A Few Words About A few words about...™ Robin Hood -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

At 156 minutes in its extended version, Ridley Scott's pre-history of the Robin Hood legend (which finds its beginnings in the early 13th century) is almost an hour longer than the 1938 Errol Flynn classic.

 

But even at over 2 1/2 hours, this Robin Hood flies by, as a quick-paced, intelligent, and beautifully produced modern epic film.

 

This is pure Ridley Scott, and it uses everything in his filmmaking bag of tricks.

 

I read some early reviews, many of which weren't particularly kind, and I may be going out on a limb by making an assumption that the additional 15 minutes may have something to do with my take on the film. The storyline flows beautifully, and we begin to put pieces together as events take place before us.

 

Universal's Blu-ray, which is based upon a 4k DI, is gorgeous both in image and audio.

 

Thoroughly enjoyable. A second film might not be a bad addition.

 

Recommended.

 

RAH

 

 

[PatrickDA]

I agree with your opinion Mr. Harris.

The "children of the forest" storyline didn't do much for me in the theatrical version, but here it really has some impact. Those three additional scenes helped a great deal in bringing those "forest orphans" to life. I also enjoyed the short meeting between Hurt, Van Sydow, and Crowe at the village gathering. I thought there was something missing between William Marshal (Hurt) and Robin Longstride (Crowe) in the theatrical cut. It turns out, I was right to wonder. We're told in the director's cut that Marshall knew Robin's father and actually went looking for Robin (along with Sir Walter Loxley) once Sir Robert Longstride was killed in Barnsdale. Further more, I thought the comedic scene with Crowe and Blanchett at the mud pond trying to rescue a stray goat added quite a bit to their relationship. It also provided a much needed confrontation between Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Macfadyen), which was missing in the theatrical cut. I'd give the version I saw in theaters a B and the director's cut an A-.

 

I still don't care for "I love you, Marion!" line Crowe delivers just before riding off for the big battle. That completely throws me out of the film every time. The film/story had simply not earned that line.

 

[Cory S.]

100% agree with you, Patrick.

 

This director's cut is firmly in my top ten films of this year. It's not as awestruck as the Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut. But, like the Gladiator Extended Edition, these added 15 minutes changed everything to this viewer.

 

With this, Ridley Scott's completed an "unofficial" trilogy.

 

[Robert Harris]

Interesting comment

DL's trilogy was sand, snow, sea.

 

[esl88]

One thing worth mentioning is that, as far as I'm aware, Robin Hood did not go through a 4K DI. According to American Cinematographer the film was color graded on 2K proxies and went through a 4K film-out. I don't know what resolution it was scanned in, but I'm guessing it was a 4K-2K-4K pipeline. The only reason I mention this is because the "technical specs" on the IMDb can be inaccurate. Many people have made updates, myself included.

 

[Kevin EK]

Would Ridley Scott's trilogy therefore have been sand, sand, sand?

 

Sorry, couldn't resist - and I know I'm reaching to go to the beach at the end of Robin Hood to get there...

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by esl88


One thing worth mentioning is that, as far as I'm aware, Robin Hood did not go through a 4K DI. According to American Cinematographer the film was color graded on 2K proxies and went through a 4K film-out. I don't know what resolution it was scanned in, but I'm guessing it was a 4K-2K-4K pipeline. The only reason I mention this is because the "technical specs" on the IMDb can be inaccurate. Many people have made updates, myself included.

Am aware of IMDb inaccuracies. Could very well have been 4-2-4, which would be a pity for such a nicely shot and highly detailed film. I'm not in a position to easily check as am en route to film fest in Gatineau -- Lawrence, Spartacus and Vertigo plus more in 70mm.

Will look forward to hopefully meeting some of our members from north.

Unfortunate that early on some filmmakers got lost in the smoke and mirrors of 4-2-4 or 4-2-2 and didn't find out until far too late to affect change

I did not see Robin theatrically, so have no further insight

Bottom line for me is that on Blu in extended for, this is a terrific piece of epic filmmaking

RAH

 

[TomTom]

In DI, the term "proxy" is usually referring to monitoring and realtime playback capability. The more color correction you add to a scene---- the more computer processing is required and the response of the color correction system is hindered. Proxies gives you a a speed boost.The film was probably done at 4k. Ridley mentioned viewing it in ICG.

"We worked on a large screen, and it’s beautiful and subtle. You can get a really great transfer off the film. I love the sharpness of 4K for this type of material."

 

[esl88]

The AC article was pretty vague, so I guess either one is possible. From the way it was written, the 4K film-out seemed more like an afterthought. But since Ridley Scott has supported 4K in the past, I wouldn't be surprised if he used it here. Either way it looks very sharp.

