1991 was such a monumental summer. Terminator 2 was the highly anticipated sequel that delivered, but it was also the summer of Backdraft, Point Break, Naked Gun 2 1/2, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, the cultural moment of Thelma & Louise and the surprise of City Slickers. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was the second biggest movie of the year and it also delivered a modern Robin Hood in a way that two subsequent reboots didn’t. We’ll see how The Death of Robin Hood compares this year.
The Arrow 4K UHD edition looks mostly like it did in theaters back in 1991. The film is mainly set in outdoor bright sunlit green countrysides. The forest cover and some of the interiors get a little fuzzy, but still achieve some deep 4K shadows by torchlight in castle chambers. There are strong silhouettes inside shops. Perhaps the deepest shade of all is Alan Rickman’s black sheriff hair.
Arrow produced a new hour-long documentary featuring writer/producers Pen Densham and John Watson, the first AD, cinematographer, art director, set designer, editor and costume designer. The one actor is Daniel Peacock who certainly didn’t get shouted out in the 1991 promotional materials. That gives us the retrospective look back.
But, a 30-minute 1991 special hosted by Pierce Brosnan is a real find. This was Brosnan probably while he was shooting Lawnmower Man and he commits to exploring the true history of the Robin Hood legends. Brosnan could have played Robin Hood but this is as close as we’ll get.
The set features brief cast interviews from 1991 also, and the commentaries recorded for the 2003 DVD extended edition. Kevin Costner and director Kevin Reynolds give one, and Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman join Watson and Densham in another.
Like most early DVD actor commentaries, Slater and Freeman only remember sporadically about their scenes. Densham and Watson keep it going.
Costner speaks with Reynolds like a fellow director, highlighting the camerawork and angles. He also expresses his accent regrets. I was glad to hear Reynolds reference his Samuel L Jackson movie, though he didn’t name 187. Costner laments that all movies were rushed under 2 hours then. Well, he sure got his wish decades later, but most overlong movies aren’t as good as Costner’s epics.