RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

screenman All together with that fanfare, now: Da-daa-da-da-da-da-da-d'daa, da-da-da-daa! Twang, swoosh, thud! Yes it's time to don the tights and Lincoln Greene. 'The adventures of Robin Hood' was a must-see from the late 1950's onwards on British independent television.Every week hunky handsome and thoroughly middle-class Richard Greene would lead his band on an adventure against the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham. Shot mostly in studio, where the tracks in the forest had a distinctly floorboard-like resonance when trampled on, there were at least a few location takes, probably in the nearby public parks.It was a program for kids, screened around the tea-time hour (anyone remember that?) but it was entertaining enough for imaginative adults too. Most kids who had ITV at the time (we didn't) made a point of watching it.Greene was a serious actor who seemed to do very little else considering his evident good looks and charisma. He reminded me very much of equally under-utilised George Gregson. Apart from his lead as John Ridd in a B-movie feature film of Lorna Doone, hardly anything else comes to mind.It would be fun to see a few re-runs, though I suspect they would be buttock-clenchingly out-dated. Still; look at the dross kids get to watch nowadays.How does that fanfare go again...?

poordogabone-1 Wow! I watched this series as a kid (I'm 55+ now) and had nothing but fond memories, so I jumped at the chance to get the series on DVD. Everything I loved intuitively as a child is there, and there are layers in the stories that I can now appreciate as an adult. The series was an amazingly sophisticated piece of writing, acting, and production. There was wonderful political subtext (after all, the best blacklisted American writers were putting the scripts together) about the McCarthy witch hunts, the dangers of developing super-weapons, tolerance and appreciation of people from other cultures, and amazing feminism (my childhood heroes were Marian and Annie Oakley; couldn't identify with the June Cleavers and Margaret Andersons at all).And as for Richard Greene: He's still my definitive Robin. And I might add, no one before or since could match Alexander Gauge's Tuck.

bs3dc "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is one of those series that has a truly timeless quality. The fact that I know people of all ages who enjoy it thoroughly, more than 50 years after it was first shown on television speaks for itself. I have to say when I saw the first series on DVD cheap I was half expecting a badly dated, poorly acted show still available purely due to the effects of nostalgia. Now I am heartily glad I took the risk and have all 143 episodes.The casting is impeccable, with Richard Greene almost certainly the best incarnation of Robin Hood in my view, with his highly charismatic performance as the noble outlaw of yore. It helps that he is English, as the hero is quintessentially of this country. The other actors are close to definitive in their roles, which is impressive since back then there were few versions to base their performances on. Alan Wheatley makes for a witty, and thoroughly immoral Sheriff of Nottingham and by playing the character perfectly straight does so without chewing the scenery like many actors in the role have since. The part of Maid Marian is shared by Bernadette O'Farrell and Patrica Driscoll and though their styles differ they are both excellent. Archie Duncan definitely has the presence and manner for the role of Little John, while Alexander Gauge seems born to the role of Friar Tuck. Great support is provided by Victor Woolf as Derwent, a character rarely seen in other versions, and special mention must go to Paul Eddington who appears as a different character almost every episode for a couple of series until he landed the permanent role as Will Scarlett. There are a good many guest stars such as Donald Pleasance, Leslie Phillips, Sid James etc. who it is interesting to see at such an early stage of their career and probably among the earliest surviving footage of it.The writing is very good and manages to maintain its quality throughout, though it loses the structure of the earlier episodes somewhat - as the Merry Men come together for example. The emphasis is always on doing the right thing no matter the cost, and this achieved surprisingly without becoming too peachy, despite coming close to it. The plots are inventive, with obviously a good deal of research being done into the history to find the basis for story lines. This can be educational as well as fun even if it is not all strictly accurate.The theme song is legendary and sums up the spirit of the show perfectly. It is probably more well known than the series itself, though that it partly thanks to a cereal advert it featured in! It is very well made considering the budget is clearly minimal, with the same building doubling for the church, the Blue Boar Inn and many other locations. However there is a good deal of location work (done on a farm I believe) and the actors get the best out of the limited sets.It is a shame "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is not more watched these days, perhaps it is perceived as having less appeal to the younger generation due to the fact that it is in black and white, or that subsequent versions must have superseded it. Definitely worth revisiting.

silverscreen888 "The Adventures of Robin Hood" was not a children's program, not even a young people's program.  Consider its credits, if you doubt my assessment. Its directors included Daniel Birt, Robert Day, Don Chaffey, Terry Bishop, Terence Fisher, Arthur Crabtree, Peter Maxwell, Ralph Smart and Bernard Knowles, many known for TV and feature film work. The writing corps included some blacklisted Hollywood film writers as well as highly-competent British scenarists including in their numbers Milton Schlesinger, Ring Lardner Jr., Ralph Smart, John Dyson, John Cousins, Arthur Behr, Raymond Bowers, Eric Heath, Anne Rodney, Leslie Poynter. Paul Symonds, Sidney Wells, Ian Lartain, Ian McLellan Hunter and C.D. Phillips. The story sets up an historically false but dramatically useful opposition--the Saxons of England championing the cause of the imprisoned honest King Richard Coeur de Lion, set against his usurping, nefarious brother Prince John, who is in league with their Norman overlords and crooked sheriffs (out only to steal land and wealth and ready to enslave the populace for a brass farthing).  The very fine continuing cast included handsome and able leading man Richard Greene, lovely Bernadette O'Farrell and later very good actress Patricia Driscoll as Maid Marian Fitzwalter; the splendid Shakespearean actor Alexander Gauge playing the definitive Friar Tuck, with Archie Duncan as Little John, Paul Eddington as Will Scarlet, Alan Wheatley as a marvelously subtle and villainous Sheriff of Nottingham, Victor Woolf as Derwent and Simone Lovell as the brave and helpful Maid Joan. Several fine actors played Prince John, including Donald Pleasance, Ian Hunter Robin's friend Sir Richard and Jill Esmond Queen Eleanor. Regular guests included Paul Eddington (doing double duty), Willoughby Gray, John Dearth, Arthur Skinner, Charles Stapley plus guest stars of the caliber of Edward Mulhare, and Leo McKern. Hannah Weinstein was executive producer, with the participation of Sidney Cole as line producer, Thelma Connell a associate and Richard Greene. Edwin Astley, Albert Elms and Sidney Keith Russell provided the music; Carl Sigman wrote the popular title song. The cinematography for the show, which ranged from hood to very good, was done by Gerald Gibbs, Ken Hodges and Michael Reed at various times. The production designer was Peter Proud, and the art directors Proud, John Blezard and Peter Mullins. Gabriel Toyne was in charge of duels and battles with Brenda Gardner in charge of wardrobe. So many people have happy memories of watching this show as young people, I believe they would be surprised how entertaining the and engrossing the show remain. The comedy was frequently very successful, the dialogue above average and the motivations of the characters extraordinarily clear. And, frequently, memorable. Because the show was about important matters to realists, the scenes deal with essentials; and this makes them more consistently interesting and rich than is usual in a television show. This is a much-loved television series, for many reasons; I was privileged to wait each week for its episodes when I was growing up. I have seen many since that time, and they are still enjoyable, as fiction and as good-spirited fun for discriminating viewers.