Rating: 
Summary: BUY THIS !!!
Review: I cannot agree more with the other reviewers of this, the definitive edition of the Warner Bros. masterpiece. Not only do we get the very best remastering in glorious Technicolor, but many, many bonus materials to add to the enjoyment. We not only get documentraies on the making of ROBIN HOOD and on the evolution of Technicolor, but cartoons, short subjects on the wondrous Howard Hill and his archery and the dashing Errol Flynn, rare home movies shot during production, The Robin Hood Radio Show from 1938, Erich Wolfgang Korngold at the piano, Korngold's oscar-winning score separate, in its entirety, and much, much more. Give yourself plenty of days to view, listen to, and digest the extras: every one is a gem. This is the way that truly classic films should be presented, so a huge thank you to Warner for their beautiful package!
One very, VERY large thank you to Mr. Rudy Behlmer, whose commentary track which travels along with the film is the way that all commentary tracks should be: informative, insightful, well-written and spoken with delight. Mr. Behlmer obviously loves this film.
I can't recommend this film or this package any higher.
Rating:
Summary: It's big and spectaculer!
Review: when you see him swing on a vine....Cheer!
Rating:
Summary: great!
Review: Thoroughly enjoyed this! I am likely one of the few to have watched Danny Kaye's "Court Jester" a dozen times or more before ever having seen what it parodied, Flynn's Robin Hood film. I kept expecting Kaye to pop up anytime!
Seeing the original gave me all the more appreciation for the Kaye movie, and I enjoyed the whole cast of characters.
Rating:
Summary: In with the old, out with the new!
Review: Though old, I have gotta say it, this is the stinkin' best Robin Hood ever, and it always will be. I mean, there is so much action and so little profanity! Errol Flynn is an amazing, better than Tom Cruise will ever be, actor. Well, that might be a bit broad, but still, you know what I mean.I also am quite partial to Patrick Knowles as Will Scarlet. His character is awesome, with the whole red had and cape thing, plus his one little scene of mandolin playing. Little John is good to, and the fight scene between him and Robin Hood is my one of my numerous favorite parts. What are the other ones? Well, definetely the fight between Robin Hood and Friar Tuck, the scene in which Robin Hood comes into that royal banquet swingin' around a deer, and also the scene where he saves that small merry man from the Sheriff after the little dude shot one of the kings deer. Classic. That is the only word to discribe this 1940's flick.
Rating:
Summary: Based upon the ancient Robin Hood legends
Review: I still remember that when I first came up with a list of what films I would like to actually own as a boy (before video tape) this one was at the top of the list. Now that digital technology is here, this two DVD set is literally the ultimate. The color is so sumptuous that it makes my teeth hurt. The included cartoons, shorts, and newsreel make you feel like you are back in 1938. Then, you have everything you ever wanted to know about the making of the film in the historical commentary (who knew that the horse that Olivia de Havilland rode in on would become Roy Roger's Trigger?) If this isn't the definitive presentation of this film, then I cannot imagine what will be.Maybe the true test of a great film, or a great legend, is whether or not it means as much to you as an adult as it did as a kid. Would you go out of your way to introduce your children to it? As the credits say, this is based upon the ancient Robin Hood legends. That is why it holds up. Robin is the champion of the people. He holds England for it's true King in the face of murderous, thieving usurpers. I still get a chill when he tells his men to scour the country and bring King Richard back safe to Sherwood. In fact, there are a lot of scenes here that still give me chills. I wanted to be one of the Merry Men as a boy- and I still hope that I'd have what it takes to defend the land and the people from a pack of rich, powerful, lying thieves: Robin Hood: Men, if you're willing to fight for our people, I want you! Sir Robin of Locksley: I'll organize revolt, exact a death for a death, and I'll never rest until every Saxon in this shire can stand up free men and strike a blow for Richard and England.
Prince John: Are you finished?
Sir Robin of Locksley: I'm only just beginning. From this night forward I'll use every means in my power to fight you! Lady Marian Fitzswalter: Why, you speak treason!
Sir Robin of Locksley: Fluently. Sir Guy of Gisbourne: You've come to Nottingham once too often!
Sir Robin of Locksley: When this is over, my friend, there'll be no need for me to come again. Sir Robin of Locksley: It's injustice I hate, not the Normans.
Rating:
Summary: No orange faces, PLEASE !
