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Robin Hood

Robin Hood

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bergin Over Costner Any Day!
Review: THIS is the film they should have put in theatres back in 1991 rather than "Prince of Thieves." Folcanet, the villain, has the absolute best death scene in years! Patrick Bergin is a great Robin Hood, a fine mixture of realism and Errol Flynn derring-do, and Uma Thurman is... well, I paid money to see her in "The Avengers," so you know I'm biased when it comes to her. Wonderful fun, the best Robin Hood film since 1938.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Robin Hood flick ever!
Review: This is the most realistic portrayal of how the legend of Robin Hood could have began. There was no "we're all english, except Robin Hood's lack of an accent" that Costner did to slaughter the tale. This version was true to the time period, dark, gritty, grim...it even had the politics down that could have driven a man to become "Robin Hood" and take the the highways.

On top of that, two words: Uma Thurman. Yummy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic movie!
Review: THIS MOVIE IS SO AWESOME AN ISN"T ONE SECOND BORING. Loved it!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A version that will keep viewers riveted!
Review: This verison (which was first made as a theatrical film for European cinema, then shown on FOX TV, and then shortened for video by about forty minutes) stars Patrick Bergin as the outlawed Earl of Huntington (portrayed with some touches of humor and plenty of physical action and presence); Uma Thurman as a very independent Lady Marian; Jeroen Krabbe as the Norman lord who was once Robin's friend but must now hunt him down; and Jurgen Prochnow as an extremely pouty and self-important Guy of Guisbourne. This version does not attempt to clean up the legend of Robin Hood (as in some previous versions), but instead reveals it in all its down-and-dirtiness, especially when showing all the opression that Robin is fighting against. If it could be released in its full length, this would be a must for any collection, but even in its shortened state it's well worth seeing. END

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good, Solid Take on the Legend (but some concerns)
Review: This version of Robin Hood makes the most effort to be a period piece of any big-screen version. Rather than pandering to the mass-market expectations of what a Robin Hood movie "should be," it attempts to show what a "Robin Hood" of the late 12the century could be. The costumes are spot-on, the weapons are museum-accurate, and the period politics permeate everything.

The performances are all good. Jeroen Krabbe is my favorite as a Norman noble having a very bad week. A nice touch is having all the Normans speak with silly French accents (although two of them are played by a Dutchman and a German) and the Saxons all have appropriate English accents. William Hobbs' fight direction gives a sense of the weight of the swords, heavier and more deadly than the typical hollywood rapier. Most of the other good stuff in the movie is covered by the other reviewers.

There were a few things that kept this movie from being perfect, however. The chain mail armor was obviously shiny silver fabric. A few action scenes seemed awkward, specifically: Robin and Will ride a falling scaffolding to the ground, and when done, are running along with the crowd that is inexplicably still running; the start of the climactic battle at the end in the castle courtyard is somehow undramatic and rather confusing.

One other thing bothers me: I first saw this movie on FOX TV when it first aired. A friend taped it for me, but the tape was grainy. When it played on FOX again years later, I taped over it, only to find that many of my favorite bits had been cut out. I bought the commercial vidiotape, and found that though some of the bits that were edited were still in the film, some bits were still gone, leaving some scenes feeling incomplete or truncated, losing some foreshadowing, and missing some good character bits. Now the movie plays occasionally on my local WB, essentially the videotape version with some minor edits for time and content. I don't know where to get that original version I saw.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best "Robin Hood" movie ever made!
Review: Who's the best Robin Hood...Errol Flynn, Kevin Costner, or Patrick Bergin? I say that Bergin wins hands down!

It was a crime that this movie was released the same year that Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" came out. It was, as a result, released on broadcast TV instead of in theaters. I would have dearly loved to watch this movie on the big screen. Alas, it was not to be.

The atmosphere, the costumes (for the most part), the characters and their interactions, the music, the degree of cleanliness and lack thereof of characters and their abodes, and the version of telling of the tale of Robin Hood ring most true and fun in this movie than in any other I have seen. Think about the main contenders...Errol Flynn in his perfectly form fitting tights, and Kevin Costner in his consistently clean and styled hair simply can't match the presentation of Robin Hood that Patrick Bergin brings off.

I thought that the representation of the "splitting the arrow" in this movie was excellent. I also liked the fact that the Baron Deguerre wasn't really aware of the political situation he lived under -- John versus Richard -- and, in the end he makes up his own mind...though I wonder whether his head would later demanded by John(?).

Uma Thurman makes a great Marion...headstrong, determined, defiant, and free-spirited. Her decision to leave the castle and see what's happening in the real world makes the movie believable.

Finally, the filming of the movie, with a sort of an overcast hue throughout (until the very end) provides a sense of winter breaking into spring, representing hopelessness giving way to hope for the common person.

I have watched this movie several times, and I know that I will watch it many more times. It's a great telling, without excessive killing or violence, language is not an issue, and there is only a limited amout of innuendo regarding Robin and Marion.

At the same time, it must be said that there are a few missteps in technical portions of the film...the falling scaffold scene is the most noticeable.

A solid 5 stars for acting, atmosphere, and story.

Top-notch!

Alan Holyoak

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best "Robin Hood" movie ever made!
Review: Who's the best Robin Hood...Errol Flynn, Kevin Costner, or Patrick Bergin? I say that Bergin wins hands down!

It was a crime that this movie was released the same year that Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" came out. It was, as a result, released on broadcast TV instead of in theaters. I would have dearly loved to watch this movie on the big screen. Alas, it was not to be.

The atmosphere, the costumes (for the most part), the characters and their interactions, the music, the degree of cleanliness and lack thereof of characters and their abodes, and the version of telling of the tale of Robin Hood ring most true and fun in this movie than in any other I have seen. Think about the main contenders...Errol Flynn in his perfectly form fitting tights, and Kevin Costner in his consistently clean and styled hair simply can't match the presentation of Robin Hood that Patrick Bergin brings off.

I thought that the representation of the "splitting the arrow" in this movie was excellent. I also liked the fact that the Baron Deguerre wasn't really aware of the political situation he lived under -- John versus Richard -- and, in the end he makes up his own mind...though I wonder whether his head would later demanded by John(?).

Uma Thurman makes a great Marion...headstrong, determined, defiant, and free-spirited. Her decision to leave the castle and see what's happening in the real world makes the movie believable.

Finally, the filming of the movie, with a sort of an overcast hue throughout (until the very end) provides a sense of winter breaking into spring, representing hopelessness giving way to hope for the common person.

I have watched this movie several times, and I know that I will watch it many more times. It's a great telling, without excessive killing or violence, language is not an issue, and there is only a limited amout of innuendo regarding Robin and Marion.

At the same time, it must be said that there are a few missteps in technical portions of the film...the falling scaffold scene is the most noticeable.

A solid 5 stars for acting, atmosphere, and story.

Top-notch!

Alan Holyoak


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