Robin and Marian (1976)

Director:

Richard Lester

Writer:

James Goldman (written by)

Release Date:

April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love is the greatest adventure of all.

Plot:

Robin Hood, aging none too gracefully, returns exhausted from the Crusades to woo and win Maid Marian one last time.

Plot Keywords:

Robin Hood | Crusades | Friar | Abbess | Sheriff

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Robin Hood
Audrey Hepburn	...	Lady Marian
Robert Shaw	...	Sheriff of Nottingham
Richard Harris	...	Richard the Lionheart
Nicol Williamson	...	Little John
Denholm Elliott	...	Will Scarlett
Kenneth Haigh	...	Sir Ranulf
Ronnie Barker	...	Friar Tuck
Ian Holm	...	King John
Bill Maynard	...	Mercadier
Esmond Knight	...	Old Defender
Veronica Quilligan	...	Sister Mary
Peter Butterworth	...	Surgeon
John Barrett	...	Jack
Kenneth Cranham	...	Jack's Apprentice
Victoria Abril	...	Queen Isabella
Montserrat Julió	...	1st Sister
Victoria Hernández Sanguino	...	2nd Sister
Margarida Minguillón	...	3rd Sister (as Margarita Minguillón)

Directed by
Richard Lester

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James Goldman		written by

Produced by
Denis O'Dell	....	producer
Richard Shepherd	....	executive producer
Ray Stark	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Barry

Cinematography by
David Watkin

Film Editing by
John Victor-Smith

Casting by
Mary Selway

Production Design by
Michael Stringer

Art Direction by
Gil Parrondo

Costume Design by
Yvonne Blake

Makeup Department
José Antonio Sánchez	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Barrie Melrose	....	production supervisor
Juan Clemente Prosper	....	unit manager (as Juan Clemente)
Apolinar Rabinal	....	production manager
Roberto Roberts	....	production supervisor
Dusty Symonds	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
José López Rodero	....	assistant director

Art Department
Julián Mateos	....	property master
Francisco Prósper	....	construction manager
Tony Reading	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Roy Charman	....	sound recordist
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound recordist
Don Sharpe	....	sound editor
Paul Smith	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Eddie Fowlie	....	special effects

Stunts
Joaquín Parra	....	stunt coordinator
Miguel Pedregosa	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Iain Coates	....	still photographer
Federico G. Grau	....	still photographer
Miguel Sancho	....	gaffer
Jimmy Turrell	....	camera operator
Paul Wilson	....	director of photography: second unit
Kathy Fields	....	special still photographer (uncredited)
Stephen Smith	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter Boyle	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
John Barry	....	conductor
Michael Clifford	....	music editor
Richard Shores	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
William Hobbs	....	fight arranger
Ian McKay	....	fight arranger
Ann Skinner	....	continuity
Nat Weiss	....	unit publicist

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (as Columbia Pictures) (presents)
• Rastar Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1976) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1981) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1977) (France) (theatrical)
• Pioneer Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Merry Band Associates  production services
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Audrey Hepburn's first film in nine years after she had taken a break to raise her family.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Robin and John are fighting the Sheriff's soldiers atop the wall while escaping the castle in Nottingham, John hits a pike-man over the head with his broadsword as Robin grapples with him, and the broadsword flexes more than enough to show that it is not metal.

Quotes:

Robin Hood:They've turned us into heroes, Johnny. Will, you didn't make it up.
Will Scarlett:These songs, I don't know where they come from, but you hear them everywhere. We go from town to town and ...
Robin Hood:What do you do for a living?
Friar Tuck:While I take confessions, he takes the horses.
Will Scarlett:And everywhere we go, they want to hear about the things you did.
Robin Hood:We didn't do them.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Audrey Hepburn: Ein Star auf der Suche nach sich selbst (2004) (TV)

A new telling of an age old classic.

Oh what a wonderful idea. A new telling of the Robin Hood legend with his merry men, Maid Marion, and the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham thrown in. The twist was that the characters were all older and starting to slow down and realize their youthful adventures were long past them. The core of the story is the bittersweet love story between the title characters.

The true core of the film and what makes it so special is the casting. Sean Connery plays Robin Hood as the hero we all know who is slowing down despite his attempts to keep going. Audrey Hepburn is perfect as Marian. She reminds us of her eternal beauty and how truly a good actress she was. This was her first theatrical film in 9 years and it's a shame she was so little seen in that time. Actually, she was little seen after that appearing only in a few more films and none that were very memorable. Nicol Williamson plays Robin's ever faithful right hand man still trying to fight the good fight and always remaining by Robin's side. And Robert Shaw plays the Sheriff in a role he was born to play. The final swordfight between him and Robin is a highlight.

Then we come to the ending. I won't give it away save to say that it's a good, albeit, very bittersweet ending. The point comes across in a way that Shakespeare may have written.

It's a sweet and sometimes exciting film that is most underrated and deserves to be seen.