La leggenda di Robin Hood

The first big budget 100% color film, The Adventures of Robin Hood is a rousing, sweet-tempered and big, fun film.

To be candid, many things about the movie have suffered in the 70 years since its release. History, uh, no, there's none of that here. It's all very mythic and fairy tale. The continuity errors shouldn't even be called errors; they are pretty much continuous (so when I found out it won Best Editing at the Oscars I laughed). The score, made much of on the DVD case, and an Oscar winner at the 11th Oscars, is bombastic, repetitive and completely at odds with the scenery at least 80% of the time, IMNSHO.

That said, the dialog still crackles, the costumes are UNBELIEVABLE and gracefully shot, Olivia de Havilland is stunningly gorgeous, Basil Rathbone is young and evil, Claude Rains plays John as gayer than a go go dancer on Pride day, and Errol Flynn takes effortless het masculinity and a beautiful smile further than it should legally be allowed to go. All the bit parts are well cast, and while it's not possible to know for sure, the whole production looks like everyone in it had a scenery chewing bang up good time. The bit parts are SO well cast, that Roy Rogers bought Trigger, the horse that Olivia de Havilland rides, and Trigger then rode out into history.

And when Olivia exclaims "You speak treason!" and Errol replies, purringly, "Fluently!" you'll smile. Recommended; a great movie for the whole family.

Simply put, this film is the best version of Robin Hood and one of the best adventure films ever made. It's the golden age of Hollywood at it's best. Errol Flynn is Robin Hood for me, dashing, roughish, athletic and Olivia deHavilland the most beautiful and charming Marian. Add to that Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains as Sir Guy and Prince John, two of Hollywood's best character actors. 102 minutes of pure fantasy from a creative team totally on top of it's game, not forgetting the marvellous Korngold score!

OK, all well and good, but the HD DVD version I bought this week was restored using a process invented by someone at Warners called Ultra Resolution that digitally re-aligns the three strip Technicolor film to the original state it was in when shot in 1938. The result is amazing, the detail is such that you can count the chain mail rings and see the embroidery on the costumes. As for the colour you can see why they used to call it Glorious Technicolor, it's like a painting brought to life. Stunning. Even my gf, who normally won't watch anything made before about 1980, came in when the film was just starting and ended up watching the whole movie with me and enjoyed it!

How does one start a commentary on such a perfect specimen of film making? Is this exaggeration. I think not.

Every aspect and element of the movie is absolutely top of the line in the cinematic Arts & Sciences. Once again, where to start? Casting is so important. Who could find a better line up of Actors than this. Starting with Errol Flynn. Never was there a better screen Robin Hood; not Douglas Fairbanks, not Richard Green, not even Kevin Costner. Mr. Flynn was sure a handful for the studio in real life and a lot of this surely rubbed of on his screen persona. Added to a great Athletic ability, probably a natural athlete.* Next, we have delicately, beautiful Olivia de Havilland who brings not only her feminine pulchritude to the movie, but also an innate sense of class and intelligence too. Her Lady Marion was much more than a helpless female. Was she a damsel in distress? Oh, most surely she was that, but not a screaming, whiny helpless girl.

Basil Rathbone (Sir Guy of Gisbourne) was perhaps the best villain in the business. Next to his characterization of Sherlock Holmes in all those films (and some Radio & TV work as well), as well as being a top fencer. Ironic it is that this master swordsman lost so many screen duels with the likes of Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power (THE MARK OF ZORRO).

Claude Rains as Prince John gave th story a somewhat foppish, prim and prissy version of a Bad Monarch, which this future King John surely was. His type of person could never do some of the assignations and executions that he ordered, but saw no difficulty or remorse in ordering underlings to do so.

