Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Extended Version) [Blu-ray] Reviews

There are films which undergo incredible critical drubbings upon their initial release, and then slowly rehabilitate themselves over time until they become critical darlings. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is not one of those films. Though it was immensely successful upon it premiere in 1991, helping to cement Kevin Costner as the reigning superstar of the day (despite his inability to maintain an English accent, something he unabashedly admits in one of two commentaries included on this BD), the film is sort of a lumbering mish-mash of styles and viewpoints. It boasts some highly effective action sequences, and one of the best-ever villains in Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham, but for most of its Director’s Cut two and a half hours, it sort of lies there like a not very special episode of Cadfael, pseudo-mysticism and medieval strategizing included.

The Robin Hood legend is one of the most iconic in western folklore and literature, as evidenced by the fact that when this film was in development, there were several other versions making the rounds of various studios (at least one of which, the Patrick Bergen effort, ended up getting made). Warner Brothers released what is arguably the best ever action-adventure romance in film history with the Errol Flynn Robin Hood in 1938, a Technicolor triumph which perfectly mixed its various elements to provide one of the most rousing entertainments imaginable. Unfortunately, this Warner version’s director, Kevin Reynolds, seemed to think piling on ingredient after ingredient would lead to the same sort of miracle soufflé. Instead, we get a largely cardboard, sodden cake punctuated by brief moments of actual flavor.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves does have some interesting elements going for it. It boasts some lovely location photography, helping to give a sort of grimy Middle Ages veracity to the proceedings, one of the few things that’s noticeably absent from the 1938 version. Reynolds also has a fine eye for staging the battle and other action sequences, including the superb, iconic shot that became the film’s hallmark—an “arrow’s eye” view of a projectile hurtling toward a tree. And the film is highlighted by some excellent supporting turns, chief of which is Rickman’s absolutely riveting Sheriff. Rickman is alternately malevolently evil and hysterically funny, sometimes within the bat of an eye. As he lusts after Maid Marian (a spunky and lovely Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), he can go from hulking menace to slapstick pratfall without missing a beat, and his performance is the highlight of the film (watch his hilarious physical comedy toward the climax, after he’s “married” Marian and is attempting to consummate the marriage right there on the spot). In fact I have a hunch that had this film been titled Sheriff of Nottingham: Prince of Thieves (for after all, Nottingham does go around taking lands and women from people), it would have been a rousing critical success, seeing as how Rickman’s fantastic tour-de-force would have been front and center.

Also on board is the always magnificent Morgan Freeman as Robin of Loxsley’s Muslim cohort, who helps him escape the Saracen early in the film and then becomes one of his chief aides. This is just one of the elements where Reynolds parts ways with the original legend. Another element, and a spooky if somewhat distasteful one, is the adding of a witch, Mortianna (Geraldine McEwan, the latest Miss Marple to inhabit that role), who in this extended version turns out to have an unforeseen connection to the Sheriff. (These pseudo-mystical elements are also utilized, and some would argue more effectively utilized, in the British television series Robin of Sherwood). Christian Slater is an appealing Will Scarlett and you trivia buffs probably already know that one time Oliver! Artful Dodger Oscar nominee Jack Wild makes a rare adult appearance as Much the Miller’s Son. Sean Connery, who of course had a lovely turn as an aging Robin in Richard Lester’s magnificent Robin and Marian, and whose son played Robin in Robin of Sherwood, shows up as Richard the Lionheart toward the end of the film, injecting a bit of his manly gravitas into the project.

The film of course ultimately rises or falls on Costner’s shoulders, and it’s a mixed bag in that regard, to be sure. Costner is undeniably charismatic and has physicality to spare in the role. Where he comes up short is simply in his line readings and general demeanor. He often comes off as a somewhat bored, petulant Valley Boy who’s somehow found himself transported to medieval times and traded his Levi’s for a pair of tights. When you’re surrounded by actors of the caliber of Rickman and Freeman, it only makes the disparity all the more noticeable. Costner’s probably not as bad as some people thought he was on the film’s initial theatrical release, but he never fully inhabits the role and rarely displays the winking joie de vivre that Flynn so effortlessly brought to it 50 odd years prior.

The production design is uniformly excellent in the film, and Michael Kamen’s heraldic score is also magnificent (if it sounds familiar, the main theme has somehow ended up being purloined by Disney as underscore for those annoying Blu-ray promos—the ones with Jack Sparrow and Peter Pan—that start off all Disney BDs). And of course we get one of the most popular pop love anthems of the day in Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do (I Do it for You).”

The bottom line is if you want a rousing, nonstop enjoyment trip through the Robin Hood legend, you simply can’t top the 1938 version, which is, of course, out in its own largely excellent BD release. You can add all the bells and whistles (and bows and arrows) you want to the Robin Hood story, but if the core of the film, meaning Robin himself, isn’t riveting enough, it doesn’t matter how busy the surrounding environments are. If you can overcome a Robin who seems like he should be surfing in Malibu, you’ll find quite a bit to like in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. If you’re one of those people who find Costner grating, it’s probably best to escape to some other Sherwood Forest than this one.

Video Quality:

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves arrives with a VC-1 codec and its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio looking pretty darned good, if nowhere near reference quality, for a film from the early 1990s. A lot of the film is deliberately soft, especially in the sylvan forest scenes, which are highlighted by a lot of mist, making them seem even softer. But a great deal of this film is appealingly crisp, though with an often subdued color palette. Contrast is a bit on the dark side at times, something every other home video transfer of the film has evidenced. Black levels are consistent and no artifacts were noticed. This is a slight step up from the extended cut SD-DVD release of a few years ago, but not anything that is going to blow your mind.

Audio Quality:

The True HD 5.1 sports some nicely immersive moments, notably the very effective battle sequences. LFE gets some occasional workout with pounding horse hooves and the like, and there are some nice discrete channel effects with arrows zooming to and fro. Directionality in dialogue moments isn’t exceptionally brilliant, but most of the time at least adequate. The overall mix seems just a tad anemic at times, and the ADR moments are quite apparent. The audio is certainly a step up from the video, but due to the original source elements which have evidently not undergone any major restoration, it, too, is not reference quality.

Extras:

All of the SD-DVD extras from the extended version release have been ported over to this BD. They include the 30 minute television special hosted by Pierce Brosnan, “The Man, The Myth, The Legend, The Film,” as well as two commentaries, one by Reynolds and Costner (which is a chatty, but fun), and another by Freeman, Slater and producer-scenarists Pen Densham and John Watson. There are 20 minutes worth of “One on One” interviews with all of the principal cast (which can be accessed separately or played together), and five trailers. For you original score fans, several isolated score cues are available, and Bryan Adams’ music video for his pop hit from the film is also included.