Robin Hoods I have known...

[dangermousie]

Because I've been in a Robin Hood type of mood, I wanted to talk a bit about my favorite movie/book/TV versions.

I am a sucker for anything Robin Hood. Slap a 'this is about Robin Hood' label on it, and chances are I will check it out.

But this doesn't mean I like everything that is churned out. Some things (like the Kevin Costner abomination) give me hives and some just don't really grab me. But some? Own me. So here are 6 retellings of the story (one movie, two TV, and three book) that I really love. No order.

1. Robin of Sherwood (BBC)



This British 1980s series was one of my earliest fiction 'crushes' and has kept its favored status till this day. Robin is just a peasant in the grim 12th century world, who's had enough. Nobility is grasping and blind. There is love and honor, but it must be fought for, and sometimes lost anyway. This is my favorite cinematic version of this story, with its gritty, unpretty world; hard-won idealism; angsty, angry, and competent Robin; Marian strong as nails; great supporting characters; smattering of fantasy; and one of my favorite OTPs ever. They would have to do something incredible to displace it as my favorite screen version.

2. Sherwood and Robin and the King by Parke Godwin



This duology of novels moves the story back, to shortly after the battle of Hastings. Robin is a Saxon rebel thane, trying and failing to adjust in the new world. It's a harsh story, not very stinting with the brutalities and realities of the medieval world, with some amazing shippiness and ambivalence, and manages to make me adore both Robin and the Sheriff. And Marian is awesome. I have never finished the second novel because I can't bear the way it ends.

3. Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson



Pardon the cheesy cover. The version I have (an older printing) has a more normal one, but I can't find it on line :) Despite the cover, nope, not a romance novel. Romantic novel? Yes. Romance novel, the way they are usually defined? No. This is a feminist retelling of the story, centering on Marian (while Roberson manages a feat of being both feminist and not bending historical realities so much it will drive me straight out of the story). This is a 'prequel' to the legends, of sorts: Robin only becomes the rebel at the end. Marian is competent and clever, and strong. Robin is a traumatized, gorgeous, deadly mess (in this version he has just returned, 'not quite right' from the Crusades). It's pretty awesome. All the adventure, angst, and h/c you might want. I am not as big on the sequel, "Lady of Sherwood", but it's not bad.

4. The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley



I am not normally big on YA novels (just not my thing) but I love this one. It fleshes out every character, changes some backsttories, has interesting things to say about rebellion, roles of women etc etc. Awesome. But then McKinley usually is.

5. Hong Gil Dong (Korea)



tThis is not technically a RH story. HGD is Korea's version of an outlaw, stealing from the rich to give to the poor, and fighting authority. Yet, it's still one of the best retellings of the story. In its 24 eps, it made me laugh till I hiccuped and made me cry till I couldn't see. Gil Dong is an irresistable mix of boyishness, deep-seated anger, desperation to be loved, and humor. The romance makes me swoon, and the fights are almost as good as what it has to say about the unchanging of the power imbalance.

6. Robin Hood (1922)



A funny, fun, silent retelling of the story, this has nothing to offer in either its view of politics or deep-seated emotion, but boy, oh is it fun! How could it not be, if it starred Douglas Fairbanks.

Honorable Mention: The Errol Flynn movie version. A bit too technicolor-bright for me, but great fun anyway.

Comments

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

My favorite is Errol.
Disney runs a close second.

Would you be interested in an odd little genderbendy Robin Hood novel I wrote?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Icon!

Yeah,I would love to check it out!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think I permanently associate the Errol Flynn and Disney cartoon with the legend. Not because they're the best, but because they're what we had at home, and my mother always had them on. Most TV and theatrical versions the last 20~ years, though, seem to be based on a combination of the Flynn version and ROS.

I always kind of think the Costner RH wouldn't have been nearly as bad if it weren't for the completely wrong combination of the plot and the actor's ages in the setting. Costner was just wrong on every level. Masterson actually made a pretty decent Marion, it's just that she should have been playing a "later in the legend" Marion. Good Will Scarlet, though, if pretty much a ripoff of the ROS version.

