Also, replacing Sir Guy of Gisbourne is Sir Miles Folcanet as our heavy, played to perfection by Jürgen Prochnow. (The actors playing the heroes and the villains have different accents from each other to highlight the differences between Normans and Saxons - Krabbé and Prochnow retain their natural Dutch and German accents.) Cruel, arrogant, and contemptuous, Folcanet's also an example of toxic masculinity, believing himself to be entitled to Marian's affections just because he thinks he loves her - something Marian calls him out on. Later on, it's clear he doesn't really care if she loves him or not, as long as he gets to claim her as a trophy.
I don't think anything will ever change my mind that the best Robin Hood movie we've ever gotten was Errol Flynn's. This often-overlooked British version, however, deserves to snag the second place slot. Around the same time Kevin Reynolds's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was in production, another Robin Hood film was in the works in the UK - and coincidentally, both films attempted a darker take on the Robin Hood legend (possibly inspired by Richard Lester's Robin and Marian, or the 1980s television series Robin of Sherwood, which I'll be getting around to one day). The British production had native son John Irvin for its director, who had worked extensively in television throughout the 1960s and 1970s before transitioning to film. His early television work consisted of documentaries on the Vietnam War, and he would later helm the BAFTA-winning mini-series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), starring Sir Alec Guinness and Ian Richardson. In 1980, Irvin directed his first feature film, The Dogs of War, and followed up with other action movies such as Raw Deal (1986), starring Arnold Schwarznegger, and Hamburger Hill (1987), the latter of which was critically lauded. (Schwarzenegger says he greatly improved as an actor thanks to Irvin's direction.) His forays into other genres include the horror film Ghost Story (1981), the sports drama Champions (1984), and the romantic dramedy Turtle Diary (1985). His films have met with varying financial success at the box office, but they've received a decent amount of critical acclaim, and his war films in particular drew notice for their gritty realism - which I suppose made him a logical choice for a gritty, realistic take on Robin Hood. To top it off, this particular Robin Hood film was the first movie to be produced by John McTiernan, who was on a hot streak as a director thanks to Predator (1987), Die Hard (1988), and The Hunt For Red October (1990). Things have gone...downhill for McTiernan since. As for our cast, Patrick Bergin was a relative newcomer to both film and television by the time he donned the hood, but he'd recently had a huge hit with Sleeping With the Enemy (1991) opposite Julia Roberts - huge enough to swipe Home Alone's spot as number one at the box office, a position Home Alone had held onto for three months. Uma Thurman likewise had only been in a few films prior to getting the role of Lady Marian in Robin Hood, including a cameo in Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). She was just starting to get more substantial roles, including in Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Henry and June (1990), the latter of which was the first movie to get an NC-17 rating for its American release, but she was by no means a big name yet. That would change in 1994 with Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. WARNING: Here be spoilers! Read further at your own risk! Sir Robert Hode (Patrick Bergin), the Earl of Huntington, is by all accounts a callow ne'er-do-well who thinks only of himself. However, despite being a Saxon, he is still friends with his Norman feudal overlord, Baron Roger Daguerre (Jeroen Krabbé), uncle of Lady Marian (Uma Thurman). That friendship goes out the window when Hode rescues a poacher from the brutal Norman knight Sir Miles Folcanet (Jürgen Prochnow), and is outlawed as a result. Hode takes to Sherwood Forest and joins up with a rough band of outlaws let by Little John (David Morissey), and he embarks of a series of daring raids and capers that humiliate Daguerre. His defiance against England's normal overlords make him a beloved folk hero, while making Daguerre all the more determined to hunt down his old friend. Since I brought up Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves earlier in this review, let's get that movie's comparisons to this one out of the way. On the whole, I feel this film feels more like a traditional Robin Hood story than Prince of Thieves did, despite the absence of most of the traditional villains. Prince of Thieves took the more modern approach of making Robin Hood a rebel and a freedom fighter, while also weaving in oaths of revenge, devil worship, witches, and Celtic mercenaries. (Basically, it tried to be Robin of Sherwood: The Movie.) Irvin's Robin Hood, however, draws upon Robin's merry trickster and cunning thief attributes, more akin to the traditional tales, and Robin is less motivated by vengeance than injustice and unfairness. Robin Hood also works in the Norman/Saxon feud that Sir Walter Scott introduced to the mythos in Ivanhoe, but which was omitted from Prince of Thieves. I guess it helped that historian J.C. Holt, who has written extensively about the history of Robin Hood, served as a consultant on Irvin's film. (Holt's work has been an invaluable resource for my second novel, The Sherwood Gambit, currently in progress.) Prince of Thieves certainly has a lot going for it as a film in its own right, but Irvin's movie feel more like an actual Robin Hood story. So let's talk about Irvin's Robin Hood itself, which has a lot to offer. Bergin's Robin is clearly his own, with no obvious attempts to mimic any of his predecessors. He has a sense of humor, and he's clearly enjoying how much he's screwing over Daguerre with his antics. This helps keep the movie fun, and makes Robin an entertaining character to follow. However, his humor can sometimes have a dark, sardonic edge to it, which fits not only the tone, but makes this Robin Hood more distinct from Errol Flynn's jolly outlaw or Richard Greene's dry snark. Also, this Robin is more