Robin Hood and his Merry Men fight against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham in this updated version of this timeless tale.
--Ilya
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: Special Extended Edition
Directors: Kevin Reynolds
Producers: Pen Densham, John Watson, and Richard Barton Lewis
Writers: Pen Densham and John Watson
Features: Commentary by actor Kevin Costner and director Kevin Reynolds
Commentary by actors Morgan Freeman & Christian Slater, and writers/producers Pen Densham & John Watson
12 Added Never-Before-Available Minutes of Footage Incorporated Into The Film
Network making-Of documentary "Robin Hood: The Myth, The Man, The Movie" hosted by Pierce Brosnan
Vintage one-on-one interviews with the cast
Score-only audio track with all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 Remix
"Weapons of the Time" 3-D gallery
Worldwide poster art gallery
Extensive production notes
Bryan Adams Live at Slane Castle in Ireland preforming (everything I do) I Do It For You.
Characters:
Kevin Costner - Robin of Locksley
Morgan Freeman - Azeem
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio - Marian Dubois
Christian Slater - Will Scarlett
Alan Rickman - George (sheriff of Nottingham)
Geraldine McEwan - Mortianna
Michael McShane - Friar Tuck
Brian Blessed - Lord Locksley
Michael Wincott - Guy of Gisborne
Nick Brimble - Little John
Soo Drouet - Fanny
Daniel Newman - Wulf
Genre: Action/Adventure
Review:
The legend of Robin Hood has been part of cinema since it’s early days. Robin Hood is one of those characters that seems to reinvent itself every decade or so. In the early 90’s we had the latest adaptation of this tale called Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starting Kevin Costner fresh off his Dances With Wolves fame, this time taking a slightly darker look into the legend of Robin Hood. All the similar characters are there with Robin Hood: Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Little John, Will Scarlet, Friar Tuck and the rest of the Merry Men (although not referred to as such in this movie.) There is also the new character of Azeem, the Moor who Robin Hood saved while on the Crusades in Jerusalem.
The movie opens up with Robin captured and in prison in Jerusalem. After a daring escape, he frees Azeem who helps him get back to England. At the same time the Sheriff of Nottingham is plotting to take control of England while King Richard is away on the Crusades. The Sheriff is gathering forces and taking out anyone who stands up against him one of which is Robin’s Father. When Robin and Azeem make it back to England, they find what has transpired and Robin starts to see what he can do to make things right and revenge his father. On the way, he runs into Little John and his group of ‘Merry Men’ and after a while begins to lead then against the Sheriff.
The story holds many similarities and differences to all the previous incarnations of the Robin Hood tale. In the heart it is the same tale that has been told for many hundreds of years. The green tights are gone and so it the pointy green hat, for a more realistic view of what people of that time might have worn. The production value of this movie was pretty high for the time. The movie shows us great visuals from the castle at Nottingham to the dwellings high up in the trees of Robin’s men. Kevin Costner does a fine job playing Robin of Locksley especially in the lighter moments he brings a great sense of humor in what might have been a serious role. Even better was his partner in crime Azeem played by Morgan Freeman who is the real moral center of the movie, trying to guide Robin along the way and making sure he is doing things for the right reasons. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays the self-reliant Maid Marian who Robin has made a promise to his fallen comrade back in Jerusalem to look after, but who seems to think she can do just fine without. Rounding out the main cast we have Alan Rickman who plays the immensely evil Sheriff of Nottingham and just about steals the show. Rickman is just able to play bad so well in many of these roles and this one is among the best. The supporting cast includes Christian Slater and many great British stage actors and who all do a fine job in their particular roles.
This version also is a longer cut than the original theatrical version. Twelve more minutes have been added, which include a subplot between the Sheriff and the witch and a few other small scenes, none of which are very pivotal. Unfortunately the disc does not contain the original cut of the movie, through seamless branching. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves stands out as one of the best, with a great mix of action, romance, and humor. It helped make this movie a big hit in the early 90’s and it still stands up today as it did back then.
The audio and video on this release are a vast improvement over the earlier single disc release. The picture is presented in a 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen, unfortunately the print is a little grainy at times, but other than that and a few small imperfections, still a very nice print. The movie has both Dolby Digital 5.1 and a DTS 5.1 audio track the latter of which is slightly better of the two, but it also has some quite noticeable sync problems later in the movie.
The extras included on two-disc set are spread across two discs. The first disc host’s two audio commentary tracks. The first one with director Kevin Reynolds and Kevin Costner, and the second one with writers/producers Pen Densham and John Watson and actors Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater. Both discs also have some great interactive animated menus.
The first commentary from Kevin Reynolds and Kevin Costner is very informative and entertaining given that the two have worked on movies together since Robin Hood. They talk about specific scenes and how things were done and the new scenes added to this version. The track holds some quiet spots where they are just watching the movie, but luckily that only occurs every once in a while. The track did get a little self-congratulatory at times but it wasn’t too bad.
The second commentary from writers/producers Pen Densham and John Watson and actors Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater is even better. Densham and Watson being the predominate speakers on this track sometimes prompting Freeman and Slater with questions at the beginning. This is a very entertaining track with the writers/producers talking how the project got started from script to screen and talking about how glad they were to see the new scenes added to the film. The actors do a pretty good job of discussing how the shoot was and also about their co-stars (mainly Costner.) All participants seemed like they were having a good time.
Starting out on disc two is the network making-Of documentary "Robin Hood: The Myth, The Man, The Movie" hosted by Pierce Brosnan which ran about 32 minutes. This started out with the real life Robin Hood or what was thought to be the real life Robin Hood and how it all came to pass from the twelfth century England to present day. It then went into the production of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and how the production team strived to come up with authentic clothing and set design to mimic twelfth century England. There are also some interviews with cast and crew on set about the making of the film as they are introducing their characters. Composer Michael Kamen talks about creating the score for the movie. Finally they discuss the stunts and stunt work in the movie.
Next we have five, four minute vintage interviews with Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, and Alan Rickman. These short press interviews from before the movie was released are ok at best and don’t offer too much insight into the making of the movie.
The Production Design section is divided up into four sections: The Legend of Robin Hood, Robin Hood in the Movies, Why Tell the Story Again, and Creating 12th- Century England. These all are text only supplements that are several screens long each.
The Publicity Gallery holds the theatrical trailer is presented in letterbox followed by six thirty and ten second TV spots, a photo gallery, and anamorphic widescreen presentation of six other Morgan Creek movies: American Outlaws, Ace Ventura, The In Crowd, Chill Factor, Juwanna Man, and True Romance.
The Cast & Crew section houses some generic filmographies and biographies.
The Weapons Gallery contains information about five weapons: Sword, Scimitar, Bow, Cross Bow, and Axe. Each weapon is described and some historical information about the weapon is given.
Finally we have the Music section, which contains the beautiful score-only audio track with all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 Remix.
----Ilya