The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

This early Technicolor film, MGM's first, is about Robin Hood and his adventures. To be a little more specific, the King of England has been captured in the Crusades and his brother, Prince John, is in charge until the king returns. It turns out that John (Claude Rains) is quite corrupt and Robin Hood (Errol Flynn) tries to right everything much to the dismay of John's men. The plot is rather basic but it's a lot of fun so who cares?

The acting in this film is rather cheesy, but it isn't all that noticeable as the dialogue is rather simple and most of the film is just action sequences. In addition to the aforementioned actors, the film also stars Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian. Like everyone else, her acting is nothing special, but she accomplishes what she sets out to do.

Being born in 1987, I can only try and imagine what this film was like for contemporary audiences. While this is not the first color film ever made, color films were incredibly rare in 1938 so that alone is a treat for the audiences. 70 years later the color looks very good and looks almost as if it could have been filmed today. Also worth noting is the musical score which won an Oscar. The costumes and stunts in this film are also quite impressive.

While this film doesn't have much in the way of deep meaning other than the message that good triumphs over evil, the film is quite enjoyable. So long as the viewer sits back and doesn't expect to be blown away amazing special effects and a profound message, this can be enjoyed by just about anyone.

80/100
B-

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I just watched this...

Good analysis as always, catbox. Personally, I couldn't get into this movie all that much.

72/100

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