Customer Reviews

Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves (Two-Disc Special Extended Edition)

5 star:		(136)
4 star:		(68)
3 star:		(55)
2 star:		(38)
1 star:		(59)

 

 

Over the years, it seems that the Robin Hood saga has been a favorite of sorts for film makers to re-invent, manipulate, and showcase again and again. No doubt due to global appeal and the premise of a hero taking from the rich, giving to the poor, and fighting the good fight.

Of all the Robin Hood films ever produced, it's readily apparent that Prince of Thieves relies less on genuine historical accuracy and leans more toward Hollywood flair which still makes for an entertaining film. Despite using no English accent (which appears to grate on some reviewers for some reason), Kevin Costner presents himself well in the role of Robin Hood. Coupled with fine performances from Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman, Christian Slater, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, (to name just a few), the story moves at an exciting pace and hits the mark as a stand up adventure movie that doesn't disappoint.

As for the new 2 disc special edition release of this movie, it just got a whole lot better. Not having to flip the disc over any more to see the entire feature like in the first release, you now have a new digital transfer and a remastered DTS 5.1 soundtrack and both are outstanding. On disc 2 you have great bonus material enhancing the value and enjoyment even further. Included is a decent documentary on the making of Prince of Thieves, Bryan Adams performing his music video of '(Everything I do) I do it for you', an interactive mediaeval weapons gallery, cast and crew bios, production notes, interviews with cast and crew, and trailers and t.v. spots.

You don't really have to be a die-hard Robin Hood fan to enjoy this movie. The film has a few flaws and stretches the historical aspect somewhat but it plays out well with plenty of action, adventure, humor, and fun. This special edition release would be a good addition to any DVD collection and I recommend it to everyone.

"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" is a rolicking adventure ride that will please most people. If ya can't get past the accents, then miss out on a good movie.

Let me clear a few things up:

1. "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" was on a tight production schedule. There were three (count 'em, three) Robin Hood movies being produced at the same time, and the one to come out finished first would be the one released in theatres. One production gave up and backed out. That left two Robin Hood movies - one with Kevin Costner, and one with Patrick Bergen.

2. Because of the tight schedule, Kevin Costner's accent was dropped to be "dubbed over" in post production. They simply didn't have the time to worry about accents if they wanted to get the movie finished.

3. Filming complete, the dubbing was dropped because of lack of time and the movie was finished. "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" was released theatre-wide, whereas the Patrick Bergen version was slated for TV.

Now that I have the little niggling thing about accents straightened up, get passed it and watch the movie for what it was intended: pure entertainment.

There is plenty of humor - from Little John's river fighting antics and his wife's bantering, to the Sheriff of Nottingham's humorous frustrations ("why a spoon, cousin, why not an ax" - "Because it's dull, you twit, it will hurt more!"), the viewer is not disappointed. The entire cast was enjoyable to watch, and the costuming was superb. The lush green of the forests (the movie was filmed in the forests of Nottingham - which proved to be a problem - the airport is nearby) is captured wonderfully on film, as well as the forest "homes" Robin Hood and his Merry Men have taken refuge in.

I rather enjoyed this movie because Kevin Costner's Robin Hood was a Robin Hood for the 90's. He was intelligent, witty, and funny, the way we picture him to be. Go ahead: rent the movie and lose yourself in a great adventure flick.

I love the movie, but this is just another Warner Brothers standard DVD transfer. Says 1080p HD on the case, but it is just barely better than original DVD. Not even close to being on par with newer blu-ray DVD's. Save your money and wait for a digitally remastered version in HD. Hang onto your old DVD, I didn't.

The movie is ok for what it is. Thursday night entertainment. You get one film format and the extras are the same on both sides of the disk. PLUS you MUST turn over the disk to VIEW the entire movie! If I had known that I would not have bought the DVD. I do not recommend the DVD. Do like a previous review suggested and buy it on VHS if you must have it.

I was at [local store] one day and saw the extended Robin Hood DVD on sale. I decided to buy it. I thought that I liked all the swordplay, action, fantasy tales. I have to tell you. It was a great buy! It was only [$$] for such a great extended movie.

Plot - Our famous Robin Hood is in a Jerusalem prison. He escapes with a moor, Azeem (Morgan Freeman), and his friend, Peter. Peter doesn't make it, but wants Robin to promise that he will protect his sister, Marion. Robin agrees and finds his way home with Azeem. They discover Robin's father dead and their servant blinded. The Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman, who is perfect in the role) killed Robin's father and is doing horrible deeds to the poor people in the area. Robin and Azeem end up in Sherwood Forest and meet its occupants, including John Little and Will Scarlett. They all team up and decide to fight back against the Sheriff. (94/100)

Acting - A lot of people hate how Kevin Costner speaks in this movie. I really didn't notice a change in his voice at all. So it didn't really bother me! I thought Kevin did well as Robin. Christian Slater and Alan Rickman were the two who stole the movie. Christian was great as the mysterious and confusing Will Scarlett. Alan Rickman was hilarious and nasty as the Sheriff. They both were great and should have deserved great credit for their positions. Also, there is a short cameo by Sean Connery. (96/100)

Action and Violence - There is a lot of action and violence in this movie. It could have been rated R. There is a lot of swordplay, arrows being fired into faces, fist fights, and blood. I think any action man would like this movie. Notable Action Scenes : Overrun By Celts, Fiery Assault, Cheating The Hangman, Storming The Castle, and Final Duel. To check out these scenes, buy the DVD and access them through Scene Selection. (95/100)

Sexual Themes - There are some sexual themes in this story. There is a scene where Marion is about to be raped from the Sheriff. Also, Robin swims around nude under a waterfall. So there is some sexual content. I don't really think it was needed though. (89/100)

The Two Discs and The Extended Version - The extended version is very good. It explains a lot more about the Sheriff. There is also some action put into some places. It is worth the money.

