[.ca] Robin Hood (1922)

Amazon.com Essential Video:
Robin Hood was a dream project for dashing Douglas Fairbanks and he brought the full resources of his studio to the film, building the largest standing set ever for Prince John's magnificent castle and filling open plains with thousands of extras. The sense of scale still awes audiences, yet none of it detracts from the vigorous presence of Fairbanks, a hearty hero with grace, gymnastic prowess, and a sense of humor as big as Sherwood Forest. It takes some time for this first incarnation of the great bandit hero to get started--the first hour is a little slow as it establishes the conflict between Prince John and the Earl of Huntington (Fairbanks) in moody scenes inside the dark, torch-lit castle. But when the disenfranchised Earl transforms into forest warrior Robin Hood with a gazelle-like entrance, the film becomes a sweeping adventure classic full of swordfights, jousts, larger-than-life stunts, and Fairbanks's brand of jaunty heroism. Allan Dwan balances the enormous sense of scale with scenes of intimacy and quiet, all realized in a rich black-and-white palette of contrasts both bold and delicate. Wallace Beery costars as Richard the Lionhearted with Fairbanks favorite Sam De Grasse as the villainous Prince John and Alan Hale as Robin's faithful squire turned comrade in arms Little John, a role he also played in the famous Errol Flynn remake of 1938. Fairbanks fans each have their favorites, but all agree than none is as magnificent as Robin Hood. --Sean Axmaker

How to crumble a classic....:
"Douglas Fairbanks' Robin Hood" is one of the greatest adventure films the cinema has ever produced. It no longer exists in a pristine version, so I'm afraid this is the best way to watch it, and although any company that produces DVDs of silent films should be applauded this disc should be approached with some caution. The reason is the score. I hate synth scores on silent films. Firstly it is totally out of place to stick an electronic soundtrack on an old film - but here it really is unacceptable. The recording of the score is so irritating and twee it cheapens the film. Robin Hood screams out for a full orchestral score, not a tinny electronic beat that sounds like a cheap Casio keyboard. Fair enough, points can be made for cost etc. but the simple fact remains - would you pay good money to see Gone With the Wind or Titanic with a cheesy synth score? Although the film itself would remain the same, so much of the power and passion would be destroyed when the score is replaced. Would Jaws or even Psycho have anything near the same effect if you stuck the Backstreet Boys over the shower scene? The same goes for silent films, perhaps more so. To watch the Brownlow and Gill restoration of Fairbanks' Thief of Bagdad is to watch a beautiful classic of the silent screen with a perfect score conducted by Carl Davis. To watch the same film with a syth or organ score is to see half the film. It looks exactly the same - but loses so much sweep and power. Get the DVD, switch the sound off and stick on a suitable CD. The film is improved hugely. (By the way, using public domain classical recordings is the easiest and cheapest way to get a decent score - if any DVD producers are reading this...)

A Blockbuster of its day...:
Ah, a budget of $1 million. It sounds so small today when there are films with budgets topping $200 million. But back in 1922, this was the most expensive movie made. And it's clear where the money has gone. Lush sets, huge castles created just for this movie (with special tapestries, hand and foot holds, etc. to allow Fairbanks to show off his stuntman's prowess.) And then the extras. In one of the earliest ballads, Robin Hood had a band of 140 men. Here, there are far, far more. And no digitally extras either. Just low-paid (or more likely, no-paid) folks prancing around. Yes, prancing. Sigh. The Merry Men skip and jump, with little edge that outlaws would have. Not so with Fairbanks successor Errol Flynn, as charismatic and righteous as that Robin Hood was, there was a real sense of anger at the problems being inflicted on the poor. This earlier (although not the first) Robin Hood movie is much lighter fare. The story is only threadbare. And only a few scenes from the ballads appear. Instead, half the film is taken up with jousting matches and other things which seem out of place in a Robin Hood film. Like modern-day blockbusters, it's big on spectacle and low on plot and character. It's a classic, but it doesn't grab me the way Flynn's Robin Hood does. It lacks the heart and soul. Now, onto the DVD quality. The image is surprisingly good for an 80-year old film. And they've gone with the colour-tinting process. Forest scenes, for example, are tinted green. That adds a warmth to the film lacking in its characters. Unfortunately, the sound isn't as good. The score is electronic and very noticeably so. And it sounds more like an electronic kazoo than a real piano or organ as it should be. That is very distracting. Which is unfortunate, because the score itself is adapted from the 1890s Robin Hood stage musical composed by Reginald de Koven (this production introduced the wedding song "O Promise Me"). It would have been nice to hear a less synthetic version of de Koven's score. So, riddle me this -- why is this film on DVD and not the 1938 Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn? (And while its nice to see Fairbanks turn as Robin Hood and Zorro on DVD, I'd really like to own the Flynn and Tyrone Powers versions of those films.)