I actually have the McKinley book somewhere, but haven't read it yet. I actually used to avoid YA, but gave into a few recs a few months back and am kinda sucked in. In general, they tend to be better written than a lot of other fiction is.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I completely forgot about the cartoon. I loved it!

The McKinley book is lovely, and reminds me that not all YA is like Stephenie Meyer.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Rule of thumb: At any point in time, the best known examples of any given genre are probably among the worst of the genre. What are the three best known YA series of the last few years? Twilight, Eragon, and Harry Potter. They're also arguably the best known urban fantay, high fantasy, and modern fantasy (and unless the movies rewrote the entire plot and the fandom lies to me, calling it modern fantasy instead of high is almost a nominal courtesy, as all the trappings save for time period are high fantasy.) And only one of those has any merit. And I'm told even it isn't very well written, just well characterizaed and with a good sense of world.

Eragon is the only YA I've read where I've despised the lead, and for that matter, I don't think I've ever read a fantasy with so many unlikable characters, or with such a generic plot, magic, and overuse of all the worst tropes, not to mention the characterization and worldview that's so simplistic they deliver the exact opposite message of what's intended. Twilight is one of the few books I've read where the prose itself made me unable to read it(though I have read excerpts from all three, and pretty detailed summaries from both lovers and haters.) I think the thing is that they just make it too easy to read without thinking, because they tell you what to think. It's probably also why most of the people you see in the bookstores who read them are people "normally don't read this kind of thing."

(And all that said, I can't say "I wish Eragon and Twilight didn't exist," because they get people who normally wouldn't read reading.)

Sleep deprived tangent over.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I adore Harry Potter and think it's very good and addictive. The other two? Yikes.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

While JKR makes me shake my head very sadly, HP itself I have a lot of respect for. Just not much interest.

Twilight and Eragon I just want to yell at to OMG GET OUT OF MY GENRES!!!

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the new BBC Robin Hood? It's pretty good (even though I've only seen two eps) and Richard Armitage is so very droolworthy!

I think my favourite Robin Hood retelling is Young Robin Hood :P

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't. Heard bad things about it :) Plus, the thought of Gisborn being hotter than Robin is scary :) But I might check it out one of these days.

[yavannie77.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry I have to say this but the new BBC Robin Hood is, IMO, rubbish and not worth spending much time on. However, I completely agree about Richard Armitage's droolworthiness, but other than that, there's not much good in it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

That's what I've heard :)

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Ah, Outlaws. One of my favorite re-reads. *happysigh*

I have Lady of the Forest somewhere, iirc. Or did, once. I did read it a long time ago, and I seem to recall liking it (the original cover was also way better, yes, I seem to recall lots of stylized fabrics and draperies worked into leaves.)

eta: found the original cover: http://www.cheysuli.com/author/covers/c.forest.gif

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, the original cover is much better. In the new one, I keep wondering how Robin got time and opportunity to wax.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Not to mention: he looks like a brunette in the new cover. (I knew there was something wrong about it, the first time I saw it)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Clearly, they spent so much attention on his waxed chest, they forgot to pay attention to the hair color...

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

The new BBC series got me interested again in Robin Hood (agree mostly with the general consensus that it's pretty ridiculous, but has cute guys living in a cool hang-out in the forest, so I enjoy it. *g*)

I read McKinley's book last year and liked it a lot. Ooh, I haven't heard of the "Sherwood" book though, it looks interesting. Thanks for the rec!

I've seen bits and pieces of the Errol Flynn, but it's a tad too corny for me. Have you read history_spork's parody of it? Very funny.

And now that you mention it, I remember that someone put the silent version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcB8fRm9oeo) up on youtube, in one big video. I'll have to put it on my "to watch" list.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Errol Flynn movie IS corny. Yay, thanks for the parody link!

[tatterpunk.livejournal.com]

Hong Dil Gong is a Robin Hood story?????

No one tells me the essentials, I swear. First the fact that SRK spends all of Asoka in eyeliner, and now this.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, and it's all sorts of awesome. There is an animated duck...