I get all verklempt just thinking about this movie. It's not the Robin Hood of Errol Flynn at all. Or maybe it is. The thing is that Robin (Sean Connery) and Marian (Audrey Hepburn) and the Merry Men are much older now. Everyone else is, too, but they're still around, including King John (Ian Holm) and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robert Shaw).
The movie opens with a scene that's quite unflattering to Richard the Lionheart (Richard Harris). When Robin and Little John (Nicol Williamson) refuse his orders to take a castle that's home to some women and children and one old man, Richard has the inhabitants killed and orders the execution of Robin and Little John. It doesn't happen, though, and Richard himself dies. Robin and Little John go home to England, where King John is still causing problems and where Marian has become an abbess. Naturally there is trouble, and naturally Robin is caught up in it.
[SPOILER ALERT] Robin and the sheriff eventually engage in single combat. Robin is wounded and taken to the abbey where Marian takes poison and gives him some to drink as well. [END OF SPOILER ALERT]
You probably all read the spoiler, or maybe you've seen the movie. If so, you know why the movie wasn't a huge hit. It has just about everything it needs -- fine performances from all concerned, action, a good story -- but the ending is not the kind of thing guaranteed to get people into the theater It's a fine, elegiac conclusion, but it didn't send people out with a song in their hearts. Really good movie, though.
Judy and I were busy Saturday evening, so I missed the second episode of the new BBC Robin Hood series. I recorded it, however, and watched it today. This was a good thing, since I was able to zip through all the irritating commercials and watch the show in about 45 minutes instead of an hour.I'm glad I decided to stick with this show. There are some things that are a little irritating, but here are some of the things I like: the music, the colors, the action, and (mostly) the characters. The Sheriff of Nottingham is way, way over the top. I don't care. I enjoy watching him as he delights in his villainy, whether he's having a tongue cut out or whether he's taunting the peasants. He's also a pretty shrewd judge of character. Robin might be a little too noble, but I like that, too. His ability with a bow is possible only with modern film techniques rather than in real life, but that doesn't bother me at all. I'm ready for another episode.