OUTSTANDING, SILENT VERSION:
Before Costner, before Flynn, there was Douglas Fairbanks Sr., playing the classic Robin Hood role. Even over 80 years later this film stands the test of time. Had it been made only a few decades later, with sound and in colour, it could have been one of the greatest Robin Hood films. Unfortunately, black and white films, and silents more than anything else, do not find great favour among the modern public. But regardless of these dated elements, "Robin Hood" does not look bad at all. The story starts a bit earlier than the usual Robin Hood film. It begins on the eve of King Richard the Lionheart's (Wallace Beery) departure for the Crusades. To celebrate the occasion, Richard holds a tournament, and in the final round, the King's champion, the Earl of Huntingdon (Douglas Fairbanks, later Robin Hood) wins over Prince John's champion, Sir Guy of Gisbourne. Before his departure, the Earl falls in love with the Lady Marian Fitzwalter, but Gisbourne is jealous. Prince John makes a deal with the latter, saying that if Gisbourne goes to the Crusades and kills both the King and Huntingdon, John will arrange that the Lady Marian be forced to marry Sir Guy. Immediately after King Richard's departure for the Crusades, Prince John assumes authority and becomes cruel towards the population of England. Marian succeeds in sending a message to the Earl while he is in France, asking him to return. The message-carrier is Little John (Alan Hale, who would play this part again in the 1938 version starring Errol Flynn). The Earl demands to return to England at once, but when Richard refuses, he tries to desert. He is arrested, put a local jail, and after the other troops have moved on, he escapes and returns to England with Little John. Noticing the cruelty of Prince John, the Earl decides to become an outlaw under the name of Robin Hood. Thus, the legend begins... Douglas Fairbanks is magnificent as Robin Hood, a role that every swashbuckler has to play once in his career. Although Robin Hood himself (instead of the Earl) appears only after the first hour of the film, his leaping around, swordplay and natural charisma make of Fairbanks's performance as Robin Hood one of the best in the history of cinema. The sets and costumes are probably the most magnificent ever used in a Robin Hood film. The castle of King Richard (and consequently of Prince John) is indeed breathtaking, even by the standards of today. The height of the castle walls, with no apparent end to them, is very impressive. The Knights' armor and shields are very realistically portrayed as well, and the film still comes across with a strong feeling of historical accuracy. And for once, King Richard is not portrayed as an aging man with a grey beard when he was in fact 32 years old at the start of the Third Crusade. The photography, considering the year it was made, is amazing. The scenes in the castle mentioned above are great, and so are other individual scenes, such as the Earl, returning to England, swearing, with his sword raised in the air, to act for God, Richard, and Marian (who at that point in the film is presumed dead). The photography combined with editing creates some very successful moments, such as the joust between the Earl and Sir Guy, and the taking of Nottingham by Robin Hood. In spite of the well-known nature of the Robin Hood legend (at least that part), there are some suspenseful moments, such as the final fight, because of the excellent direction by Allan Dwan, editing, photography, and the script (also written by Fairbanks under a pseudonym). The final result is a Robin Hood story of epic proportions, but with a heartwarming romance at its core. A few down notes: First, the tinted frames. Before the arrival of colour, frames were tinted to convey a particular atmosphere (blue, for instance, was inevitably used for the night scenes). In "Robin Hood", most, if not all, of the film is tinted one colour or another. The scenes in Sherwood Forest are of course green. But the colours are too intense, and rather than convey a particular atmosphere, the tinted frames are just annoying for the eye. Fairbanks must nevertheless be thanked for his later support of colour at a time when studios were unwilling to take a risk on the matter. His "Black Pirate" (1926), filmed in two-strip Technicolor, was groundbreaking, but in 1922 colour was still at a very primitive and experimental stage. Second, the musical score. In silent films as in today's movies, music is important to set the mood of the picture. The version I watched had the original score by Victor Schertzinger, but it is not as good as it should have been. There are a few good moments in the musical score, but these are generally a ripoff from a then well-known but now obscure Reginald De Koven - Harry B. Smith operetta, "Robin Hood", which premiered in 1890. The rest is rather bland, with very few memorable passages. The quality of the recording itself leaves to be desired, since it often sounds like a MIDI file. Douglas Fairbanks's "Robin Hood" may be dated in several respects, and the first part may be slow, but it still maintains tremendous appeal. The narrative, the sets, and of course Fairbanks's masterly performance in the title role still give this film a lot of entertainment value. It is a prime example of Hollywood's output during its first "Golden Age", and it remains a must see for Robin Hood fans. Highly recommended!

