Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Robin Hood - Konig der Diebe (1991)

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Robin Hood - Konig der Diebe (1991)

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After being captured by Turks during the Crusades, Robin of Locksley and a Moor, Azeem, escape back to England where Azeem vows to remain until he repays Robin for saving his life. Meanwhile, Robin's father has been murdered by the Sheriff of Nottingham and when Robin returns home he vows to avenge his father's death. Even though Marian, his childhood friend, cannot help him, he escapes to the Forest of Sherwood where he joins a band of exiled villagers and becomes their leader. With their help he attempts to cleanse the land of the evil that the Sheriff has spread.

Robin von Locksley (Kevin Costner) fluchtet mit seinem Sarazener-Freund Azeem (Morgan Freeman) nach England, um sich dort auf seinem Besitz niederzulassen. Doch wahrend seiner Abwesenheit hat sich in England so einiges geandert. Prinz John hat gewaltsam die Regierung an sich gerissen und Robin wurde seiner Eigentumer beraubt. Er schlie?t sich einer im Wald hausenden Bande an und nimmt den Kampf gegen den gemeinen Sheriff von Nottingham (Alan Rickman) auf.

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Robin Hood - Konig der Diebe (1991)

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Das aufwendig produzierte Abenteuer mit Superstar Kevin Costner hat nichts mehr mit den Helden in Strumpfhosen der 30er Jahre zu tun. Duster ist die Atmosphare im vernebelten England und grausam sind die erbitterten Kampfe. Und doch bleibt genug Platz fur eine gehorige Portion Romantik, die an kalten Abenden die Herzen erwarmt!

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Robin Hood - Konig der Diebe (1991)

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Having escaped captivity in Jerusalem with the help of a fierce Muslim warrior named Azeem (Morgan Freeman), English nobleman and Third Crusade soldier Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) returns home to find his father murdered and his people living under the tyrannical rule of a corrupt and vindictive Sheriff (Alan Rickman). After saving a young boy (Daniel Newman) from the Sheriff's cousin, Guy of Gisbourne (Michael Wincott), Robin visits a a childhood friend, the lovely Maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). But when Gisbourne arrives with reinforcements, he pursues Robin to the edge of Sherwood, a vast forest his soldiers believe to be haunted. However, Locksley soon discovers that the purported "ghosts" of Sherwood are actually a band of outlaws and outcasts led by a burly hulk of a man named Little John (Nick Brimble). Invited to join the gang of drunken deviants (to the chagrin of Christian Slater's Will Scarlet), Robin quickly asserts himself into a leadership position and persuades his newly-formed battalion to help him rob from the rich and give to the poor. With the help of Little John, Azeem, his father's blind servant Duncan (Walter Sparrow), the indomitable Friar Tuck (Michael McShane), and an assorted selection of skilled fighters, Robin finally attracts the Sheriff's wrath.

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Robin Hood - Konig der Diebe (1991)

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Prince of Thieves strips the Hood mythos of its high-waisted tights and back-lot swashbuckling, substituting such outdated trimmings with darker storylines, more complex characters, and more intense battles. While Costner's portrayal of Hood is admittedly stale, Freeman, Mastrantonio, McShane, and Rickman fill in any gaps left in the stocky California native's wake. Sure, it's a shame to see Locksley regularly take a back seat to his friends and enemies, but it also paves the way for several fully-realized heroes and villains to steal the show. Freeman plays saint, sinner, and mystic; a man whose loyalty surpasses all others and whose level-headed guidance proves he's much more than an adage-spewing sidekick. Mastrantonio fuses the determination of a modern feminist together with the helplessness of a traditional damsel in distress, effectively becoming both demure love interest and feisty heroine. McShane takes a man that could have been a bumbling, comical dolt and pumps his belly full of soul, developing a perfect counterpoint to the film's sinister Bishop (Harold Innocent). And Rickman? Rickman chews through scenery as if he's on a personal mission to channel evil itself; his sneering delivery, leering expressions, and volatile reactions transcend past and future incarnations of the character, proving his is the definitive rendition of Nottingham's vile Sheriff.

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Robin Hood - Konig der Diebe (1991)

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Through it all, director Kevin Reynolds (Waterworld, 187, The Count of Monte Cristo) uses each performance to temper Pen Densham and John Watson's already-grounded screenplay while retaining a grand sense of golden-age spectacle. The final film is far from flawless pacing is dodgy at times, unnecessary subplots are a distraction, and the actors' accents are all over the place but there are so many memorable moments that it doesn't really matter. Who could forget Azeem's unwavering commitment to prayer? A frightened fighter screaming "to the trees!" upon seeing an army of barbarians on the horizon? Marian's blood-curdling cry for Robin? The late Michael Kamen's stirring musical score? Rickman's every word, shout, and threat? Imperfect as it may be, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a rousing adventure that still has the power to pull viewers deep within its web of witty characters and sharp storytelling. Hate it all you want… I don't think this early '90s guilty pleasure will ever slip out of my good graces.

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown (blu-ray.com)

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Robin Hood - Konig der Diebe (1991)

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