I chose the Robin Hood double feature as my first essay. I paired The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with Robin Hood (2010). I came in expecting to see many overlaps between the two movies. From my film experiences, a typical Robin Hood movie was action packed of battles between Robin and King John. Additionally, Robin Hood is usually portrayed as a vigilante, who fears no one and always has a smile on his face.
The 2010 film starring Russell Crowe has a different feeling then the classic Robin Hood films. This movie is set as a prequel to the legendary stories of Robin Hood, which was not what I was expecting. This movie should take on a different title to more accurately describe what people are about to see. In this film, Robin isn’t even mentioned as “Robin the Hood” until the final minutes. I have more issues with this film regarding its historical accuracy. To begin, they have King Richard murdered while on crusades when he in-fact returned home after being held ransomed during that time period. Another inaccuracy to this film was the constant theme about the king’s subjects demanding liberty and rights. Yeah… wanting liberty was the same as wanting death in those days. Lastly, the whole French conspiracy was not a thing either; however, King Richard did fight against King Phillip II in Normandy near the end of his life (BCC, n.d.)
Although this film has many issues with it, there are some components that I did like. The actors in this movie had more appropriate costumes. The common people had rags, and actually had dirt on their faces/body. I liked that the director, Ridley Scott, also gave this Robin Hood version a less vibrant, colorful film. This film more accurately represents a gothic feeling of the middle ages. Lastly, I liked the slow motion release of Robin’s last arrow during the epic battle on the beach front. This was a good way to build audience suspense as Robin finally got Godfrey.
All-in-all, I think this film was just an okay remake of a Robin Hood story. Scott put many of his own components into the plot line to make it stand out from other films. I felt that this 2010 version was a less fun story of the Robin Hood that many have come to know and love, but it is fitting for the 21st century audience. I would probably recommend this film to others.
BCC. (N.d.). History. Richard I (1157-1199). Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/richard_i_king.shtml
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