The rest of the cast reads like a who's who of British Actors in Hollywood or a role call of regular Warner Brothers players. Just consider the following: Melville Cooper (Sheriff of Nottingham) Una O'Conner , Alan Hale (Little John**), Eugene Palette (Friar Tuck), Patric Knowles (Will Scarlet) and so on and so forth, en ad infinitum! To these talents add the great sets and the forest of the Pacific Northwest. They had such great Castles, Towns and Tournament Fields. And how could simple B & W film do any justice to the beautifully tailored, multi hued costuming. This is Technicolor Work at its very best! Please let's not go any further without remembering our sense of hearing, or namely the musical score. The theme (Overture) and the incidental music by Erich Wolfgang Kornkold is at once classical, exciting and multi-faceted. It plays no small role in moving the story along as well as underscoring action, danger, solemnity and even humorous moments. It belongs right up there with compositions by some of the guys like Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikowsky, Chopin, Rossini, etc. (you get the idea!).

A well written, tight, intelligent script was the foundation for this once in a lifetime true work of Art. When a fine script meets able talent in the Director's chair the two elements act to make the final product even better and better and better.............

* Errol Flynn was a member of the 1928 0r 1932 Australian Olympic Boxing team, a talent that no doubt, made him a candidate for the Lead in GENTLEMAN JIM four years later.

** Alan Hale, an all purpose supporting player who portrayed a tremendously wide variety of types. From Mongol Chieftan Kaidu in MARCO POLO to James Cagney's Father in THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE. He must have really liked portraying Little John, for he was the Big Quarter Staff Man in Douglas Fairbanks' silent screen ROBIN HOOD(1922),a role he re prised not only for this picture but also for ROGUES OF SHERWOOD FORSET (1950).

The other early romanticism take on the Robin Hood legend, aside from the silent Douglas Fairbanks version. This one puts famed Hollywood hell raiser pirate Errol Flynn in the title role of Robin Hood. As would be expected of that scoundrel/scallywag Flynn's famous devil-may-care-heroics, the Flynn Robin Hood outrightly refuses to support Prince John when he commits what Robin views as treachery - trying to get himself made king and abusing the land and the people in what may or may not be the aftermath of his older brother King Ricahrd the Lion-Hearted's death while battling in the crusades. After nearly getting killed by John and Gisbourne's men, Robin goes on the run, with Will Scarlet and along the way acquiring Much, Little John, a cantankerous Friar Tuck, and a whole army of merry men in tights. From there, he becomes the great outlaw we all know and love, fighting Gisbourne, the bumbling Sheriff and Prince John anyway which way he can and sweeps that adorable sweetie pie Maid Marion off her feet.

Sure the costumes may look fake today and the film itself overly colorful, but it's still a fun time. Sure Errol Flynn doesn't have a well articulated British accent either, but at least he doesn't sound like he's from the heart land of America. Flynn is certainly a lot quicker on his feet than Kevin Costner was, which comes in handy when you're in a duel to the death. Basil Rathbone is a fairly menacing Gisbourne, smarter than the Robert Addie or Michael Wincott versions (he looks kind of like Christopher Lee), and Olivia de Havilland is a very pretty Marion without being overly sexual and slutty about it (as was the case with many leading ladies back then). Out of the versions I've seen this is probably the only one where the Sheriff is an idiot and Gisbourne is the real menace (Gisbourne died early in the Kevin Costner verison of Robin Hood, and on TV's "Robin of Sherwood" he was just this weird neurotic guy, and I'm afraid I don't remember the Patrick Bergin version of Robin Hood very well).

There are least five big action sequences here, namely Robin's two escapes from Nottingham, an ambush in Sherwood Forest and the climax between Robin's & King Richard's men at Nottingham castle. Naturally, there is a duel to the death that features shadows on the wall going at it while the actors are off screen. Good stuff, especially for the children.

This is still the best movie about the legendary outlaw, it's swashbuckling adventure defined! it shows almost all the most important and famous pats of the legend and does so with happy optimism and wonderful fight scenes. Robin Hood is one of those characters who's story was made to be told this way, no "updating" needed, no dark and brooding Robin of Locksley needed! It's upbeat and colorful, it's a fun adventure flick that has stood the test of time. Errol Flynn will always be the best Robin Hood!