Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. The film was marketed with the tagline "For the good of all men, and the love of one woman, he fought to uphold justice by breaking the law."

Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood. The film also stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Maid Marian, Morgan Freeman as Azeem, Christian Slater as Will Scarlet and Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham. The original music score was composed, orchestrated and conducted by Michael Kamen.

Plot synopsis
Deleted scenes
Reception
Inspiration
Action figures and other merchandising
Production Notes
See also
External links

Plot synopsis

Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner), an English nobleman, joins King Richard the Lionheart and other Christians in the Third Crusade. While at war, Robin is captured and jailed in a dungeon in Jerusalem. With his execution inevitable, Robin engineers an escape, saving the life of a Moor, Azeem (Morgan Freeman) in the process. Robin makes the long journey back to England with Azeem, who claims he must accompany Robin until the debt of saving his life is repaid.

In England, with King Richard gone, the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) rules over the land with fear, aided by his brute cousin, Guy of Gisbourne (Michael Wincott) along with the precognitive evil witch, Mortianna (Geraldine McEwan), and the corrupt Bishop of Hereford (Harold Innocent).

Upon Robin and Azeem's arrival, the pair find Robin?s formerly luxurious abode of Locksley Castle destroyed and his father, Lord Locksley (Brian Blessed), murdered by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Lord Locksley?s servant, Duncan, has survived, though his eyes were removed in torture. Duncan tells Robin that ?Nottingham and his Witch? appeared with soldiers at the castle, claiming they captured Robin?s father, and he then confessed to devil worship; this allowed them to execute him and declare his lands forfeit (though he was actually killed by a group of pagans, led by the Sheriff, after refusing to join them).

With his lands and reputation gone (along with many potential allies as a result) Robin seeks out his childhood friend, Maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) ? the cousin of the king. He is immediately attracted to Marian, although she does not return the feelings, which poses a problem because Nottingham also has his sights set on her. Robin visits the Bishop (whom he does not know is corrupt), and the Bishop claims that Robin?s father did indeed worship dark powers. Robin refuses to believe this and has a brief violent encounter with Nottingham, leading to the Sheriff's public humiliation, before escaping. In order to create a negative public opinion of Robin, Nottingham conjures up the name ?Robin of the Hood? (later shortened to Robin Hood) and offers a large reward for his death or capture.

Robin, Azeem and Duncan seek shelter in the Forest of Sherwood, where they come across Little John (Nick Brimble) and a large group of woodsmen, all of whom were outlawed through the actions of the Sheriff. After proving his skill in single combat, Robin is accepted into their group and begins to train the men on defending themselves and building weapons with which to fight Nottingham. Robin and his now-trained cohorts begin to systematically rob English soldiers and convoys as they pass through the forest, then distributing said stolen wealth among the poor. Robin and his men also enlist the help of Friar Tuck (Mike McShane) after robbing his convoy and teaching him a lesson in 'humility'. Marian makes contact with Robin several times, and the two fall in love. Will Scarlet (Christian Slater), one of Robin's men, is constantly undermining his leadership.

Robin?s successes infuriate Nottingham, who, in turn, increases the maltreatment of his people, resulting in more respect and support for Robin Hood. The families of the woodsmen in the forest are forced out of their homes, themselves heading into the forest and ultimately joining Robin. Nearly driven mad by failure, Nottingham kills Guy of Gisbourne for his ineptitude at stopping Robin, before turning to Mortianna for guidance. Mortianna suggests that he bribe savage Celt warriors into finding and attacking Robin?s woodland hideout. The plan works, as the Celtic warriors' attack destroys the village and kills many Sherwood Forest men, including Duncan, although Azeem, Friar Tuck, Little John and Will Scarlet all survive the onslaught. Robin Hood is presumed dead following the devastating attack.

Nottingham proposes to Maid Marian, saying that, if she accepts, he will spare the lives of the woodsmen and their families captured in the Sherwood Forest attack. Faced with no choice, she accepts. Will, who has been captured, makes a deal with Nottingham to find out if Robin is alive. Will does this in front of Wulf and the other captured people. Meanwhile, Robin is revealed alive, and helps the surviving merry men regroup.

Will returns to the camp and is attacked by John. Robin allows him to speak and Will reveals Maid Marian's wedding as well as the fate of captured woodsmen who will be hanged despite the Sheriff's promise. When Robin finally confronts Will about his unexplainable detest towards Robin, Will reveals himself as Robin's long-lost half-brother, the result of their father's affair with a woman after the death of Robin's mother.

On the day of the wedding, as Robin and the others are about to begin a coordinated attack, Wulf attacks Will which results in Will's capture and impending execution. Robin is able to save the men, but Nottingham drags Marian into the castle. Nottingham hastily attempts to marry and impregnate Marian while the Bishop nervously performs the ceremony while the witch looks on. Robin and Azeem find them just as the ceremony is completed. Nottingham brandishes Robin?s dead father?s sword, and the men begin to duel. Elsewhere in the castle, Tuck finds the Bishop and compares him to the apostle Judas before defenestrating him.

Robin eventually wins the sword fight and kills Nottingham with a dagger (the dagger that the Sheriff had given to Marian who later gave it to Robin) through his heart. With his guard down, Robin is not prepared for a surprise attack from Mortianna, who charges with a spear. As she charges, Azeem breaks down the door and throws his sword, slaying Mortianna: a death she had foreseen earlier. His vow fulfilled, Azeem can now be at peace.

