Okay so even though this film was made before World War II it is still relevant today. Prince John, Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff of Nottingham are basically representations of oppressors, whether they been seen as Nazis or other sources of oppression.
The plot boils down to this: Prince John and his followers are Normans and control the land. Robin Hood and the common peasants are Saxons, and they're tired of being mistreated and robbed by their Norman overlords. The Normans are conquerors from a foreign land (Normandy) and thus can be seen to represent any kind of corrupt conqueror.
Thus the fundamental point of the 1938 film is the need for freedom from oppression, through any means necessary. By Norman standards, Robin Hood was a terrorist fighting against the government. By the Saxon standards, Robin Hood was a freedom fighter. Guess who won?
The 1938 film also lays down the ground work for future Robin Hood films. There were literally dozens of films during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s about Robin Hood. The 1938 film kicked off an archery fad that lasted until the early 1970s. It isn't just a great Robin Hood film, it is a very influential Robin Hood film that continues to inspire today.
It also did wonders for Errol Flynn's career, skyrocketing him to being one of the most talked about celebrities in Hollywood.
From an archery stand point the 1938 film is also special because it features Howard Hill doing most of the archery shots in the film and fulfills a cameo role in the film. This furthered Howard Hill's career as a trick shot archer and set his name in the annals of archery legend.
#2. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991
This is the best Robin Hood film we've seen in the last 25 years. It is action packed, has romance, humour, a great sound track, good lead actors and stays true to the mythology of Robin Hood. Unlike the above film, the 1991 version starts off with the Crusades and ends with King Richard the Lionhearted returning from the Crusades, creating nice historical bookends.
Unlike most Robin Hood films which depict Robin Hood having a mustache, this American version has a clean shaven Robin Hood - with no attempts to imitate a British accent, as the film was made for the American audience and they wanted an actor that Americans could understand his accent easily. A British accent would have seemed fake (also in American films people with British accents usually play the villain), or a British actor would have seemed alien to American audiences. Thus American actor Kevin Costner, known for playing a variety of sports roles / action roles, was chosen because of his appeal to American audiences.
The plot of the film is solid, the acting is stellar, Kevin Costner is a convincing and emotional Robin Hood (and arguably better than Errol Flynn), and even the villain is awesome: Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham, complete with an evil sounding British accent. Ignoring his accent, Rickman is by far the best Nottingham ever portrayed in a Robin Hood film.
#3. Robin Hood, 1973
This merry animated version of Robin Hood by Walt Disney Productions includes singing, humour, plays with Robin Hood's skills as a master of disguise and is ultimately a perfect introduction for children to the story of Robin Hood.
While there have been other attempts at animated versions of Robin Hood, none have come close to the 1973 version. None yet at least.
#4. Robin Hood, 1991
Starring Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman this is a very good Robin Hood film, but it was dwarfed by the big budget Kevin Costner film which came out the same year. Definitely still worth watching however. The plot follows the classic Robin Hood story, and even includes Normans in it, but otherwise differs from the 1938 version when you compare the details. The overall plot is the classic Robin Hood story however.
#5. Robin Hood: Men in Tights, 1993
This humourous homage to the Robin Hood genre pokes fun at the history of Robin Hood films, both the 1991 films and other films in the genre. The film is a farce, and as such is both a Robin Hood film but also a mockery of them. Oddly enough, it still manages to make this list because it is an incredibly good farce. It is not appropriate for children however.
Below is an incomplete list of Robin Hood films. There are literally hundreds. These are just a few of the better ones. (If it is not on this list, it is not worth watching. Many of the films we are not listing are "TV movies" which never saw a theatrical release, or big budget films which were panned by critics for being a horrible version of the Robin Hood story.)
- Robin Hood (1912)
- Robin Hood (1922)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- Son of the Guardsman (1946)
- The Prince of Thieves (1948)
- The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) [Disney's Live Action Version]
- The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954)
- Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960)
- A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967)
- The Scalawag Bunch (1971)
- Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood (1973)
- Robin Hood (1973) [Disney's Animated Version]
- The Arrows of Robin Hood (1975)
- Robin and Marian (1976)
- Aaj Ka Robin Hood (1988)
- O Mistério de Robin Hood (1990)
- Robin Hood (1991)
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Someone should make a film about "The Death of Robin Hood". Maybe make it a sequel to the 1991 film and get Kevin Costner back in the role.
Happy shooting!
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