the prince of thieves
robin hood: prince of thieves [ double sided ] is available on amazon .
we’d love your help. let us know what’s wrong with this preview of prince of thieves by chuck hogan .
robin hood: prince of thieves was filmed in over a dozen locations, but nottinghamshire wasn’t one of them .
if you want to answer the questions ,
who starred in the movie robin hood: prince of thieves ?
and
what is the full cast list of robin hood: prince of thieves ?
then this page has got you covered .
adapt this: ben affleck' s' the town' vs. chuck hogan' s' prince of thieves'
this cast list of who was in robin hood: prince of thieves includes both lead and minor roles. (25 items )
its only crime was its legacy … robin hood: prince of thieves. photograph: warner bros / ronald grant archive
we look at how robin hood: prince of thieves came to be, what worked, and what didn' t .
looking for movie tickets? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing robin hood: prince of thieves near you .
following his retirement, the head of the british board of film classification, james ferman, admitted that the only regret of his career was giving prince of thieves a soft pg rating .
robin hood: prince of thieves cast list, listed alphabetically with photos when available. this list of robin hood: prince of thieves actors includes any robin hood: prince of thieves actresses and all other actors from the film. you can view trivia about each robin hood: prince of thieves actor on this list, such as when and where they were born. to find out more about a particular actor or actress, click on their name and you' ll be taken to a page with even more details about their acting career. the cast members of robin hood: prince of thieves have been in many other movies, so use this list as a starting point to find actors or actresses that you may not be familiar with .
say the words robin hood: prince of thieves to anyone over a certain age and the probable responses you’ll get will be ‘bryan adams’, ‘dodgy accents’ and ‘questionable geography’ .
fiction book review: prince of thieves by chuck hogan, author. scribner $ 25 (384p) isbn 978 - 0 - 7432 - 6455 - 6
i’m not sure why you’d want to know more about this film, but robin hood: prince of thieves [ double sided ] is available on amazon .
but let & apos; s remember better times, and see what the cast of & apos; robin hood: prince of thieves & apos; is up to these days .
the princess bride star cary elwes was perhaps a natural fit to take on the iconic lead role in prince of thieves, but the actor reportedly turned down the role over concerns about the ‘contrived’ script .
alongside prince of thieves’ production company, morgan creek, twentieth century fox and tri - star pictures were also initially competing to bring robin hood to the big screen at the same time .
prince & the new power generation - sexy m. f. (official music video )
the town is a much better title than the prince of thieves - in my opinion. mostly because the story is as much about doug macray' s surroundings as it is about doug himself. prince of thieves just kinda sounds corny anyway: p anyhow i wanted to read this one because i absolutely loved the movie and i have heard good things about chuck hogan; this book did not disappoint !
25 years ago to the day (july 19) that it premiered in the uk, here are 15 things you may not know about the most hollywoodised take on nottinghamshire’s most famous son, robin hood: prince of thieves .
& apos; robin hood: prince of thieves & apos; was a big hit, grossing more money in 1991 than any movie not titled & apos; terminator 2: judgement day. & apos ;
robin hood: prince of thieves was a pretty big deal when it came out in 1991. i was about nine years old at the time, and thus squarely in the target demographic for a film that brought robin hood kicking and screaming into the modern action movie format. i was fond of the film, although i knew even then that it wasn’t perfect. but there was something about robin hood: prince of thieves that kept me coming back for repeated viewings on cable television, and that left a lingering, though vague impression on me in the decades that followed. it was only when i revisited robin hood: prince of thieves for the first time in over ten years, for this week’s episode of the test of time, that i finally realized what makes this movie feel so damned important .
like so much media from our collective youths, though, robin hood: prince of thieves doesn’t hold up. twenty - three years after its theatrical release, revisiting the film is a positively painful experience, especially in the almost three - hour director’s cut available to stream via amazon. thieves is a clunky, poorly acted movie arguably intended for adults but embraced by kids who just didn’t know better. (though the existence of an extensive kenner line of prince of thieves action figures suggests the toymaker knew kids were going to like it from the get - go .) it’s confoundingly disjointed, sweepingly racist and sexist, and full of both bad costumes and bad wigs .
chuck hogan is an american author. his story
two thousand volts
appeared in the best american mystery stories 2009. he is the co - author of the strain trilogy with guillermo del toro. his 2004 novel prince of thieves was adapted to film as the ben affleck directed the town in 2010 .
