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Am I Wrong or Is Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Kinda Good?
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- čas přidán 12. 08. 2024
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▶Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
03:12 - I. Kevin of Locksley
14:34 - II. I Am Not Your Magical Negro (Sort of)
22:13 - III. Damsel? In This Dress?
27:42 - IV. Emphasis On the Ham
32:20 - V. No Perfect Movies, Only Perfect Intentions
One of my favorite scenes is when The Sheriff throws a tantrum and his witch minion says in an absolutely hilarious monotone "something vexes thee?"
She supposedly raised him so this is definitely a great interaction. Like if you're a caregiver (actual parent or not) I'm sure she'd be used to his fits. It's a tried and true method with toddlers to not react to their more extreme emotions as they sometimes continue to act that way to get a better reaction out if you. That's how that whole scene plays for me ever since I was a baby sitting back as a teen. I even used to ask my son when he was acting out if he was feeling vexed. Might bring it back now that he does it more since his younger sibling showed up last year 🤔
@carlisle- YES!!😂😂😂
Time - travelling Deanna Troy.
I was literally just telling a coworker about that Half a minute ago
For over a decade I assumed she was played by Dame Maggie Smith. Such a fun performance.
The Sheriff’s statue getting updated with the scar is perfect comedy, and Rickman is great in it.
Best part, Rickman got to write all his own lines. It was a condition of him playing the character, that he got to rewrite all the Sherriff's dialogue, which he did with his good friend Ruby Wax, which is why the Sherriff is the greatest Cartoon Villain ever. And I mean Cartoon Villain in the very best way, because he just goes out of his way to be the single greatest and most gleefully evil Rat-Bastard in cinematic history.
@@weldonwin
I'd forgotten about the statue.
This is an impressively funny movie.
@@weldonwin right? Alan Rickman's whole tirade that cumulated in the now iconic line "And call off Christmas!" was all him. I loved him in this movie!
While I enjoyed him in Die Hard, this film forever cemented my appreciation for Alan Rickman. There's an entire generation that remembers him as Snape, but to me he'll always be the Sheriff of Nakatomi Plaza.
Weirdly, the respect that Azeem gets is one of the more historically accurate bits of the film. There were Muslim merchants in London, up from al-Andalucia (Spain). Moor was an exonym for Berbers but kinda got applied to anyone from Iberia, the Maghreb, Sicily, and Sub-Sahara Africa. They were highly respected for their scholarship and scientific achievements. By the Late Middle Ages (which is about a century later) it was not unknown for the wealthy to have Moorish or Jewish doctors.
In the 12thC East Midlands xenophobia was more likely to be aimed the Cornish, Northumbrians, or some other nearby place on the island. Anti-Blackness wasn't really a thing until centuries later. It was very much a product of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
Anyway, mainly commenting for the algorithm.
In High School, I was taught a very narrow & one-sided version of The Crusades. This film actually made me reconsider what I thought I knew, & I read a much wider range of history books about the era. Not often a Hollywood film manages to do that.
This is the shit that gives me life.
Thank you.
@@seliris5941 , Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein?
If so, yeah.
I remember reading an interview where he mentioned he liked to combat peoples preconceived notions about race by waiting untill the middle/end of a book before describing the protagonists physical appearance and revealing they were "of African/Asian/ect descent".
He was also criticized by both the right AND the left for a lot of his social/political opinions, which were very present in his novels and tended to flip flop over time.
No one could ever really draw a bead on him.
Toward the end, even I think he got a few to many screws loose in the ol' noggin, as his later books seem to just be incestuous fantasy porn.
A very interesting, but weird author, known as one of the grandaddies of Sci-Fi.
@@seliris5941 As someone who entersd the UK school system in the 55 yeasrs ago I can guarantee you that crusades were a synonym for good until at least 1966 in school and remained so in popular culture for some time. Indeed the very first time i recall anyone being "cancellled" for isllamophobia were the four horsemen od the new atheist mpovement (Sam Harris specifically - 1999? 2000?). And I'm not surre if he US has actua;lly lost it's bugaboo witb anti-islamism,. even toidayIncludng denial of the Crusades as missions of plunder and subjugation.