The extended version comes with two discs. Thankfully, you didn't have to "turn the disc over" to watch the "whole" movie. So I was happy that I could just watch the whole feature film on one disc. The other discs are loaded with extras. There is commentaries, documentaries, making of features, galleries, trailers, and more.
Extended Version (98/100) The Two Discs (94/100)

Overall, this movie is very well done. It is very good and worth the money to buy. Don't get the original disc. It isn't worth it! Just buy this. It has tons of action, romance, some comedy, beautiful sets and landscapes, and just an all around great feel to it.
Overall - 94 A

The extended version is supposedly UNRATED.
UNRATED for strong violence, action, sexual themes, and brief strong language.

This DVD defeats the purpose of DVD. The disk is single layered, meaning that at this movies length they (Warner Brothers) couldn't fit the whole movie on one side of the disk. You have to flip the disk over mid-film!!

Granted it is not the end of the world but it is an inconvenience that a DVD need not have. A DVD is capable of containing two layers per side. Each layer can roughly hold about 2 1/4 hours of high-quality video, audio and subtitles. So, then, each side of a DVD is capable of storing over 4 hours of footage. This means that each DVD can have over 8 hours of material.

Longer movies like "Brave Heart" can fit on one side of a DVD and still have space for a "Making of..." Documentary and lot more Bells & Whistles then offered here.

I have gone over every symbol and every line of text on the package and find no warning of the "Mid-film Flip". Because of this I am not going to buy another Warner Brothers DVD.

If I can not trust the company then my money will go elsewhere, and I suggest you do the same.

Original Theatrical Release gets 5 stars.
The New Extended Release gets 3 stars.

I have a simple plea to film directors. PLEASE STOP TURNING OUT DIRECTOR CUTS when you release older films out on DVD.

Case in point Robin Hood : Prince of Thieves. The original cut was one of my favorite films of all time. I love this movie but now with the additional deleted scenes put back into the film my love for it has dwindle. Through out the original cut of the film there were winks and nods to certain elements in the film like the Sherrif being raised by a witch. The additional scenes that further explains the Sherrif's background turns the movie from an old time action adventure into a campy cartoon. Also there is a scene where a little girl goes to Morgan Freeman, who plays Robin's Moorish companion from the Crusades, and asks why did God paint him. In the original cut Freeman explains with some charm and a smile and the scene cuts away but in this extended edition the holier than thou fryar marches in and confronts Freeman. I do realize the extended scene was to further set up the differences between the two men and religions so to make it more meaningful when the come together to fight tyrany but I have to say in the end the dialogue is forced and it feels a bit like a lecture being acted out. The editor of the original theatrical version of this film was wise to cut that scene short.

True the clarity of the digital transfer is much better than the previous DVD release (which was the theatrical version)and its nice that I don't have to flip the disc over to watch the second half of the movie but it matters little when dealing with the horrible alterations done to this film.

I'm sure this is part of a Warner Bros marketting ploy; continually ruining their film franchises all to make a few extra dollars. Milk the buyer for all its worth. First offer a dvd of the original release that has a lousy video and audio transfer. Second offer a special edition dvd that offers better quality but also a version of the film that is not what audiences fell in love with and then lastly (hopefully) release a dvd that is the original theatrical release, with superior quality, and extras. Well I say forget them. I'm going back to my crappy old dvd. The video may look comparable to an old vhs tape but atleast its the Robin Hood I know and love to watch.

The Blu-Ray is kind of grainy, but it suites an HDTV more than the double-sided DVD does. The old DVD release is not enhanced for a widescreen TV. I prefer this Blu-Ray, I got rid of the old DVD.

I found this to be the worst DVD I have purchased. The picture is very dark and grainey. The extras a text only, but informative. Another problem that it is one of two DVDs I own (the other being "Gone with the Wind" that requires me to flip the DVD over to continue the movie. The makers of this DVD should be ashamed. They took what good be an all-time favorite Dvd and did it cheaply. I would recommend waiting to see if they fix the problems.

Another Hollywood action-packed/lightweight-acting movie seeking to modernize and glamorize history. I give one star to the film for Alan Rickman who was really the only good actor in this film. Otherwise, the film is an overblown super-hero comic book adaptation of the Robin Hood lore that is so Americanized (particularly with Costner's guttural accent)that it's inadvertently comical. The ridiculous inclusion of Morgan Freeman as the Moor sidekick was nothing more than Hollywood PC brownie points to make sure everybody is fairly represented even though a Muslim/Moor in England at that time would not have been very well received with the Third Crusade going on against the Infidel; but never mind all that, this is Hollywood fantasy after all even though they try to pose it as real history. The screenplay was OK but a good part of the script was nothing but a bunch of Hollywood jingoisms oversaturated with utterances of 'Freedom!; 'Our rights'; 'Liberty!' Unfortunately Hollywood forgets that the Magna Carta was not the Constitution and Saxon nobles were not the founders of the Republic. Hollywood seems to forget the fact that peasants were still serfs at the time bound to serve their Norman/Saxon lords without many rights or much representation as to anything. Robin of Locksley didn't change that status quo nor did he seem to care to: in those days the axe continued to drop quickly to sever the heads of the impertinent without much fanfare about personal rights.