Rrrrrrrrrrrrobbbbinnn!!!!!!

Last night i subjected Eva and Margot to one of my favorite childhood films - Robin Hood: Prince of Theives - Kevin Costner's post oscar ego trip, and my first date movie, i think it was the summer before 5th grade, her name was Hillary Plant, and she was the captain of 6th grade cheerleaders... Needless to say, everything i did, i did it for her... for about 3 weeks.

I hadn't seen it in about 5 years, and i was excited because this was the director's cut, bringing back something like 10 minutes of footage, alot of it developing the characters of Alan Rickman (i say alan rickman and not The Sheriff of Nottingham, because that roll was all rickman...) and his mother (that's right...) the Wicked Crone... It's even more over the top campy, and hilarious.

I remember allusions to witchcraft, and devil warship from the theatrical version, like the scene were the Sheriff confronts Robin's father, in a devilish mask surrounded by his robed followers, or a scene when the wicked crone advises him to enlist the help of the barbarians that "share their same god" - it seemed in that version she was refering confusingly to money, or perhaps, jebus... But watching the film as the director intended we get treated to the real deal, Alan Rickman is a full on devil warshipper, complete with cauldron and upside down cross, and in one bit of heavy handed religious commentary (more on that later) we're treated to a scene where Rickman looks at the upside down cross, takes it, and turns it rightside up, noting how it doesn't really make a difference which way it's turned does it? clever...

There are scenes that upon rewatching i have to wonder to myself... i watched this when i was how old? Severed hands, Racism, religious disolusionment, Swears!, and a long drawn out scene of Alan Rickman trying to rape poor Maid Marian while a priest looks on in glazed disconcern... meanwhile the music and mood suggest a sort of rolicking adventure, oh and things are lit with florenscence... wtf?

Either way, this movie is Terrible... so Terrible, in fact that it rocks... (christian slater as will scarlet!? hell yes... i kept on waiting for him to run to his little tree house and start broadcasting radio free sherwood...) and as we start to pull away from the 20th century we can start to see the 90's in it's on distinct light, and this movie will stand out along side of grunge, and... say... Batman and Robin, as quinessentially 90's, for better or worse... I'd still recommend watching this oaf of a film, if only to get your mullet and jerkins Costner fix... you know you need it.

And to follow it up, here's a snippet from the Film Atheist's review:

While filled with religious imagery and 1990s-style spiritual political correctness, is there some bold atheistic (or theistic) statement you can pluck from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves? I'm sure many will find that Kevin Costner's performance is sufficient poof of the non-existence of God. After all, would a perfectly good God allow Costner's on-again, off-again, British-like accent to exist? Or permit his detached, somnolent line readings of inspirational speeches? Ah, but don't fall into that trap, for any theist can turn these points around on you, saying that Costner's complete inability to display basic human emotions is best explained as the work of the Devil, and if there is a Devil, there must be a God. I'm afraid that this is a neutral flick, with regard to significant theological matters. So why am I examining it? Because of its exorbitant religious rhetoric; I just couldn't' pass it up. |the rest|


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And finally as a much added bonus, for all those Alan Rickman fans out there, (you know who you are...) a little Alan Rickman montage from the film, set to Brian Adams rousing "Everything i do..." i dare you to watch the whole thing...