The Norfthern KIngs were fsamously active and successful within nations of the Holy Roman Empire in military terms. So no doubt the Pope hought he was onto a good thing
makoing the holy land a plunder permitted zone knowing thaty would attrfact the warlord KIng Richard IIIrd and some othr dude i doin't ecall thec name
The first conematic offeeing i can recall which did any justoce to the history of the crusades was Robin And Marian (1976)
now much of that could be wromng but i'm definitre that post mortem exams were covered up and connections lost,..
@@brucebartup6161 The First Crusade was kinda/sorta justified as a counter-offensive. The initial spread of Islam was militarily supported, and Christendom saw it as a military threat (which arguably it was as they had better tech and leadership for the most part). That said, the crusaders committed some of the worst atrocities in recorded history prior to the World Wars, and really deserved to lose in the long run. I'm not in any way saying religious wars are okay, but the perceived threat was intense. Then again, history is a clusterf*ck of "noble" causes and the corruption thereof by profiteering and the concentration of power.
This was really "my" Robin Hood, the first version of the story that I saw that wasn't animated. It's such a classic. Nowadays, most people only remember it as the movie that (along with the Errol Flynn version) was the basis for Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights."
As for the people criticizing the film for being "too dark," I think of all the versions of Robin Hood that came afterward that tried like hell to prove how "grown up" they were by being even darker. (A trend that was way too dominant in the mid-to-late 90s, and Zack Snyder is still holding onto.)
One of the great things about this movie that a lot of people overlook is that in the earliest known texts from medieval times, Maid Marian actually did fight and defeat Robin Hood while wearing a face-covering. So the added "woke" element wasn't even really added.
I knew I had read of Maid Marian fighting alongside Robin as an equal (in The Sword In The Stone) but I thought that was a modern add (though still well before this movie ever existed). I'll have to track down some of the older stories to read. (I'm a sucker for Robin Hood and King Arthur stories.)
The more recent Russell Crowe Robin Hood (2010) movie was even MORE gorey and dark but not the fun frolic this one is.
IF you wan dark try Robimn amnd Marian !976, I don't thonk iyt got mucvh distributimn in tthe US.
In that movie
Marian kills Robin
Robin kills the Sheriff in a bloody and reasluistic fight, wuithh blood
Richard is revealed as an utter bastard
Robin's men are killed or captured becaudse a noibleman brolke his word
Little John getts mad and kills the Nobleman
Wil Scarlett reveaklst that all the tales of derring do were all made up
Its Alan Rickman. He knew what the movie was and brought the right amount of camp. Makes the it worth watching
"Loxley I'm going to cut your heart out with a Spoon." A cheesy amazing line delivered by one of the Greats
Agreed
I’m not sure Robin is planning the sailors to kill Azeem, when they land in England. He wants them to kidnap him and return him home and thus release him from his vow. At least that’s how I always saw it happening.
Yeah, this is how it is in the German translation. I never thought, the Egnlish version to be more ambiguous on that topic
I’m absolutely sure Robin is not trying to kill Azeem, he wanted him sent back home to relive him of his vow.
@@oaf-77
Everyone is agreed it seems.
Robin is a good person and would never wish to harm Azeem.
@@caligo7918 What I always heard Azeem say in the English version was "I would it had succeeded." which is a fancy way of saying "I kind of wish you'd succeeded" not "I would have succeeded (where you failed)." Does the German agree with what I heard in English?
Yeah, you're right.
Three words for y’all - Robin of Sherwood.
This TV version aired in the UK in the 80s. Written by Richard Carpenter and starring Michael Praed (later replaced by Jason Connery - And how they did *that* is a mindblower that not only weaves two variant strands of the legend together, but also makes perfect sense in-universe), this was the version that refined how the legend was told. Packed full of mythological nods, including Herne the Hunter, it was the start of the darker tone representations of the legend. Freeman would not have been in PoT if Mark Ryan hadn’t been Nasir the Saracen in that show, and Judi Trott originated the Badass Marian characterisation
Highly recommended, I believe season 1, at least, is available to stream
I second that recommendation, this was the Robin Hood I grew up with. Well worth a watch.
I also recommend the other 1991 Robin Hood movie, staring Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman.
It aired on Showtime here in the states as Robin the Hooded Man I believe. I'm a big mythology nerd & really enjoyed that series for all the mythological flourishes it added like Herne the Hunter.
I would also highly recommend Robin of Sherwood for any fans of the Robin Hood legend. Well written, beautifully shot and well told tales.