but actually, the 1991 blockbuster (which was released 25 years ago this week) is one of the most outright enjoyable retellings of the robin hood narrative you’ll come across – and for all of you complaining about the mistakes, prince of thieves was based on a legend, not a true story. who said it had to be accurate ?
historical accuracy is a bit of a touchy subject where robin hood: prince of thieves is concerned. the film makes many superficial attempts to feel authentic, from the awful teeth (on everyone but the lead actors, of course), to the drab color schemes and generally murky lighting. but prince of thieves is perfectly comfortable with rewriting what little actual history can actually be found in the original robin hood tale. celts, for example, are transformed into a race of hulk - like, idiot monstrosities who can feel no pain. dramatically, it’s somewhat satisfying. in principle, however, robin hood: prince of thieves is nothing less than a hypocrite. it attempts to present a realistic, and considerably more dramatic version of the classic story, but infuses it with ridiculous villains, anachronistic moralizing, actual anachronisms, and a hero who isn’t even english .
when you put prince of thieves up against that lot all of a sudden it looks like a fellini masterpiece in comparison. but even without being in the company of its daft children, it still stands up: early 90s big - budget romanticism, albeit dressed in tights and flouncy linen shirts .
but more interestingly, michael kamen' s energetic score to robin hood: prince of thieves, is brilliant. kamen died of a heart attack at the age of just 55, and it' s one of several excellent scores he penned in his lifetime. it' s a tragedy we never got to hear more .
i commented in an earlier post about robin hood: prince of thieves (1991, dir. kevin reynolds) that one of the biggest anachronisms in the film is mortianna the witch and what appears to be a satanist coven. the problems with it are big enough that i decided to give it its own post .
what audiences said: critics were mixed on robin hood: prince of thieves, but audiences flocked to the action - adventure. kevin reynolds’ film was the second highest grossing movie of 1991, behind only terminator 2: judgment day. in the years that followed, the film is most commonly remembered as a relic of the 1990s, and for costner’s embarrassing american twang .
last year, when i reviewed disney’s robin hood, i avoided discussing the question of whether robin hood was a historical figure. i figure it’s time that i tackle another robin hood movie, so i chose the infamous robin hood: prince of thieves (1991, dir. kevin reynolds). and i suppose the place to start is with the whole question of the character’s historicity .
you don’t need us to tell you that the most fun moments in robin hood: prince of thieves center around the last outright villain alan rickman has played on screen, the sheriff of nottingham. he turned the role down a couple of times before eventually agreeing (sam neill and richard e grant were considered, too), on the condition that he could have relatively free reign with the part .
still, revisiting robin hood: prince of thieves has been interesting for me. i' ve always liked the film an awful lot, but my reservations about the ending grow with each viewing. it just doesn' t feel right. it did not stop the film from being a massive hit, though .
robin hood: prince of thieves is clearly a 1990s production, right down to the oscar - nominated and outright interminable ballad “ (everything i do) i do it for you. ” bryan adams was a regular presence at the multiplex two decades ago, having contributed love songs to this, the three musketeers remake and also don juan demarco. all those songs are pretty interchangeable, mind you, but they tore up the charts back in the first bush era. his robin hood: prince of thieves theme fits in well with michael kamen’s sweeping score, which may be the most accomplished aspect of the whole production, and is now heard regularly in disney commercials and in front of all of morgan creek’s productions .
then: you may remember slater as hot - headed merry man will scarlett in & apos; robin hood: prince of thieves. & apos; that same year he played one of the leads in & apos; mobsters & apos; and appeared in & apos; star trek vi: the undiscovered country. & apos ;
the men wear masks. their guns are drawn on the bank manager. she nervously recites the alarm code, and the tumblers within the huge vault fall. the timing and execution are brilliant. it could be the perfect heist. but as the huge sum of cash is stolen, so too is one man' s heart - - and that man is the prince of thieves... charlestown, a blue - collar boston neighborhood, pro
jon hall gets a break from the exotic arabian nights films he was doing during most of the forties and gets his chance to play the legendary robin hood in prince of thieves. he' s definitely a bit more of a rogue in this robin hood tale than you find in most. he rescues maid marian and her brother michael duane a pair of saxon nobles who were waylaid in sherwood forest. it' s the brother that' s heading for his wedding to lady adele jergens. however the powers that be who rule england in richard i' s absence have other ideas for some politically convenient marriages of alliance. of course that' s prince john who is not seen in this film. as it' s only 71 minutes, barely longer than an hour we don' t get too much time for character development. the prince of thieves plays like an episode of the old richard greene robin hood series. for those expecting errol flynn you will be disappointed .
