The Adventures of Robin Hood

[Jeff]

* Available subtitles: English, Spanish, French
* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
* Commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer
* music only
* All-new 65th anniversary transfer from restored picture and audio elements
* Warner Night at the Movies, 1938 introduced by Leonard Maltin including trailers, newsreel, musical short subject and cartoon "Katnip Kollege"
* Errol Flynn trailer gallery
* New documentary, Welcome to Sherwood (2003)
* Outtakes and the studio's annual year-end blooper reel
* "Robin Hood Through the Ages" featurette
* "A Journey to Sherwood Forest" travelog
* Documentary Glorious Technicolor (1998)
* Shorts: "Cavalcade of Archery" (1946) and "The Cruise of the Zaca" (1952)
* Galleries: Historical art, costume design, concept drawings, cast/crew photos, & publicity
* Audio only: "The Robin Hood Radio Show" and Korngold piano session
* Cartoons: "Rabbit Hood" and "Robin Hood Daffy"

[bjeggert82]

I revisited this film recently, preparing myself for the highly anticipated Errol Flynn Boxed Set coming out on 4/19...

It's absolutely perfect. Every aspect of it is simply perfection. Flynn his hilarious and at his swashbuckling best, Rains is deliciously villainous, and de Havilland is breathtakingly beautiful. The glorious three-strip technicolor only underlines these points. I don't think there has ever been a more fun, joyous movie.

I can't wait to see Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk again. Flynn is one of those actors who was such a wild personality offscreen, which for me added to his onscreen ethos.

For me, this is truly one of the best films ever made.

[Napoleon]

Oddly this is has '12' certificate here in the UK. I can only assume that this is due to Errol's somewhat sadistic habit of laughing as he kills people.

[Pinback]

Oddly this is has '12' certificate here in the UK. I can only assume that this is due to Errol's somewhat sadistic habit of laughing as he kills people.

It's actually only disc 2 that gets the 12, the film itself is still a U certificate.

[Martha]

When I was very, very small, a babysitter took me to see a double feature of this and Captain Blood. I'm pretty sure they were the oldest movies I'd even see by a good 50 years, and they completely blew my mind. Also, I immediately became obsessed with Errol Flynn. In retrospect, I'm astonished that babysitter girl was that cool.

[bjeggert82]

When I was very, very small, a babysitter took me to see a double feature of this and Captain Blood. I'm pretty sure they were the oldest movies I'd even see by a good 50 years, and they completely blew my mind. Also, I immediately became obsessed with Errol Flynn. In retrospect, I'm astonished that babysitter girl was that cool.

That is astonishing...

I remember first seeing this film when I was really young, this was around the time I had seen Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in theaters. I remember thinking how crappy that film was in comparison to Curtiz's, how the somewhat more realistic portrayal of the newer film took all the joy from the story.

[skuhn8]

Not a very good film. Everything feels requisite, the villains have no power and are never threatening, and there's simply no tension to the film. One never feels that anyone, really, is ever in danger. The costumes are horribly campy, and the camera doesn't capture the swordfighting very well. The cinematography tends to be extremely plebian with occasional moments of brilliance.

Kind of sums up why it's such a great film. Not supposed to be a white-knuckle ride; more of a playful romp. But then, maybe you realise that and are just camping on the camp?

[unclehulot]

Not a very good film. Everything feels requisite, the villains have no power and are never threatening, and there's simply no tension to the film. One never feels that anyone, really, is ever in danger. The costumes are horribly campy, and the camera doesn't capture the swordfighting very well. The cinematography tends to be extremely plebian with occasional moments of brilliance.

All in all, not a classic at all, methinks. De Havilland was better in The Heiress and Gone With the Wind.

And your example of a film in this genre that is superior would be....?

In any case, I didn't hear you complain about the Korngold score, but if you don't find that to rate at the top of the genre, you're missing out on another aspect of this rousingly exciting film. No tension? You need to listen as well as watch. And surely a De Havilland performance such as she gives in those other films you mention would be horribly out of place here. Oh well, to each his own.

[Matt]

Though I was impressed with the Blu-ray caps on DVD Beaver, they did not prepare me for how absolutely amazing this looks in motion. The colors are still extraordinarily vivid, but now you can see minute detail in the texture of fabrics and props. Perhaps the only other time I've seen Technicolor look this good was in a 35mm Tech IB print of The Wizard of Oz, and even that had some terrible registration errors that are not a problem with the UltraResolution process. The Merrie Melodies cartoons look great, too, but detail is not a factor here.

I am now kicking myself for not pre-ordering this when it was $15.

[Anonymous]

Fun film, glorious looking, etc. But what I really love about this package is the very excellent documentary on colour film history.