Robin des Bois

In the cinema, as in most areas of life, one occasionally comes across some strange coincidences. In 1960, for example, there were two filmed biographies of Oscar Wilde and two of Coco Chanel in 2009. Two films about Wyatt Earp appeared in 1993/4, although that was due less to coincidence than to creative differences among the team working on "Wyatt Earp", differences which led to the creation of the rival film "Tombstone" on the same subject. In the early seventies two studios were working on disaster movies about skyscrapers on fire, but in this case the coincidence was detected early on and the studios joined forces to produce the film now known as "The Towering Inferno".

1991 was the year which saw two films on the legend of Robin Hood. "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster starring Kevin Costner, is by far the better-known of the two. This lower-budget version, simply entitled "Robin Hood", was only shown on television in the USA, although it was released in cinemas in other parts of the world. It did not feature any big Hollywood names; Uma Thurman may be a big name today, but in 1991 she was still more of an up- and-coming starlet.

As in "Prince of Thieves" and several other films on this subject, Robin is portrayed as a Saxon earl, here named Robert Hode. (The idea that Robin was an aristocrat was a later addition to the legend; the recent 2010 "Robin Hood" with Russell Crowe reverts to the original story by making him a Saxon of more humble origins). He falls foul of the authorities, and is declared an outlaw, when he intervenes to prevent a miller, who has been caught poaching the King's deer, from being blinded. He flees into Sherwood Forest, gathers together the "Merry Men", and fights for justice and the rights of the Saxon peasantry against the corrupt Norman nobility.

The film includes all the usual cast of Merry Men, including Little John, Will Scarlett, Friar Tuck and Much the Miller, as well as Maid Marian, but, oddly, not the normal villains. There is no Sheriff of Nottingham and no Sir Guy of Gisborne, and Prince John only puts in a brief appearance. (King Richard does not appear at all, although he is referred to). Instead, Robin's main antagonists are the Norman aristocrats Baron Roger Daguerre and Sir Miles Folcanet. (That is how it is spelt in the cast-list, although "Falconet" might be a more plausible French spelling). Sir Miles is a straightforward villain; it is he who wanted to have the unfortunate miller's eyes put out and he who is Robin's rival for Marian's hand. (She, of course, will have nothing to do with him). Daguerre, however, is a more ambiguous figure. He is Marian's uncle and originally Robin's friend; the two later fall out but are eventually reconciled, and Daguerre is converted to Robin's vision of an England where Saxon and Norman can live together in peace.

One similarity which links this film with the Russell Crowe version is that both aim at a more "naturalistic" view of the Middle Ages to the romanticised "Merrie England" view presented in the Errol Flynn classic "The Adventures of Robin Hood" from 1938 and, to some extent, in "Prince of Thieves". Some might think this sort of naturalism misplaced in a film which is based on legend rather than historical fact, but both directors (John Irvin here and Ridley Scott in 2010) clearly felt that a film dealing with a peasant revolt against oppression should show us something of the conditions against which the peasants are revolting. Mediaeval life is therefore portrayed as drab, dirty and dangerous, not as something colourful and exciting. The look of the film is dark with muted colours; the leafless trees in Sherwood Forest suggest that the story takes place in winter and early spring.

Patrick Bergin makes a charismatic hero, but few of the other characters, Thurman included, make the same impression. There is nothing particularly wrong with the performances of Jeroen Krabbé as Daguerre or Jürgen Prochnow as Folcanet, but neither of them makes as memorable a villain as Basil Rathbone's Gisborne in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" or Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham in "Prince of Thieves". Another weakness is it that lacks any real exciting or swashbuckling action sequences; not even the final attack on Nottingham Castle really counts as such. The climactic duel between Robin and Folcanet is in nothing like the same class as that between Flynn and Rathbone.