Your statement that there was a "literal holy war" going on is true, but there's also more to it. My go-to example for this is Usama ibn Munqidh, a Syrian who was well-respected in the Crusader States at around the same period. His writings include an incident where he was praying in a church belonging to the Templars (he was Muslim but the Templars understood and respected his spiritual needs despite the broader conflicts between them), and an asshole shows up and starts trying to force him to pray in the (western) Christian manner. It's the asshole who gets thrown out of the church, with other Templars basically saying "sorry, he's new here." In the end, some of the interactions with Azeem feel remarkably true (though perhaps none more so than the spyglass incident).
I always love a good historical context!
@@poozizzle
I agree.
Plus Saladin usually gets at least a favourable mention when King Richard shows up in Robin stories.
This movie was great fun. I still remember Rickman's "I'll cut your heart out with a spoon!" with great fondness. Even the homeless biker vibe of the Merry Men worked.
"Why a spoon cousin?" lol
@@Knight121198 "Because it will hurt more."
@@Knight121198 "Because it's dull, you twit!"
I've always read the scene where the guys from the boat attack on the beach as Robin having paid them to pretend to attack himself, so that Azeem could "save" him from them, fulfilling his vow and allowing Robin to be rid of him. This is backed up by Azeem subsequently making a comment about no one "controlling" his destiny. This comment, plus Robin's subsequent "I had to try" only really make sense if it was an attempt by Robin to subvert Azeem's vow.
Wow I think you’re correct. Nice man
The now standard practice of including a Muslim character was invented by the great 80s bbc show Robin of Sherwood; the story is that the writers of Prince of Thieves mistook this for a traditional piece of the story from watching Robin of Sherwood. That series introduced this style of historicity too, the mythology done with a sense of scenic reality.
Azeem and the witch both seem strongly inspired by Robin of Sherwood - and brilliant and original as Rickman's performance is, as written it sure looks like the sarcastic and scheming Sheriff and brutal but hapless Gisbourne as they appeared in Robin of Sherwood.
Robin of Sherwood is still my favourite Robin Hood adaptation. Nicholas Grace as the Sheriff just can't be topped in my opinion (with all due respect to Alan Rickman); and Nazir was always one of my favourite characters.
Considering Robin Hood has no canon, it is a traditional piece of the story now.
@@schwarzerritter5724
I'm sorry that Sir Richard at the Lee, a sorrowful knight who becomes Robin's friend after Robin protects him from a cruel abbot, never seems to appear in adaptations.
I thought Sir Richard was pretty cool when I read children's stories about Robin.
ROS was definitely better than Prince of Thieves.
This movie blew my 13 year old mind when I saw it in '91. Its still a lot of fun. The arrow camera shot, Rickman having a great time hamming it up and Michael Kamens score all are great stuff.
This is one of the few soundtracks I've ever bought. I pretty much wore out the cassette version of it in my car. I've been trying to track down a copy of it on CD, but it's hard to find nowadays.
Yep I was 13 too. Blew my mind.
I loved this movie as a child and still do. I honestly didn't know it was panned like that. I've never heard anyone say its a bad movie overall, just that Kevin's acting could've been better. I watch it once a year followed by Men in Tights makes an excellent movie night.
An older, reflective, regretful Robin Hood was explored in an older movie, "Robin and Marian", with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn, with Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham. It isn't much loved, but I do love it, and from the aspects you discuss as appreciating in "Prince of Thieves", you might appreciate "Robin and Marian".
I saw that with my thankfully-now-ex. When Marian asks "how could you go off to war with Richard when you knew how much you meant to me?" and Robin says simply "he was my king," we had an interesting exchange.
She said "that doesn't explain anything," to which I replied "that explains everything."
Interesting how we fell into stereotypical gender rôles in that conversation. I don't think we ever resolved it.
On the subject of walking the several hundred miles from Dover to his home in Nottingham...
It would have been barely 200 if he'd been any good at finding his way. That scene (5:04) is filmed at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall, over 140 miles north of Nottingham.
I'm not so sure I'd call it a good movie, but it is a superbly enjoyable movie, with some great characters.
As someone who grew up not far from there, that scene had everyone in my family making jokes about his sense of direction for the entire film.
As someone who has ended up in both Scotland and the New Forest by accident (not in the same day mind you), even with the advantage of a GPS, this is the most relatable part of the movie for me.