Robin and Marian marry in the forest amongst many supporters. Their matrimony is interrupted by the return of King Richard (Sean Connery), who blesses the marriage and wishes them well. In the film's ending, Friar Tuck turns to the camera, and tells the couple (and ostensibly the audience) "Come on, get out of it. We waste good celebration time."

Deleted scenes

In the special edition DVD, it is revealed that Nottingham is actually the son of Mortianna. She kidnapped and murdered the real child of the Sheriff of Nottingham and substituted her own offspring in a diabolical plan to put her own seed on the throne of England by marrying him to a royal. This is hinted at in the regular cut of the film, when she speaks of Maid Marian: "She is ripe. She will give us a son." This development was left intact for the novelization.

Reception

Earning $165 million in the United States and $225 million abroad, it was second only to Terminator 2: Judgment Day in worldwide 1991 ticket sales. The movie received a mostly positive response from audiences. Critics were less kind. Roger Ebert called it "a murky, unfocused, violent and depressing version of the classic story, with little of the lightheartedness and romance we expect". New York Times critic Vincent Canby called it "a mess, a big, long, joyless reconstruction of the Robin Hood legend". The Washington Post called it "a chore to sit through". Costner's performance was consistently criticized as listless, even by those who liked the film. Entertainment Weekly gave the film an overall grade of B-, calling it pleasant escapism, but said "Costner delivers his lines in a languid, earnest torpor" and "sounding like he just woke up to answer the phone".

By contrast, Rickman's darkly humorous performance as the Sheriff garnered wide praise, as did Morgan Freeman's as Azeem.

The film is remembered for Bryan Adams' ballad "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" (included on his Waking Up the Neighbours album and the motion picture's soundtrack) which broke pop chart records in the United Kingdom, where it remained Number 1 for a record 16 weeks. It was also a #1 hit in Canada and the United States.

Shortly following the worldwide success of the film in August, Costner was awarded the key to the city of Nottingham.

Inspiration

The screenplay for this film drew almost exclusively on the British TV series Robin of Sherwood. Morgan Freeman was originally to play a character named "Nasir", until stuntman Terry Walsh (who worked on both projects) pointed out to director Kevin Reynolds that Nasir was created specifically for Robin of Sherwood and does not appear in any other telling of the Robin Hood legend. As such, the character was copyrighted to the Robin of Sherwood creator Richard Carpenter. To avoid risk of a lawsuit, Reynolds changed the name of Nasir to Azeem. (Citation: In the original screenplay the character of Azeem was called Aslan, not Nasir.)

Action figures and other merchandising

Kenner produced a series of action figures for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1991, which included eight figures, two vehicles, and one playset. The line is notable for having borrowed various parts from past Kenner toys, largely Super Powers Collection figure bodies. In addition, the Star Wars Gamorrean guard body and the Ewok village playset and vehicles were also repackaged for Robin Hood. The figures closely shared style with Kenner's Dark Knight Collection released through 1990 to 1991.

Other merchandising for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was sparse but included a set of Topps trading cards and a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game sold fairly well but was not released until 1992, due to a long debugging period. Outside of merchandise based on the film, other Robin Hood items released in 1991 included a PC game, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and a re-release of the 1973 Disney film.

Production Notes

On the special extended edition DVD commentary, Kevin Costner revealed that he didn't have time to develop a true English accent because he had just finished filming Dances with Wolves, but that director Kevin Reynolds still allowed him to try it. The resulting accent was panned by most film critics, however Reynolds believes it worked for the tone of the story, helping Robin Hood's character stand out amongst the rest of the cast.
Much of the film was spoofed in Mel Brooks's film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Costner's inability to play the role with an English accent and wear tights probably served as much of the initial inspiration for parody.
The role of the Sheriff was originally to have been played by Richard E. Grant; however, when shooting on the film Hudson Hawk overran, he was indisposed and replaced by Rickman.
Robin Wright Penn was the original choice to play Maid Marian, but she declined because she was pregnant at the time.
Burnham Beeches near Pinewood Film Studios in Buckinghamshire doubled for Sherwood Forest.
The Sheriff's name is mentioned to be 'George' when he is married to Maid Marian, just as Robin and Azeem are trying to break down his door.
At the end of the film, Robin points a bent sword at a clerk and demands he tell him where Marian is. This was done in homage to the earlier The Adventures of Robin Hood, in which Errol Flynn, playing Robin, orders a soldier to free Marion at the pointed end of a bent sword.
Morgan Freeman only accepted the role of Azeem after Kevin Costner said he would use him in a future film of his. As of yet the promise is unfulfilled; Freeman was considered for the role of Boss Spearman in Open Range but lost the role to Robert Duvall.
Some scenes were actually shot in Sherwood Forest, but the cold and damp conditions dampened the mood of the film, so filming moved to the confines of a studio. (Citation: Sherwood Forest barely exists now and filming actually took place in both Burnham Beeches (the location for the treetop village set) and Mark Ash Wood in The New Forest (various Sherwood-based scenes).
According to the IMDB, Alan Rickman turned down the role of the Sheriff twice before he was told he could more or less have carte blanche with his interpretation of the character.