in an era where films such as die hard have been downgraded to 15 from 18, it' s interesting that robin hood: prince of thieves is one of the few to have gone the other way. the disc release, with the original 142 minute cinema cut we saw in the uk is now a 12, and even then, there' s a sense the bbfc is being a bit generous .
that said, the accent criticisms would stick, and mel brooks would have fun with it in his spoof inspired by prince of thieves, robin hood: men in tights. when his robin hood, cary elwes, says
this robin speaks with an english accent ,
men in tights gets one of its few laughs right there .
then: yup, that was pop star bryan adams appropriately playing a balladeer in & apos; robin hood: prince of thieves. & apos; his song, & apos; (everything i do) i do it for you, & apos; also helped to make the movie’s soundtrack a big hit .
21. prince of thieves was originally edited quite severely when it reached home video – the sheriff’s attempted rape is toned down, and marian’s abductor no longer says ‘i’ve never seen the breasts of a noblewoman’. it wasn’t enough to placate some angry parents, and british censor james ferman later admitted the pg rating was probably a mistake. you can read all about the various different edits here .
9. despite the unified look, prince of thieves was shot all over the place, with woodland locations in north yorkshire, burnham and the new forest. if you pop over to wiltshire you can visit wardour castle, which doubled as the locksleys’ home. it’s a ruin by the time robin gets there, but the special effects team used matte painting to make it look fully intact early in the film .
i hope the world sees ben affleck’s director’s cut of the town. if it’s as faithful as i’ve heard it is, the full film may just be a modern crime - film masterpiece, on the level of john huston ‘s the asphalt jungle or scorsese ‘s goodfellas. as is, the town is a fine film, but chuck hogan’s prince of thieves contains hard, sobering lessons that the crowd - pleasing movie sidesteps. check out hogan’s book, it’s a knockout .
robin hood: prince of thieves could have easily failed the test of time. it’s too mired in 1990s clichés to feel wholly modern, but at a base level, this dramatic retcon of the robin hood legend feels right at home in the present generation of grim and gritty remakes. and to think, it preceded that trend by well over a decade. i’m not sure if christopher nolan would ever cop to it, but batman begins bears so many similarities to robin hood: prince of thieves that it feels almost like an intentional homage. yet batman begins gets all the credit for inventing the realistic pop culture adaptation, while kevin reynolds’ film gets more credit for screwing up an english accent than for anything it actually does right. it’s a fun film, political correctness be damned, and it doesn’t just pass the test of time… it feels ahead of it .
chuck hogan never allows these characters to directly interact in the novel, but there are plenty of close shaves. one particularly entertaining sequence in prince of thieves finds frawley – who in the book is much more of a rival for claire’s affections – finds a garage dougie keeps hidden. he breaks in, looking for damning evidence but only finds doug’s gorgeous, classic corvette, restored from the ground up. frawley carefully, viciously keys the living shit out of it .
the sheriff of nottingham plans to usurp king richard’s throne while the rightful monarch is away at the crusades, with a soothsaying witch and a mostly unseen conclave of barons – we’ll just call them “the league of shadows” – by his side. prince john, by the way, is nowhere to be seen. it is my understanding that prince john didn’t actually take over the throne until after king richard’s death, but he keeps showing up in robin hood movies anyway, so the filmmakers have clearly dovetailed the villain’s familiar mincing persona into the sheriff’s more threatening one, and it makes for a very memorable bad guy. who cares about prince john anyway? he only signed the magna carta .
that said, bbfc chief james ferman would express that his only regret on his retirement was allowing robin hood: prince of thieves through with such a soft certificate. he had a point. this is a brutal, violent film, with a surprisingly nasty edge for a family movie. and there' s also the ending of the film, which leaves a really sour taste .
tonally, robin hood: prince of thieves also has batman begins written all over it. it takes a vigilante formerly associated with wisecracks and tights and takes him very, very seriously, with dramatic, realistic lighting and all - new reinterpretations of the character’s classic tropes. no longer does prince john use an archery contest to lure robin hood into the open, thus giving him the perfect opportunity to prove his impressive skills. instead, the sheriff of nottingham hangs most of robin’s friends, forcing robin to use those skills to shoot the ropes out from halfway across a castle courtyard. it’s the same basic scene as before, but now it’s all badass .
