Robin and Marian | | Cast : | Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn | | Director : | Richard Lester | | Studio : | Columbia Tri-Star | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | April , 1976 | | DVD Released Date : | July 16, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 28, 2005 | | Summary | What happens 20 years later to Robin and Marian? | Content
 | Robin and Marian is a great romance/adventure movie that deals with two of literature's favorite characters. What if twenty years later, everything isn't "happily ever after" in Sherwood Forest? After twenty years of crusading with Little John and Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood returns to Sherwood Forest and Nottingham only to find that the love of his life, Maid Marian, has become a nun. As well, the Sheriff is up to no good and will not put up with Robin returning to his old haunts in Sherwood. This is really a beautiful story about two people deeply in love with each other and how they reunite after 20 years apart. As well, the movie looks like it is actually taking place in 12th Century England. It has a gritty, realistic feel throughout. And as for the ending, you might not like it at first, but think about it some and you will probably realize that it fits for this movie. Either way, an excellent movie well worth checking out.
Sean Connery gives one of his best performances as Robin Hood, the aging rogue who returns to Sherwood Forest after years of fighting in the Crusades. Connery brings just the right amount of comedy and realism to the part. Audrey Hepburn matches Connery as Maid Marian, the love of Robin's life who has become a nun since he left. There is a definite chemistry between the duo. Robert Shaw is very good as a more humane Sheriff of Nottinham, a worthy adversary for Robin. Nicol Williamson is perfect as Little John, Robin's long-time companion, friend, and right-hand man. Richard Harris makes a brief but very memorable stop as Richard the Lionheart. The movie also stars Denholm Elliot as Will Scarlett and Ronnie Barker as Friar Tuck, two of the Merry Men. The DVD offers no extras, none, but it is in widescreen which it was meant to be seen in. Even without extras, Robin and Marian is a great romance/adventure with a great cast that should not be missed. Check out Robin and Marian! |
| Rating | | | Date | May 31, 2005 | | Summary | Connery deserved an Oscar for this one. | Content
| This was the first post-Bond Connery movie I saw and have always been impressed with his ability at portraying a dashing character forced to come to grips with his own mortality and vulnerability. Not to detract from his performance in "The Untouchables," I truly felt Connery deserved an award for "Robin & Marian" just as much or more than the award he won as Supporting Actor in that film. I have since seen some of Connery's other work from the early 70's, and was surprised by the range of his talent, particularly in "The Offence" and "The Man Who Would Be King." "Robin & Marian" is definitely worth a look. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 31, 2004 | | Summary | A good ending | Content
| Other reviewers have taken issue with the ending of "Robin and Marian," calling it a "downer," etc. Although the end is not conventionally happy (a la Hollywood), it is perfectly consistent with the story line. In fact, to end any other way would have been to dilute the dramatic force of Marian's love for Robin. Although in this film the settings and music are a lovely bonus, it's obvious the script was written by a playwright who first uses plot, characterization and dialogue to provide the story's emotional impact. It also, by the way, depicts (albeit with a new twist) a scene from the Robin Hood storybook I read as a youngster; in it, Robin shoots an arrow into the air telling his friend to bury him where it lands. I don't remember thinking of that as a "downer" then; nor do I now. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 07, 2004 | | Summary | Truly.... | Content
| There is very little wrong with this movie, but what IS wrong is horrific. How CAN you go wrong with a cast that includes Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, (it was her last top notch movie, too, btw,) Nicol Williamson, Ian Holm, (guy gets around, doesn't he?) Richard Harris, Denholm Elliot and Robert Shaw? To top it all off, this was Richard Lester's last substantial film as well, done right after his masterpieces The Three and Four Musketeers. Richard Lester stopped being "Richard Lester" after this, and directed pretty much pedestrian movies like Superman(s) II, (enh!,) and III, (a disaster!) and "Juggernaut", a complete mediocrity. But this was one heck of a swan song!
The story starts out with Robin, played by Connery, and Little John, played by Williamson, who are inseparable throughout the film, scouting a potential battle scene for King Richard. The bastion they are met with has but one old blind man and a few women and children, and no sign of the treasure Richard thinks should be there. They tell Richard this when he arrives, but he still itches for battle and lays waste to the bastion anyway! After this, he goes mad, dying from an infection caused by an arrow wound received in the battle. Richard's death makes the universally disliked Prince John king, hence, Robin and John officially return to Sherwood Forest to look up their old mates after 20 years of following Richard all over the middle east to fight the Crusades. Will Scarlett, Alan-A-Dale and Friar Tuck are still around, but Marian has become a nun, pretty much leaving her old life behind.
Robin will have none of it, and the twenty years they have been apart start to tell...on their affections for one another, on their adroitness and on how their values have changed and/or stayed the same. They flirt, they love, they argue, and it's obvious that there is still a spark between them. There's a very tragic aspect to the ending of the story where Hepburn's character, Marian, tries to cancel out a masochistic line she spoke earlier in the film, that will have you scratching your head for a while. The "reasoning" Marian uses for it is completely delusional, even sick. This was a heavy film, in many ways, but I'm PRETTY sure it shouldn't have ended the way it did.
There is still a spark of hostility left between Robin, Little John and the remains of the band and the Sheriff of Nottingham and his henchemen, who has had the edge taken off of him for this film's handling of the character. He isn't quite so evil as he's been portrayed in other films here.... that is, until the end, when he and Robin confront each other for one last time!
Connery falls into his part like a foot into a comfortable old sock...he seems a perfect natural to play this Robin of Locksley, and Hepburn is a delicate, but dangerously unpredictable, presence as Marian. Few actresses could project such exquisite innocence or pureheartedness as Audrey Hepburn, and this movie showcases that beautifully. The gritty, dirt-under-the-fingernails look of the film once again lends authenticity to the period the story is set in. The ability to meld this sort of down-to-earth, genuine-looking aesthetic with the contemporary psychology of the character interpretations without having them seem out of synch is a gold star for the screenwriter and director, not to mention the actors!
There is the use of symbolism utilizing three golden apples in the beginning and end of the film, showing them fresh, and then half-decayed, commenting on the effects of aging as it pertains to the characters. The gruesomer aspects of this film may explain why Lester, if he is still with us, hasn't directed a "Richard Lester" movie in ages.
A heavy one, as stated before. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 03, 2004 | | Summary | On Golden Pond In Sherwood Forrest | Content
| Strange plot and theme for a medieval hero such as Robin Hood. Heroic effort at coming up with such as story but it just falls flat.
In this rendition of the legendary fable, Robin Hood (Connery) returns to England to meet with Marion (Hepburn) and soon realizes that he's just out of tune with the times; Marion is the cataclysm that makes him accept the final conclusion that he's all washed up, old, and without much fighting left in him: just enough breath for one final effort. The ending is ludicrous for a period obsessed with Christian values; their actions amounting to a cardinal sin with no offer of salvation.
The script is unimpressive and the dialogue is slow. The music seems to add to the slumber. Two old geezers reminiscing about the good old days; a real yawner. I find it doubtful that peoples of the 12th Century had even time to contemplate getting old; life back then being so nasty, brutish, and short, they usually died before thoughts of age ever crossed their minds.
I wouldn't recommend owning this one. Rent it to satiate your curiosity and then,if you're still awake at the end, decide if it's worth owning.
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