Rating: 
Summary: good stereo version
Review: While this recording fills a big gap, it somehow does not measure up to the conducting verve of Lionel Newman and Korngold in their respective versions so well known to film music collectors.Some years ago (about 25 years!) Warner Bros issued a double LP set which includes excerpts from Korngold`s Robin Hood score viz. the cue where you can hear Errol Flynn declaring his welcome to Maid Marian: "Welcome to Sherwood Forest, my lady" after a robust ambush of the Sheriff`s party. I think this set has never been re-issued on CD. It also contains excerpts from The Sea Hawk and Kings Row. I don`t think the recent Rhino Korngold double-CD versions can surpass these LP recordings issued by Warner Bros. I`m especially appalled at the exclusion of the cue entitled Free At Last where the choral exuberance is brilliantly captured via music, dialogue and choir. Kudos to the late Tony Thomas for his innumerable contributions to film music but unfortunately the Rhino Korngold has been marred by poor sound. In fact, my copy of his book "Music from the Movies" fired my interest in film music. I got to know the book existed through an LP soundtrack A Star is Born (music by Max Steiner and starring Frederic March). Coming back to Robin Hood, my vote goes to Korngold for his robust and beautiful score.
Rating:
Summary: Flynn's masterpiece
Review: While this is an all-star movie -- cast members include Olivia DeHavilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains and Alan Hale -- it is, without a doubt, THE quintessential Errol Flynn film. His vibrant portrayal of Robin Hood remains unmatched in the annals of movie making, and every time he appears on the screen he seems to absorb everyone and everything around him. This is the art of film making at its best; this is Errol Flynn as we like to remember him; this is a must-see for all ages. END
Rating:
Summary: A true classic
Review: This film is by far the best version of the Robin Hood legend ever to hit the big screen. The casting is excellent. The sets are lavish. Even the music score adds to the experience. All ages will enjoy. END
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: When my parents first suggested I watch this with them on VHS when they purchesd it many years ago, I was about seven. I wasn't sure what to expect but I remember loving all the colors in the film and the romance. I purchased it for Father's day on DVD for my father because our VHS copy went bad, and I'm glad I did. The color is even richer and the music sounds incredible. Even better then when I first saw it! I highly suggest you buy it!
Rating:
Summary: great movie ....second DVD is amaaazing!
Review: This is more a review of the package than the movie , which is a classic and extremely well presented on disc one....vivid colors , crisp images....not a complaint there....and the bonus features are very good....a comprehensive set of Errol Flynn movie trailers...WB night at the movies....(an exhausting Rudy Belmer commentary track that will have you gasping for air).
the SECOND disc is just ridiculous in its amount of archival coverage..
a wonderful documentary on the movie
a great feature on the history of Technicolor....
two very fun looney tunes cartoons with a Robin Hood theme...
outtakes from the movie!
home movies shot during filming!
a long lost Errol Flynn movie about yachting..
and a positively thrilling short film about archer Howard Hill...
and more.
HOURS of fun and informative viewing on disc two alone!
Warners should be congratulated for such a comprehensive set ....buy this and encourage them to keep this type of content coming!!!
Rating:
Summary: "the film was great & Korngold's score made it a classic"
Review: Varese Sarabande presents this classic among classics - "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" (1938), rollicking tale of the legendary outlaw, regarded as the standard-to-go-by swashbuckler. Grand castles and lush forest photography, with Errol Flynn in his prime, as our hero who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor - enthusiastically performed most of his own stunts, including intricate swordplay advanced tree and wall climbing. His Robin brimed with charm and bravura, protector of poor Saxons everywhere, declaring war on the Normans Prince John (Claude Rains) and doing battle with Sir Guy (Basil Rathbone) in one of the most spectacular sword-fights ever filmed. Erich Wolfgang Korngold was called upon to compose the archetypal score, more so even than his score for "Kings Row", in "Robin Hood" he came closest to creating an opera without singing, bolstering and carrying the action, at the same-time blends uninterrupted streams of colorful music. For "PROLOGUE(MAIN TITLE) use motif a sweeping, heroic trumpet theme...rest of the score a multitude of themes and variations entirely original, but track 5 "ROBIN MEETS LITTLE JOHN" is English folk song "Sumer Is Icumen In", with exceptional orchestration by Hugo Friedhofer, marked every texture and nuance - even exact voicing of chords highly dramatic and unique. Korngold set standards for Williams, Goldsmith, Horner and every composer from that time on, listen to this classic masterpiece and see what I mean...a great film and Korngold made it a classic! Total Time: 42:43 on 16 Tracks...Varese Sarabande 47202...(1988)
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant !
Review: There are a small number of films in the history of Hollywood that can actually be considered perfect. "The Adventures of Robin Hood" with the incomparable Errol Flynn is one of them. With over a hundred reviews already, there is little for anyone to add. I will, however, provide a brief summary as to why this film is indeed perfect, a term I use very rarely. The cast--the greatest of all swashbucklers at the peak of his charm and athleticism, Errol Flynn-- Olivia De Havilland, a lovely woman, a fine actress and an ideal partner for our hero--Basil Rathbone, oozing evil from every pore--Claude Rains, conniving and sinister as always--Eugene Palette, a jovial yet formidable Friar Tuck--Alan Hale as rough and ready Little John--and on and on--even the most minor character is just right. The sets and costumes--absolutely gorgeous--the archery contest is just one of many scenes where technicolour shows its stuff ! The Directors--Messrs. Keighley and Curtiz could not have brought this legend to life more expertly. The Music--unforgettable Korngold score. Add all these ingredients and you have true cinema magic ! Warner Bros--the DVD is marvellous, and the extras on the second disc ( detailed in other reviews ) provide more treats for the lucky viewer. What a beautiful job ! So--if you have that dreary Kevin Costner/Robin Hood DVD, throw it on the trash heap, and revel in the real thing ! A triumph !
