Overview
In Michael Curtiz's swashbuckling spectacle about the infamous outlaw and his band of merry men who "robbed from the rich and gave to the poor," Robin Hood (Errol Flynn) fights nobly for justice against the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) while striving to win the hand of the beautiful Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland). Flynn joyously embraces the role widely considered the best of his bountiful array of swashbuckling legends. Delivering his lines and performing dashing acrobatics (he did most of his own stunts) with breezy élan, he darts across the intricate sets of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD as if there are rocket boosters secreted in his tights. It was one of the earliest films to use three-color Technicolor and, at the time, the most expensive film Warner Bros. had produced. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's outstanding score won an Oscar, as did the art direction and the editing.
Awards:
1938 - Academy Awards - Best Film Editing - Winner
1938 - Academy Awards - Best Interior Decoration (b&w) - Winner
1938 - Academy Awards - Best Original Score - Winner
Main Cast & Crew:
Michael Curtiz - Director
William Keighley - Director
Errol Flynn
Olivia de Havilland
Basil Rathbone
Claude Rains
Patric Knowles
Eugene Pallette
Alan Hale
Herbert Mundin
Una O'Connor
Melville Cooper
Details
- Format: DVD
- Run Time: 103
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 883929153473
- Genre: Action
- Rating: PG (MPAA)
- Release Date: September 2003
Movie Reviews
Notes:
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1995.
One of the earliest films to use three-color Technicolor and, at the time, the most expensive film Warner Bros. had produced ($2 million).
William Keighley started directing the film, but Curtiz finished the filming. According to Variety, Curtiz took the helm because Keighley became ill but, according to Halliwell, Curtiz became director because "it was felt that the action lacked impact."
The film is based on, according to the credits, "ancient Robin Hood legends."
Reviews:
"...A treat for the eye and ear....An action-packed romantic take on the old legend..." - 10/06/2003 Los Angeles Times, p.C12
"...Visually, screen reds were never redder nor greens greener, and this was the screen adventure for the era..." - 10/03/2003 USA Today, p.6E
"[T]he dialogue is delectable Hollywood fustian at is best; the period Technicolor glows like a jewel..." - 02/01/2004 Total Film, p.114-5
"[O]ut of all the embodiments of derring-do played by Flynn, his nobelman-turned-defender-of-the-poor-and-oppressed is the most purely joyous." - 04/01/2004 Premiere, p.70
"[A] Technicolor swashbuckler." - 04/01/2004 Sight and Sound, p.74
