Review of Robin and Marian (1976) by Benoît R — 08 Jan 2010

I am unashamedly a huge fan of director Richard Lester and what he brings to every film he ever made. He has an eye for detail, a real grasp of story and great affinity with characters that is so often absent in many films.

I am also a huge admirer of 1070s film making and all the weird and wonderful movies that came out of that decade. So, sitting in on a cold day watching Robin and Marian would appear to be right up my street.

And so it proved. Knowing absolutely nothing of this film or it's story prior to me turning the channel on and finding it about to begin, I sat back and absolutely fell in love with the film and the way it was being told.

The great set design and rich depth to the scenes, the constant comedic theme running through the entire picture even in scenes of great drama or tension, and most importantly with an ensemble cast that would rival almost any other laid before it.

To begin with, Connery and Hepburn give truly outstanding performances, as ever, and make you feel every scene, and Nicol Williamson provides the best portrayal of Little John I have yet seen. And in Richard Harris as King Richard they have an actor with such brilliance and potency that he could be reading the phone book and it would still come out as Shakespeare.

Ian Holm, Robert Shaw and Ronnie Barker (amongst distinguished others) also lend their considerable talents to make this so much more than it might have been without such a talented director at it's helm.

And thusly, we are left with a film forgotten by many, which feels and looks beautiful and speaks to every daredevil and romantic out there. Cracking stuff.