Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

sykespj Judging by existing reviews, individual opinion seems to rely very heavily on the views of fans of the 50s TV series (i.e. old blokes like me), versus those who came in cold and took it on face value. It is important to note that the film was never intended to have any relationship to the TV version. Richard Greene, of course, starred in both... and that's about the extent of it.The Sapphire Films television series was a whole different kettle of fish. American writers blacklisted in the McCarthy era wrote under pseudonyms and packed the first two seasons with subtle left-wing ideology. The last two seasons fell into a more formulaic adventure groove, but still managed the occasional political overtone.The movie was typical of the Hammer production philosophy... take what little budget there was, invest heavily in production costs (vivid colour, widescreen ratios), and hire a passable cast with what's leftover (including at least one bonza babe). I'm betting Greene came pretty cheap and had the added bonus of drawing in fans of TV series.What you see is what you get. It still looks great, the storyline is good enough to last out the whole 77min, and there isn't a political statement in sight. For mine, 6.5 stars out of ten.

phil allen Trawling the channels last evening, I came upon "Sword of Sherwood Forest" (oddly titled..) and hung around. One expects little more from the Richard Greene takes on the personified Unforgetting Saxon than hearty words, unerring aim and quick execution of an instantly thought-up plan of action. And let's not forget the power of British accents, which ennoble the weak and render villains extra creepy. The Earl of Newark (read Walter Scott's short poems on football), as played by Mr. Pasco, was not a villain; he was a lordly lord who rode while they walked. He makes a wonderfully filled-out SOB noble, and his greasy hair is an all-timer. Incidentally, note the Sheriff's possibly-anachronistic mounted soldiers scattering villains in the priory burning. He who has horses, has power.. This is a light bit of adventurous fun, set in some gorgeous surroundings. Well by '60, there was no more Sherwood Forest; they had to go to Ireland to shoot it which, in Robin's time, was being 'subdued' by the early Plantagenets. The producers by my guess wanted little more than a big-screen TV adventure, targeted for the Saturday-afternoon matinée crowd, but seen generations later on an 'old movie' channel by now-aging tots.

Neil Doyle This is Robin Hood without any zest...just plain dull.If you're going to do the Robin Hood story, at least a filmmaker should blend in all the proper elements that make the legendary story so popular, as the 1938 film did with Errol Flynn. But here we have Hammer trying to justice to the tale and unable to disguise the fact that it's done on a low-budget scale with less than impressive actors in all the important character roles.RICHARD GREENE would have been a suitable choice if he'd played the role on the big screen some fifteen years earlier, but he's clearly too mature (and a bit tired looking) to be the dashing outlaw of Sherwood Forest and this faulty bit of casting extends to the other roles too. I never saw the television series starring Greene so I can't comment on it or make a comparison.It gets off to a dull start with a meeting between Robin and Marian (SARAH BRANCH) that (as in the Flynn film) has them on less than amicable terms at first sight. The difference here is that she's been bathing in the nude before Robin and his men come along but quickly dresses modestly and has her first rude encounter with the outlaw.There's no "ye olde English" flavor to the dialog--it sounds more 20th Century than anything else. PETER CUSHING turns up as the Sheriff of Nottingham who wants a wanted criminal that Robin Hood is sheltering. He promises Robin a free pardon if he delivers the criminal to him, but Robin refuses the bargain.Just as well. The Sheriff turns out to be untrustworthy and never keeps his word. NIALL MacGINNIS doesn't seem rotund enough to play Friar Tuck but he shows up midway through the film to form an alliance with Robin. A further plot device involves the Archbishop of Canterbury, but it's a muddled bit of plotting that seems insufficiently interesting and takes attention away from Robin and Marian.Summing up: Handsomely photographed in color with some interesting archery scenes, but a lackluster script and so-so performances do nothing to make the film anything but plodding and dull. The story simply has no focal point.Trivia note: SARAH BRANCH's hair-style and make-up looks straight out of the 1960s--a very modern looking Maid Marian.

The_Void Hammer studios are, obviously, most famous for their horror films; but the best of those tend to be the ones that are based on a classic story, so, technically, this take on the Robin Hood legend isn't a far cry away from what Hammer do best. Technicalities aside, however, this definitely isn't one of the great studio's finer hours. The film is flawed to oblivion, and it doesn't capture that Hammer essence that the studio's better films did so well. I go into Hammer films expecting a good time, but this one actually managed to be boring. There's still some camp on offer, but the story plays out in a way that is neither interesting nor fun. As usual with Hammer, elements of the story have been changed; but unlike usual, they've been changed for the worse and the script fails to deliver a story that even comes close to matching the original. This is one of the rare times when Hammer would have been better off simply filming the story that had been doing the rounds for years before this film was ever put out.The dull and muddled plot follows Robin Hood and his merry men who, after finding a man nearly dead, take him in. It soon becomes apparent that the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham wants this outlaw, and gives Robin Hood a dubious offer of a full pardon. Robin is having none of it, and ends up joining in a plot to assassinate someone or other. The plot isn't overly complicated, but it's not very well handled and because the film is rather boring, it makes it very hard to follow what's going on. The best thing about this film is the fact that Hammer's finest asset, Peter Cushing is in it. Under the direction of Hammer's most punctual director, Terence Fisher, Cushing once again turns in an excellent performance and shows that he can make good of even the lamest material. Oliver Reed also has a small role, but the fact that the lead went to Richard Greene brings it down. For a start, he's too old to play Robin Hood; and secondly, he just doesn't have the charisma to carry the film off. When you're cheering for the baddie because a better actor is playing him, you know you're in the wrong movie. All in all - Hammer completists only!