| Robin Hood | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ridley Scott |
| Screenplay by | Brian Helgeland |
| Story by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John Mathieson |
| Edited by | Pietro Scalia |
| Music by | Marc Streitenfeld |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 140 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $155–237 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $321.7 million[4] |
Robin Hood is a 2010historicalaction-adventure film[5][6] based on theRobin Hood legend, directed byRidley Scott and starringRussell Crowe,Cate Blanchett,William Hurt,Mark Strong,Mark Addy,Oscar Isaac,Danny Huston,Eileen Atkins, andMax von Sydow.
Development began on the project in January 2007 withUniversal Pictures' purchase of a spec script byEthan Reiff and Cyrus Voris which would see the film focus on a more prominent and sympatheticSheriff of Nottingham. Casting Crowe in the title role, Ridley Scott was hired to direct later that same year. Rewrites delayed the film throughout 2008, withBrian Helgeland hired to rewrite the screenplay, which saw a refocus of the story to be about Robin Hood once again, abandoning the Nottingham angle entirely. Filming commenced in March 2009 throughoutEngland andWales.
Robin Hood held its world premiere at the2010 Cannes Film Festival the same day as itsUnited Kingdom andIreland releases. It was then released on 14 May 2010 inNorth America. The film received mixed reviews and grossed only $321.7 million worldwide against a $155–237 million.
In 1199 AD,Robin Longstride serves as a commonarcher in the army ofKing Richard the Lionheart. A veteran ofRichard's crusade, he now takes part in the siege ofChalus Castle. Disillusioned and war-weary, he gives a frank but unflattering appraisal of the King's conduct when the King asks for it, and Robin and his comrades—archersAllan A'Dayle andWill Scarlett and soldierLittle John—are locked in thestocks.
After the King is killed during an attack on the castle, Robin and his comrades manage to free themselves and desert. They come across an ambush of the English royal guard by Godfrey, an English knight who has conspired withKing Philip of France to assassinate King Richard. After chasing Godfrey away, Robin and his Merry Men take advantage of the situation by impersonating the dead English knights to return to England as they fear they will not be able to afford the passage during the ensuing retreat. Before they depart to sail across the Channel, he promises a dying knight, Sir Robert Loxley, to return his sword to his father inNottingham.
Awaking to find their ship arrived in the Thames estuary, Robin must continue to assume the identity of Loxley to inform the royal family of King Richard's death. He witnesses the coronation ofKing John, who orders the collection of harsh new taxes.William Marshal, theLord Chancellor since the days of John'sfather, opposes the new taxes and is relieved of his position by John. The new king dispatches Godfrey to theNorth to collect the taxes—unaware that Godfrey will instead use French troops to stir up unrest and prepare for King Philip to invade England. In secret, spies working for Marshal follow Godfrey's men and learn of the planned invasion of England.
Robin and his companions head to Nottingham, where Loxley's elderly and blind father, Sir Walter, asks him to continue impersonating his son to prevent the Crown from seizing the Loxley family lands. Loxley's widow,Lady Marian, is initially cold toward Robin, but warms to him when he and his men recover grain for the townsfolk to plant.
Godfrey's actions incite the northern barons, who march to meet King John. Speaking now for Sir Walter, Robin proposes that King John agree to acharter of rights to ensure the rights of every Englishman and to unite his country. Realising Godfrey's deception, and knowing he must meet the French invasion with an army, the King agrees. Meanwhile, French marauders plunder Nottingham. Robin and the northern barons arrive to stop Godfrey's men, but not before Godfrey has slain the blind Sir Walter.
As the main French expeditionary force begins its invasion of England on a beach below thecliffs of Dover, Robin leads the now united English army against them. In the midst of the battle, Robin duels with Godfrey, who attempts to kill Marian and flees until Robin finally kills him with an arrow from afar. King Philip realises that his plan to divide England has failed and calls off his invasion. When King John sees the French surrendering to Robin instead of to himself, he senses a threat to his power.
In London, King John reneges on his promise to sign the charter and declares Robin anoutlaw to be hunted throughout the kingdom. TheSheriff of Nottingham announces the decree, and Robin and his men flee toSherwood Forest with the orphans of Nottingham. Marian narrates their new life in the greenwood, noting that they live in equality as they right the many wrongs in the kingdom of King John.
