Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Rating:
Summary: great movie, but disappointing version
Review: The 3 stars is for the extended version only. The original version has been one of my favorite movies ever since it was released in theaters, and I would give it 5 stars. I was intrigued by the thought of 12 minutes of extra footage, and I was also looking forward to seeing the film with the clarity of DVD for the first time since my VHS recorded from TV version has degraded to the point of being unwatchable. However, I was disappointed with both. While the added scenes do give some interesting background to the sheriff, they seem forced and in my opinion take away from the main focus of the movie and don't seem necessary. Also, the sheriff has his scribe's tongue cut out in one of the added scenes, but a scene near the end, which was in the original version, has the same scribe speaking clearly. I was also extremely disappointed with the picture quality. It appeared grainy and often had theater pops and crackles. It definitely did not seem like the "all-new digital transfer" mentioned on the packaging. Having not seen the original DVD version, I don't know if its picture quality is any better, but either way I think they could have cleaned this up a little better. It was still enjoyable to watch, but it definitely didn't live up to my expectations.

Rating:
Summary: Robbin' the Hood
Review: Bad. Bad. BAD. This movie is...bad. Costner is the most boring actor to ever grace the silver screen. The man has no range. I admit 'Dances with Wolves' was good, but he should have stopped there. This version of the classic story is no good.

Take the story of Robin Hood, the man who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, and crank it down a few notches below the Disney cartoon, throw in a bunch of actors who look like they'd rather be doing something else, and you have this movie. It's boring, long, and pointless. This could have been so much better with more care and less emphasis on getting the locations and the most popular actors of the time. The only actor that makes the most of his role is Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent, sloppy added scenes
Review: The movie itself is great for the most part. It's been a favorite of mine since 1991 when it was released. However, this new "Special Edition" DVD treatment was a big disappointment. My biggest problem was with the 12 minutes of added footage. Among the new added scenes are ones where the sheriff cuts out the tongue of his scribe and which show the now mute scribe writing all of his communications since he can no longer speak. However this 'special edition' then leaves in an original scene at the film's end where the scribe verbally tells Robin and Azeem where to find the sheriff (!) And even more frustrating is than NONE of the six commentators on the two commentary tracks bother to mention this. It's so sloppy and inconsistent, I wish they had just left the film alone. If the filmmakers want audiences to see extra footage, but that footage is no longer consistent with the movie, they should put it in a "Deleted Scenes" section. Not incorporate it back into the movie. And the fact that director Kevin Reynolds says nothing about this flaw shows just how little he cared about his film. And as for the commentaries, there are HUGE gaps where nothing is said at all (in fact, at a few points, I thought my commentary track wasn't working it was so bad) and when they DO speak it's to say such pearls of wisdom as "Nice shot" "I still have that sword" and "Whoa" between the long gaps of silence. The movie deserved better.