angry about the degradations he and his fellow Saxons have suffered at the hands of their Norman overlords (and justifiably so). The other Robin Hoods are certainly passionate about defending the downtrodden Saxons, but they never descend into all-out rage the way Bergin's Robin does at his trial. This isn't a slam either of Bergin or the other Robin Hoods - just a comparison to show how Bergin's stands out from the others. And again, these aspects of Robin's personality fit in with the kind of movie Irvin's trying to make here. Also worthy of considerable attention is this movie's version of Lady Marian, which is among the best I've seen across all media, in terms of both characterization and Uma Thurman's performance. She's charming, funny, and spirited, and I love her verbal sparring with Robin. She's no damsel in distress or stereotypical badass who suddenly and inexplicably forgets she's a badass when danger arises. (Looking at you, Prince of Thieves.) Also, Robin Hood has plenty of opportunities for her to give a real performance, and she takes full advantage of them, showing off her talent as an actress. This was the first movie I ever saw Uma Thurman in, and I maintain to this day that it's one of her best - and most underrated - roles. Robin's fellow outlaws are no less engaging than our leads. David Morrisey is a formidable Little John, and like Prince of Thieves, he's depicted as the original leader of the Sherwood outlaws...although unlike that other film, I don't ever get the impression Robin takes over the band in this one. Robin devises some of their raids, offers strategies, and is certainly a priority for the villains, but it's unclear whether John is actually calling the shots or not. Jeff Nuttall's Friar Tuck is gloriously hammy, the fun kind of ham rather than embarrassing, especially in the climax. Owen Teale balances things out as a more subdued Will Scarlet, who serves as Robin's conscience, urging him to speak up in defense of a poacher and advising him on how to win the people over to their side. And then there's Alex Norton as the ill-tempered Harry, who resents Robin's inclusion. I won't say more about him, despite the spoiler warning. Our villains are also an interesting lot, particularly Jeroen Krabbé as Baron Daguerre, who replaces the sheriff of Nottingham as the film's big bad. However, the sheriff doesn't seem to be completely absent, as one of Daguerre's underlings, Miter (Barry Stanton) is referred to as sheriff in one scene. Anyway, Daguerre is a complex antagonist, as he's clearly greedy and autocratic. Yet he believes in peaceful co-existence between Saxons and Normans, genuinely loves his niece Marian, and his loyalties seem to lie with Richard the Lionheart, rather than Prince John (played in a single scene by an imposing Edward Fox). His characterization can be inconsistent at times, and certain aspects of his personality can come out of nowhere, but this is likely a casualty of certain scenes being removed, something I'll get back to later. Also, replacing Sir Guy of Gisbourne is Sir Miles Folcanet as our heavy, played to perfection by Jürgen Prochnow. (The actors playing the heroes and the villains have different accents from each other to highlight the differences between Normans and Saxons - Krabbé and Prochnow retain their natural Dutch and German accents.) Cruel, arrogant, and contemptuous, Folcanet's also an example of toxic masculinity, believing himself to be entitled to Marian's affections just because he thinks he loves her - something Marian calls him out on. Later on, it's clear he doesn't really care if she loves him or not, as long as he gets to claim her as a trophy. While Robin Hood may be going for grit and realism in its aesthetics, that fortunately doesn't translate to a dark and gritty film overall. On the contrary, it's a lot of fun, with lots of clever dialogue, well-crafted action scenes, and a great script by Sam Resnick and John McGrath. It has its darker and serious moments, yeah, which are appropriate to show what the outlaws are fighting against, but they fit in well with the rest of the movie. This was only the second feature film Jason Lehel worked on as cinematography, capturing the natural beauty of Sherwood Forest with his long panning takes, while giving the film a sense of grand scale with wide interior shots. Peter Tanner's editing keeps the film going at an even pace, although I don't know to what extent he was responsible for removing key scenes for length, so I'm going to hold off on assigning blame for that. Also, I'm proud of myself for recognizing William Hobbs's fight choreography without having to look it up first. While he may not be my favorite sword fight choreographer, as he tends to go for more realistic-looking duels compared to Bob Anderson, I have to admit his style is the right fit for this film. While Robin Hood received a theatrical release in most countries, it was only shown on TV in the United States, likely to avoid competition with Prince of Thieves. It would have been interesting to see how it would have fared on the big screen with American audiences, because it racked up favorable reviews, and is still well-regarded. Sadly, a number of scenes shown on TV have never been included in any home media release, which leave out some character development and create some inconsistencies here and there. (Again, I don't know who is to blame for that, so I won't assign any.) Due to the likely niche market for this film, I don't see this one getting its own extended cut any time soon, and at times it's hard to forget I'm only watching part of a movie. Still, those that have seen it enjoy it, and I definitely consider it to be among the best Robin Hood films we've gotten - possibly the last truly good Robin Hood movie ever made. It's also been a huge influence on The Sherwood Gambit ever since I first conceived of the project, both in terms of the tone and aesthetic I picture for it. Again, if you want the definitive Robin Hood movie, go with Flynn's. If you're looking for something a bit more contemporary but without descending into dreary grimdark, Irvin's Robin Hood definitely hits the mark, and is most certainly worth seeing.
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