In January 2007,Universal Studios andBrian Grazer'sImagine Entertainment acquired aspec script written by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, creators of the TV seriesSleeper Cell. Their script portrayed a more sympatheticSheriff of Nottingham and less virtuousRobin Hood, who becomes involved in a love triangle withLady Marian. The writers received a seven-figure deal for the purchase.[7] The following April,Ridley Scott was hired to direct the film, withSam Raimi andBryan Singer also considered for the position.[8][9] Scott had attempted to get rights for himself and20th Century Fox, but had previously collaborated with Grazer onAmerican Gangster and signed on as director rather than a producer.[10] Scott claimed two previous film adaptations of Robin Hood:The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) andRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) had failed to hit the target, saying "the best, frankly, wasMel Brooks'sMen in Tights (1993), becauseCary Elwes was quite a comic".[11]
Scott's dissatisfaction with the script led him to delay filming, and during 2008 it was rewritten into a story about Robin Hood becoming an outlaw; at one point Crowe was even being considered for a dual role as both Robin and the Sheriff. Scott dropped the latter notion andNottingham was retitled to reflect the more traditional angle. In June, screenwriterBrian Helgeland was hired to rewrite the script by Reiff and Voris.[12] Producer Marc Shmuger explained Scott had a different interpretation of the story from "the script, [which] had the sheriff of Nottingham as aCSI-style forensics investigator".[10] Scott elaborated the script, portraying the Sheriff of Nottingham as beingRichard the Lionheart's right-hand man, who returns to England to servePrince John after Richard's assassination. Though Scott felt John "was actually pretty smart, he got a bad rap because he introduced taxation so he's the bad guy in this", and the Sheriff would have been torn between the "two wrongs" of a corrupt king and an outlaw inciting anarchy.[13] Locations were sought in North East England includingAlnwick Castle,Bamburgh Castle andKielder Forest. A portion of filming was intended to take place inNorthumberland. As a result of theWGA strike, production was put on hold.[14]
Filming was scheduled to begin in August inSherwood Forest if the2008 Screen Actors Guild strike did not take place,[15] for release on 26 November 2009. By July, filming was delayed,[16] and playwright Paul Webb was hired to rewrite the script.[10] The film was moved to 2010.[17] The Sheriff of Nottingham's character was then merged with Robin.[18] Scott describes the identity of Robin, "In the context of the story he starts off as one thing, becomes the guise of another and then has to retire to the forest to resume his name Robin, so he was momentarily the Sheriff of Nottingham."[19] Helgeland returned to rewrite, adding an opening where Robin witnesses the Sheriff dying in battle, and takes over his identity.[20] Scott chose to begin filming in February 2009 in forests around London, having discovered many trees which had not beenpollarded.[11] By February 2009, Scott revealedNottingham had become his version ofRobin Hood, as he had become dissatisfied with the idea of Robin starting as the Sheriff.[21]
Russell Crowe was cast into the role of Robin Hood in January 2007, with a fee of $20 million against 20% of the gross.[7] The next addition to the cast wasMark Strong. When interviewed about his role, Strong stated his character of Sir Godfrey was originally called Conrad and was based onGuy of Gisbourne. He described the original character as having blond hair and being disfigured from being struck by a crossbow bolt.[22]
