Robin Hood
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Enid Bennett, Paul Dickey, Sam De Grasse, Wallace Beery, William LoweryBrand: Kino International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Silent
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 127 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-03
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 3312
Studio: Kino Video
Movie Reviews of Robin Hood
Movie Review: A wonderful costume drama
Summary: 5 Stars
Though perhaps not as consistently action-filled and developed plotwise as other of Fairbanks's films, I really enjoyed this one. I was prepared for it to be a typical silent costume drama as it began, but though it does have a number of the same potential drawbacks (particularly for someone new to the silent cinema), such as an awful lot of intertitles, a plot that could use more definition and shape, a lot of different characters to keep track of, and a longer running time than most silents, it's a lot more interesting and faster-paced than most seem to be. And some people aren't going to like costume dramas anyway because not everyone likes history, or at least the historical era in that particular film. Medieval history was never one of my own fields of interest until just recently; in the past several years I've come to love that era more and more, so the historical setting held an added interest for me. (Usually these costume dramas seem to be set in 17th or 18th century France.) The first half of the film does move a bit slowly at times, which certainly could bore some people, but that serves to set up the situation and characters. This cinematic device can work very well at really drawing the viewer into the story and keeping his or her interest in the slowly but surely unfolding plot. The second half is much more action-packed, the kind of thing Doug was famous for, even though it's not the movie to watch if you're interested in seeing him take center-stage for most of the action. With so many other characters here, he's not always going to be the center of the action or even onscreen at all.
Although the jury is still out on just who the real Robin Hood was and when exactly he lived (he appeared on the scene anywhere between 1190 and the 1320s), this version of the famous story is the one that most people are the most familiar with. Robert, Earl of Huntingdon, is in a jousting match witnessed by his good buddy, King Richard I (the Lionhearted), and his jerk of a brother Prince John (later King John I). Prince John's henchman, Sir Guy of Gisbourne, has buckled himself into his saddle to ensure himself of a win, but to his surprise is easily beaten anyway by Huntingdon. It then comes out that Huntingdon is afraid of women, so much so he has trouble getting one to put the wreath of laurels on his head. This fear of women, however, is soon cured when he catches Prince John trying to abduct Lady Marian, whom he, of course, falls head over heels in love with at first sight. King Richard is pleased as punch that his friend finally has a woman to fight for, particularly since they're about to leave on the Third Crusade. (Richard was not so successful on this Crusade as he's made out to be in the movie, particularly not after his truce with Sultan Saladin; he was shipwrecked on the way home and wound up in Austria, where he was caught by his enemy Duke Leopold V and held for ransom before being taken back to England.) Before they can even get to the fighting, however, Huntingdon receives a message from Marian, saying that John has taken control and is doing horrible things (which did happen in real life; it's said that England has never had another king named John since because this man was such a horrible evil king). Huntingdon does not get permission from Richard to return to England (he felt that if he knew the real reason he wanted to leave, he would be distracted from doing well on the battlefield), and ends up framed for desertion and thrown into prison. He later manages to escape, and returns to England as Robin Hood, who robs from the rich and gives to the poor, and who fights against Prince John's evil henchmen. He and his followers are committed to fighting the good fight till Richard comes home and can rule again. Though not as action-packed or edge of one's seat exciting as some of Doug's other films, it's still a very solid and entertaining story.
Extras are outtakes and an excerpt from the 1923 Will Rogers short 'Big Moments from Little Pictures.' The print used for this edition is in wonderful shape (as is to be expected from a Kino release), and the soundtrack used is also very well-chosen, particularly since it's the soundtrack that was originally written for this film in 1922. I didn't find anything inappropriate or annoying about how some of it was performed with a synthesiser. If one's complaints about a DVD release of a classic are as petty as that, then it seems safe to say there's nothing really wrong with it, or at least nothing that the average (non-purist) silent film fan will have any issues with.
Summary of Robin Hood
ROBIN HOOD - DVD MovieRobin Hood was a dream project for dashing Douglas Fairbanks and he brought the full resources of his studio to the film, building the largest standing set ever for Prince John's magnificent castle and filling open plains with thousands of extras. The sense of scale still awes audiences, yet none of it detracts from the vigorous presence of Fairbanks, a hearty hero with grace, gymnastic prowess, and a sense of humor as big as Sherwood Forest. It takes some time for this first incarnation of the great bandit hero to get started--the first hour is a little slow as it establishes the conflict between Prince John and the Earl of Huntington (Fairbanks) in moody scenes inside the dark, torch-lit castle. But when the disenfranchised Earl transforms into forest warrior Robin Hood with a gazelle-like entrance, the film becomes a sweeping adventure classic full of swordfights, jousts, larger-than-life stunts, and Fairbanks's brand of jaunty heroism. Allan Dwan balances the enormous sense of scale with scenes of intimacy and quiet, all realized in a rich black-and-white palette of contrasts both bold and delicate. Wallace Beery costars as Richard the Lionhearted with Fairbanks favorite Sam De Grasse as the villainous Prince John and Alan Hale as Robin's faithful squire turned comrade in arms Little John, a role he also played in the famous Errol Flynn remake of 1938. Fairbanks fans each have their favorites, but all agree than none is as magnificent as Robin Hood. --Sean Axmaker
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