From Dover to Nottingham via Hadrains Wall! So he must of travelled through Nottingham or very close to the place, to get to Hadrains Wall! Haha
sunyavadin lol yes they would have got away with the mad geography more if they’d used less iconic locations. I’m sure I remember the transition from Seven Sisters to Hadrians Wall getting a laugh in the cinema I saw it in as a kid.
Clearly he was using Google Maps. 😂
I mean, I'm a person who enjoys the straight up goofy D&D adventure that is Willow. But yes, I also agree that this movie is a good time.
I love how they just reprinted th ewok village playset as the Sherwood forest playset
And it looked even better strangely enough!
I would be very interested to see your take on the Robin Hood movie with Patrick Bergen and Uma Thurman that cam out around the same time.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I always liked this movie. "Everything I Do" is a fantastically cheesey song and I do LOVE Bryan Adams' music; as a fellow white guy born in the 1980's, love of his music is ingrained deeply in my genome, like John Mellencamp. Also, Alan Rickman as Nottingham: YES!!!!
As a Canadian born in the 1980s, he is inescapable.
I once heard a cheesy synth dance music version of Bryan Adams' "Heaven" being played in a grocery store and I had to stop in my tracks and shake my head in disgust.
Why does that song always remind me of "kiss from a rose" by Seal? Very different songs but somehow remarkably similar in a weird yet almost indescribable way. Anyone else noticed this or am I crazy?
If the VHS broke from overwatching then you watched it exactly the right amount. Like all copies of The Princess Bride should have.
YES! This movie and The Princess Bride are the two movies I've watched the most often in this world. Princess Bride is ahead by a good margin, but yeah, these two. I'm now onto DVD's and Blu-Rays, they hold up better than my old VHS tapes did, lol.
Man I remember seeing this film on opening weekend in cosplay as a 10 year old boy. Green tights, coin purse, dagger and tunic and everything. I loved this film, it was the first medieval film I saw in a theatre and I loved it as much as I loved Ladyhawk on my VHS…
The Postman also gets derided pretty badly, but it’s one of my all time favorite movies & it gets a rewatch at least yearly.
It's just...the nonsensical plot that annoys me to no end in that movie. Or at least how I remember the plot. So, yeah, the plot overreaches, making what should be _at most_ a regional conflict into a battle over the entire former USA.
I was really impressed with "The Postman" too.
My memory isn't improving with age; did David Brin write the novel that it's based on?
@@jeffthompson9622 yes, yes he did. I remember my dad bought me a signed first edition copy of the novel many many years ago. I was very excited when the movie premiered.
The Canadian government has apologized for Bryan Adams on several occasions.
At around this point in time, the Canadian Government no longer considered Adams a Canadian, so he no longer qualified for the Canadian Content laws (CanCon for short) on airing music which made him quite upset (and rightfully so to be fair). At the timethe CRTC (Canadian Radio and Television Commission) required either 33% or 40% (I can't remember the number) of all music on the airwaves to be Canadian, so this ruling made it harder to hear his later works. So the "Power Ballet" phase of Adams career is rightfully blamed on the English. ;)
I have to agree about it being pretty good, however, that's probably because like you, it was one of my favorite movies as a kid. So it has that kind of nostalgia, special place in my heart. But if looking at it critically, if I were to have watched it now for the first time right now, I feel like I would have to disagree. But I DIDN'T watch it just for the first time now, so it is still a classic to me. I was too young to care about the inaccuracies or poor accent at that time, so I'm easily able to look past them now. I really think lots of people look at movies and other things too critically, sometimes. Sometimes you want a movie that you can sit there and enjoy, without any thought and this is definitely one of those movies.
I was much older when it came out, and I still like it. It's full of funny quips and gags, and the humor actually works. It's exciting, and you can tell the actors were having fun during filming. It's not some great artistic feat, but it's fun, definitely.
Additionally, I was a history teacher, and I used to show clips from it to demonstrate how people actually used to live back then. Marian's home is THE most accurate depiction of a pre-medieval fortress.
Did you mean the pun when you said Azeem was more (Moor) than that?
Sheriff: "I'm going to cut your heart out with a spoon!"
*Two Minutes Later*
Goon: "Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe..."
Sheriff: "Because it's dull, you twit. It'll hurt more!"
Fucking love this movie. I'm not even ashamed.
