"It's much too warm to brawl with such a windbag."
Of all the cinematic attempts to tell the legendary tale of Robin of Locksley, I think this is, by far, the best one. It is also the first one. When King Richard "The Lionheart" is captured during the Crusades, his treacherous Norman bro, Prince John (Claude Rains), and his devious lackey Sir Guy of Gisborne (a.k.a. the Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Basil Rathbone) attempt to steal the throne of England, mistreating the local Saxons in the process. Enter Robin (Errol Flynn), a lower-class Saxon lord with a hankering to do the right thing. Gathering a small army of like-minded locals in nearby Sherwood Forest, these merry men harry, waylay and befuddle the oppressive Normans, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. Robin also woos Norman babe Maid Marion (Olivia de Havilland), you know, in his spare time.
It's a colorful movie, both figuratively and literally. This was in the early days of Technicolor, so the colors pop off the screen with their historically inappropriate brightness. Add to that lots of high-energy action sequences, dastardly villains, goofy humor, wide-eyed romance, large scale setpieces, a surprisingly high body count, memorable musical score, and a genuine atmosphere of good natured fun that's just so damn infectious. It's a classic, one whose influence can still be seen in filmmaking culture today, 70-plus years later.
Yup, green tights. For camoflage, you see.
'Cuz they're in the woods.
Directed by Michael Curtiz ("Captain Blood", "Casablanca") and William Keighley ("G-Men"), "The Adventures of Robin Hood" was a smash hit at the box office. It had to be. The budget was huge for the time period (about $2 million), and Technicolor was still a bit of a gamble. But the star power of the two lead actors, combined with the overwhelming "fun-ness" of the movie itself brought in the crowds en masse. Errol Flynn was the biggest action star of the time (see the equally good pirate flick "Captain Blood"). He brought loads of earnestness and charisma to the role, and was hands-on with all the action sequences. And the gusto. By God, the GUSTO. For all the oppression and death and struggle going on in the story, the characters seem to be loving every minute.
It's old-school Hollywood fun that never fails to brighten my mood. It's unfettered innocence - adventure without cynicism. In a word, refreshing.
Of course, the character of Robin Hood would return to theaters countless times over the years. None of them were ever as influential, or as good, but this is one of those timeless tales that will always be retold. I've not seen all of the other Robin Hood movies, but I remember a couple of them - like Disney's animated "Robin Hood" of 1973, with animals standing in for humans. It was pretty much just a remake of "The Adventures of Robin Hood", but it was rather well done. Sean Connery took on the role, with Audrey Hepburn as Maid Marian in 1976's "Robin and Marian". It was alright. Connery later appeared as Richard the Lionheart in 1991's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", starring Kevin Costner in the title role. This was my generation's Robin Hood and it still holds up well today. Costner gets a lot of flack for playing the character without an English accent but, hey, Errol Flynn didn't have one either, so who cares. Two years later, Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" made fun of that fact, but was more a parody of the 1938 "Hood" rather than the 1991 "Hood". I laughed a couple of times. And Dave Chappelle was in it. Remember him?
Lately, Russell Crowe took on the role in Ridley Scott's 2010 "Robin Hood". Meh. It had a unique spin on the classic tale; it was a prequel, recounting exactly how Robin of Locksley became Robin Hood and ending just as Robin and his merry men enter Sherwood Forest to hide. Obviously the studio was hoping for sequels, but there won't be any. Cate Blanchett (as Maid Marian) was the best thing about the movie. They should have shifted the main perspective to her character and retitled the movie "Maid Marian". Would've been much better.
Then there's "Robin B Hood" (2006), starring Jackie Chan. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Robin Hood legend, nor are there any characters named "Robin", "B", or "Hood" anywhere in the movie. So how the hell does the title relate to the content? I dunno, but it's a fun flick.
I guess the original title was "Rob-B-Hood", but that makes no sense either.
So in the end, Flynn is in - "The Adventures of Robin Hood" still rocks. Maybe someday someone will make a Robin Hood movie to equal this legendary classic, but until that day comes, I will continue to greet each day with a hearty laugh - and GUSTO!
No comments:
Post a Comment