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ROBIN HOOD MOVIES

Robin Hood is one of those characters who just refuses to go away. And I mean that in the best possible way.


With the release of the new dark, somber, revisionist Robin Hood film The Death of Robin Hood, starring Hugh Jackman, I thought it would be fun to go back and look at this character who has been around forever, basically.


Robin Hood is one of the great legendary folk heroes, one of the most recognizable characters in the history of storytelling, and a guy who has been reinvented so many times, in so many different ways, that he almost doesn’t belong to one specific era anymore.


He belongs to everybody.


The legend goes way, way back. Robin Hood comes out of English folklore, out of ballads and stories and poems and plays, with roots stretching back to the Middle Ages.


The basic idea is simple and perfect: an outlaw, usually hiding out in Sherwood Forest, brilliant with a bow and arrow, leading a band of Merry Men, fighting the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham, opposing tyranny, standing up for the common people, and eventually becoming known as the guy who robs from the rich and gives to the poor.


And come on, who doesn’t love that?


Who doesn’t root for the guy sticking it to rich, greedy, corrupt bastards and helping people who actually need help? It is such a clean, satisfying, wonderful idea for a hero. It is political, it is romantic, it is adventurous, it is rebellious, and it is incredibly cinematic.


You have forests, castles, sword fights, archery contests, disguises, betrayals, escapes, romance, comedy, class warfare, corrupt authority figures, and a hero who can be charming, dangerous, noble, funny, angry, idealistic, or all of those things at once. That is why Robin Hood has lasted.


He has been in literature, on stage, on television, in animated movies, in live-action movies, in comedies, in musicals, in dark dramas, in kid-friendly adventures, and in revisionist adult versions.


There have been more than forty live-action and animated movies featuring Robin Hood, going all the way back to a 1908 silent film. That is insane, but it also makes perfect sense because the character is endlessly adaptable.


You can make Robin Hood a swashbuckling hero. You can make him a bitter old warrior. You can make him a fox. You can make him a romantic leading man. You can make him a political rebel. You can make him a joke. You can make him tragic. You can make him goofy. You can turn him into a big, colorful adventure for kids or a violent, muddy, grim, historically grounded movie for adults.


And Hollywood has tried all of it.


One of the earliest major movie versions was the 1922 silent Robin Hood with Douglas Fairbanks, and Fairbanks was exactly the kind of star who made sense for that era. Big gestures, big sets, big action, big movie-star energy. Then, of course, you get to the one that most people still think of as the definitive version, The Adventures of Robin Hood from 1938, with Errol Flynn.


And whenever I think of Robin Hood, I immediately think of Errol Flynn.


That movie is the gold standard. It is colorful, energetic, beautifully made, funny, romantic, exciting, and Flynn is just perfect in it. That is the version that burned the image of Robin Hood into popular culture: the green outfit, the dashing smile, the sword fights, the bow and arrow, the Merry Men, the whole damn thing.


Disney took a crack at Robin Hood more than once. They did the live-action The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men in 1952 with Richard Todd, and then, of course, the animated Robin Hood in 1973, where Robin is a fox, Little John is a bear, Prince John is a whiny lion, and everybody somehow accepts this completely because Disney made it work.


I saw that movie when I was eight years old, and I still have a very soft spot in my heart for it. It is one of those Disney movies that probably means more to people who saw it as kids than it does to people discovering it later, but I do not care. I love it.


And then there are all the variations.


Hammer Films even got involved, which I love. Hammer, the great British studio famous for Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, all those classic horror movies with Christopher Lee and my hero Peter Cushing, also made Robin Hood movies.


They did Sword of Sherwood Forest in 1960, which featured Peter Cushing, and they did A Challenge for Robin Hood in 1967, and they brought that Hammer flavor to the legend. Not horror exactly, but still that very British, very colorful, very studio-made adventure feeling that I happen to enjoy a lot.


Then there is Robin and Marian from 1976, one of my all-time favorite takes on the character, with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn and Robert Shaw and Richard Harris. That movie is not about the young dashing outlaw anymore. It is about age, regret, memory, romance, myth, and what happens after the legend is over. I love that idea. I love seeing these characters later in life, when the glory has faded and the wounds remain.


Of course, there was Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1991, which was a massive hit and which everybody remembers because of Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman, Bryan Adams singing endlessly over the radio for what felt like nine straight years, and Costner’s very, very shaky accent.


That movie is not good...at all. Alan Rickman is great in it because Alan Rickman was always great, but the movie itself is clunky and silly and overblown and very much a 1991 blockbuster in every possible way.


Then Mel Brooks came along and spoofed it with Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993, which is aimed mostly at the Kevin Costner movie but also at the entire Robin Hood tradition. I know people love it. I think it has a few laughs in it, but it is one of Brooks’ worst movies.


Ridley Scott tried to do a serious, gritty version in 2010 with Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, and William Hurt, and that movie is just a mess. I remember sitting through that thing thinking, how do you make Robin Hood this boring? How do you take one of the most naturally entertaining adventure characters ever created and make the movie feel like homework? But Ridley did it. He found a way.


Then there was the 2018 version with Taron Egerton, which a lot of people hated, and I get it, but I actually enjoyed it. It is strange and modernized and ridiculous in places, but at least it has some energy. At least it is trying something. I would rather watch a weird, misguided Robin Hood movie that has some life in it than a drab, muddy, self-important one that just sits there.


