds like an end-credits sort of song . . . It's cozy and gentle and I love it muchly :-) Always reminds me of autumn, actually. (No, I don't think it's JUST the music video, either, although it might be; the first version I heard was a cover by Ryan Kelly and he does a lot of autumn-type songs.)

      I might at that :-) I like Kevin Costner sometimes.

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    3. Yass. :D (Interesting! I don't think I've ever heard Ryan Kelly . . . mayhap I should look him up?? ;))

      Haha, "I like Kevin Costner sometimes." << WE ARE BASICALLY CLONES.

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  3. Oh, I think I saw a bit of this on TV. I forgot about this version. Alan Rickman with black hair and a beard! I was stunned. He's blond in Sense and Sensibility and I thought the black hair in HP he had for Snape was intentionally unnatural, and then he's been silver-haired for a while.

    I didn't know Men in Tights was a parody of a particular movie, or I forgot. Well, know I know which order to watch them in.

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    1. Yeah, my mom always had trouble warming up to Alan as Brandon, since she'd first seen him as such a wicked character in this. I don't know, I almost feel like he looks better in darker hair, though? Maybe not quite like this, but maybe more like his character in Die Hard. I don't know why, though.

      Hehehe, neither did I, actually! I thought it was just a parody of several different films, with a few quips aimed specifically at this one. It was only after watching this one that I realized it's basically a straight-up parody of this particular version. :-P

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    2. Livia, quick edit! My bad -- I have now seen another version of Robin Hood and realized that Men in Tights is not "a straight-up parody of ONLY this particular version." It definitely pulls lots of inspiration from other versions, as well! So, sorry about that. I spoke too soon. :-P

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  4. I have seen the end. And as you know, the end is, yeah. I was like, "What is going on!?" One day I will see the whole thing. :)

    Marian as a damsel in distress? IT DRIVES ME CRAZY WHEN THEY DO THAT. That is why I love the Olivia DeHaviland and Lucy Griffith portrals.

    HOW DID I NOT REMEMBER THAT WAS ALAN RICKMAN? Well, I guess the part I saw, I was a little bit freaked out so I didn't notice it. Also Morgan Freeman? I guess he wasn't in the part I saw. Thinking about it now I might have seen Men in Tights, does that have the same ending?

    Great review Olivia! I mean it. :)

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    1. Hahaha, yes -- "as you know, the end is, yeah." << I do know. ;-P Hehe, yeah, one day you'll see the whole thing and it'll make more sense and be less disturbing (maybe?).

      I KNOW RIGHT THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. But she's actually not. Only in that one scene, where she really could not be anything else. :-P (I just saw the Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland version yesterday! IT'S SO FUN. :) I can't wait to rewatch it and become even more fond of it. :))

      Haha, easy mistake. I might not have known, either (well, I'd probably recognize his voice), were it not for having heard about it so much from my parents. Yes! Ohhhh, yes, that's right, he probably wouldn't have been in that part. Men in Tights has a similar ending, yes. :)

      Awwww, thank you! I took some time on it, so it's always nice to hear that people liked it. :)

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    2. Yes, the begining would have the whole thing make more sense. :)

      That's good to know, 'cause it makes me the eye rolling person when it happens. (YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW COOL!!!!!!!!!! IT IS!!!!!!! OH YES, PLEASE DO!!! Sorry, it was my first introduction to Robin Hood which is why I love it so. :D :D :D :D :D :D)

      Okay, I might have seen Men in Tights, there is only one way to find out, watch both movies, the whole thing.

      Reviews do take all day to write (when I started blogging I didn't know that), and this one was really great!! :) :)

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