I enjoyed RHPoT; however, I have a softer spot the Patrick Bergin version. Mainly because it features a scene in which a friend of mine pursues himself through the forest; playing a Merryman in some shots, and a Sheriff's Man in other shots. Also, the films has got Jurgen Prochnow, which is always a positive. Of course, RHPoT has the wonderful Michael Wincott, so that balances out.
5:05 When Robin and Azeem walk from the White Cliffs of Dover, to Nottingham; they do so via a section of Hadrian's Wall. That's a round trip of about 600 miles; while Dover to Nottingham in only about 200 miles.
For those who have never heard of that one--it looks good! www.imdb.com/title/tt0102797/?ref_=nm_knf_t3
I love that story--it's the kind of thing family and friends love to notice.
I adore that version. Costner's star power is the only reason RHPoT overshadowed it.
This is the truth: When I saw this movie as an 11 year-old I though the "painted man" thing was referring to the markings on Azeem's face, not the colour of his skin...
And yeah, I watched this ALL THE TIME as a kid. It's still my favourite Robin Hood
Steve, that was delightful. I have always kind of enjoyed the movie for many of the reasons you listed here and I am old enough to have seen it in theatres when it came out. But I do have to say the Bryan Adams jokes particularly the last one made me laugh aloud. Thank you.
There was a great Robin Hood series from the early-mid 80s that first aired on BBC (as Robin of Sherwood) and then came over to the US on PBS. Aside from a touch of magic that periodically shows up, it's probably the most realistic Robin Hood on screen.
Haven't seen the movie in years but I remember loving it. People thought it was dark? Compared to other Robin Hood movies I guess but compared to really dark movies...Anyway, it's a great fun movie
I just rewatched this again recently too and Alan Rickman is absolutely the star.
This came into my feed after I just rewatched the film.
My love for this film never waned, only got stronger over the years. It’s almost a perfect “Year One” story, to borrow the comic vernacular. Setting up Robin’s character as having been so drastically changed by the Crusades then allowing for further growth was some excellent writing.
And I agree about Costner’s acting. His reaction to seeing his father’s rotting corpse felt like genuine horror, and how Azeem comforts him and doesn’t ridicule him for the almost scared little boy outburst is great and subtle.
"Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent" .... Cary Elwes in Robin Hood Men in Tights. That sums up how much Kevin Costner was fitted for the role and shows how much effort he put into it when even Christian Slater did a better accent than he did, projecting a different interpretation that excuses it might make people feel better, but the other interpretation is just as valid
Honestly, I wonder how much of the sincerity in Costner's performance would have survived an attempt at an accent.
Perhaps it was for the best.
Funny you said that: turns out Costner dropping the accent wasn't his decision. It was Reynold's decision. They even hired a speech coach to teach Costner and had a few weeks of training, but they told him to stop. Not sure of the reason, though, but I heard once it was because the speech training started too late due to Costner's commitment with "Dances With Wolves". So I don't think accusing of "not even trying" is a fair criticism, at least not to Costner. Also, as they already pointed out, there's more to a role than just making an accent.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, one of my favorite actresses, is also memorable in The Abyss, The Color Of Money, and Consenting Adults.
Being from Nottingham my biggest issue with the film growing up was the castle. There's the establishing shot of this grand Germanic castle on a densely wooded hill in the middle of nowhere. It's pretty and dramatic but when you know it's actually in the middle of the city, a short walk from buildings that would have existed at the time and its literally built on a huge chunk of sandstone it really throws you off when you're an annoying little know it all
Totally liked and subscribed, I didn't expect this quality of reason, but I appreciated it
I think it's pretty great! It was actually the first movie I went out to see on my own when I was 15 back in 1991; I walked done to the theater and watched it by myself. Frankly, Alan Rickman's performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham is enough by itself to make to worthy of repeat viewings. I still like it enough to own a copy and watch it every so often; it makes for some great D&D inspiration. I've actually been playing D&D since the same year this movie was released, and I still play twice a week.
In fact, watching this video has gotten me hyped to watch the movie again, which is just what I'm going to do right now! Thank you, Steve!
I've always thought that Prince of Thieves was one of the best serious takes on the Robin Hood mythos put to film. (Men in Tights and Disney's Robin Hood might beat it out when it comes to overall enjoyability, but those aren't exactly serious films. ;) )
Hey! "Heaven" is a top tier power ballad!
