The script is like a depressingly high number of "big" movies, a Frankenstein's monster of other big movies. Oh yes, with lots of fire, gunpowder and a musical score that swings between sappily romantic and intrudingly bombastic. After that, it's your standard "stop the bad guy" and "marry the girl" excitement with trouble from a lecherous and demonic sheriff, his thuggish cousin Guy of Gisborne, savage Celts, a double-dealing bishop and an evil witch. Robin teaches the outlaws to fight back, and soon they embark on bold robberies and attempt to thwart the sheriff's evil designs. ![]() After meeting up with Marian, the younger sister of a dead Crusading comrade, our heroes flee to Sherwood Forest and join an outlaw band. The lead bad guy is the Sheriff of Nottingham, who runs a gang of devil-worshippers who want to conquer England. Robin and his new companion return to England, where they find Robin's father was murdered and his home destroyed. Because Robin saved Azeem's life, the Moor vows to stay with Robin until the debt is repaid (honour apparently works on the barter system). Robin and a Moor (black, North African Muslim) named Azeem escape. The writing, direction and acting are.įor those unfamiliar with the plot, it opens with Robin of Locksley as a young Crusader held prisoner in Jerusalem. The accent is not what's wrong with the movie. No, what was "unrealistic" was that all the Musketeers were speaking English - never mind the accents! So, I'll groan about Costner's accent (or lack of, depending on your perspective) around the same time I hear people criticizing Laurence Olivier for not doing Hamlet with a Danish accent. I remember when the 1998 Man in the Iron Mask film was released, there was some criticism that it was very unrealistic that three of the four Musketeers didn't have French accents. Medieval English accents don't sound like modern British accents, and so if the dialogue is understood by the general audience, there's already a degree of translation going on. Kevin Costner's American and occasionally mock-British accent has been the butt of many jokes, including one of the funniest lines in Men in Tights ("Why should the people follow you?" "Because, unlike some other Robin Hoods, I speak with an English accent.") But really, for me the accent is pretty much a non-issue. So, when I entered the theatre on opening day, June 13, 1991, I was excited! I left very disappointed.īefore I begin, I'd just like to say - this has nothing to do with the accent. The special made the upcoming film look great. A couple of nights before the premiere, CBS aired "Robin Hood - The Myth, The Man and the Movie", a special which combined the usual "making of" hype-fest with a reasonably competent documentary about the legend. While I had not seen Dances with Wolves, the film had great critical buzz and Kevin Costner was at the height of his popularity. A month before Prince of Thieves was released, a superb (and unjustly ignored) Robin Hood TV movie starring Patrick Bergin was shown on Fox. For years I have loved and studied the legend. It was the summer of 1991, and my favourite outlaw hero was scheduled to be the star of one of that summer's biggest blockbusters. ![]() Well, for all those who wanted me to do a Spotlight on that film, here you go. Over the years, I've been taken to task for not having more on my site about Kevin Costner's Robin Hood. (Morgan Creek Productions and Warner Bros., 1991) Story by Pen Densham screenplay by Pen Densham and John Watson Starring Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater,Īlan Rickman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
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