this outline and the general sketch of the film are surprisingly close to the source material – except for the time - frame of book, which is set in 1994. affleck and co - writers peter craig and aaron stockard clearly have a great deal of respect for hogan’s structure. that’s not a surprise: chuck hogan is among the nation’s premiere writers of crime fiction (prince of thieves was hailed by many critics and authors – including stephen king – as one of the best novels of 2004), and his recent vampire - plague novels co - authored with no less a worthy than guillermo del toro (the strain trilogy, which encompasses the strain, the fall, and the night eternal, the last of which will appear in october 2011) are some remarkable pieces of fiction .
william bibbiani is the editor of craveonline' s film channel, co - host of the b - movies podcast, co - star of the trailer hitch, and the writer of the test of time. follow him on twitter at @ williambibbiani .
the story of wyatt earp as he interacts and battles other famous figures of the wild west era .
story of the assassination of reinhard heydrich, nazi ss commander, by czech partisans and the reprisals inflicted by the nazis on the czechs .
back in the early ‘90s, the sight of kevin costner showering in the buff would have sent a certain section of the cinemagoing public fainting in the aisles .
one of the more unusual elements of robin hood: prince of thieves (1991, dir. kevin reynolds) is azeem (morgan freeman), a black muslim who helps robin escape from a muslim prison in jerusalem. he declares that he owes robin a life debt (which, by the way, is pretty much an entirely literary concept, without much basis in the real world) and so he returns to england with robin, whom he insists on calling “christian” .
costner and reynolds would patch up their differences, only to fall out in even more spectacular style on waterworld (only to patch up their differences again and reunite for hatfield & mccoys). but with robin hood: prince of thieves, against considerable odds, they fashioned an often hugely entertaining - and hugely uncomfortable - blockbuster, with an immense villain .
robin hood: prince of thieves is the only film to date that brings kevin costner and elmo from brush strokes together on the big screen (to date, anyway, depending on howard lew lewis' schedule). and the merry men feature no shortage of fun characters: step forward nick brimble' s grand little john, soo drouet as his wife, fanny (behave), and the marvellous michael mcshane as friar tuck. it' s a grand ensemble .
then: mcshane played friar tuck in & apos; robin hood: prince of thieves. & apos; you may also remember him from & apos; office space, & apos; in which he played a hypnotist who dies while plying his mysterious craft, and as kramer & apos; s superstitious rival fdr on & apos; seinfeld. & apos ;
rewatching robin hood: prince of thieves, time hasn’t altered at all the rights and wrongs of it. its introduction of azeem, the moor companion that robin befriends in a savage scene in jerusalem at the start of the movie (costner had been keen that we saw backstory of robin outside of sherwood forest) gave morgan freeman a decent, if unexpected role. it’s one of the biggest deviations from the robin hood legend, but in fairness, it lends the film its best non - rickman comedy moments (co - writer pen densham went on to say in an interview abut including azeem that
i was told it was a stupid idea by studios, so overcoming those objections made it worth the effort
) .
much has been made—rightfully so—of the film’s treatment of morgan freeman’s azeem character, the moor that escapes a jerusalem jail with robin and is summarily indebted to him by decree of allah. while the film’s dialogue certainly does azeem no favors, calling him “the painted man” and making a joke out of his faith a few times, robin hood: prince of thieves still mostly contains a message about acceptance of others, with freeman’s azeem overall reading as a clever, loyal, and learned man. (costner’s ham - fisted speech to the merry men about color and creed, though? ugh. he should never be counted on to deliver long blocks of “sincere” dialogue. )
there was a series made in the uk (and very popular in many other countries) in the 80' s called robin of sherwood. one of the characters was a saracen called nasir. he was not originally supposed to be one of the regulars, but the actor (mark ryan) got on so well with the rest of the cast, the decided not to kill nasir, but keep him on as one of robin' s men. when robin hood prince of thieves was in development, a character called nazeem was written because the writer thought that the saracen was a traditional part of the legend (along with little john, will scarlet and marian). the name was changed to azeem because they found out that the character was unique to richard carpenter' s robin of sherwood. so, thanks to a random piece of casting in the uk in the 80' s, we were given morgan freeman' s azeem .
the internet is choked with nostalgia for the youth - oriented entertainments of the not - too - distant past: tumblr blogs regurgitating images of half - forgotten toys; youtube compilations of long - lost tv - show intros; countless blogs playing “remember when? ” with movies and video games whose rose - colored recollections aren’t always properly earned. with memory wipe, the a. v. club takes a look at some of our formative favorites with clearer eyes and asks that all - important question: were they really that great to begin with? this installment looks at robin hood: prince of thieves, the second most popular movie of 1991 .
