Tuesday's Overlooked Film: Robin Hood (1991 Fox TV-Movie)

Keeping with Bill Crider's Robin Hood theme of late, this Tuesday's Overlooked Film is the 1991 Fox TV-movie (and theatrical film elsewhere) Robin Hood.

There have been many Robin Hood movies since the dawn of the medium, the Errol Flynn version perhaps the most famous, the Russel Crowe version being the most recent. The version I mention today is truly overlooked, which is a shame, as I found it very entertaining and engaging when I saw it on the Fox network back in 1991, mere weeks before the more famous Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was released in theaters.

This version has all the swashbuckling you would want, but it also has a bit more grit and muscle to it than other versions I've seen. Maid Marion, played by a then unknown Uma Thurman, is by no means the passive princess you would find in other film treatments. She is a fighter, which is quite refreshing. Robin, played by Patrick Bergen (Sleeping With The Enemy), is dashing, but also has an edge to him. Even Friar Tuck, normally the kindly, wise sage to Robin, is no more than a con man selling phony holy relics in this film (and the source of much of the film's comic relief). Jeroen Krabbé (The Fugitive) makes a formidable Sheriff of Nottingham, and the film even stars The Walking Dead's David Morrissey (The Governor) as Robin's friend and sidekick Little John.

If you were put off by the oh-so-Hollywood Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves released that same year, I highly recommend you check out this delightful screen version of Robin Hood. It's readily available on DVD and Amazon Instant Video. Below is the film's trailer. Enjoy!