Robin’s So Hood: The Original Vigilante Through Time

Share on Facebook posted 02-12-10 by Max Tedaldi

Like me, I’m sure you saw the trailer during the Super Bowl for the new Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott directing Russell Crowe! Awesome! Let’s just hope that he’s more Maximus from Gladiator and less Cal McAffery from State of Play. Seriously though, this trailer got me more excited than Brendan Fraser at the Golden Globes, it didn’t get me as drunk, but definitely excited. If you were living under a rock, or just couldn’t tear yourself away from that perfect round of Wii Golf you can check out the trailer right here.

It features a medievally clad Russell Crow doing what he does best, channeling his inner roman solider and nobly cracking skulls (this time he has traded in his sword and sheath for a bow and arrow). This take on Robin Hood seems to be following the recent trend of revamping old, popular characters for audiences that crave a more human, gritty hero. Have you compared the Bruce Wayne from The Dark Knight with the Bruce Wayne of Batman and Robin? How about Peter Parker in Spiderman 3 with . . . OK bad example, but you get my point. Robin of Locksley is a character that we are all familiar with, so it will be interesting to see what the director of Bladerunner does with him. This also got me thinking about the incarnations of the hooded one’s past. How much has Robin Hood changed over the years? He’s sure been in a ton of movies, so what will RH 2010 be like. Let’s check out the past so we can wax philosophical on the future:

Robin Hood 1922 Starring Douglas Fairbanks

Sure its a silent film, but that doesn’t make this film any less compelling. While it may not have the big budgets and explosions of a Michael Bay film it does have beautiful matte backgrounds that make this film more of a beautiful painting than the swashbuckling tale it is meant to be. Silent films are difficult to watch with all of the vivid eardrum-shattering audio effects in current films, but Douglas Fairbanks makes it difficult to look away from the screen. Known as the Tom Cruise of his day, Fairbanks method of “method acting” involved not playing the character, but playing himself. This is original Zorro . . . he was D’Artangnon for god-sakes! He’s charming, handsome, and has a constant glow of nobility that is befitting of the role. The story here is your standard Robin Hood fair, with the emphasis on the star-power of the films main attraction, Douglas Fairbanks. The scale of this movie is grand with enormously expensive sets and production values, the only problem is that you probably won’t get the most out of watching this film unless you contract an eleven-piece orchestra as was in the original showing.

The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 starring Errol Flynn

This is the Robin Hood that was probably the most well received of the bunch. It won several academy awards and catapulted Mr. Flynn to super-star. The Adventures of Robin introduced many of the tropes now commonly associated with the Robin Hood series, bright colorful costumes and the legendary splitting of the arrow scene. In an age when most swashbuckling protagonists present with some ridiculous sense of irony, Errol Flynn is the epitome of dashing. If Fairbanks was a mischevious Robin of Locksley than Flynn was the guy you’d want to come in and acrobatically save the day afterwards. The Adventures of Robin Hood plays out like one spectacular pageant: exciting and energetic.

Robin Hood 1973 starring Disney Animator’s Fail

Disney’s Robin Hood faithfully adheres to the legend’s mythology, but substitutes anthropomorphic animals for the characters. It’s a little silly, but this was one of the most successful Disney films of all-time. Which in hindsight is unbelievably depressing because the film had such a small budget that it had to steal scenes directly from older Disney movies. Robin Hood is supposed to be sneaky I guess, because he is played by a fox, but this film is more of a Disney film than a movie about Robin Hood. Check it out only if you’re desperate and have a to babysit your younger sister.

Robin and Marian 1976 starring Sean Connery

I completely understand why Sean Connery decided to pass on the mantle of James Bond to Roger Moore. Robin and Marian is a beautiful film . . . ohh wait a minute, that’s right, he immediately regretted it and tried to come back into the bond franchise. The producers of the film couldn’t let him though and the result is the only Bond movie that is not actually considered an official Bond film, Never Say Never Again. I should note however, that that film does feature a smoking hot Kim Basinger and is definitely worth a watch. Robin and Marian is really more of a love story than anything else. The action is crippled by the fact that Robin and Marian are supposed to be aged vestiges of their former vigilante selves. The film did get decent reviews but something gives me the feeling that the 30ninjas audience would not appreciate this film. One need only watch Marian’s final speech to Robin to know that this film is replete with fluffy sentimentality:

I love you. More than all you know. I love you more than children. More than fields I’ve planted with my hands. I love you more than morning prayers or peace or food to eat. I love you more than sunlight, more than flesh or joy, or one more day. I love you…more than God.

It would probably have been forgivable if she had exploded immediately after this mushy, crap-tastic, soliloquy. One word: Gross.

Prince of Thieves 1991 starring Kevin Costner

The return of Robin Hood to the silver screen, and the result was less than stellar to say the least. Critics seem to be split on this adaptation of our medieval vigilante hero, but one thing is for sure: Kevin Costner’s British accent is as pathetic as a crippled puppy. This film began a trend for Costner in which each subsequent film he starred in was nominated for a razzie. I guess it’s a good thing that the focus of this film was designed to take our attention away from the imitative filth spewing from Costner’s face hole. Both Azeem and the Sheriff of Nottingham played by Morgan Freeman and Alan Rickman, respectively, are worth watching, with Freeman bringing the nobility and Rickman bringing the smarminess. If you can get past the unfocused nature of the film and some of the bad acting, this film is probably the most violent of all the Robin Hood films, and as such it’s worth checking out to get your action fix.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights 1993 starring Cary Elwes

Not really comparable to all of the older incarnations of the legend but this film is epic in its own right. A parody of the other Robin Hood Films, particularly Prince of Thieves, Men in Tights is more of a Mel Brooks film than anything else. You can expect plenty of anachronistic brilliance combined with Brooks off-kilter Jewish humor. Cary Elwes is much more goofy than dashing but I’m pretty sure that’s the point. I mean how charming can a guy be who traipses around the forest in tights “looking for fights”. Men in Tights embraces the inherent feyness of a band of merry men. Check out a clip from the film’s namesake song, its insanely funny. MIT also has one of Dave Chappelle’s first film appearance, he’s not particularly hysterical but his role does hint at the brilliance yet to come.

How will Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood fit in with all the other films on this prestigious, swashbuckling list. Judging from stills of the film that have been posted on IMDB it looks like they could have cut and pasted Maximus from Gladiator onto the set and I’m pretty sure that no one would notice. I’m all for this! Screw directors trying to “grow as artists”, I would love to see a carbon copy remake of Gladiator. They should seriously consider a new title for the film, Robin Hood: Gladiator 2. I know I would be first in line to see that film. Alas, they will probably focus on trying to pull emotional heart-strings by turning Robin and Marian’s story into a version of Titanic in the Sherwood Forest. Let’s pray that Ridley doesn’t skimp on all of the blazing arrow goodness.