Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
We all have one version of the Robin Hood story that sticks with us more than the others. For me, that is 1991’s “Prince of Thieves.” Not because it is the best version of the story I’ve seen- once I saw 1939’s “Adventures of Robin Hood,” all others were vying for second- but it’s the one I watched the most. Now, I watch it and it’s easy to see the ways it feels out of step with the best Robin Hood films (even Mel Brooks’s delightful “Men in Tights” a couple of years later), but it still thrills me in a lot of ways.
Even though he wrote memorable scores for the “Lethal Weapon” films and the first “Die Hard,” Michael Kamen’s score for “Prince of Thieves” is the one that- I think- people are most likely to remember him for. I know when I was in marching band in 1992, it was ubiquitous as a choice for marching shows that season, and it’s easy to see why. Kamen’s opening theme is rousing and heroic, and his love theme for Maid Marian is so beautiful it became the basis of a massive hit song for Bryan Adams. The film’s production company, Morgan Creek, basically co-opted it for their logo card. Kamen’s music captures the excitement of this story even if Reynolds’s film feels overblown at times.
The screenplay by Pen Densham and John Watson follow all of the familiar beats of the Robin Hood myth about Robin robbing the rich, giving to the poor; doing battle with the Sheriff of Nottingham; wooing Maid Marian; his Merry Men in Sherwood Forest; and his skills as an archer, but the production design is meant to be more earthy and “realistic” compared to earlier versions. For the film, it works, but that also makes it feel like more of a fantasy, as well. The truth is, nothing is ever going to remove this story from its mythical origins, and we just hope to see an interesting version of the story being told. Ultimately, “Prince of Thieves” does that, and very well.
As this film’s Robin of Locksley- who went to fight in the Crusades with King Richard against the wishes of his father- Kevin Costner makes for a fascinating contradiction; his Robin accent is awful (and he often just leans into his regular accent), but for this particular telling, he is probably the best person to play the role. This is a star vehicle for Costner in every way, and he delivers everything that requires. He was also in the middle of his acclaimed, Oscar-winning “Dances With Wolves” taking hold, so naturally, his ego clashes with Reynolds a lot in this film (and, more infamously, would again on “Waterworld”). The film does make room for good work from Costner’s co-stars, however, whether it’s Morgan Freeman as Azeem, the muslim he helps escape prison at the beginning, and whom owes him a life debt throughout the rest of the film; Christian Slater as Will Scarlett, whose loyalty to Robin is determined on how much Robin respects him; Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, luminous as this film’s Marian; Michael McShane as the bawdy Friar Tuck; Nick Brimble as Little John; and Walter Sparrow as Duncan, the blind servant of Robin’s father. The villains, however, is where “Prince of Thieves” really scores, and how blessed is this film to have not just the great Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham, but Michael Wincott as his cousin, Guy of Gisborne. Seeing these two iconic on-screen presences together is an absolute pleasure to behold. They, alone, are worth watching this film for.
Beyond Adams’s power ballad hit, “Robin Hood” is very much a product of ’80s and ’90s Hollywood, and it understands what that includes in how the film’s 3-act structure operates, how certain dramatic moments play, and how to bring them to life visually. Reynolds utilizes Kamen’s score marvelously, as well as cinematic tricks his cinematographer, Douglas Milsome, and editor, Peter Boyle, understand in how to use them, and bring out the requisite emotions from the audience. I do think the film falls into some narrative traps- namely, the stereotypical “Exotic” wise man in Azeem and the needless complications in Robin and Will’s dynamic- but there are other things in this film like paganism vs. Christianity, the corrupting nature of power the church is granted by the state, and the film’s lived-in production design that I still love. This is never going to be the best Robin Hood film, but a case can be made for it being the most interesting version of the story.
