Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

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.

Director:

Kevin Reynolds

Writers:

Pen Densham (story), Pen Densham (screenplay),

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Robin Hood
Morgan Freeman	...	Azeem
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Marian Dubois
Christian Slater	...	Will Scarlett
Alan Rickman	...	Sheriff George of Nottingham
Geraldine McEwan	...	Mortianna
Michael McShane	...	Friar Tuck (as Micheal McShane)
Brian Blessed	...	Lord Locksley
Michael Wincott	...	Guy of Gisborne
Nick Brimble	...	Little John
Soo Drouet	...	Fanny
Daniel Newman	...	Wulf
Daniel Peacock	...	Bull
Walter Sparrow	...	Duncan
Harold Innocent	...	Bishop of Hereford

Storyline

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 has been murdered by the Sheriff of Nottingham and when Robin returns home he vows to avenge his father's death. Even though 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.

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Plot Keywords:

england | crusades | outlaw | forest | moors | 

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Taglines:

For the good of all men, and the love of one woman, he fought to uphold justice by breaking the law

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Robin Hood - König der Diebe

Filming Locations:

Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$48,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$165,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Morgan Creek Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min 155 min (extended edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pen Densham and John Watson's script was sold for $1.2 million.

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Goofs

Toward the end, Azeem is about to shoot a flaming arrow at an explosive barrel. The guard ties a rope around Will's neck and forces him down on to the barrel, and Azeem blows out the flaming arrow. If it were that easy to extinguish the arrow, it never would have stayed lit during fight.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prisoner: Show them the courage of Allah!

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits: In fond memory of Egil Woxholt

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Connections

Version of Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

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Soundtracks

" (EVERYTHING I DO) I DO IT FOR YOU"
Performed by Bryan Adams
Courtesy of A&M Records
Produced by Robert John Lange (as Mutt Lange)
Written by Michael Kamen (as M. Kamen), Bryan Adams (as B. Adams) and Robert John Lange (as R.J. Lange)

User Reviews

Enjoyable, old-fashioned swashbuckler with occasional misjudgements.

Robin Hood:Prince Of Thieves is an all-star rehash of one of cinema's oldest and most popular stories. Kevin Costner takes the title role and proves to be handsome enough and swashbuckling enough to do justice to the role during the action scenes. However, during the film's quieter moments, Costner's American accent grates a little amid the Sherwood Forest surroundings.

The story doesn't particularly need explaining, but for people who have lived on Mars for their whole lives here it is. Robin of Locksley, a young soldier, returns from the Crusades to find the city of Nottingham and its surrounding area terrorised by the evil Sherrif of Nottingham (Alan Rickman). Robin takes refuge in the nearby Sherwood Forest, where he gathers a band of woodland outlaws who are always stealing money and treasure taken by the Sherrif and giving it back to the poor. His dashing antics impress Maid Marian (Mary Elisabeth Mastrantonio), a childhood friend, and he quickly becomes popular with the poor and honest folk who nickname him Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves.

The film is very old-fashioned, but it occasionally gives away its 1991 release status with modern touches (the fancy camera-work in which the camera is seemingly fixed upon an arrow as it is fired at a target; the introduction of a Moorish warrior character [Morgan Freeman] to broaden the film's cultural reference; Rickman's self-deprecating pantomimic turn as the wicked Sherrif). On the whole, it is an entertaining film with a good balance between the action and the romance. The best performance - surprisingly - comes from Michael Wincott who oozes menace as the Sherrif's despicable cousin Guy of Gisbourne. There are some quite significant factual errors, the best (by "best" I mean "funniest") of which is when Robin and his Moorish companion stand at the foot of the white cliffs of Dover and Robin tells him: "by nightfall we will dine with my father!" Quite a feat, since Nottinghamshire is about 200 miles away and this pair are travelling on foot!