After revitalising Dumas with The Musketeers films, Richard Lester turned his eye to Robin Hood. At one stage Lester was going to film The Princess Bride by William Goldman and the script for this was written by Goldman's brother James.
It's got a wonderful cast - Sean Connery is a perfect old Robin Hood, all foolish muscularity, ditto Audrey Hepburn as Marian, a little fed up. Both sexy oldies. I wish they didn't have the moment where he knocks her out. And TBH she doesn't seem that into him or he into her. Like, she's really keen to poison him instead of seeing if he'll recover.
Nicol Williamson is wonderful as Little John ditto Richard Harris as King Richard I and Robert Shaw as the Sheriff. They all sparkle in their roles. Williamson, Harris and Shaw are great at doing "turns". So are Ronnie Barker (Friar Tuck) and Denholm Elliot (Will Scarlet).
It's cynical and realistic, I guess. Richard I is killed by a stray arrow, as he was IRL. Robin talks about Richard's massacres at Acre, which happened.
Robin doesn't really do anything that noble. He just helps some nuns escape. He leads a revolt just cause, basically. John doesn't get his comeuppance. I wish he'd had a more noble cause. It's a downer ending, not just because Robin and Marian die, but because Friar Tuck and Will Scarlet get captured. The Sheriff fights Robin more for old times sake rather than a cause.
And yet the film has integrity. It feels real. Fantastic cast. Great moments. The final duel between Robin and the Sheriff feels like a real, exhaustive duel.
The character with the most integrity is Little John. He's loyal to Robin, wants to kill the Sheriff even if the Sheriff wins the duel, he loves Marian and says he never would've gone on a crusade if she'd been his girl, he kills the big villain (apart from King Richard I guess) played by Ken Haigh, he tries to stop the murder suicide at the end.
The film has the power to shock. The talk of Richard's massacre at Acre, as I've mentioned, but also showing King John horny for his wife... who is shown to be 12. A 12 year old sex pot played by a young Victoria Abril.
I'm a bit all over the shop when it comes to my feelings for this film. It's got some fantastic stuff. I wish... the sense of romance between Robin and Marian was stronger and Robin fought for a more noble cause. I know that's not what the filmmakers wanted to do though and respect that.
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