Robin and Marian
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Robin and Marian
Plot
Though the story told in Robin and Marian is unfamiliar to most audiences, it is actually quite faithful to several of the ancient Robin Hood legends. During the Crusades, Robin (Sean Connery) is still loyal to King Richard the Lionheart (Richard Harris), but even he has trouble adjusting to the monarch's ever-increasing paranoia and lunacy. After Richard's death, Robin returns to England, his first visit to his home turf in 20 years. He looks up his beloved Maid Marian (Audrey Hepburn, last seen in 1967's Wait Until Dark), who is now a middle-aged nun. No sooner do Robin and Marian renew their relationship than the aging Merry Men demand Robin's services in thwarting their old foe, the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robert Shaw). Marian is aghast that the long-standing feud between Robin and the sheriff threatens to expand into wholesale bloodshed. The two venerable enemies agree to one last mano a mano battle -- only to watch helplessly as the all-out war they'd tried to avoid commences anyway. Both the tragic climax and Robin's last, defiant arrow shot are drawn directly from authentic Robin Hood ballads of the 14th and 15th centuries. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
Boundless energy characterized director Richard Lester's career from the start, making it hard to think of a director better suited to deal with the point at which such energy hits the boundaries of age. With Robin and Marian, Lester crafted an English equivalent to the revisionist Westerns of the '60s and '70s, offering a new look at a story whose impact has become somewhat blunted by familiarity. One scene says it all: after a feat of derring-do shot with typical Lester exuberance, Robin (Sean Connery) attempts to flee the scene by climbing a wall, only to find that what in the past he could have done in the blink of an eye now takes much longer, almost losing his life in the process of discovery. Lester could simply have played this for laughs, but while the film contains its fair share of humor, he has other aims in mind. Though some dismissed Robin and Marian as coldhearted for tampering with the Robin Hood myth, the accusation doesn't hold up in light of the director's obvious affection for his well-known characters and Connery's and Audrey Hepburn's excellent turns as the aging lovers. By its end, it's revealed itself as a moving examination of aging, the ending of eras, and the ways history and folklore can conceal the ugliness of violence. ~ Keith Phipps, RoviCast
- Sean Connery - Robin Hood
- Audrey Hepburn - Maid Marian
- Robert Shaw - Sheriff of Nottingham
- Richard Harris - Richard I the Lionheart
- Nicol Williamson - Little John
Credit
Gil Parrondo - Art Director, Mary Selway - Casting, Yvonne Blake - Costume Designer, José Lopez Rodero - First Assistant Director, Richard Lester - Director, John Victor Smith - Editor, John Barry - Composer (Music Score), José Antonio Sanchez - Makeup, David Watkin - Cinematographer, Richard Shepherd - Producer, Raymond Stark - Producer, Denis O'Dell - Producer, Eddie Fowlie - Special Effects, Roy Charman - Sound/Sound Designer, Gerry Humphreys - Sound/Sound Designer, William Hobbs - Stunts, Miguel Pedregosa - Stunts, Joaquin Parra - Stunts, Ian McKay - Stunts, James Goldman - Screenwriter| Robin Williamson in Concert (1993 Film), Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction (2009 Film) | |
| Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964 Film), Robin of Locksley (1996 Film) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Robin and Marian
| Robin and Marian | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster by Drew Struzan |
|
| Directed by | Richard Lester |
| Produced by | Dennis O'Dell Richard Shepherd Ray Stark |
| Written by | James Goldman |
| Starring | Sean Connery Audrey Hepburn Robert Shaw Nicol Williamson and Ronnie Barker |
| Music by | John Barry |
| Cinematography | David Watkin |
| Studio | Rastar |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 11 March 1976 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | UK US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £5,000,000 |
Robin and Marian is a 1976 British/American co-produced romantic adventure period film filmed in Pamplona, Spain starring Sean Connery as Robin Hood, Audrey Hepburn as Lady Marian, Nicol Williamson as Little John, Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Richard Harris as King Richard. It also features comedian Ronnie Barker in a rare film role as Friar Tuck. The film marked Hepburn's return to the screen after an eight year absence.[1]
Director Richard Lester made Robin and Marian amid a series of period pieces, including The Three Musketeers. The screenplay was written by James Goldman. The original music score was composed by John Barry. The film was to have originally been titled The Death of Robin Hood but was changed by Columbia Pictures to be more marketable[2] and perhaps give equal billing to Audrey Hepburn.
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Contents
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Plot
An ageing Robin Hood (Connery) is a trusted captain fighting for Richard the Lion-Heart (Harris) in France, the Crusades long over. Richard orders him to take a castle that is rumoured to hold a gold statue. Discovering that it is defended by a solitary, one-eyed old man (Esmond Knight) who is sheltering harmless women and children, and convinced that there is no statue, Robin and his right-hand man, Little John (Williamson), refuse to attack. King Richard, angry at their insubordination, orders the pair's execution, but before his orders can be carried out, he is mortally wounded by an arrow thrown by the old man. Richard has the helpless residents massacred, with the exception of the old man, because Richard likes his eye. The King asks Robin to pray for mercy for him. When Robin refuses, Richard draws his sword, but lacks the strength to strike him and falls to the floor. Robin helps him, and moved by his loyalty, with his last words, Richard frees Robin and Little John.
