Customer Reviews

Robin Hood

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Patrick Bergin is a dynamic Robin Hood, hitting the mark with the perfect mix of arrogance, compassion, charm and devil-may-care, hell-bent glory-seeking. Sure, there's a list of noble reasons why Robin Hood takes to the forest to fight Norman oppression and protect the unfortunate Saxon serfs from tyranny. But let's face it, Robin is a hero who enjoys what he does. He loves nothing more than laughing at danger and tweaking the nose of authority. It's easy to see that Bergin enjoyed the part, and his pleasure translates to the screen, making it an enjoyable romp for viewers.

Bergin shares Sherwood with a fine cast. Uma Thurman is a surprisingly strong Marian. Owen Teale is an excellent, fun-loving Will Scarlett, and David Morrissey is the best Little John I've seen yet. Jeff Nuttall is also a picture-perfect Friar Tuck. On the Norman side, Jurgen Prochnow is the malicious knight, Sir Miles Folcanet, who pursues Robin through the forest, and Jeroen Krabbe is Baron Daguerre, a greedy lord with a conscience. There's a brief, but impressive, appearance of Edward Fox as the would-be King John.

The movie boasts excellent swordplay, good costuming, authentic-sounding accents ... and some great pagan symbolism.

This film also has immense respect for the history behind the legend. While we may not know much about the real Robin Hood -- if there even was one -- we do know a lot about the time period in question, and Irvin keeps his cameras focused on the truth of feudal Britain. This is a Robin Hood I can believe in without reservation.

For students of medieval history, this English version of Robin Hood is a VERY accurate re-telling of the classic Sir Robert Hode, 4th Earl of Huntington (a real person) legend. Reminiscent of the swashbuckling classics made in the thirties and forties, this film transports you back to 12th century England, when the mighty Normans ruled with an iron hand. Sir Robert Hode (Patrick Bergen) is a Saxon nobleman who insults the sinister knight Sir Miles Falcanet (Jurgen Prochnow) and is branded an outlaw. Clever and quick witted, he changes his name to Robin Hood and a legend is born. Robin becomes an outlaw hero, celebrated across the land for his dashing heroism. He ambushes the tax collectors of the greedy Baron Roger Daguerre (memorably played by Jeroen Krabbe), and gives the money to the poor. Then with his true love, Maid Marian (Uma Thurman) about to be married to Falcanet, Robin and his band of loyal men embark on their boldest adventure yet, to storm the Baron's castle and rescue Marian from a fate worse than death. Well written and adapted for the screen, expertly cast, (too many memorable performances to mention here) and superbly directed by English director John Irvin, this relatively low budget production has never received the accolades it deserves. This movie is a thrilling medieval adventure filled with action, romance and humor. If you saw the disappointing "Hollywood formula" American version with Kevin Costner, but prefered the original with Errol Flynn, and missed this one, give it a try! It is an opportunity to be transported back to another place and time, to see an accurate glimpse of medieval history come alive on film. A must see film for all history buffs... Excellent!!!

This film is one of the best RH films done it certainly is far superior to the joke that Costner did!
I do have a correction that is pretty important, there is no Sherriff of Nottingham or Guy of Gisborne in this version. The Director chose to use the conflict of Norman Vs Saxon as the stronger plot drive and instead had two noble Normans playing the heavys. While it was a surprise to me the first time I watched the film I understood the choice. It makes it much easier for veiwers to see what was the actual conflict of Robin Hood, and not have too many people thinking of Alan Rickman or Basil Rathbone's potrayals of the heavys from the two more well known versions of RH.
Worth seeing, far more historically acurate than either of the other films and Uma's Marion could go head to head with Oliva's and totaly wipeout MEM from Prince of Thieves, or as I call it Robin Hood: Dances With Arrows.

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

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

John Irvin's `Robin Hood' is a stylish and fun rendering of the classic legend that strikes a nice balance between action adventure, romance, and humor. Its actions scenes are exciting and fun, with nearly bloodless violence, making it suitable for family viewing. It has few pretensions beyond being a light-weight adventure flix, but accomplishes that very well.
As this `Robin Hood' came out the same year as Kevin Costner's Robin Hood project, it is hard not to compare them, and Irvin's `Robin Hood' is superior in nearly every way. It is a travesty that Costner's bomb received all the publicity while this far better movie disappeared into obscurity. . Its chief virtue is its fine cast, led by Uma Thurman in one of her best performances as a fiery Maid Marian, and Patrick Bergin, who captured and owned the title role of Robin Hood as no one else has since the great Errol Flynn. Thurman and Bergin struck real sparks together, giving some life and zip to the romance between Robin and Marian. . Jeff Nuttall created a brilliant Friar Tuck, and Owen Teale and David Morrissey both turned in fine performances as Will Scarlett and Little John.
`Robin Hood' is fast paced, exciting and creative. Its action is fun, and its romance sizzles. It may fall short of being a great or memorable film, but it is certain to entertain you and your whole family.

Theo Logos

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.

An attempt to show the legend in a more realistic light. It lets the viewer put faces on the people of the "Dark Ages", and assumes that they could have been as political in their thoughts, the Magna Carta would soon arrive, as we are today. Filmed in a dark brooding style that brightens in color at the ending, its humor and vision allows the viewer to remember it's just a faire tale. View it after April 15 and pay attention to Robin's speech on Taxation.

This is, hands down, my favorite Robin Hood film. Unfortunately, the studio chose to cut out about twenty minutes of unequaled dialogue. I saw this film when it made its American debut, and the somewhat racy, Chaucerian dialogue made it past network television censors. So, why cut it from a DVD release? Too sad, actually. Emblin and Lily are missing most of their good lines.
For those who buy this edition, it is a shame you will not get the full effect.

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.