Rent Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

A Fun Fantasy - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves review by GI

There is an element of 'marmite' about this film, you either love it or hate it. It certainly was a massive box office hit back in 1991 and as everyone probably remembers it spawned a huge No.1 hit for Bryan Adams for its love song (only heard over the end credits). A song that is remarkably good but it stayed so long at the No. 1 spot it became increasingly tiresome! Anyway, Kevin Costner, at the time, a huge star, is Robin and controversially he kept his American accent for the part which still causes some consternation in England but really it doesn't matter because the film is actually great fun. It's a fantasy Hollywood retelling of the legend of Robin Hood and adds some great humour, some dark magic and plays fast and loose with the myth. It adds the muslim character, Azeem (Morgan Freeman) (actually stolen from the BBC TV series), and creates a different back story for Robin. The film is best remembered for the outstanding, comic performance of Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham who apparently ad-libbed many of the now famous lines. In this version Robin is a nobleman who escapes capture in Jerusalem and with his new friend Azeem returns to England, discovers his father has been murdered and that tyranny reigns under the evil eye of the Sheriff. Declared outlaw Robin meets a band of peasants hiding in Sherwood Forest, decides to lead them in rebellion and falls in love with the beautiful Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who is also coveted by the nasty Sheriff. There's plenty of great sword fights and battles, a good support cast of Christian Slater as Will Scarlett and Sean Connery pops up in an uncredited cameo. This is a great matinee adventure film and in the 4K UHD BluRay release scenes have been reinserted that were removed against the director's wishes in order to get to a more family oriented film. Even back in this is still good family entertainment and it will make you laugh and it's a worthy addition to a film character story that has endured for decades.

Not Anamorphic! - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves review by KL

Everybody knows this film by now. A wooden American actor playing a slightly camp Robin hood with a stellar supporting cast.

Yes, it's kitch, but it's also great fun.

If I were only reviewing the film, it'd be 3 or 4 stars.

The problem is that the DVD offered by Cinema Paradiso is a truly awful low resolution non-anamorphic version that looks terrible.

I watch a lot of rentals on a laptop on the train and while it might have looked okay on a 14" screen, this one arrived on a Saturday and was watched at home - a painful experience.

Just checked on Amazon and there's no information about whether this is standard on the DVD release so if I decide to buy a copy, it looks like it'll have to be the Blu-Ray.

Kevin Costner plays Robin Wood - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves review by RP

I saw this at the cinema when it first came out over 20 years ago and I liked it, despite the dodgy accents. I must have missed all the times it's been shown on TV and now watching it again for the first time since that cinema viewing I have a somewhat more jaundiced opinion.

First the bad bits:

Robin Hood is a swashbuckling English legend. Why then tamper with the legend? Why the extra black character? Why cast Americans in lead roles? Why all the American accents - don't they have voice coaches? Why do the British actors seem to speak with a strange mix of Somerset / Cockney dialects? Why does it apparently only take one day on foot to travel from the white cliffs of Dover to Nottingham (apparently via Hadrian's Wall?). Why does Nottingham look like Carcassonne? Why are the Merry Men so glum? Why do they live like Ewoks up in the trees? Why is Marian so old? Why does Will Scarlet(t) not wear any red whatsoever? What happened to King John? Why is the film so dreadfully long? Etc etc etc...

The worst bit of all:

Kevin Costner. Wooden acting, boring voice, US accent - if he is the inspiring leader of a band of English outlaws then I'm a banana. Perhaps his character should have been called Robin Wood.

The good bits:

Brian Blessed in a brief cameo role.

Sean Connery in an even briefer cameo role.

The best bits:

The baddies. Michael Wincott as Guy of Gisborne makes an excellent evil henchman to the Sheriff of Nottingham.

And last but by no means least, Alan Rickman makes an excellent Sheriff, playing the role with so much ham that he might as well be in panto. He also has the best lines :)

Watch it with an uncritical eye and you might enjoy it. If however you don't like to see English legends casually trampled underfoot by an uncaring Hollywood production, see the excellent 1938 version with Errol Flynn. Now that's proper swashbuckling!

I'll give 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' 2/5 stars - but only because I have seen even worse...