And now we have The Death of Robin Hood, which goes in a darker, more somber direction, with Hugh Jackman as an older, wounded, reflective Robin Hood. That makes sense too, because every generation gets the Robin Hood it deserves.


Sometimes we want the bright, heroic, Errol Flynn version. Sometimes we want the melancholy Sean Connery version. Sometimes we want the Disney fox. Sometimes we want the angry political rebel. Sometimes we want the old outlaw looking back at what the legend cost him.


That is the beauty of Robin Hood. He can handle all of it.


The character has been around for centuries because the central idea never gets old. A hero who stands with the poor. A hero who fights corruption. A hero who refuses to bow down to rotten authority. A hero who lives outside the law because the law itself has become immoral.


And when it is done well, it is also just fun as hell.


Great sword fights. Great escapes. Great villains. Great romance. Great archery. Great banter. A bunch of outlaws hanging out in the woods, eating, drinking, fighting, laughing, and annoying the hell out of the ruling class. That is entertainment.


So with the release of The Death of Robin Hood, I decided to put together my ten favorite Robin Hood movies. Some of them are obvious. Some of them might not be fan favorites. Some people may disagree with a few choices, which is fine, because people disagree about movies all the time, and that is part of the fun.



TOP 10 ROBIN HOOD MOVIES (in random order):


One of my favorite Robin Hood movies ever made and certainly one of the most unique. Instead of focusing on a young outlaw swinging through trees and splitting arrows, this movie asks what happens after the legend is over.


Sean Connery is terrific as an aging Robin, Audrey Hepburn is luminous as Marian, and the supporting cast, including Robert Shaw and Richard Harris, is extraordinary. It's romantic, melancholy, thoughtful, and surprisingly moving. A beautiful movie about growing older, dealing with regrets, and discovering whether legends can survive the passage of time.


Douglas Fairbanks practically invented the modern swashbuckler with this spectacular silent classic. The sets are enormous, the action is energetic, and Fairbanks attacks every scene with the enthusiasm of a guy who just discovered gravity doesn't apply to him.


Watching this movie today is like watching the blueprint for every Robin Hood film that followed. It's charming, ambitious, and historically important while still being incredibly entertaining.


I know a lot of people hated this movie, but I actually had a pretty good time with it. It's ridiculous in places, wildly anachronistic, and looks like somebody mixed medieval England with a modern action video game, but at least it has energy.


Taron Egerton is likable, Jamie Foxx brings some intensity, and the action sequences are fun. Is it a great Robin Hood movie? No. Is it entertaining? Absolutely. Sometimes that's enough.


This underrated adventure picture offers a fun twist by focusing on Robin Hood's son. Cornel Wilde makes for a charismatic hero, and the movie delivers exactly what you want from a post-war swashbuckler: sword fights, romance, colorful villains, and plenty of action.


It may not be as famous as some of the other Robin Hood films, but it's one of those wonderfully entertaining adventures that deserves to be rediscovered.


Any movie that combines Robin Hood with Peter Cushing automatically has my attention. Produced by Hammer Films, this is a terrific little adventure featuring Richard Greene, who was already beloved from television's The Adventures of Robin Hood.


Peter Cushing plays the Sheriff of Nottingham, which is reason enough to watch it. It's colorful, energetic, and exactly the kind of British adventure filmmaking that I grew up loving.


Disney's live-action version often gets overshadowed by the animated film, but it's a terrific family adventure. Richard Todd is an appealing Robin Hood, the action scenes are well staged, and the movie captures the spirit of the legend beautifully.


This is old-fashioned storytelling done right. No cynicism, no revisionism, just a straightforward, entertaining adventure that understands why people have loved Robin Hood for centuries.


I saw this movie when I was eight years old, and it has never completely left me. Disney's decision to make Robin a fox and Little John a bear sounds ridiculous when you describe it out loud, but somehow it works perfectly.


The animation is charming, the songs are catchy, and the movie is packed with heart. Prince John remains one of Disney's funniest villains, and every time I revisit this film, I'm immediately transported back to childhood.


This is the gold standard. The one everybody measures against. Errol Flynn is Robin Hood. When most people picture the character, whether they realize it or not, they're picturing Flynn.


The movie is exciting, romantic, funny, beautifully photographed, and endlessly entertaining. The sword fights are legendary, the chemistry between Flynn and Olivia de Havilland is wonderful, and Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone provide first-rate villainy. One of the greatest adventure movies ever made.


This television movie doesn't get nearly enough attention. Keira Knightley stars as Robin Hood's daughter, and she brings a lot of charm and energy to the role. It's a clever spin on the mythology, featuring plenty of adventure while also giving us a new perspective on the familiar legend. It's fun, accessible, and one of the better modern reinterpretations of the Robin Hood story....and Malcolm McDowell is the bad guy!


Okay, technically this isn't really Robin Hood. But come on. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk, gangster comedy, musical numbers, and a Chicago setting? How am I not going to include it?


This Rat Pack classic takes the Robin Hood concept and drops it into Prohibition-era gangland. It's loose, funny, charming, and features one of the greatest movie songs ever with "My Kind of Town." It's a stretch as a Robin Hood movie, sure, but it's a stretch that I absolutely love.



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