In February 2009,Cate Blanchett was cast to playMaid Marian, replacingSienna Miller who was previously cast, but exited in late 2008 as due to rewrites in the script, she was now considered too young for the role.[23][24]Rachel Weisz andKate Winslet were considered for the role prior to Blanchett signing on.[25] Prior to the start of filming in March,Kevin Durand,Scott Grimes andAlan Doyle were cast to portrayLittle John,Will Scarlet andAllan A'Dayle, respectively, withVanessa Redgrave asEleanor of Aquitane,Oscar Isaac asPrince John andLéa Seydoux asIsabella of Angoulême.[26][27] Redgrave withdrew from the film following the death of her daughterNatasha Richardson, replaced withEileen Atkins.[28] The castings ofWilliam Hurt andMatthew Macfadyen were announced in April, with Macfadyen portraying the Sheriff.[29][30]Danny Huston joined in July asKing Richard, a roleRhys Ifans was initially in line for.[31][32]
Filming began on 30 March 2009.[33] In June and July, the crew filmed atFreshwater West beach, inPembrokeshire, Wales.[34] The arrival of the dead king's cog (boat), accompanied by Robin and his men, at the Tower of London was filmed at Virginia Water, where a partial mock-up of the Tower was built. Extensive scenes from the film were filmed on theAshridge Estate,Little Gaddesden, on theHertfordshire/Buckinghamshire border.[35] Filming of the siege ofCastle Chalus took place at theBourne Wood atFarnham, Surrey during July and August.[36] Filming also took place atDovedale nearAshbourne, Derbyshire.[37] On July 31, thieves broke into the props building at night and stole cameras that were being used for the film.[38]
Thebattering ram used during the filming at the Bourne Wood in Surrey, which was nicknamed 'Rosie' by the film crew and is worth£60,000, was donated by Russell Crowe to aScottish charity, theClanranald Trust to be used for battle re-enactments at a fort namedDuncarron, built in a forest near theCarron Valley Reservoir inNorth Lanarkshire.[39]
Crowe rode the same horse, George, that he had ridden inGladiator.[40] During the shoot, Crowe fractured both of his legs doing a scene in which he "jumped off a castle portcullis onto rock-hard uneven ground" and said he "never discussed the injury with production, never took a day off because of it, I just kept going to work", only learning about the injury from anX-ray a decade later.[41]
The soundtrack toRobin Hood, with music written and performed byMarc Streitenfeld, was released on 11 May 2010.[42]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Destiny" | 3:36 |
| 2. | "Creatures" | 2:09 |
| 3. | "Fate Has Smiled Upon Us" | 2:02 |
| 4. | "Godfrey" | 3:32 |
| 5. | "Ambush" | 1:16 |
| 6. | "Pact Sworn in Blood" | 2:52 |
| 7. | "Returning the Crown" | 1:13 |
| 8. | "Planting the Fields" | 1:18 |
| 9. | "Sherwood Forest" | 2:19 |
| 10. | "John Is King" | 4:02 |
| 11. | "Robin Speaks" | 2:33 |
| 12. | "Killing Walter" | 2:02 |
| 13. | "Nottingham Burns" | 2:12 |
| 14. | "Siege" | 2:11 |
| 15. | "Landing of the French" | 2:49 |
| 16. | "Walter's Burial" | 3:05 |
| 17. | "Preparing for Battle" | 2:41 |
| 18. | "Charge" | 1:20 |
| 19. | "Clash" | 2:41 |
| 20. | "The Final Arrow" | 2:30 |
| 21. | "The Legend Begins" | 1:28 |
| 22. | "Merry Men" | 1:48 |
| Total length: | 51:39[43] | |
Robin Hood held its world premiere at the2010 Cannes Film Festival the same day as itsUnited Kingdom andIreland releases. It was then released on 14 May 2010 inNorth America.[44] The film premiered inJapan on 10 December 2010.[45]
Robin Hood was released onDVD andBlu-ray Disc on 20 September 2010 in the UK,[46] and the following day in the US.[47] While the UK home media releases only consisted of the extended 'Director's Cut' version (15 additional minutes), the US DVD and Blu-ray Discs consisted of both the 'Director's Cut' version and the shorter theatrical version.[48]
In the version released onNetflix, the final title card reading "And so the legend begins" was removed, leaving a blank canvas in its place.
