The Adventures of Robin Hood (The Warner Bros. 65th Anniversary Edition, 2003)

Michael Curtiz & William Keighley: The Adventures of Robin Hood (US 1938).

Robin Hoodin seikkailut / Robin Hoods äventyr. US © 1938 Warner Bros. P: Hal B. Wallis. D: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley. SC: Norman Reilly Raine, Seton I. Miller – based on English folk tales. DP (Technicolor): Sol Polito, Tony Gaudio. M: Erich Wolfgang Korngold. AD: Carl Jules Weyl. COST: Milo Anderson. ED: Ralph Dawson. N: Errol Flynn (Sir Robin of Locksley / Robin Hood), Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian), Basil Rathbone (Sir Guy de Gisbourne), Claude Rains (Prince John), Patric Knowles (Will Scarlett), Eugene Pallette (Friar Tuck), Alan Hale (Little John), Melville Cooper (the sheriff of Nottingham), Ian Hunter (King Richard Lionheart), Una O’Connor (Bess). 

    103 min

    The Warner Bros. 65th Anniversary restored version (2003). 

    Hollywood Classics print purchase check viewing at Orion, Helsinki, 15 Sep 2005.

Although there have been several film adaptations of the Robin Hood legend, this is still the one, a top adventure film, in a high spirit from the beginning to the end. It's expensive but not heavy, and there is a great sense of humour all through the picture. A good sense of spectacle, action, and ensemble playing.

A wonderful, immaculate print, the colour definition both in intimate close-ups and in great scenes of spectacle in good taste. They say it's digitally restored. If that's true, for the first time I could not tell the difference from a brilliant photochemical master.

We bought this print from Hollywood Classics thanks to the Teuvo Tulio fund. First we ordered Blow-Up, but received a dupe print with faded colour. The mythical, radiantly green Maryon Park had turned into autumn colours... which had turned grey. 

We returned Blow-Up to Hollywood Classics and ordered this new brilliant restoration of The Adventures of Robin Hood.

These two movies only linked by being set in England and having green as a dominant colour.