One of the great unanswered mysteries of the universe is “Why do Hollywood studios invariably make movies about a similar topic at the same time?” Remember Dante’s Peak and Volcano; or Mars Attacks! and Independence Day; or Twister and Night of the Twisters and Tornado!;or An American Werewolf in London and The Howling and Wolfen; or Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe? One of the most famous examples was when Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox combined dueling projects to save money with The Towering Inferno. Remember, these weren’t projects necessarily designed to cash in on a proven success, but a mad race to get there first.

Sadly, sometimes the better film gets squashed. 1991 saw the release of two retellings of the adventures in Sherwood Forest: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Robin Hood. To this day I have never watched more than five minutes of Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood and I don’t think I’ve missed anything. If I am wrong, please enlighten me. The other Robin Hood from that same year was scuttled from its theatrical release and became a TV movie on Fox instead. Oh that I had been diligent in my videotaping back then since the version they aired ran a full half hour longer than what has been issued on VHS and DVD.

Starring Patrick Bergin fresh off his marvelous turn as Sir Francis Burton in Mountains of the Moon, this Robin Hood is rooted in the muck and mire of the time period. Not only were things rotten, but muddy and gray. From a visual standpoint, this film utilizes the lack of sun as a symbol for oppression. One of the rays of sunshine is provided by a young Uma Thurman as Maid Marian. Most of the usual suspects are present with Prince John (Edward Fox) and the Sherrif of Nottingham being underplayed in order to bolster up true villainy, the Saxon Sir Miles Folcanet (Jurgen Prochnow). A great bit of business involves Folcanet having his throat cut as a point of irriatation by Robin several times on the way to larger life altering wounds. The climax of the film with the April Fools parade is a delight with a veritable beastiary of masks worn by the Merry Men as they invade the castle. If only Robin had worn a fox mask in homage to the Disney cartoon.

In reference to an earlier blog where I noted the various appearances of British actors in other projects, this film features David Morrissey as Little John by way of a North Country hardman. Mr. Morrissey can be seen currently in Basic Instinct 2, but should be remembered for his turn as Ripley in the Dennis Potter-esque musical/mystery Viva Blackpool! which co-starred the new Doctor Who, David Tennant.


While not as much a romp as Errol Flynn’s version, this Robin Hood deserves to be remembered as more than a footnote to Costner’s version. Patrick Bergin hasn’t really followed up on the success of this film. A few years later he would star in Merlin: The Return as King Arthur who has traveled through time with his knights and now attacks petrol trucks. Truly a Turkey Day classic.