#95: FULL METAL JACKET (1987)

 

THRILL SCALE 1-10

6

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, 15+ years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

The climax of the boot camp sequence is filmed like a horror movie and it is genuinely chilling

BEST LINE

"Bullshit. I bet you could suck a golf ball through a garden hose." - Gunnery Sergeant Hartman

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

92%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Intense, tightly constructed, and darkly comic at times, Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket may not boast the most original of themes, but it is exceedingly effective at communicating them."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue."

THOUGHTS

• Not only is this our first Stanley Kubrick film, it's also our first war movie, of which there will be several. And I'll admit, the war movies may be a little hard for me to assess. The actuality of the Vietnam War, the sheer destruction and loss that result from any war, the inhumanity that occurred during this time period, these are all pretty heavy topics to unpack in my silly little blog in which I wax poetic about Dennis Hopper blowing up a bus. To assign a Thrill Score to a movie like Full Metal Jacket feels glib at best, insensitive at worst. Just know that we are still treating these movies as movies, and we are not necessarily addressing the concepts behind these films. War is not thrilling, war is not action-packed. War is terrible, and war is Hell
• And to be fair, most war movies take this exact same point of view. Full Metal Jacket has a particular focus on the way war dehumanizes its active participants. We spend the first 45 minutes of this movie going through Marine boot camp, during which the recruits are emotionally disassembled through physical, verbal and mental abuse, only to be reassembled into pliant, obedient weapons. This effect lasts through the rest of the movie, as well. The characters are rarely ever referred to by their actual names, they mostly go by the nicknames assigned by their brutal drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, played by R. Lee Ermey
• Famously, before acting in this movie, Ermey was a real drill instructor and he started as just a technical advisor for Kubrick. He was then cast in the movie, and ad-libbed most of his lines. If you can get past the homophobic, fatphobic and racist abuse he heaps on the recruits, you can definitely find some pitch-black comedy in parts of this performance. He then went on to have a fairly long film career, including as the voice of the main Army Man, Sarge, in Toy Story. I can guarantee you there are some pretty amazing mashups of these two movies out there on the interwebs
• Vincent D'Onofrio appears, also in his first major film role, playing Private Pyle (nicknamed after Gomer Pyle, incidentally, a character from The Andy Griffith Show who went on to have a Marines-based spinoff show). Private Pyle receives the brunt of Hartman's ire, culminating in the above-mentioned climax of the boot camp sequence. Christian Bale and Robert De Niro are always brought up as actors who go through extreme physical transformations for roles, but check out Vincent D'Onofrio! These two movies both came out in 1987! (Full Metal Jacket and Adventures in Babysitting)

• After the boot camp sequence, we then go to Vietnam with the Marines, and the movie becomes a bit more of a generic war movie. There are some notably difficult scenes in which the Marines' utter disregard for the enemy is on full display. They do not see the Vietnamese soldiers, or even the civilians, as human beings; they see them as things to kill, as they were trained. This is the kind of movie in which the concepts of "good guys" and "bad guys" become increasingly murky, even just amongst the Americans
• We end with a fairly tense scene in which an American squad is pinned down by a Vietnamese sniper. They are eventually forced to confront the enemy as an individual person, and they are left with a choice between mercy and indifference. Of the latter half of the movie, this part is definitely the most effective
• When it came out, Full Metal Jacket was somewhat overshadowed by Platoon, which won the Best Picture Oscar for 1986, and which we'll be talking about a little later (it's #72 on the list). On rewatch, I remembered the boot camp sequence pretty well, but I was surprised by how little I remembered of the Vietnam section. I don't think it's the most effective war movie I've ever seen, but the more I've been thinking about it to write this review, the more of an effect it's had on me. This is a very good movie. But I don't necessarily think it's thrilling, at least not in the way I like my thrills. If this description intrigues you, though, I recommend watching it if you haven't

Up Next: #94, The China Syndrome. I know nothing about this movie. Through some light Googling, it looks like it's about a nuclear power plant, but I don't even know if it's a disaster movie or more of an investigative thriller. We'll find out!

