Robin Hood, der Freiheitsheld

A ropey version of the Robin Hood legend replete with stock medieval cliches. It's period acting 101 with fake hearty laughing, thigh slapping, people taking one bite out of a chicken leg before throwing it away, roughly handling serving boys, dodgy wrestling, cringeworthy ballads being sung by the Merry Men and improbable feats of archery (in one scene Robin, with a hood over his head...get it?...manages to fire an arrow into a red ribbon attatched to a pidgeon), and it has to be the only Robin Hood movie with a custard pie fight. But there's great bad dialogue to savour as well: "I'll savour those morsels intended for Sir Roger's table!", "Then we'll build a wall around this forest with thicket and thorn" and "You'll hear a lot more before you swing from a gibbet". This is one to watch with your friends, half drunk, and trying to spot the cliches.

Its simple story with a few old cliches. I liked the old character actors hayter and bass

Its a film my grandparents would've enjoyed on a wet afternoon

I agree with other reviewers who found this romp surprisingly good. There's a background realism to the fun - for instance, the lincoln green cloth has to be acquired and paid for, and without any comment being made on it, it's apparent that there isn't quite enough to go round. The forest settings are better than usual in such a low-budget film - they've used a conifer woodland with wide walks, rather than the sort of recent-growth scrub than one sometimes sees. As others have said, Barrie Ingham seems an odd choice for the hero - he's far from being the most handsome man in the picture - but he has a wonderful rich voice. And like all of the serious parts, he delivers the lines with great sincerity. The dialogue has a good period feel as well.

I like many others remember seeing this on HBO in the early 80s many times. I was able to procure a copy at a later date (You can get this title from Amazon.com for those looking for a copy) and found it just as enjoyable as I did when I was younger.

Like most Robin Hood movies you have to take it with a grain of salt. In some places the acting is a little over the top, some of the combat feats are unbelievable and everything is very black and white but this is what Robin Hood is all about. I honestly enjoy this version much more than any others that come to mind. I thought that all the actors were very well cast and I like that they are all Englishmen so no bad accents to be found. The settings are perfect and one of the best things about the film as is the costuming. What I think I love most about this film is the scale. This story's take on the myth is Robin as the adopted son of a minor Norman lord who is in conflict w/ his cousin who wrongly inherits his father's title and lands and is in league w/ the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. Prince John is nowhere to be found though he is mentioned. In all truth I think that a minor lord w/ the help of the Sheriff is more than enough for any group of outlaws to face.

If you are a fan of the Robin Hood mythos I think you could do far worse than checking out this excellent take on this popular tale.

This is a surprisingly decent Robin Hood story. It quickly tells the story of how Robin Hood came to be. A wronged nobleman escapes to the forest and quickly gains a small army in order to gain revenge against his cousin.

The plot is thankfully easy to follow which isn't always the case with these films. It features the usual Robin Hood swordplay mixed with a good dose of humour. The fast pace and plenty of good sequences means that there are few dull spots and Barrie Ingham makes a good and charismatic Robin Hood and Peter Blythe is great as the evil and snivelling Roger de Courtenay.

As it's obviously not a big budget effort I thought this was a good effort and though no classic it's worth watching for old adventure film lovers.