Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark and wistful take on Robin and Marian, April 30, 2002
This film wonderfully directed by Richard Lester offers an entirely different take on the legendary characters of Robin Hood and Maid Marian. It's 1199, Robin and Little John, return to England, after King Richard the Lionheart's death during the siege of Chal^us. Marian, now an abbess is taken from Kirklees Abbey. Robin and his followers once more prepare to fight against the Sheriff of Nottingham, their old foe. As for the story I'll refrain from saying anything more. 'Robin and Marian' is about ageing, accepting life as it is. It's a far cry from the non-stop swashbuckling of 'The adventures of Robin Hood' with Erroll Flynn, this movie presents all of the famous characters in their old age. It shows how everyone deals with the progress of time, but offers no judgement. Sean Connery is splendid as the aged Robin. With insight and passion he portrays a man who doesn't take well to the passage of time. Which is sometimes painful to behold. Audrey Hepburn shines, in what I think is certainly one of her most interesting performances. Her excellent Marian has wisdom, intelligence, spunk and a wistful touch. Her chemistry with Connery's Robin is brilliant. Their rekindled love is shown with a bittersweet, poignant tenderness. Which one doesn't see often on the screen, and Audrey Hepburn and Sean Connery certainly rise to the challenge. Of the other cast members Robert Shaw and Nicol Williamson stood out for me. Shaw's Sheriff is cunning but also fatherly (he has moved on but is still a match for Robin). And Williamson's Little John although staunchly loyal to Robin knows very well that things are over. This film has a gritty, authentic medieval look. But there are the lovely locations of the forest to enjoy. A great soundtrack by John Barry heightens also the wistful mood. But the viewer gets a rather stereotypical portrayal of King John. The usual evil John of the legends. Also interesting is the poignant symbolism of the three apples at the beginning and end of this film. 'Robin and Marian' doesn't destroy the legend of Robin Hood and Maid Marian. To me they became very realistic and infinitely more human. Not in the least because of the fantastic performances by Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn. No matter what, the two lovers will always be together, in the hearts and minds of people. However this film doesn't compromise, ultimately leading to its downbeat and heartwrenching finale.
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44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sean and Audrey camp out in the woods, February 20, 2001
Growing up as a young reader in WASP America, it was inevitable that I should be exposed to the Robin Hood legend. Indeed, it was that tale, along with my young (and imperfect) knowledge of Becket, Henry VIII and his wives, and King Arthur and the Round Table, which first got me to dreaming about visiting England. After my first journey across The Pond in '75 to that green and pleasant land, I was hooked. Thus, it was with great relish that I viewed ROBIN AND MARIAN.How could one possibly find fault with the casting of this film: Man's Man Sean Connery as the aging, creaky Robin Hood, and the always beautiful Audrey Hepburn as the love of his life, Maid Marian. As a bonus for the viewer, Robert Shaw and Nicol Williamson play the Sheriff of Nottingham and Little John respectively. It doesn't get better than this. As the movie opens, Robin and faithful pal Little John are off in France attendant to the death of King Richard the Lionhearted (Richard Harris), after having rummaged around with the monarch on the Third Crusade. Richard's funeral over, our two heroes return to Sherwood Forest. Robin soon learns that the new sovereign, wicked King John, has ordered the Sheriff of Nottingham to evict a group of nuns from a local abbey. As circumstance would have it, Maid Marian took the veil in Robin's long absence, and is now the abbey's prioress. Despite his aching bones and stiff joints, Robin sets off to rescue his damsel-in-distress from his old archenemy. There are so many joys to this movie. One is watching Sean's Robin deal with advancing age. He's still young at heart, but sleeping in the damp, cold forest isn't what it used to be. Both he and Little John are too much "over the hill" for such nonsense, but only the latter, with increasing skepticism, seems to realize it. Then there's Audrey's Marian, who isn't at first sure that she needs the renewed attentions of her old beau. (Audrey is so exquisite! They don't make actresses like that anymore.) The intervening years have even had an effect on Shaw's Sheriff of Nottingham, making him much wiser in his dealings with his rascally nemesis. Finally, the scriptwriters give their own interpretation to the traditional ending of the Robin Hood story. In their hands, it becomes at least a two-hankie event. Just remembering it now, I'm looking for the Kleenex box. Call me a sucker, but I just ate it up!
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good movie is still the best DVD feature., July 18, 2002
Okay, first a bit of DVD speak. The special features advertised on the box include sound in English (and only English). I didn't know that sound in movies had been a special feature at any point since the 1930s. Oh well.. as with most scaled down DVDs, it advertises the standard menus, scene access and trailers as being special features. No matter. The film is a very nice transfer, and the movie itself is pretty special. The script is by James Goldman, who also wrote the medieval character piece The Lion in Winter. And if anything, the writing here is even sharper than his early film. Many people have noticed the 1970s Vietnam era feel. And it's true that Robin as a returning crusader certainly taped into the mood of the decade the film was made. But it's more than that. Most Robin Hood films end with Robin being pardoned by the king. And this happens in one of the earliest ballads too. But the part of the ballad that is cut out of most movies is that Robin Hood eventually left the king's service and returned to his outlaw ways. And then he died at Kirklees Priory. And these final years of Robin also appear in many of the children's novels. This movie -- like very few other filmed versions of the legend -- shows the end of Robin's life. After the death of King Richard, Robin returns to Sherwood. He has a lot of regrets -- leaving England, leaving Marian, participating in senseless slaughters like Acre. So, a much older Robin seeks a second chance. In his twilight years, Robin tries to recapture the best days of his life. There's something very sad and tragic about it -- but it's also wonderfully human. The acting in the film is first rate -- Sean Connery makes a very believable Robin. Nicol Williamson is an interesting older Little John. Screen legend Audrey Hepburn plays a very changed Marian. And finally Robert Shaw is the best sheriff of Nottingham in all the Robin Hood movies. An older, more patient, likeable man. The sheriff hasn't been promoted because "I can read and write. It makes you suspect. Not a duke in twenty can read a word. Correct, my lord?" "Books are for clerks." As he waits for Robin to invade Nottingham, he explains "He's a little in love with death. He flirts. He teases. I can wait." I think those quotations should give you some idea of how good the writing is and also something of the film's mood. It is a rich and interesting character piece of people who are very human, but who also formed the basis of legend. ("They've turned us into heroes, Johnny.") It's not an action film, not swashbuckling adventure. There is some romance, but it both a mature and immature romance of older people trying to recapture lost glories. A smart, sombre -- but also witty -- film. As others have said, it is very much underrated. When I bought this DVD, the store owner was impressed. "Now that's a cool choice," he said. And so it was.
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