Robin and Marian movie review

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Robin and Marian (1976)Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Shaw, Nicol Williamson, Denholm Elliot

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Robin and Marian
(1976)
I had seen this movie years and years ago and recalled very little of it, and as I had recently seen the Michael Praed seasons of Robin of Sherwood, I decided it was high time to refresh my memory on this classic. Sean Connery stars as an older Robin Hood, back from the Crusades (in fact the movie starts with he and Little John (Nicol Williamson) in the Holy Land). At first he merely wishes to return home, having had a falling out with King Richard (Richard Harris) shortly before the King’s death. But upon returning to Sherwood and finding Marian (Audrey Hepburn) an abbess about to be arrested by the sheriff (Robert Shaw), he moves into action, rescuing Marion and setting up shop in Sherwood once more. But it’s not only Robin who is older; all of his men are as well, and the sheriff has grown wise also. There’s a new villain, Sir Ranulf (Kenneth Haigh), who takes great offense at Robin’s outlawry – the sheriff seems more amused than anything else – and goes to King John (Ian Holm) to get more men to put an end to the outlaw. It’s very much meant as a finale to the Robin Hood legend, but for all that the movie shines. Besides boasting one of the most impressive casts I’ve ever seen – I think only Richard Burton was missing from having this be a dream cast of British Isles players – Richard Lester’s direction, much like with his Musketeer films from a few years earlier, adds an amusing and slightly shoddy realism to the proceedings (Robin and John are mid-jailbreak when the king sends for them; Nottingham is a few crappy wooden building inside a run-down keep; and people are old, tired, get aches, and laugh). None of that overly heroic nonsense here – these are real people, with real human motivations. And that’s the beauty of the piece. In addition to some truly fine and subtle acting – which you would expect with this cast – the entire story flows from character. Robin does what he does because that’s who he is – he can’t help himself. The love story between he and Marion is simply wonderful, and I think has never been quite so poignant. Even the minor supporting characters, like Will Scarlet (Denholm Elliot) are given time and attention and little foibles that make them so very human. I particularly enjoyed the take on the sheriff, that he knows Robin’s ways and is inclined to be patient and wait him out; here he’s less a villain and more an old itch that Robin can’t help but scratch. I was deeply impressed by the film, and I enjoyed it quite a bit (again, with such an amazing cast, you could hardly go wrong). Lester’s direction adds just the right comic touch to a somewhat tragic story, and the film –which could have wandered down the wrong path in so many ways – always stays right on target. No matter which version of Robin Hood you prefer, this is one you will definitely want to see. This film is a classic, unfairly forgotten. November 29, 2011

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