Review: The color alone is worth the price of this DVD! It looks like it did in the theatres when it came out. Close-ups of Olivia de Havilland are particularly stunning. A word of caution, though: To enjoy the color, you will have to make sure your TV's color, tint, and contrast are set correctly (NOT like in the stores) so that flesh tones look natural, not like oranges wearing black wigs (as they do in the stores).
Rating: 
Summary: Still a Good Movie
Review: I remember enjoying this movie as a little boy watching it on a black-and-white 13" TV in Maryland. Years later as a young man it was ranked as a Top 25 guy movie in the Von Hoffman Bros.' Big Damn Book of Sheer Manliness. So when Errol Flynn's Robin Hood finally came out in DVD, I knew I had to get it. I was afraid, like other old movies and TV sitcoms, that the passage of time would not be gentle to Robin Hood. But the movie is a good as ever. Adding the cartoons is also a nice touch in the DVD extra. I'd give it 5 stars, but my idea of Robin Hood was changed forever after Archie Bunker said, "Robin Hood was an English f*g."
Rating:
Summary: DVD of the Year
Review: Warner's dvd release of one of the best adventure films ever made is one of the best dvds availble.
65 years old, the picture hasn't dated the way most films have. An extraordinary success of all front the picture is as fun and entertaining as it was 65 years ago. Adventures of robin hood is the first great color film. Few films have made such a glorious use of techicolor. Stunning visuals are created with excellent sets, costumes, locations, and photography. The script is smart and funny with dialogue that holds up well. The production assembled one of the greatest ensembles of supporting players that breathed life into colorfully scripted supporting roles. "Adventures" is one of the best Hollywood films ever made and arguebly the benchmark for all adventure films. Picture quality on the dvd is a knockout. Having seen the film on scratchy vhs, i was blown away by the dvd print. Sharpness and oh the glorious color is brilliant. Obiviously its not perfect there is some tough grain on some scenes and sometimes the focus is soft, but for a film 65 years old to look this good is a miracle. Watching the dvd for the first time i saw so many things that were rendered invisible in the blur and bleed of vhs. Never did the dvd's color bleed, and rarely have i seen such a marvelous example of color on the dvd. The film is in pre widescreen full frame that perserves the aspect ratio, although many tvs still tend to cut off a bit. In my case one title card had the last letters cut in half. Sound is a little less sucessful, but still clear and clean. The mix is recorded low so you have to crank it up. I thought the voices were a little hard to hear over the score in the opening scenes, but the problem was not noticable later. The extra package is one of the best i've ever seen. First you get a wonderful slipcover of the movie poster.
Disc 1 has among other things a brilliant commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer. The man is a genius, his talk is one of the most comprehensive commentaries i've heard. He covers the history of the robin hood legend and english history, incredibly detailed info about where, when and who shot every scene, and indepth background on the production. He talks from his book, but his manner of speaking is far from reading, but very conversational even if the comments are academic. Also on the first disc is an awesome collection of movie trailers from flynn's career. Obviously not every movie is there, but there are over ten and are a fun watch to see how they hyped films back in the day. Disc 2 starts with an extremely informative documentary on technicolor hosted by angela lansbury that is a must watch for anyone interested in film history. The history of color cinema is a subject rarely discussed in detail unlike the history of sound, so i found the doc very insightful. The great rudy behlmer leads the "welcome" documentary and gives a great look at the production. Those not wanting to sit through the audio commentary should definately watch this because it provides the entire backstory in an engaging format with photos and interviews. Behlmer hosts an outtake reel "cutting room" with extremely rare footaging including a blooper of a crew guy popping up in the castle when robin swings up the rope. "Through the ages" is a fabulous behlmer presentation that shows much of the fairbanks silent robin hood and comparisons are made. It is surprising to find that many scenes were copied for "adventures". "Journey" is a less interesting set of home video footage of the production with behlmer talking, his knowledge is stunning because he indentifies most of the crew members. Strangley, head director curtiz only appears very briefly. Other cool extras include vintage shorts on the archer howard hill and a flynn boating trip. Hill's archery tricks are fun and the presentation is funny due to corny narration. A huge photo gallery of production art, on set photos, and historical robin hood art is included, but is hard to navigate because they play as a timed slide shows without any control over changing the image. Adventures of Robin Hood is great entertainment for the whole family that hasn't lost its charm in 65 years. The warner dvd is one of the most complete extra packages i've seen. The beautiful print and bucket load of extras are unheard for a film this old. Ruby behlmer's interviews and commentary present the most indepth look into a film i've seen. Adventures of robin hood my choice for dvd of the year.