50% Ivanhoe, 50% Robin Hood:
This is arguably the lushest version of Robin Hood (although the Flynn classic is in the running) with enormous sets(some of the biggest ever made), lavish costumes and big stars. However, the name is a bit misleading. The movie is 2 hours long and Robin Hood doesn't show up until exactly half way into it. Before that, he is the Earl of Huntingdon who wears armor and prefers lance to longbow. In fact, the entire first half takes after the Scott novel Ivanhoe much more than the Robin Hood legend. If you know this before going in, you will enjoy the movie more. I kept waiting for Fairbanks to start the Robin Hood stunts. Enid Bennett is a pretty leading lady and wears her gowns with flair. Wallace Beery is a boisterous King Richard. (both also appeared in the silent epic the Sea Hawk, perhaps the best silent costume drama ever made and sadly unavailable for purchase)Sam de Grasse is an understated but insidious Prince John. Alan Hale plays Little John, a role he reprised for the 1938 Flynn version of Robin Hood. The plot involves Fairbanks being framed for desertation on the way to the Crusades, returning to England and becoming the bandit we all know and love. Once Fairbanks gets into his feathered cap and gets a bow the movie picks up considerably. He leaps, dances, prances and generally becomes a proper Robin. But before this is an hour of courtly love and stately processions. This is a good vehicle for Fairbanks but I think it could have been one of his best if it had more of the title character. But then, I suppose if I had one of the most opulent sets ever made at my disposal, I might show it off a bit too.

"Damn their black hides! I'll lash them till they bleat!" Robin Hood:
We are watching a 1.4 million dollar early production of "Robin Hood" (1922). The sets were the most expensive at the time. King Richard the Lion-Hearted (Wallace Beery) oversees a tournament just before the great crusades. The winner of course is a night The Earl of Huntingdon (Douglas Fairbanks.) What does he win? The right to be Richards's right hand man in the Crusades. Richard knowing that the Earl is woman shy forces the winner to be surrounded by every female available. While the king is away on the Crusades, his brother has a plan in process to usurp the thrown and practices his evil ways on the people of England. Can no one save them? Is there no leader to champion their cause against oppression? This is the KINO international film. We are al familiar with the most popular version of Robin Hood and this film pretty much follows form. However (it just may be from watching it nearly a century later) Lady Marian Fitzwalter (Enid Bennett) looks like a sixties hippy. Who ever picked the music? The film is almost better off without it; this is some sort of electronic concoction. Of course after the fact better versions of the story were filmed. However that can not distract that this one was a biggie in its day; the premiere was held at Grauman's brand new Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. To get a better background on the story I suggest you read about the cinematic history of Robin. Robin Hood: A Cinematic History of the English Outlaw and His Scottish Counterparts by Scott Allen Nollen (May 1999)