Hi Steve, I just wanted to let you know that I am making this video an optional "reading" for my students next week in my Freshman Writing course. They're going to be writing "Critical Reviews" where they write a review of a piece of media, not just in a general sense but also exploring the way that piece of media treats racial minorities, women, sexuality, social class, etc (they pick one to focus on). I think this is a great example of how to do that. Thanks for producing such great CZcams content!
Wow, thanks! I'm flattered. Glad you like the video and find it useful!
I also remember seeing Hudson Hawk in the theaters around the same time, and while it was objectively bad in practically every way, I couldn't help but enjoy it. Maybe it was the Swinging on a Star number they during the heist. :)
I wholeheartedly agree, Steve. Prince of Thieves is by quite a margin my favorite Robin Hood... as played by people. The Disney animated one does still win overall.
Every town, has its ups and downs. Sometimes ups outnumber the downs, but not in Nottingham.
You sold me. I’ll listen to Brian Adams again. I didn’t realize how much I missed it
I love this movie. Currently we're in a period when actors are encouraged to be subtle and under-perform, and sometimes it's nice to see the melodrama hit the fan. Having Alan Rickman and Christian Slater cutting loose versus Kevin Costner's usual milk-toast performance (and I say that in the nicest way) is hilarious. I agree -- somehow it works. It's also a fun adventure flick.
I'm not a middle-aged white man, but growing up in the 90s, Kevin Costner movies and Bryan Adams are definitively near and dear to the heart.
I was in high school when this came out, and I remember really digging this movie. Several years later, when I fell in with the "film snob' crowd on the internet, I kind of got swayed by them and started looking down on it. A couple of years ago I watched it again, and was reminded of all the cool things in it that I liked. Like you said, not a great film, but it is good. Outstanding points all around, Chris.
And I know I'm only a few years older than you, but really? You didn't remember "Heaven" right away? It was a staple at every junior high and high school dance along with Journey's "Faithfully" or KISS' "Forever". Sappy ballads that you could hold your date close and slow dance to. Maybe it was just here in the Midwest. Keep up the great work, my man!
Absolutely love this format of video, and I agree wholeheartedly that Kevin Costner , Alan Rickman and Morgan Freeman totally rocked that thing! What are your opinions on Waterworld and The Postman? I personally liked both of them.
That was a fun trip down memory lane. I adored this film when I watched it, also as an 11-year-old. I fell hard for Christian Slater and wore out my tape of the soundtrack on my first walkman. It's camp AF but so what, good camp is delightful and Alan Rickman does camp as a high art. I think I need to rewatch the movie now.
Hey Steve love you and your videos. You’ve mentioned your complete disdain for the movie 300. Any chance for a video essay on that movie? Keep up the good work buddy!
That was a great indepth-review, for a really entertaining and well-made movie. Thanks Steve!
The fact that I got every single Bryan Adams reference in this video makes me beyond happy - thank you for the nostalgia trip! We watched this movie a lot when I was growing up, because my mom had the biggest crush on Kevin Costner. My brother and I bought the action figure of Robin with our allowance and gave it to her as a Christmas present the year it came out! I need to rewatch it, because while I remember the clips you showed, my brain kept trying to insert Men in Tights references (much as we watched PoT, my parents decided that Mel Brooks films were more appropriate for elementary and middle school kids for reasons I'm not sure on having watched them as an adult). I do remember being excited about Alan Rickman playing the Sherriff, since I knew him from one of our family's Christmas movies - Die Hard (again, the reasoning behind my parents letting elementary & middle school kids watch Die Hard and Lethal Weapon as some of the first Christmas movies of the season is kind of weird in retrospect - then again, Terminator 2 was also a family film in our house....).
I'm glad Robin Hood Prince of Thieves exists, in particular because it laid the foundation for Robin Hood: Men in Tights. :D
I'm not sure if you saw it, but my personal favorite version was Robin of Sherwood (1984), where amongst other things, Robin is an avatar of the hunter and he fights off Lucifer Morningstar. Let's just say a lot of what makes Robin Hood Prince of Thieves work is based on. :D
My parents were awesome and they took me to see this at a drive in when I was 6. I loved it then, despite Costner's non-existent accent and I still love it to this day. It is so much more fun than Ridley Scott's failed film.
It came during my Junior year. My friends and I saw it tons of times at the dollar theater. I've always liked it because of the cornball elements, rather than in spite of them.
"you! My chamber at 10. And you come at 10.30.....and bring a friend!". God, ya gotta love Alan Rickmans' line delivery!!