This "Robin Hood" is certainly better than "Robin and Marian" from the seventies, which manages to be both dull and unrealistic, but I would not rate it as highly as either the 2010 version or "Prince of Thieves", both of which could generate greater excitement. As for "The Adventures of Robin Hood", that set a very high standard, and in my view none of the versions since 1938 have really lived up to it. 6/10

Inspired by my re-watch of Kevin Costner's take on the tale, I decided to seek out a selection of other RH movies. First up is this little remembered RH flick from the same year. Debuting on Fox TV here in the U.S. a full month before 'Prince of Thieves', it tried to capitalize on the latter's growing hype. But featuring neither Kevin Costner nor a hit pop ballad, it has since fallen into obscurity, occasionally championed by a small minority of people who claim that it's superior to the far more popular film.

There are recognizable faces here. Patrick Bergin ('Sleeping with the Enemy', 'Patriot Games') stars as the titular character, but he lacks the chops both physically and charismatically to pull it off. There is no Sheriff of Nottingham in this version, no Guy of Gisbourne, and Prince John makes only a brief appearance. With the focus here on Norman/Saxon tensions, two other antagonists are introduced, one played by Jürgen Prochnow, who is no Alan Rickman, but then again who is? But the biggest name here is Uma Thurman as Marion. Barely 20 years old at the time, she's downright ethereal here.

This is the TV cut of the film (I've read a German cut runs twenty or so minutes longer) and clocks in at about an hour and forty five minutes. It certainly moves along more briskly than the bloated 'Prince of Thieves', but it feels chopped up, with Robin falling in with his Merry Men and becoming their leader and renowned outlaw in all of about ten minutes. The action-- such as it is--is painfully dull, the film is bleakly shot and many of the performances fall flat. Though it has a few moments here and there, this version of the classic tale is one best left forgotten.

Okay, let's get this straight: just because ROBIN HOOD is more realistic and less bombastic than Kevin Costner's ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES from the same year, that doesn't make it any good. It might be a more traditional film, but I actually prefer the Costner version, despite the many faults, errors and cheesiness, purely because it's a lot more fun.

ROBIN HOOD gets a lot more of the facts right but it's lacking as a decent piece of drama, mainly because the characters, although carefully depicted, are all rather unlikeable. That's particularly true of Patrick Bergin, whose Hood, all wild eyes and wilder hair, appears to be something of a sociopath instead of the folk hero of old; I just can't buy Bergin in good-guy roles, and that's the same here. Stick to SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, buddy.

The supporting actors are better, with one exception. Jurgen Prochnow is less hammy but no less amusing than Alan Rickman in the Costner version, and it's always good to see Jeroen Krabbe in Hollywood fare. Owen Teale, Danny Webb and David Morrissey are all good choices as Merry Men. The exception is Uma Thurman, who's terribly miscast as Marian; the scenes in which she disguises herself as a boy are excruciating.

Other than that, the script is overlong and underwritten and the action scenes just aren't very exciting. The sets and costumes are decent though, so it's just a shame that more effort couldn't have gone into making this a rousing swashbuckler of old. Instead it's a dour, uninspiring and ultimately forgettable version of a classic story.

This lush realistic retelling of the popular legend is a pleasure to watch. The historical setting, the costumes, the armor, the attitudes of the people, are all in keeping with the time the events (supposedly) took place. Bergin's Robin is a believable portrait of a nobleman struggling with the assimilation of his culture by foreigners (the Normans) and what he sees as the betrayal of a friend (Sir Miles). Thurman's Mariam is a joy to those of us who have always wanted to see her character with as much spirit as Robin's, and she has it in bushels. She is a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to take a risk to get it. Go Mariam! I've seen numerous versions of the tale since it is one of my favorites, but this is the one I own.

Only thing I liked about Costner's RH was Alan Rickman as the Sheriff. But this take was a "stylistic" departure from the old story. The "theives village" was fascinating! And Bergen was a much more convincing Robin. If you like this one check out the BBC TV production, "Robin of Sherwood" (1984) [TV-Series 1984-1986] starring Jason Connery (son of Sean.) It's the most intersting and "magical" of all Robin versions!!