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST ABOUT ROBIN
Review: Errol Flynn is a erotic AND boyish challenge as Robin Hood - no wonder Lady Marian and his men are following him. Errol is magnetic and has a charm that has not dated a bit. Nor has Olivia deHavilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains and Eugene Pallette - all at the best of their powers.
The production is of such standard that a remake or further films are of no use.
Rating: 
Summary: "You speak treason!" "Fluently."
Review: Errol Flynn's "Adventures of Robin Hood" was the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" of its day, a roller coaster ride, a thrill a minute, etc. Of course, "Raiders" took its inspiration from films like this and from the serial thrillers of the '30s, so that's no surprise. Today our cultural remembrances of Robin Hood spring from this film, so great is its fame and so deep is our love as a society for the character who reputedly defended the defenseless against heartless oppressors.
And one cannot fault many of the performances in this relic, my personal favorite being Claude Rains as the amoral Prince John; not a bit of overdone melodrama on his part, in spite of his opportunities to chew the scenery. Rains plays the character as smoothly as anyone could wish. The cinematography is beautiful and often the shots are inventive, including the famous shadowed climactic swordfight between Robin and Sir Guy. The story is generally well written and the pace is just right.
It's easy to see why this is such a long-time favorite. But as a first-time viewer to this film I'm not overwhelmed. Another reviewer on this page gushes, "If this movie is not a five star film, then none are." So, I suppose none are, though I could name about 100 better movies (Lawrence of Arabia, Local Hero, The Philadelphia Story, The Lady Eve, Treasure Of the Sierra Madre, The Matrix, Streetcar Named Desire, Casablanca, Double Indemnity, the aforementioned Raiders...OK OK, I'll stop there, but that list took about 30 seconds to come up with).
The flaws in this film almost outweigh its positives. Consider the too-convenient story logic that says, first: "How do we get the word to Robin and his men? He has ears in every bush, he'll find out." But later Maid Marian has to sneak out of the castle to get word to his men that he's been arrested and will be hanged. What happened to ears in every bush?
Consider the early scene with Robin in Sir Guy's castle as Prince John's "guest." He has to shoot his way out, and while his quiver carried about four or five arrows initially he manages to get off seven or eight shots.....and still leaves the castle with at least three arrows in that magical quiver.
Consider also the poor editing when Robin "welcomes" Sir Guy to Sherwood Forest: Flynn turns to his left as if about to leap out of the tree, which he does in the next shot, but the closeup goes on too long and we see Flynn stop in midstep awaiting the director to cry "Cut!"
Consider also the lame mockery of swordfighting that often goes on behind the main characters in the climactic battle between the men of Richard and John: Extras clearly just trying not to hurt themselves or each other.
Consider again the fight between Robin and Sir Guy: On the stairs the bad guy's sword is right in Robin's gut for a full beat before he's pushed over the stairs, whereas a moment like that in reality would have meant immediate death for our hero, ah, but this is Hollywood.
Consider, finally, the scene where Robin and Marian declare their love: Their noses an inch apart, the director chooses to insert closeups, each of Flynn and de Havilland, that feature several inches of blank air in front of each nose. She also tilts her head in a different direction in each shot. Laughable.
Silly, absolutely silly errors of continuity, staging, writing, and editing that unnecessarily mar some really brilliant moments of early cinema. I'm sure there are more charitable souls than mine who are willing to overlook such sloppy work, or at least to simply overlook it as the residue of the early years when Hollywood was still perfecting the craft, but I can think of earlier films I think of as more perfectly made (Modern Times, Svengali, The Kid, Camille, Les Miserables...oh, I do go on).
Rating:
Summary: One of the best-produced DVDs I have ever seen
Review:
Warner has leaped into major Criterion Collection territory with this release, an exhaustive package with literally DAYS worth of supplementary viewing. The Technicolor documentary is a sharp and intelligent work, full of luscious examples of 3-strip color (and a noteworthy discussion of the color scheme in "Gone With The Wind," and why it looks nothing like other Technicolor films). Trailers, cartoons, short subjects, still galleries, commentary...what a labor of love.
The image quality of the film itself may represent the closest thing to a true 35mm Technicolor screening that we have ever had on video. It is positively three-dimensional. (Should Fox EVER get around to releasing "The Gang's All Here" on DVD, it will probably look even better than this).
A friend, viewing this for the first time, noted that it is nothing like a 30s movie. It's true, almost nothing has dated (for comparison, look at another costume pic of that year--"Marie Antoinette," which has dated badly). I would say only the score and, as mentioned in the documentary, deHavilland's eyebrows, are the giveaways to when the movie was made.
A major film in every way. With a presentation to match.
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