 

[Ron-P]

Originally Posted by Cory S.

100% agree with you, Patrick.

 

This director's cut is firmly in my top ten films of this year. It's not as awestruck as the Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut. But, like the Gladiator Extended Edition, these added 15 minutes changed everything to this viewer.

 

With this, Ridley Scott's completed an "unofficial" trilogy.

Now I'm a bit confused. I read that the added 15 minutes only added more violence / gore to the battle sequences that was cut so the film could retain a PG-13 rating. I really don't want to bother watching the theatrical though. How did it change everything?

 

[Cory S.]

Ron,

 

The differences between the two cuts are the subplot of the "runaways of sherwood forest." If I recall, there's at least three new scenes devoted totally to the "runaways." What the new scenes do is clarify why Marion brought them alone to the end battle. It's a nice subplot that gives character to both Robin and more importantly, Marion.
Also, William Hurt's character gets some added bits. More specifically, we learn of his ties with Sir Walter Loxley and Robin's father, Robert Longstride. With the added moments, it adds depth to both characters.

We also get an added action sequence (I think) after Robin and the Merry Men camp for the night after they've retrieved the King's crown and take it back to England. In said action sequence, "the runaways" steal from them. Then, moments later, Godfrey's right hand man and his henchmen attack Robin and the boys. Godfrey's guy gets away but Robin and the boys take at the rest.

There's also a new scene between Robin and Marion as they try to retrieve a goat that's stuck in mud. It's a funny, character development scene that changes once the Sheriff of Nottingham arrives. Marion introduces Robin as her returned husband, pissing off Nottingham. At the end of the scene, we get a nice bit of tension between Robin and Nottingham. That tension was greatly missed in the theatrical cut.

There's other small bits and pieces but those are the major highlights.

In the deleted scenes section, I would say that at least three of those 9 or 10 deleted scenes should've been added back in...but aren't really missed. It just would've added a tad more.

Again, like Gladiator Extended and Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut, Scott's director's cut of Hood is just a fuller experience than the theatrical.

PS, I think Marion's voice over at the end of the film is slightly different in the director's cut as well.

 

[David Wilkins]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris




I'm not in a position to easily check as am en route to film fest in Gatineau -- Lawrence, Spartacus and Vertigo plus more in 70mm.
 

The definition of envy. Have a great time...how could you not?

 

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I may have to check out the director's cut now. I enjoyed the theatrical version, but I felt the pacing was off in places; these extra scenes might balance that out. I'm usually wary these days of director's cuts/extended versions because they often can be just marketing ploys. Even when it's Ridley Scott, I'm never sure what to expect (Scott himself has said that he prefers the original theatrical cuts of Gladiator and Alien, and I agree with him on both). But from the sound of it, Robin Hood may be worth it.

 

Thanks for the review, Mr. Harris!

 

[Ron-P]

Thank you Cory.

 

[Tim Glover]

Yes. Thx Cory. Well done description.

 

[Edwin-S]

I watched the director's cut of this a few nights ago. During the theatrical run, I said some negative things about this film in the discussion thread. However, I must just be a sucker for Scott's films because I actually thought the film wasn't too bad after finally watching it. I did have a few problems with it: the "D-day" deja vu and the whole "Lord of The Flies" homage with the forest brats, but generally I still liked it. The story may have had some problems but one thing you can say about Scott is that the money, for the most part, ends up on the screen. I also think the observations that Crowe basically channeled Maximus from "Gladiator" were overdone. There were noticeable differences in the two characters as depicted by Crowe.

 

[dendodd]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris


Am aware of IMDb inaccuracies. Could very well have been 4-2-4, which would be a pity for such a nicely shot and highly detailed film. I'm not in a position to easily check as am en route to film fest in Gatineau -- Lawrence, Spartacus and Vertigo plus more in 70mm...


RAH

[COLOR= black]Hello Mr. Harris -[/COLOR]

[COLOR= black]I was at the 70mm Film Festival with you in Gatineau. We spoke together a couple of times. It was great to see you there and what Paul and John accomplished was, as you said Herculean...I hope others really appreciated the work that they put into this festival and I hope they are able to do this again. The projectionist, Kirk Sayers deserves kudos for the hours he spent in the projection booth - what a marathon! Thank you for your insights and for taking the time to talk with so many people.[/COLOR]

 

[benbess]

I finally watched this one. My expectations were rock bottom because of the bad reviews, but I really liked it. Cate Blanchette was great, and I'm a sucker for everything done by the great Max von S. The music was quite fun! I didn't recognize the composer's name, but I think he has a bright future. I liked Ridley Scott's gritty take on the tale.