On its opening week, the film took in £5,750,332 in the UK, ahead ofIron Man 2, and $36,063,385 in the US and Canada.[49] It grossed a total of £15,381,416 in the UK, $105.2 million in North America and $321,669,741 worldwide.[50]The box-office figures were seen as somewhat of adisappointment, although Brandon Gray ofBox Office Mojo thought the take was unfairly maligned. Gray wrote that the film was among the highest grossing medieval-period films of all time, and that the true financial issue was the production going over budget rather than returns being particularly beneath expectations.[51]
On review aggregate websiteRotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 251 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Ridley Scott's revisionist take on this oft-told tale offers some fine acting and a few gripping action sequences, but it's missing the thrill of adventure that made Robin Hood a legend in the first place."[52]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[53] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[54]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars out of four, writing that "little by little, title by title, innocence and joy is being drained out of the movies."[55] Joe Neumaier of theNew York Daily News felt that "the problem with Russell Crowe's new take on the legend is that it has one muddy boot in history and the other in fantasy. The middling result is far from a bull's-eye."[56] David Roark ofRelevant accused Scott of replacing depth with detail and manipulative themes, like vengeance and unjust war, and stated that Scott had sucked the life out of a cherished fable, writing that "Scott has turned a myth, a concept essentially, into a history which emerges as dry, insensible clutter."[57]Anthony Lane, writing forThe New Yorker, found the film "dour and dun", and was critical of Crowe's performance, stating "His Robin, however, seems pathologically glum; even when leading a cavalry charge on a white steed, he cuts a lonesome figure, marooned in his own feuds and ruminations".[58]Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment Weekly was critical of the film not holding any traits of the Robin Hood myth, and said of Scott's direction and Crowe's performance "Scott and Crowe made a great movie out ofGladiator, tapping deep into the showbiz masculine bravura of ancient-world Hollywood spectaculars. In Robin Hood, Scott tries to go deep again, but in a misguided way—he thinks he's making a pop-medievalSaving Private Robin. The battles are grainy and "existential," but what they aren't is thrilling. They're surging crowd scenes with streams of arrows and flecks of blood, and Crowe, slashing his way through them, is a glorified extra. He's so grimly possessed with purpose that he's a bore, and so is the movie."[59]
Among the film's more positive reviews,Mick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Scott has great command of his action sequences" and praised his "sophisticated approach to the material."[60]Ty Burr ofThe Boston Globe called the film "smart, muscular entertainment" and wrote that Crowe "possesses a presence and authority to make you forget all aboutKevin Costner."[61] Though he noted that the film downplayed several characters, Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporter was complimentary of the film, praisingJohn Mathieson's cinematography andMarc Streitenfeld's musical score.[62]
Russell Crowe received criticism from the British media for his variable accent during the film.Empire said his accent was occasionally Scottish,[63] whileTotal Film thought there were also times when it sounded Irish.[64]Mark Lawson, while interviewing Crowe onBBC Radio 4, suggested there were hints of Irish in his accent, which angered Crowe who described this as "bollocks" and stormed out.[65][66]
A number of reviewers have criticised historical inaccuracies in the film. InThe New York Times,A. O. Scott complained that the film made "a hash of the historical record".[67] InThe Guardian,Alex von Tunzelmann complained that the film was filled with historical impossibilities and anachronisms. She notes that Richard the Lionheart was indeed fighting in France in 1199, but that he had actually come back from the Holy Land seven years earlier, so it is inaccurate to depict him fighting in France on his way back from the Holy Land in 1199, as is the case in the film.[68]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Satellite Awards | Best Costume Design | Janty Yates | Nominated | [69] |
| 2011 | Art Directors Guild Awards | Excellence in Production Design Award – Period Film | Arthur Max | Nominated | [70] |
| People's Choice Award | Favourite Action Film | Robin Hood | Nominated | [71] | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Stunt Ensemble | Robin Hood | Nominated | [72] | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Action | Robin Hood | Nominated | [73] | |
| Choice Movie Action: Action | Russell Crowe | Nominated | |||
| Choice Actress: Action | Cate Blanchett | Nominated | |||
| Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture | Richard Stammers, Allen Maris, Jessica Norman, Max Wood | Nominated | [74] | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Action/Adventure Film | Robin Hood | Nominated | [75] |
Scott indicated he had been considering further films, in an interview withThe Times on 4 April 2010, stating, "Honestly, I thought why not have the potential for a sequel?"[76] and "Let's say we might presume there's a sequel.[77]
Look past Russell Crowe's dodgy attempt at an English accent and this 2010 action flick is actually a pretty great addition to the Robin Hood cannon.
The result is less a Robin Hood story than an epic action movie that sees Crowe at the center of English history at the turn of the 13th century.
I am trying to think of the last good one," said Scott. "Errol Flynn? A bit cheesy? A big cheese. God bless him. Kevin Costner? In the wig, you mean? The one I thought was the best, frankly, was Mel Brooks's Men in Tights, because Cary Elwes [who played Robin] was quite a comic.(subscription required)
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