Rating:
Summary: The Video Is Outstanding, But Not The Original Film Music!
Review: 1. This review is focused on the film's original and historic film score as presented in this DVD-Video (DVD-V) release. The DVD-V contains two discs of a quartet of recent discs released on DVD and CD marking the 65th anniversary of the film (see reviews of the film's music on CD release Marco Polo 8.225268 and DVD-Audio release Marco Polo 5.220501).
2. The Adventures of Robin Hood (TAORH) was Erich Wolfgang Korngold's (EWK) first (and only) score for a motion picture filmed in color (using the three-stripe Technicolor process then crossing over from experimental shorts to features). This is also the first film score to be broadcast pretty much intact, live, and on coast-to-coast radio (with Sir Guy of Gisbourne, recently recovered, narrating the story) in 1938. You can hear that broadcast on Disc 2. For Warner Bros., TAORH was the studio's first release of a full-color feature and the first with a budget of such magnitude (around two million USD all told which is pretty close to 200 million in today's movie-inflated dollars).
3. Disc 1 contains much (but not all) of the original sound track (OST) processed for the first time in Dolby Digital which yields a spectacular restoration! Disc 2 includes a number of improvised excerpts from film scores played, hummed, and "sung" by the composer along with a bit of chatting (mostly protesting) by EWK-I believe this is the first time Korngold's voice has been heard in a commercial recording (shades of Garbo!).
4. There are some problems with the audio recordings presented on this disc set. For starters, while the OST on Disc 1 contains most "major" cues (but not in their entirety), many others are missing (starting just a few minutes into the film). Given the history of how the OST recording was rescued from obliteration in the proverbial eleventh hour, we are indeed fortunate to have what we have. However, the cues presented on this disc are synchronized with a silent version of the film. This means that they end up being separated by all sorts of pauses (while dialog is occurring). Presenting a chopped up version of the OST as an adjunct to a de faco silent movie seems pretty dumb. Only those with an academic interest in matching cues with film scenes MAY find this of value-say about five folks on the entire planet! Next we have the "live" radio broadcast on Disc 2. This appears to be a complete version (at a little over 28 min), but it suffers from print through and wow&flutter, especially at the beginning. Given these tell-tale signs, this presentation does not sound like it was directly derived from original studio records. Perhaps of greater interest is that the miking/mixing is also decidedly different (and much improved) from an earlier, shorter version released on CD (Facet 8104, 1987, available from Amazon.com) which really sounds like a live recording!. So are we really hearing a live broadcast on Disc 2 or a post-broadcast studio recording? Finally, we have the "Erich Wolfgang Korngold Piano Session" also on Disc 2 (called "Korngold Scoring Session" on the back of the slip case) broken down into fragments from 12 listed film scores (and a few notes and bars from other ones). Although not acknowledged, all fragments come from a tape made in 1951 at a birthday for and at the home of Mr. Ray Heindorf (Music Director for Warner Bros.) with the composer as the honored guest (Heindorf also made the recording). (One fragment, "Love for Love" from ESCAPE ME NEVER, 1947, has appeared on at least three CDs and one laser disc, with the source usually not clearly acknowledged.) No fragment exceeds 2 min 30 sec, and several are less than 30 sec long. Fragmentizing as opposed to just running the tape end to end also seems pretty dumb. It is simply not the way to enjoy an impromptu session of Korngold at the piano.
5. Bottom line: Buy this DVD set for the film (and supplemental video materials), but NOT for the OST and related recordings. William..., Ph.D.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling for all ages
Review: This is one of the best movies ever made in Hollywood -- right up there with Casablanca. The story is engaging, the action is suspenseful, and the ethical issues are thought-provoking. In addition to a wonderful score, there is even a bit of English history available if one cares to absorb it. My children were mesmerized by this movie when they were younger, and I always enjoyed watching it with them, marvelling at the quality of the production, lamenting that current fare can't hold a candle to its quality. I am so happy there is finally a DVD; our VHS is worn out. The children are grown now, but this is still a family favorite, thus attesting to the movie's appeal to all ages.
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