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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"The Adventures of Robin
Hood" was the second film to be made based on the
hero in green tights. The original silent version
starred Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and although in this
version Errol Flynn lacks something of Doug's
visceral masculinity (he does look a tad feminine
in those tights), Flynn more than makes up for
this shortcoming with bravado, charm and dialogue.
The film concerns Saxon Robin's (Flynn) attempt to
steal from the rich and give to the poor. His
run-ins with the law, of course, immediately brand
him an outlaw to the Norman aristocracy, helmed by
the evil Prince John (Claude Rains) and his
diabolical henchman Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil
Rathbone). Olivia de Havilland -- long a Warner
stock romantic lead, costars as Maid Marian. At
first she abhors Robin's bravado, which she
associates deception, but later learns of his
charitable work and succumbs to his sexy charms.
From that point on it is all swordfights and high
comedy in this effortless and masterful
swashbuckler from director Michael Curtiz.
Unfortunately, Warner's transfer is a mixed bag.
After a beautiful main title sequence, we get
several opening shots that are excessively grainy.
Here and there the grain structure crops up --
particularly in long shots. Because it's not
consistent it tends to look glaring when it shows
up. Although the negative looks better than ever,
there are still chips present throughout. Also,
there's no excuse for the aliasing and edge
enhancement that crops up every now and then --
once again, particularly in long shots.
Extras include documentaries, audio commentaries,
featurettes, musical outtakes, trailers and oh,
just too, too much to discuss herein -- almost 4
hours worth. You really get your money's worth
with this disc! Bravo!
Considering the vintage of the film elements and,
in considering how bad the film looked before,
Warner Brothers has achieved a monumental
restoration effort. If they could get a handle on
the digital mastering, they'd really be off to the
races. Still, a must have for any classic film
buff! |
