The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

If you've never seen this film or perhaps are of a certain age and consider this too old for you then you are missing a classic. This film does not desire to be nor is it historically correct. What it is, is simply a wonderful entertainment playing the Robin Hood legend in full. Every character is rich and the adventure you are invited to follow is wonderful. Errol Flynn is at his physical and romantic best. De Havilland is perfect as the demure yet quietly sensual Maid Marion, and as to Basil Rathbone! What a wonderful villain he portrays. Please younger film buffs see this film and enjoy it as it plays. You are in for a real treat and a fantastic adventure!

Fmovies: In 1191, King Richard (Ian Hunter) joined the Crusades and then he is captured by the Duke of Austria. His ambitious and evil brother Prince John (Claude Rains) takes over the throne and oppress the Saxons increasing the taxes and hanging those that cannot afford to pay. The Saxon nobleman Robin of Locksley (Errol Flynn) hides in the Sherwood Forest and defends the people against the tyrannic John and his right hand Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) and is considered outlaw. When he meets Lady Marian (Olivia de Havilland), they immediately fall in love with each other. But Robin Hood and his men are hunted down by Sir Guy and the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham (Melville Cooper).

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" is a nostalgic and delightful adventure, in a naive version of the outlaw hero. It certainly is one of the most delightful adventures ever made in Hollywood. Errol Flynn is amazing in the role of the cynical outlaw Robin Hood and Olivia de Havillnd shows a perfect chemistry. "The Adventures of Robin Hood" should be mandatory for the youngest generations to see how to make a wonderful film without CGI. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "As Aventuras de Robin Hood" ("The Adventures of Robin Hood")

You know that there are things in your life that you just derive a great deal of comfort from. It may be an old worn jersey, a hot cup of tomato soup on a cold day or the simple smile of your children. All these things are true for me and I will add The Adventures of Robin Hood to that list.

I first saw the film when I was a small boy and I have deliberately avoided buying the DVD on the basis that over-familiarity could breed contempt. I much prefer the serendipity of finding it scheduled on a wet winter Sunday afternoon. Then I can relax in front of the fire and just revel in Errol's hammy balletic performance as Hood, or the simply too-beautiful-for-words Olivia in soft focus or the delightfully dastardly duo Rathbone and Raines...superb!

Just do yourself a favour occasionally and let this Technicolour wonder wash over you - forget that it bears no relationship to actual history; just accept this Hollywood version of how England once was (and should still be).

Cheers!

The Adventures of Robin Hood fmovies. 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.

I am almost ashamed to say it,but I only recently saw this film for the first time at the ripe old age of 36.After it was over, I thought,"Why on earth did I wait so long?".This is really a fun movie full of adventure,romance,with a healthy dose of laughs. Errol Flynn,by far gives the most credible performance of the Robin Hood character.He oozes charm and wit,here.This film is a great trip back to a special time in movie making when we didn't need extreme sex and violence to entertain us.Now that I have seen it,this movie definitely goes on my video shelf.If you have children,or if you love to feel like one,as I do,I highly suggest you give this a look.Great film.

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!