#96: BLUE VELVET (1986)

TW: Sexual violence and assault; kidnapping

 

THRILL SCALE 1-10

7

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but it was roughly 15 years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

Candy-coloured clown they call the sandman

NSFW

BEST LINE

"HEINEKEN?! Fuck that shit! PABST BLUE RIBBON!" - This is a fun thing to yell at people you see drinking Heineken, and it's even more fun if you happen to be drinking PBR at the time. Guaranteed to make you a big hit at parties

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"If audiences walk away from this subversive, surreal shocker not fully understanding the story, they might also walk away with a deeper perception of the potential of film storytelling."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child."

THOUGHTS

• The chilling, disturbing nature of this movie is entirely contributed by Dennis Hopper's performance as the villain Frank Booth. He is a brutal, sadistic psychopath who seems to act entirely on impulse. One gets the sense that Frank Booth himself doesn't really plan his actions any further than five seconds into the future, and that unpredictability makes him a terrifying wildcard
• The interesting thing about this performance is that Hopper is playing it straight, but if you pitch it slightly differently, or you take certain scenes, lines or mannerisms out of the context of the full movie, you could be forgiven for thinking it's supposed to be comical. His excessive vulgarity, especially, approaches absurdity; he swears in nearly every single line of dialogue he has
• His introductory scene, however, in which he physically and sexually assaults Isabella Rossellini, is so bleak and so starkly violent, that it colours the entire performance for the rest of the film. We see what kind of a person he is right away, and it's impossible to forget, even if the character's crassness may be played for laughs in a very different kind of movie
• While he also played a mass-murdering psychopath in Speed, Blue Velvet is certainly a darker movie and a darker performance, partly because of how much more raw and graphic it is. Funny that two of Hopper's best-known villains appear so close together on this list of 100 movies, and I believe this may be the last we see of Dennis Hopper on the AFI's list, unless Waterworld or Super Mario Bros. make a surprise appearance
• Isabella Rossellini, as Dorothy Vallens, is also extremely effective as the woman being terrorized and sexually blackmailed by Frank. She projects such desperation and vulnerability
• Kyle MacLachlan plays our protagonist, and he's good, especially when you can tell he's scared out of his wits by his interactions with Frank. Kyle's budding romance with Laura Dern was fine, didn't do much for me, but it was kind of nice to have a little bit of optimism in a movie like this
• I haven't seen much David Lynch, but I do feel like I have a good sense of his style. By all accounts this is one of his more plot-focused movies, but there are some very bizarre parts to it, including the scene highlighted above. Certainly, this is way more coherent than something like Eraserhead
• Finally, Kyle MacLachlan's urbane college student, Jeffrey, sure does love Heineken. "Man, I like Heineken! You like Heineken?" he says to Laura Dern at the start of one of their dates. I'm sure this trait is intended to say something about his character, but I prefer to think of it as very ill-advised product placement, especially considering Frank's vociferous critique of Heineken when compared to a nice, cold PBR

Up next: Stanley Kubrick has a total of five movies on the 100 Thrills list. We'll be looking at the first of his five, Full Metal Jacket

#97: SAFETY LAST! (1923)

 

THRILL SCALE 1-10

5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

The climactic building climb

BEST LINE

“...” - Everyone

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

97%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Persuasive enough to give audiences acrophobia when they aren't laughing at Harold Lloyd's antics, Safety Last! is a marvel of visual effects and slapstick comedy."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

“A boy leaves his small country town and heads to the big city to get a job. As soon as he makes it big his sweetheart will join him and marry him. His enthusiasm to get ahead leads to some interesting adventures.”

