The Son of Robin Hood

Another pan and scan atrocity from the Fox Cinema Archives
Warner Bros started a welcome trend with their no-frills DVDs on demand line, promising to eventually release their entire library encompassing MGM, RKO, Monogram, Allied Artists, a treasure trove for collectors indeed! I've remained an avid such collector in spite of the line's relatively high pricing policy, given that they are only DVD-Rs after all, and that as a down under resident, I'm additionally up for higher postal fees. Happily, the MGM/UA, Columbia/Sony and Universal vaults quickly followed the market and Warner began remastering a number of key films which further enhanced their product. Finally, Fox has joined this trend-promising great things given that their three-strip technicolor musicals and period films were so spectacular looking in their heyday, and the Cinemascope revolution of the 50s created a whole new ball game. Well, Fox is dropping the ball by releasing pan and scan prints of some of its titles and I'm particularly unhappy that The Son of Robin Hood, a...

Bad Robin Hood echo from land of childhood.
I saw this Robin Hood film in the movie theater as a child. I was overjoyed to get the chance to see it again. I was prepared for anything, so I am not disapointed even though the plot is silly, the acting is worse, the swordfights seems without director and swords and halberds are clearly made of wood. No, it's allright, nostalgia is great fun. But the quality is bad. In close ups the picture is perhaps acceptable but when the knights ride in the landscabe and scenes alike, it is as seeing the film through a haze. It's dizzy and unsharp. Therefore I can only give it two stars simply for seeing it again.

Rip-off Robin!
20th Century Fox, you should be ashamed! All right, SORH is no classic, but this is a dreadful print with no re-mastering and a 1:33:1 pan and scan TV image to boot. Sadly I didn't check the aspect ratio before I hit the "buy" button. How any studio can put out rubbish like this, at such an inflated price (plus UK postage for us Brits) is beyond me - especially in an age when the competition is consistently releasing back catalogue titles in their original aspect ratios. Frankly the old video copy I already own is just as good, picture-wise.

As for the film, it's entertaining enough in a fin-de-siecle sort of way; David Hedison makes quite a charming hero, June Laverick is perky enough (with smashing legs, I'm non-PC enough to note), and David Farrar gives an expansive turn sporting a fright wig as the baddie. The action scenes are pretty ropey , although the final multi-weapon set-to is reasonably exciting and you can play "spot the stuntman" as Bob Simmons rather...

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