Robin Hood Reviews

The best Robin Hood movie I've ever seen! Fairbanks is perfect for the role, and I'm glad he played it. He wrote it too, which is cool, I loved how we got to see how he became Robin Hood and what was going on in medieval times. The sets, costumes, and everything was really spectacular. I loved this movie.

A great swashbuckling silent film.

Quite a bit of homo-erotic subtext. A fine start is fairly thwarted by a second-half degeneration into a Keystone Kops film.

A bit heavy on the melodrama, but the spectacle and special effects stand up to any modern version.

According to RT this is not Doug's best film. Well it is the only Douglas Fairbanks film I think I've seen and it is awe-inspiring.

The story is what you would expect but better told than any other Robin Hood I've seen. Everything comes together and works so well. For a 90 year old film it zips along with great editing and timing, beautiful photography (wish I could find a better copy) some amazing action and acting.

Let's get to Fairbanks, he is Robin Hood. He leaps and bounds and skips and is more alive than any other version I've seen and it fits with the character. His smile and charm and sillyness shines through, but Robin has strength and confidence and when he's told bad news like Sherwood forest is surrounded by soldiers, he smiles and says perfect, lets kick butt.

It was the Roaring 20's and this is a Rip Roaring hell of a good time. You would not think this was a new art form watching this film, the skill and talent of all involved shine through. And the violent scenes are quite violent, the last fight scene with Robin and Gisbourne, well I loved it. And another scene where Robin kills a guy and throws his body from the castle wall, and he does it with this slight smile, satisfied with a job well done.

I will be watching this again, as well as the Errol Flyn version and more Fairbanks films. Douglas Fairbanks just simply owned this film. :D

[b]The Last Picture Show[/b]
Story Development/Believability: 2
Sound Design/Musical Score: 2
Cinematography/Editing: 5
Actor Performance/Connection to Audience: 6
Directing/Achievement of Goal: 6
Entertainment: 2

[b]Grand Hotel[/b]
Story Development/Believability: 5
Sound Design/Musical Score: 4
Cinematography/Editing: 5
Actor Performance/Connection to Audience: 6
Directing/Achievement of Goal: 7
Entertainment: 2

[b]Robin Hood[/b]
Story Development/Believability: 2
Sound Design/Musical Score: 1
Cinematography/Editing: 3
Actor Performance/Connection to Audience: 4
Directing/Achievement of Goal: 7
Entertainment: 2

[b]To Kill a Mockingbird[/b]
Story Development/Believability: 6
Sound Design/Musical Score: 6
Cinematography/Editing: 7
Actor Performance/Connection to Audience: 7
Directing/Achievement of Goal: 7
Entertainment: 5

Although an entertaining movie, I'm not sure that Robin Hood is the best title for it, as titular character is first mentioned by name 75 minutes into this 133 minute film, and doesn't actually appear until 5 minutes later. Having just today seen the trailer for the upcoming Batman Begins, which seems to feature much more of the hero's background than previous film versions, perhaps Robin Hood Begins would have been a more apt title for this movie. Perhaps not, though, since he also finishes by the film's close.
Despite the late appearance of Robin, and the lack of fencing, this one was an exciting adventure, full of the stunts that were largely absent from Fairbanks' version of The Three Musketeers. I suspect this is the film where Fairbanks was rumored to have broken a bone, leading him to agree to use a stunt man for the more dangerous stunts in the future. Partly this suspicion is based on the spectacular stunts featured here, but also because Fairbanks made no films in the following year, the only such occurence from the beginning of his career up until talkies began to really take off in late 1929.
This may not be the definitive Robin Hood, but without it, we likely wouldn't have the Errol Flynn version, nor many of those that came after it.