I really liked this movie when it came out. Like you, I wore the VHS tape down to nothing on many rewatches.
I do take exception to the part where you dis Hudson Hawk. This is a guilty pleasure movie of mine. Pure camp. Pure dumbness. But I love that movie so much.
Great video!
YAY Finally someone agreeing with the "unpopular opinion" I've had for years!
I also watched it on VHS like crazy when I was young! I like your take on it.
From what I recall the public reception of Robin Hood was mostly positive and possibly even helped by the opposite opinion from the critics of the time. Today the internet would probably roast and toast the movie. Because that's what the internet likes to do. Thanks for an all together too uncommon (for the internet) substantive positive review! Time to watch Robin Hood again from the one time years ago that I've seen it. Alan Rickman's (RIP) performance is reason enough. There are plenty more.
i watched it again because of this video. and yeah, it holds up.
and i remember rickman's death scene had the riff target on it at the time.
I have always enjoyed this movie, and never felt Costner deserved the crap he got from it.
As you noted, Freeman's, Rickman's, and McShane's performances really lift the whole experience to the next level.
My friends and I (over)quoted this movie so much.
We did the same thing with another great movie, "The Last of the Mohicans".
I am 100% with you Steve(as usual). I was 16 when this movie came out, already a bit of a Costner fan and a lover of fantasy and medieval films and lore. I loved this movie unabashedly and it remains one of the fims I saw most in the theaters. I forget how many trips exactly, but at least four times, and I got the VHS tape for my birthday that year and watched that so many times I lost count. Even as the tiniest hint of an English accent drifted in and out of his performance, Kevin Costner, is and will likely always be "my" Robin Hood. Like you, as the 1990's came to a close, it was probably a decade and a half that would pass between my last viewing and my next one. I had, after all, gone to work for Blockbuster Video for 7 years and been easily distracted by the embarrassment of entertainment riches that provided. Before I left that job, a director's cut DVD was released and I hungrily snapped that up when it came through the store. Even though this is a rare instance where I feel the extended cut is inferior to the theatrical, It inspired me to order all my favorite movies from my late teens and early adulthood. "Robin Hood : Primce of Thieves", "The Hunt for Red October", "The Mask of Zorro", "The Fifth Element", "Starship Troopers", "The Rock", "Independence Day", and "Armageddon". Setting aside my beloved "Star Wars", "Star Trek", and "Aliens" franchises, this selected library of films made me the film lover I remain today. (I freely admit that not all continue to deserve my adoration beyond the category of guilty pleasure however).
Love the "Bayeux Tapestry" style intertitles!
Steve ... could you please consider doing one of these essays on The Princess Bride or Men in Tights??
In terms of Bryan Adams. I mistook him for Joe Elliot of Def Leppard once. Heaven is a great song though. In terms of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. That movie will always have a special place in my heart. And yes, Kevin Costner could have done at least a basic English accent. Cary Elwes parodied that 2 years later in Men in Tights.
It's been a long time since I've seen this film but I remember enjoying it very much when it came out. One of my favorite parts was Morgan Freeman's character complaining about the English weather lol. "Does the sun never shine in this accursed country?" They had great chemistry.
I love this film as well and own it on DVD. I will admit that I was a bit shocked at the tremendous (to me) difference in the feel of the film with the extended version.
27:42. "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" is definitely a spoof of "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." There a quote by Rabbi Tuckman... "You Prince of Thieves, you" & the ham of the Sheriff is off the charts.
It was also one of my favorites when I was young. I haven't watched it since my late teens. Definitely should rewatch it again.
This movie is the first date I went on with my first actual girlfriend in my early teens, so it holds a special place in my heart, as does the song. Awwww...
Thank you for this review. I have always loved this movie and I am glad that someone like you could put into words those feelings I have about it. And for Bryan Adams, his anthem is my wedding song.
Oh man… I just went & listened to “Heaven” & although I didn’t recognize the title, I recognized the hook.
It’s a banger, as the kids say.
Let’s not tear it down in order to raise up the unsung heroes of the Bryan Adams catalogue.
Also, the standout performances of Prince of Thieves had to be:
Dude with the raspy voice who was also in The Crow… & Morgan Freeman.
When they start the rescuing of Christian slater I think the film action scenes really kick into gear and Costner’s bow and arrow scenes are awesome.