reynolds had directed costner before on the really very good fandango, and his involvement – along with a screenplay from pen densham and john watson that was willing to go broader than the traditional robin hood legend – led to costner committing to prince of thieves. the fox and tristar projects shut down shortly after (although a competing robin hood movie, starring patrick bergin, would get a uk cinema release in 1991, heading straight to television in the us) .
despite its ubiquity in the summer of 1991, a whole host of eclectic artists have attempted to extend the shelf life of adams’ theme tune even further .
not that that either appears to be the director’s cut. most stories about robin hood: prince of thieves tend to center on the sizeable disagreement and falling out between costner and reynolds, that led to the latter having his cut of the film taken away from him. costner (who reportedly did some second unit directing) and his producers instead assembled the final version – as they would do with waterworld, costner and reynolds’ next collaboration – and the director was not impressed with it. however, he didn’t hold the cards here, and whilst the final cut was approved by a director called kevin, it wasn’t the kevin who actually helmed the film .
it should be clear from this summary that the poem is a wild fantasy. robin just happens to have an insanely large sum of money lying around to loan out to the knight, and his generosity is rewarded later on when he recoups twice the sum from the monk, only to give half of it away again. the story relies on comic inversions (the bandit given his captive money, the sheriff dining off his own stolen plates, the bandit hosting the king, the king wearing robin’s livery instead of the other way around) and the idea that moral decency is rewarded while villainy is punished. the hero is an incorrigible outlaw, and just throws away the king’s pardon because he’s bored. the whole thing reads like a contemporary comic action film, and honestly has a way better plot than robin hood: prince of thieves does .
reportedly concerned that rickman would upstage him, costner, who also served as one of the film’s producers, apparently hijacked the editing process to beef up some of robin’s scenes and trim some of the sheriff of nottingham’s .
prince of thieves is the source novel for ben affleck' s the town. hogan is one of the great boston thriller writers, joining lehane and george v. higgins in capturing the unique irish thug culture. having seen the film first, i knew what to expect and i admit, whatever downtime there is in this book, it is more than made up for over the long haul (this is a long book in very small type). the story is classic - the bank robber gets a conscience, finds a girl and tries to run after one last job. but it all feels fresh as hogan tells it. his writing is clear, his images are memorable, his characters, wonderfully flawed. not as surprising as lehane' s kenzie and gennaro books, not a poetic and deep as mystic river, not a saavy or dialog rich as higgins, prince of thieves manages to capture the heart through the pulsating plot, the frantic heists and the almost believable love story. his hero doug is beautifully drawn and makes the whole novel worth it' s high rating. and in case you care, the town is a nearly perfect translation of the book - making affleck (after lehane' s gone baby gone), the film poet of lowlife boston .
my family owned about three movies when i was growing up. we were a library clan; if we wanted to watch something, we’d either pick it up or order it from the cuyahoga county public library, a system that worked most of the time. but for whatever reason, we actually owned hard copies of a few things. one was fantasia, which i’ve still never watched. another was a dubbed copy of amadeus that one of my parents’ friends must have given them. (again, haven’t watched it, though i should .) and the third was a real, honest - to - goodness store - bought copy of robin hood: prince of thieves .
prince of thieves, the 2004 heist novel by chuck hogan that served as source material for the town starring ben affleck and jeremy renner, is the best book i' ve given up on and had to rate with one star since joining goodreads. it does not make me a happy man to do this and would recommend the book to anyone hooked by the synopsis who hasn' t seen the movie. i have seen the movie and trying my damnedest, could find no compelling reason to stay in this taxicab. let me off here, driver. hogan' s writ
what we tend to forgot is how often these movies are based on these things called books. hold on, don’t go! i know you want to click over to omg! on yahoo! but stay with me for a while longer while we discuss the pros and cons of the cinematic adaptation of a previously published material. i’ll begin with something recent, co - writer and director ben affleck ‘s adaptation of crime novelist chuck hogan ‘s prince of thieves, which affleck astutely retitled the town. if you haven’t seen the film or read the book, be warned: this article will have massive spoilers. you’ve been warned. here we go .
robin hood leads the fight to uphold justice, against the corrupt sheriff of nottingham .
then: he wasn & apos; t credited for the role, but there was no doubt that was sean connery portraying king richard in & apos; robin hood: prince of thieves. & apos; while connery hadn & apos; t played james bond, his most famous character, since 1983, he was still a household name and face thanks to movies such as & apos; the hunt for red october & apos; and & apos; indiana jones and the last crusade. & apos ;
most things about robin hood: prince of thieves are terrible. kevin costner' s and christian slater' s attempts at english accents: terrible. bryan adam' s theme song which refused to go away during the summer of 1991 and can conjure mass feelings of nausea to this very day: terrible. seeing costner' s naked arse as he gets washed in a waterfall: terrible. but i' ve still probably watched it more than any other film and will (in true robin hood spirit) defend it until my dying breath .
