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[R. Lindsay]

Dear Ken Barnes,

I see there's a new 2-disc DVD of the 1938 Errol Flynn classic "The Adventures of Robin Hood" Can you recommend this ?

[Ken Barnes]

I can only agree with Mark Fisk. "The new 2-disc set of
"The Adventures of Robin Hood" is definitive in every way.
Beautifully re-mastered, the classic 3-strip Technicolor
classic has never looked better and there are around 4 hours of "extras," This is the standard that ALL DVDs should aspire to.

One of our regular visitors, Jack Clowes, recommended the U.S. box set "Warner Brothers Legends" which was released
aboput four months ago. I picked up a copy of this set when I was in L.A. in October. It contains "Robin Hood" along with 2-disc versions of Cagney's "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
and Bogart's "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" PLUS the excellent documentary "Here's Looking At Warner Brothers,"
a fabulous history of the studio hosted by Clint Eastwood and a whole bunch of great stars. So, as Mark says "Buy,buy,buy."

The difference between Warner Brothers and most other studios is they love movies and are not afraid to spend money on their DVD projects.

Ken

[R. Lindsay]

My thanks to Ken Barnes and Mark Fisk. I just bought "The Adventures of Robin Hood." A fabulous DVD and a terrific film that just doesn't date.

[Guest]

I thought there might have been an Olivia Dehavilland commentary on their, but no

[Ken Barnes]

Glad you liked the 1938 classic. The Robin Hood legend has never had a better telling on the screen.

Yes, it would have been nice to have Olivia De Havilland talking on the audio commentary. She is, after all, the only surviving member of the cast - but the dear lady is now pushing 90. Hoowever, I think the DVD is so crammed with powerful extras and an excellent audio commentary from Rudy Behlmer that it is, perhaps, churlish to complain.

EVERYBODY should add this DVD to theri collection. It certainly has a place in my Top Ten.

Ken

[James L M]

I will certainly be buying the DVD. It is probably the most indelible film from my early childhood. I was surprised to learn how old the film was, later in life. I was playing a game of darts recently in which the winner had to take the bullseye. It had been thrown by the preceding player and in order to equal his score I had to throw the same. I was no darts player but the prestige of victory for the underdod laid await. I threw that dart straight into the heart of the flight of the previous dart. For the first time I realized why the arrow competition was deemed a victory for Robin Hood, when in fact it should have been conceded as a dead heat. Wasn't Eugene Pallette the best Freiar Tuck you could ever ask for?

[Ken Barnes]

To answer James, yes Eugene Pallette was the best Friar Tuck - but then this was the best of all screen Robin Hoods. Flynn and Rathbone were the perfect match of hero and villain, Miss De Havilland, the most appealing Maid Marian, Alan Hale the most boisterous and likeable Little John ( a role he played three time in his career ), the bracing score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the script, the sets, the outstanding Technicolor photography and so on. The film seems to improve with every passing year.

Some people think that the Kevin Costner take on Robin Hood is grittier and more realistic. This may be true in some respects, but American Costner himself is nobody's idea of England's fabled outlaw and while Alan Rickman makes an amusing over-the-top villain, he lacks the sleek malevolence of Rathbone. The sword fight between Costner and Rickman is badly staged and is only saved by a clever editor. Flynn's encounter with Rathbone offers a much more exciting three minutes of combat in which the protagonists really do show some real skill with their swords.

As for gritty realism, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is more concerned with telling its tale in a classic storybook fashion - the way it's been related in books and pictures for hundreds of years. It doesn't try to persuade us that explosives were used in England in the 12th century nor does it suggest that a sophisticated African-American could have been Robin Hood's best friend. And, most mercifully of all, it does not contain a
mawkishly boring and totally irrelevant pop song by an asmatic vocalist whose place is in the 1990s and aimed at an audience with no interest whatever in the legend of Robin Hood.

The strange irony is that the Costner film was made in England while the Flynn version was done in Hollywood. Why then should the latter be the more convincing of the two ? It's because the writers, researchers and actors employed by Warner Brothers in the 1930s worked hard to produce an entertainment that reflected the LEGEND of Robin Hood.
And, to quote a character in a famous John Ford film, "When the legend becomes fact - print the legend."

Kenn

[Ryan]

[Ken Barnes]

You're right, Ryan, the Shinbone Star it is. "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is probably the best picture of its kind ever made and this 2-disc DVD is one of the best ever produced.

Question: What's wrong with Warner Brothers ? They are one of the most distiguished studios in cinema history and theiir current track record on DVD is second to none. "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," " Casablanca" and " A Star Is Born" are all wonderful films and DVDs that I wouldn't want to be without.

I'm sure you'll enjoy "Robin Hood" for all its superb qualities. The film is a winner in all departments and the restoration is so good you won't believe it was shot in 1937. The 2-disc DVD is so full of goodies, it's a text book example of everything that DVDs should aspire to. No expense has been spared to give the buyer value for money. So I say "Hooray for Warner Brothers!"

Cheers
Ken

[Ryan]

I didn't mean to say that I had anything at all against Warner Brothers. I was marvelling at the way I could be so easily convinced to buy it while reading this forum when I had read about the DVD before on the Internet and in other publications, and hadn't previously had very much inclination. I believe it is due to my having a great deal of respect in the opinions gathered here, from people who have similar interests. Your recommendations go a long way, Ken. I also second Mark's approval of WB's Chaplin collection, and the one I'm looking forward to is their 2005 Band Wagon release. I am dying to know what will comprise that 2-disc special edition.

[Ken Barnes]

I'm in complete accord with Mark and Ryan over the Chaplin set ( which was distributed but not produced by Warners ). It is one of the great DVD collections of all time. As for criticism of the packaging, the consumer does have to fight his way through an awful lot of cardboard - but this is probably a sign of just how much Warners value the contents.

Ryan, I'm sure you'll enjoy "The Adventures of Robin Hood" as much as Mr. Lindsay and everyone who bought the DVD. It's a genuine cinematic classic and a lovely piece of story telling. Be sure to play the film before you get into the extras - just to enjoy the film for its own sake.. Then get into the extras and savoyr all the work that went into the DVD.

Enjoy

Ken

[Guest]

I totally agree with you, Ken, about the Costner film. Robin and Marian is the 'grittiest' film to deal with the legend in some way. "Men in Tights" had more essence of the Robin Hood legend than Prince of Thieves. I thought Cary Elwes did an excellent take on Errol Flynn. Something he had already done, in fact, in The Princess Bride (in which he spoke a line deliberately taken from the Flynn classic.

In that same film, Mandy Patinkin heavily reminds of Gene Kelly in The Three Musketeers let's say, and Chris Sarandon could be James Mason in Prince Valiant. I have often wondred if this was also intended.

[Ken Barnes]

I'm sure the references to in "The Princess Bride" to "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and various other Flynn swashbucklers was totally intentional.
The writer, William Goldman has a warm affection for Hollywood's golden age.

Thanks for pointing this out.

Ken

[James LM]

That post two up from here was me, I forgot to put my name in

[Ken Barnes]

Thanks James LM

Noted
Ken