One if the first movies I ever really liked that wasn't a kid's movie. I had one of the Toys of Robin with the clothing on it. I loved that toy, heard there was crazy history to that line of figures.
Excellent video! I've always had a soft spot for this movie.
Thank you for this! I agree with pretty much everything you said in this video (including the Bryan Adams references!). It's not great, but also not as bad as everyone says it is. I think most people couldn't get past the accent thing, and that's why Costner took such heat for it ("Unlike other Robin Hoods, I speak with an English accent.") At least that was my remembrance of it at the time. But great or not, this is one of my comfort movies. I suffer from insomnia and this is one of the movies I put on to help me fall asleep. Not because it's boring, but because I know it so well, I don't feel the need to stay up and watch the whole thing. It's soothing in its familiarity. Hopefully some younger viewers may check it out because of this and find the same joy in this movie that those of us who saw it for the first time in the theatre found.
What's clutch archery, when it's at home then? Cus I've not ever heard of it before now!!
In the boat scene I had always watched that as the boat men were going to knock out Azeem and by the time he woke up he'd be out to sea.
I used to watch Prince of Thieves a ton when I was like 4 or 5. It was one of those things where Grandma just thought it was Robin Hood.
Costner should have used an accent-double instead of a butt-double.
Hey...18 til I die was a great departure from the power ballad BA trend. It's mid 90s bluesy, rock album. It's Like the brother album to Sheryl Crowes "Sheryl Crow" album.
Had the opportunity to talk to the film’s writer/producer Pen Densham a few years ago and the BTS story was fascinating. It’s a miracle the film turned out at all.
I was in love with this movie. I would watch it over and over, and I used to imagine I was a character- someone's spunky little sister. Think if it as fanfic before I'd heard of fanfic.
I still defend it. And I still quote it. And I love that you made this video
I keep blurring Prince of Theives and Men in Tights. They're so similar, I really need to rewatch them both now.
Good video Steve! Love Robin Hood, a classic
I LOVED Prince of Thieves when it came out (I was 9), it's one of the first movies I remember seeing at the cinema, and get caught up in the Bryan Adams chart domination.
I was a bit taken aback when I later on realised it wasn't very well-regarded.
Alan Rickman was a delight. Kevin Costner’s butt that my mom loved. And the best thing that came from the movie? Robin Hood Men in tights
Yesss. Loved this movie as a kid, now I‘m definitely going back to watch it again.
Always been a sucker for a Robin Hood story, including this one.
You are wrong, but humour me.
My brothers and I still use the spoon quote to this day whenever we get mad at people. It tends to make the other person give a double take and give a "wait what" look and break the tension. We've taught my nieces and nephews to use that "insult" when they get mad, too, and give the "because it'll hurt more!" when asked why. Of course their friends or whoever they are fighting with have absolutely no clue what they are talking about, but it has prevented many a fight from escalating further than just words.
"Prince of Thieves" is not the first "dark" Robin Hood movie; that happened when James Goldman adapted the Tale of the Death of Robin Hood into a screenplay called "Robin and Marian." Under the direction of Richard Lester, the film is just as dark, and just as rousing an adventure as "Prince," and its closing scene will break your heart.
This movie was better than a lot of Robin Hood movies, even with Kevin's lack of accent.
I honestly liked the movie, and can even appreciate it more now that I know about the flaws. Of course my favorite line from the movie is Morgan freedman saying "There are no perfect people just perfect intentions". So deep and so inspiational.
I saw it on its theatrical release, & I remember enjoying the movie. Costner, Freeman, Rickman & of course the cameo by Sean Connery, how could you not enjoy it? Just sit back, have some popcorn & enjoy.
Not a new thing, but it's interesting how cultural/societal shifts change our perception of art and stories. I don't know if I've ever seen the whole film (just bits on TNT growing up lol), I'll try to check it out!
Man this movie and the Disney Live Action three Musketeers movie were favorites growing up.
Always liked it... I get it isn't perfect, but I legitimately enjoy it and am happy to put it on whenever or continue watching it if I find myself coming across it in mid-play. I remember McShanes Friar Tuck as a real stand-out in this film... clever, funny, and even a little badass. It's also the first take on Robin Hood that I recall having no Prince John, and I don't think it needed one.
I am somewhat dismayed at how often I agree with you. Not sure why. Excellent video.
I dig this movie. Thank you for your thoughtful and thought-provoking review.