there’s not a line in the film he doesn’t deliver deliciously, and the story goes that the film was re - edited to take bits of rickman out, and put more of costner in, such was the sheriff’s dominance of the movie .
chuck hogan is the author of several acclaimed novels, including devils in exile and the killing moon. the town was awarded the hammett prize for excellence in crime writing, and named one of the ten best novels of the year by stephen king. he is also the co - author, with guillermo del toro, of the international bestseller the strain. he lives with his family outside boston .
this is the first day of shooting at the sherwood forest location (not the real sherwood forest, which is in nottinghamshire to the north), but robin hood: prince of thieves is already behind schedule and the filmmakers are under pressure. the 747s are the least of their problems. attempting to take the latest flyby in stride, costner flashes his easy - going smile, and in moments filming resumes. but later, taking his lunch break picnic - style on a blanket spread out on the forest floor, he doesn’t hide his growing concern. ”it’s very dangerous to be (working) so fast, ” he says. ”we are relying on the weather, and every time the weather turns against us we could get behind. when that happens there is always the feeling that certain people want to do something about it to shorten the filming time. that is not always the cure. ”
perhaps the first sign of problems came just ahead of shooting. robin wright had been cast in the role of maid marian, but discovered she was pregnant. four days before cameras were set to roll, mary elizabeth mastrantonio was drafted in (the film would then overrun, causing - and don' t say we never give you killer bits of trivia - her wedding license to lapse), more than holding her own in the part. that said, she would pinpoint many people’s feelings about robin hood: prince of thieves when she said in a 2009 sunday herald interview that “it felt like different films, different attitudes, and i’d have much rather been in alan rickman’s film. i wanted to do what he was doing. ”
in 1993, there was stephen herek' s the three musketeers, which brazenly followed reynold' s formula, casting michael wincott (who played guy of gisborne in prince of thieves) as an evil henchman and boasted a theme song sung by bryan adams (who was aided by two more middle - aged lotharios in the form of sting and rod stewart). in the same year, mel brooks' s robin hood: men in tights ably took the piss out of reynolds' s opus with cary elwes (of princess bride fame) as robin and larry david' s best buddy richard lewis playing prince john. then, two years later, came mel gibson' s machismo - laden ode to william wallace which stretched historical accuracy to levels that would probably give david starkey an aneurysm, and produced a theme song which turned into an anthem on ibiza' s dancefloors when it was given a trance remix by dj sakin & friends in 1998 .
up until the final act, robin hood: prince of thieves is generally enormous fun (appreciating the downbeat early scenes, and the remarkably adept blind man, duncan). reynolds - shooting his arrows at 300 frames a second - has a busy camera, that he' s willing to point wherever he needs to keep the film moving. his action moments - clearly practical - are strong, and the arrows of fire being launched into the sherwood camp make for an excellent sequence. he breathlessly mixes up action and comedy, and then takes time to set up a potentially brilliant final sequence, as robin and chums must halt the sheriff' s wedding, and save ten of their men - one of whom is john and fanny' s son - from being hanged .
when robin and his moorish companion come to england and the tyranny of the sheriff of nottingham, he decides to fight back as an outlaw .
additionally, the historian maurice keen, in his outlaws of medieval legend, points out that the robin hood poems of the 15 th century share many of their motifs with stories of other medieval outlaws. the detail about the monk who is robbed because he won’t tell the truth comes straight out of the story of the 12 th century pirate eustace the monk. in a different poem, robin hood disguises himself as a potter, a retelling of a story variously told about hereward the wake, an 11 th century rebel; eustace the monk; and william wallace. keen shows how many elements of the robin hood poems are expressions of peasant discontent and in that sense act as a form of social protest. so looking at them for historical facts is probably the wrong approach, sort of like looking at modern action films for historical facts .
with robin hood poised to become one of the summer’s top hits, most of those involved in it will probably forget the production’s myriad problems when the box office figures roll in. but for the two friends who made the picture possible, the wounds of making robin hood may take longer to heal .
