I grew up with ITV's Robin of Sherwood series, and for me, it will always be the definitive, the best, treatment of this legend. I admit that it was only when I was older that I was able to see some of its historical shortcomings and so on, but I am still willing to overlook those details because this is simply smashing story-telling at its best.
The Pros -
- The soundtrack. Clannad was an inspired choice by the producers. They were already making a name for themselves, but they had just the right touch of 80s synth Celt pop to evoke scenes of misty lakes, Avalon and all that, which dovetailed neatly with this particular treatment of Robin Hood.
- The 'gritty realism'.
Ok, this comes with a caveat - the Norman knights look like they all came off the same sprue, and the chainmail was suspiciously fabric; Robin's long hair wouldn't look out of place on an early 80s rocker; but this was the first time I'd seen 'medieval' film where the castles didn't look like painted styrofoam in a Hollywood set (eg Xena, Hercules later in the 90s continuing this time-honoured Hollywood tradition). Nor did it have an electic mix of Mongols, Middle easterners and Teutonic knights in some kind of medieval version of a multi-cultural New York (again, Xena etc). There were a few bloopers, eg when a woman in the market outside Nottingham castle shouts "apples! And oranges!! (??) Get your apples and oranges!" but we can forgive those.
The castles looked real (because they were) - dimly lit, smoky, rush-strewn floors and rough hewn furniture.
The dialogue sounded real - because the actors spoke in regional British accents and sounded convincingly familiar with the politics and concerns of the time. It was very credible.
The Cons -
Ok, I mentioned the few things that will jar with historical purists above already.
My only other observation is that in later life I came to see the portrayal of the Church as a bit one-sided to put it mildly. Yes, no doubt there were quite a few grasping cynical churchmen like the Abbot Hugo (I love the scene in Episode 6 Series 1 when Richard Lionheart returns, Hugo: "This isn't a council, but an auction") but a more nuanced treatment would have been more realistic. In fact, when Richard I was ransomed, the Cistercian order alone paid almost a third of the ransom demanded, because although Richard was a bad king (which even the ITV series acknowledges) John would have been a much worse one (and so it proved). Sure, Friar Tuck is an exception, but the implication in the series is that's because he ran away to the woods, and the Merry Men tend towards the pagan (Herne etc) whereas even as Outlaws they probably would still have carried quite a bit of their religious formation with them. I'm sure this objection won't bother most viewers, but the more I read and learn of medieval history, the more I see that the 20th - 21st century view of those times tends to be filtered through current perceptions.
I forgot one other pro - one thing I always loved about this series is the constant background of birdsong, as a lot of it was filmed on site in woods etc. How it makes my heart soar to hear it still!
Technical info - the DVD is great quality, as good as it appeared on the TV back in the day. SD was the norm then there wasn't any HD or 4K, so younger audiences might shake their heads in puzzlement at the obvious 'grain'. The sound can be a bit iffy here and there for the same reason, though it's quite acceptable and the dialogue generally clear. One other problem is there are no subtitles. Teachers, the hard-of-hearing and non-native speakers of English may find this a bit of a problem.
