From the Big Hollywood review of Robin Hood:
Things open on a promising note. The date is 1199 and Robin (Crowe) is an archer for King Richard who is pillaging his way through France on his way back to England after the Crusades. Nothing happens you haven’t seen a hundred times before in one of these Medieval romps, but Scott knows how to structure, shoot and edit big action set-pieces like few others so the ole’ castle storm is exciting. 140 minutes later, however, you discover the hard way that this is where it all peaked.
Yes. That is precisely what happened in Gladiator
Then you spend the rest of the movie waiting for it to come back. Hell, Scott even used Russell Crowe again, the lazy SOB.
Allow the Manolo to stipulate that the Manolo cannot take the Ridley Scott seriously after the movie “Kingdom of Heaven”, in which Scott cast the 135-pound Orland Bloom as the blacksmith. (Does no one else find it odd that Orlando Bloom has been cast as the smith in four movies now?)
Indeed, Kingdom of Heaven was perhaps the worst medieval movie ever filmed. (Are we to believe that people living in the desert must be told to dig the wells by the Frenchman?) Even Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis pretending to be vikings was better than this. Indeed, much better.
The Manolo does not hold out much hope for this Robin Hood movie.
Hmm. What is the best medieval movie, then? Name of the Rose?
Hmm. Good question. Of all the Robin Hood movies I’d still have to say that the Errol Flynn one in the 30s is the best, but it’s not really a serious movie. Serious movies? Other than “Name of the Rose”, “The Lion in Winter” was excellent, as was “A Man for All Seasons”.
And there’s always “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”…
🙂
The Skip has named three of the movies the Manolo would nominate for this title. Also should be included, the Charlton Heston movies El Cid and the Warlord (especially if one ignores the droit de seigneur nonsense).
As for the Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which many dismiss as the mere comedy, allow the Manolo to defend it’s fidelity to the Medieval on these grounds: are Arthur’s confrontations with the Black Knight or the Knights Who Say Ni, any less surreal than the various confrontations included in the word of, say, Chrétien de Troyes?
“Indeed, Kingdom of Heaven was perhaps the worst medieval movie ever filmed.”
What was the one that had Milla as Joan of Arc? I’m a Milla fan, and had been reading up on Joan, and that movie just pissed me off.