i saw the movie, the town, a few years ago and got the book after i learned the movie was based on a book. the movie was great, the book is even better. you get so much more depth with the characters and the plot. with the book, you can dwell on the inner life and struggle in doug; the obsession of the fbi agent pursuing him; and the thoughts and reactions of claire - - the woman caught up in the middle of it all. it always amazes when an author can make a sympathetic hero out of a character that
from the author of the strain comes a tense, psychologically gripping, hammet award - winning thriller. four masked men—thieves, rivals, and friends from the tough streets of charlestown—take on a boston bank at gunpoint. holding bank manager claire keesey hostage and cleaning out the vault were simple. but career criminal doug macray didn' t plan on one thing: falling hard for claire. when he tracks her down without his mask and gun, their mutual attraction is undeniable. with a tenacious fbi agent following his every move, he imagines a life away from his gritty, dangerous work—a life centered around claire. but before that can happen, doug and his crew learn that there may be a way to rob boston' s venerable baseball stadium, fenway park. risky yet utterly irresistible, it would be the perfect heist to end his criminal career and begin a new life. but, as it turns out, pursuing claire may be the most dangerous act of all. racing to an explosive climax, prince of thieves is a brash tale of robbery in all its forms—and an unforgettable odyssey of crime, love, ambition, and dreams .
all initial copies of the original 1991 uk' pg' video had the full promo video for bryan adams'
everything i do (i do it for you )
played underneath the credits at the end of the film .
the basic problem with this claim is that the earldom of huntingdon was a noble title that the kings of england sometimes granted to the kings of scotland. in 1165, when william the lion became king of scotland, he passed the earldom to his younger brother david, who held it for the rest of his life, even after he became king of scotland; david died in 1219. so there’s no opportunity for robin hood to have been earl of huntingdon in 1198. as a historian, parker wasn’t very concerned about facts .
while rescuing the boy, robin grabs a crossbow and throws it at one of the soldiers ,
hitting
him in the face. the crossbow hits plexiglas in front of the soldier, and leaves a scratch that is momentarily visible .
19. as if there weren’t enough reasons to love alan rickman, the actor once admitted that he edited the script – with the help of ruby wax and playwright peter barnes – in a branch of pizza express, to improve some of the ‘terrible’ dialogue .
speaking of maid marian and the film’s romantic element, woof. though 12th - century england certainly didn’t lend itself to lengthy love stories or even ideal matches, the fact that marian would fall head over heels in l - o - v - e love with robin after seeing his pale, naked ass through a waterfall, well, it’s comical at best. sure, she may have fallen in lust, but the film lets the camera linger on mastrantonio’s gaping face in the scene, suggesting that, as if struck by cupid’s arrow, she’s simply fallen for a guy she barely knows. and while this trope isn’t uncommon in films or in fiction in general, it’s just another example of how prince of thieves ’ plot is spotty at best, relying on viewers to already know the story and fill in the gaps themselves .
it’s the film which saw alan rickman deliver one of the greatest panto villain performances of all time, bryan adams take a summer residency at the top of the uk charts and kevin costner prove that when it comes to accents, well he just can’t be bothered .
it turns out that robin hood: prince of thieves was the batman begins of the 1990s. check it out: it’s a film about a universally recognized vigilante, closely associated with one country, starring an actor from another country, who is assisted by a sage - like, gadget - inventing morgan freeman, and who returns home from a life - changing multi - year journey into manhood, but then has trouble convincing his female childhood friend - turned - love interest that he’s actually achieved maturity, and who uses theatricality to defend his homeland from an insidious cult that seeks to undo the good deeds of his deceased father, whose untimely death spurs him into action. that' s pretty spot on, isn’t it ?
the surviving 15 th century poems, of which there are about a half - dozen, give us our earliest look at how medieval english audiences pictured robin hood, and he is a drastically different character than the modern cinematic figure, so different as to be almost unrecognizable except that several of the names are the same. the stories mention robin hood, little john, and will scarlett (or scarlock), along with guy of gisbourne and a sheriff who in one poem is the sheriff of nottingham. there is also a character, much the miller’s son, who has largely vanished from the cinematic merry men. but there is no king richard or prince john, only a passing mention of king edward; nor is there any mention of maid marion or friar tuck .
all the newly streaming films of netflix, amazon, filmstruck, and more .
of the three, the tristar project was apparently barely in the running. but for a long time, it looked as if 20th century fox would win this particular race. it had a director on board, with john mctiernan – hot off the back of die hard and in the midst of the hunt for red october – set to make its robin hood film. and at that stage, it was the most advanced of the projects .
long before he took on the role of captain jack sparrow, johnny depp very nearly appeared in another swashbuckling adventure when he was offered the role of will scarlet .