After Richard's death, Robin and Little John return to England and are reunited with old friends Will Scarlet (Denholm Elliott) and Friar Tuck (Ronnie Barker) in Sherwood Forest. When Robin casually inquires about Maid Marian (Hepburn), they tell him she has become an abbess. When he goes to see her, she finds him as impossible as ever.
He learns that his old nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham (Shaw), has ordered her arrest in response to the King's order to expel senior leaders of the Roman Catholic Church from England. Marian wants no trouble, but Robin rescues her against her will, injuring Sir Ranulf (Kenneth Haigh), the Sheriff's arrogant guest, in the process. Ignoring the Sheriff's warnings, Sir Ranulf pursues Robin into the forest. His men are ambushed and decimated by arrows; Sir Ranulf is left unharmed only because Robin orders him spared. When the news of Robin's return spreads, old comrades and new recruits rally once more to him. Sir Ranulf asks King John for 200 soldiers to deal with Robin.
The Sheriff waits in the open fields beyond the Forest, knowing Robin will attack. When Robin does, he proposes that he and the Sheriff duel to settle the issue, despite the protests of Sir Ranulf. Despite Robin appearing to have superior skills at the start of the fight, it soon becomes clear that the Sheriff is more than his match, and soon the Sheriff is dominating Robin in the fight. Eventually the Sheriff has the wounded Robin at his mercy and demands his surrender. Refusing, Robin manages to kill the Sheriff with the last of his strength. Led by Sir Ranulf, the soldiers attack and scatter Robin's ragtag band, many of whom are captured or killed. Little John swiftly kills Sir Ranulf. Then he and Marian take Robin to her abbey where she tells Robin she keeps her medicine.
Robin believes he will recover to win future battles. Little John stands guard outside while Marian tends to Robin's wounds. Marian prepares a draft and takes a drink of it herself before giving it to Robin. He drinks the medicine and notes that the pain has gone away and his legs have gone numb. Then, realising that she has poisoned them both, he cries out for Little John. However, he comes to understand that Marian has acted out of love because he would never be the same man again. She tells him:
I love you. More than all you know. I love you more than children. More than fields I've planted with my hands. I love you more than morning prayers or peace or food to eat. I love you more than sunlight, more than flesh or joy, or one more day. I love you...more than God.
Little John crashes through the door and weeps at Robin's bedside. Robin shoots an arrow from his deathbed through the open window and tells Little John to bury them both where it lands, but, the camera follows the arrow's flight upward with no indication of it ever falling.
Cast
- Sean Connery as Robin Hood
- Audrey Hepburn as Lady Marian; this was Audrey Hepburn's first film in nine years.
- Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham
- Nicol Williamson as Little John
- Richard Harris as Richard the Lion-Heart
- Denholm Elliott as Will Scarlet
- Ronnie Barker as Friar Tuck
- Kenneth Haigh as Sir Ranulf
- Ian Holm as King John
- Bill Maynard as Mercadier
- Esmond Knight as Old Defender
- Veronica Quilligan as Sister Mary
- Peter Butterworth as Surgeon
- John Barrett as Jack
- Kenneth Cranham as Jack's Apprentice
- Victoria Abril as Queen Isabella
Reception
The film was generally given a positive review by critics. Roger Ebert was positive towards Connery and Hepburn as Robin and Marian although he was uncertain about "history repeating itself" in regards to the plot. According to Ebert, "What prevents the movie from really losing its way, though, are the performances of Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn in the title roles. No matter what the director and the writer may think, Connery and Hepburn seem to have arrived at a tacit understanding between themselves about their characters. They glow. They really do seem in love. And they project as marvelously complex, fond, tender people; the passage of 20 years has given them grace and wisdom."[3] He also approved of the cinematography of the film in comparison to early films of the genre noting that, "Lester photographs them with more restraint than he might have used 10 years ago. His active camera is replaced here by a visual tempo more suited to bittersweet nostalgia. He photographs Sherwood Forest and its characters with a nice off-hand realism that's better than the pretentious solemnity we sometimes get in historical pictures."[3]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20066358,00.html
- ^ p.178 Norwich, Brahm Dilemmas of Difference, Inclusion and Disability: International Perspectives and Future Directions Routledge, 2008
- ^ a b Chicago Sun-Times review by Roger Ebert , April 21, 1976, Retrieved on July 7, 2008
External links
- Robin and Marian at the Internet Movie Database
- Robin and Marian at AllRovi
- Robin and Marian at Rotten Tomatoes
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