The Adventures of Robin Hood (HD DVD)
The running time is 1 hr. 42 mins..
There is a certain brash quality to Errol Flynn's performance as Robin Hood and it is equaled in quite the opposite nature by Basil Rathbone as he plays Sir Guy of Gisbourne, a character who takes more of a background role in 1991's Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner. Flynn and Rathbone face off in what just might be the most revered sword fight of all time at the end of this film, a fight I had seen only too many times but was still looking forward to seeing it in the context of the film, and it proved to be every bit of what I expected it to be.
As remarkable and memorable as this film may be I have to say that on HD DVD I can't see a major improvement in visual quality, at least not to the point that a DVD placed in the up-rezzing HD DVD player wouldn't produce a similar image quality. The same goes for audio as this disc carries Dolby Digital Plus, but only single-channel. Granted this is a step up from the DVD's monaural track, but like the video the high-def audio is only a slight step up in this case. However, we can't expect much as they are both working with a 1938 print that has been fully restored, and Warner Bros. has proved that no studio can improve old prints like they can. Adventures of Robin Hood was one of the first major motion pictures to take advantage of Technicolor and without it this film may have not had the lasting impression it has, but with it you can see the reason it was such a big hit as the colors pop off the screen in a major way.
As for the special features the disc holds you are getting nothing more than you did with the DVD release, however the fact that it is on HD DVD means this collection of over three hours of material, along with the feature film, are all found on one disc. Included is the audio commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer who pretty much lays claim to this release as he not only provides the commentary he provides introductions and commentaries on virtually every other feature on the disc. These include outtakes to which Behlmer guides us as there is no sound, the same goes for a collection of home movies and on the set videos with no accompanying sound and a featurette showing a highlight reel of sorts of the 1922 Douglas Fairbanks silent version of Robin Hood. Finally he introduces a fantastic blooper reel that is not centered on Adventures of Robin Hood, but it includes several bloopers from 1938 productions and it is a way you have never seen several of some of our favorite classic actors, including the likes of Bette Davis, a short scene I thought was great. It is also great to hear that "damn" was the worst thing these people would say when they screwed up, whereas now days it is a much different group of words.
Moving on from Behlmer's features you also get five separate galleries focused on historical art, costume design photos, storyboards, publicity photos and my personal favorite, a look at the old school posters for the film. Next are two featurettes, the first being an hour long look at the immergence of Technicolor and how it changed cinema, the second is a 55 minute look at the making of The Adventures of Robin Hood from the ground up. The Technicolor feature I didn't particularly care for but the making-of featurette included a few tidbits on the production I was interested in as it covered the film's production in its infant stages when James Cagney was expected to play the part of Robin Hood to its theatrical release. It even includes a few nuggets on Errol Flynn I had not yet learned even from the fantastic box set released from Warner last year.
Finally you can experience Robin Hood how you might have in 1938 as Leonard Maltin's grinning mug introduces a series of shorts, trailers and news reels that appeared in theaters in 1938 in an effort to recreate the atmosphere of America at the tail end of the Great Depression. While the sentiment is appreciated I don't really care for these features even if they are a cool little piece of history. Knowing they are there is more important to me than actually watching them in their entirety. However, two little old school bits I watched completely were the two Robin Hood themed Looney Tunes cartoons featuring Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny, I can never get enough of those two.
Finally, the features I don't really have an opinion on one way or another are the three audio only features including a music-only track during the feature film, which showcases the Oscar-winning Erich Wolfgang Korngold score, which is not as impressive as the story behind it, which you will hear in the making-of featurette. The two other features are "The Robin Hood Radio Show" from 1938 and some Korngold piano sessions. Rounding out the disc are 12 Errol Flynn movie trailers, several of which you should check out, particularly The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood, now those are great films.
Overall I would say this disc is a hit, but if you already own the special edition DVD version it probably isn't worth the upgrade. Even though I have not seen the DVD video I can only assume the only thing this HD DVD version improves on are the black levels and some of the soft edges most commonly found in standard definition transfers. That said, I will urge you to take a chance on either this HD DVD version or the DVD version if you have not yet upgraded to the new medium. Even if you already have a favorite version of Robin Hood, or perhaps you haven't found one to your liking both options make this a compelling choice as it is nothing like what you have seen before, and the talent of Errol Flynn makes it irresistible.