in a blue - collar boston neighbourhood, a planned robbery takes place. the men wear masks. their guns are drawn on the pretty bank manager, claire keesey, who nervously recites the alarm code, and the tumblers within the huge vault fall. the timing and execution are brilliant. it could be the perfect job. a huge sum of cash is stolen, but so too is one man' s heart, as doug macray, the brains behind the tough, tight - knit crew of thieves, falls for claire. but she has another admirer: fbi agent adam frawley, who is beginning to zero in on the gang, and for doug, pursuing claire may be his most dangerous act of all .
one of the best studies of the shift from the folk magic model to the satanic model of witchcraft is richard kieckhefer’s european witch trials: their foundations in popular and learned culture, 1300 - 1500. he documents the shift in the accusations at trials. it’s a bit old, but it’s worth a read if you’re interested in medieval witchcraft .
a young thief, seeking revenge for the death of his brother, is trained by the once great, but aged zorro, who also pursues vengeance of his own .
defending the film has never been easy. even as a 13 - year - old, it was a hard sell. my peers would be watching their brothers' copy of terminator 2 or silence of the lambs and i' d be banging on about a film set during the crusades, which featured people who lived in trees near mansfield. when i went to university, things got really uncomfortable. i' d signed up for a european film course and remember talking to some fellow students after watching the cabinet of dr caligari. as they discussed their favourite - ever films i listened nervously as my peers rattled off titles such as citizen kane, rear window and breathless. when it was my turn i paused, said a prayer and then spat it out :
it has to be robin hood: prince of thieves .
the looks of disgust that it was met with are still seared into my memory. some of them never spoke to me again. i became a pariah on a film course which consisted of about five people all because i' d muttered the name robin hood .
after escaping from a dungeon after being captured by the turks during the crusades, robin, son of lord locksley and a warrior moor named azeem return to england only to find robin' s father has been murdered by the corrupt sheriff of nottingham and has taken over his father' s lands. unable to be helped by maid marian dubois, sister of robin' s friend peter who died trying to help robin and azeem escape. robin vows to avenge his father and flees to the forest of sherwood, home to a band of outlaws who have been banished from their villages by the sheriff of notingham. combining the forces of the outlaws, robin and his merry men set out on a crusade against the sheriff of nottingham and defeat the sheriff of nottingham and his henchmen who bids to take over the throne of england' s rightful ruler king richard and put a end to the corruption that has infested the english countryside .
the n: wincott played the devious guy of grisborne, who aids his cousin, the sheriff of nottingham, in his evil - doing. the julliard - trained actor had previous been in movies such as & apos; the sicilian & apos; and & apos; the doors. & apos ;
after being captured by turks during the crusades, robin of locksley and a moor, azeem, escape back to england, where azeem vows to remain until he repays robin for saving his life. meanwhile, robin' s father, a nobleman loyal to king richard the lionhearted, has been murdered by the brutal sheriff of nottingham, who helped install richard' s treacherous brother, prince john, as king while richard is overseas fighting the crusades. when robin returns home, he vows to avenge his father' s death and restore richard to the throne. even though maid marian, his childhood friend, cannot help him, he escapes to the forest of sherwood where he joins a band of exiled villagers and becomes their leader. with their help he attempts to cleanse the land of the evil that the sheriff has spread.
the prince of thieves is a 1948 film nominally inspired by alexandre dumas ' 1872 novel le prince des voleurs . produced by sam katzman for columbia pictures and starring jon hall as robin hood with stuntwork by jock mahoney , the film was shot in the cinecolor process that features an inability to reproduce the colour green . sequences were shot reusing several of the sets of columbia 's the bandit of sherwood forest and at corriganville . patricia morison and adele jergens co-star . 
the prince of thieves is a 1948 film nominally inspired by alexandre dumas' 1872 novel le prince des voleurs. produced by sam katzman for columbia pictures and starring jon hall as robin hood with stuntwork by jock mahoney, the film was shot in the cinecolor process that features an inability to reproduce the colour green. sequences were shot reusing several of the sets of columbia's the bandit of sherwood forest and at corriganville. patricia morison and adele jergens co-star.
the prince of thieves is a 1948 film nominally inspired by alexandre dumas' 1872 novel le prince des voleurs. produced by sam katzman for columbia pictures and starring jon hall as robin hood with stuntwork by jock mahoney, the film was shot in the cinecolor process that features an inability to reproduce the colour green. sequences were shot reusing several of the sets of columbia's the bandit of sherwood forest and at corriganville. patricia morison and adele jergens co-star.