THOUGHTS

• Due to its age, Safety Last! is in the public domain. So if by any chance you do want to watch it, the whole movie is easily available on Youtube. That's how I saw it
• This isn't a very plot-dependent movie, so I'll just describe it. The main character is a department store employee. He has a friend who's really good at climbing buildings. Main character overhears the storeowner say that he'll give $1000 to anyone with a good idea for a promotional stunt. Main character suggests his friend climbing the building will be good for business. Friend gets chased around by a cop, so main character has to climb the building instead. Seriously, that's the plot
• I haven't seen many (if any) silent movies, but this one has Harold Lloyd playing the protagonist, and Lloyd is considered an icon of silent comedy, alongside Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Lloyd did a lot of the stunts himself, and there was a certain amount of movie magic used to make the stunts less dangerous than they look, but they're still pretty impressive (and by the sounds of it, they were also still pretty dangerous)
• But while this was undoubtedly mind-blowing in 1923, that was also 100 years ago and we've come a long way since then. Watching Harold Lloyd climb the outside of a building is pretty cool, but he's still just...climbing a building. It's not exactly riveting stuff. Apologies to Tom Cruise in Ghost Protocol, which I haven't actually seen
• I'm sure this movie is included in this list for historical reasons, which is understandable and we'll have a few more like it, but they'll be hard-pressed to stack up to more modern stuff, at least in my opinion, which is the sole criterion of this blog
• Side-note, the aforementioned friend who can climb buildings like the dickens is named "Limpy" Bill, which is delightful
• Up above, under best quote, I made a silent movie joke, because I'm a clever boy like that. But there was some good old-timey wit in some of the title cards, and some good sight gags
• For example, in describing the main character's superior: "Mr. Stubbs - Head Floorwalker. Muscle-bound - From patting himself on the back." Something very quaint about that
• And having said that, my favourite part of the movie was probably seeing the depiction of working as a 1920s retail employee. The customers stay past the store's closing time, they fight over merchandise, and they ask annoying questions. As an ex-retail employee myself, I can confirm, some things never change

Up next: #96 on the list, and the first which is mostly thrilling because it's actually pretty disturbing, David Lynch's Blue Velvet. I'm also now remembering that movie titles should be italicized, so...moving forward, they will be!

#98: BLOOD SIMPLE (1984)

 

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

No, first time

BEST SEQUENCE

A mid-movie scene that takes place on and beside a dark, deserted road.

BEST LINE

“I got a job for you.”

“Uh, well, if the pay's right, and it's legal, I'll do it.”

“It's not strictly legal.”

“Well, if the pay’s right, I’ll do it.”

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

“Brutally violent and shockingly funny in equal measure, Blood Simple offers early evidence of the Coen Brothers' twisted sensibilities and filmmaking ingenuity.”

IMDB SYNOPSIS

“The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues.”

THOUGHTS

• If it wasn’t obvious from my deliberately vague description of my favourite scene, this is one of those times when I’m going to avoid giving away too much of this movie. It twists and it turns, and I was very glad I got the chance to watch it entirely unspoiled. I really knew next to nothing going into it, and it caught me off guard more than once. In fact, I slightly modified the IMDB synopsis above because it gave away just a little too much. Although “mischief” is a weird word to use, IMDB, it makes it sound like they decide to egg each other’s houses. Things get considerably darker than that.
• This is a movie about regular people making dangerous choices based on the information available to them. However, unbeknownst to them, the information available never ever provides the full picture. The intricate part of the plot is that this is never really anyone’s fault. If I was in some of these situations, seeing the evidence and the things these characters were seeing, I’d probably jump to some of the same conclusions (if not follow through on the same courses of action)
• Great cast. You’ve got Frances McDormand in her first film role (by the way, see her in Nomadland this year, she’s great in it). You’ve got Dan Hedaya, possibly best known as Cher’s dad from Clueless, entirely loathsome in this. And you’ve got John Getz, who I don’t recognize from anything else, but he conveys a lot in very few words.
• Best of all, though, is M. Emmet Walsh playing a real piece of shit. He speaks in a whiny Southern drawl that pretty much lets you know he’s a piece of shit before he even starts acting like one (although that doesn’t take very long at all).
• The score is effectively moody and sparse, but my favourite musical component was the repeated use of “It’s the Same Old Song” by The Four Tops, especially as an end credits needle drop after a pretty intense climax and a great final line. Ashley and I have been humming it all week.

• Some very effective lighting effects and camera movements
• For years now, I’ve considered the Coens’ Fargo as one of my all-time favourite movies, and it certainly shares DNA with this one, the first movie the Coens ever made. Fargo is set in snowy Minnesota, Blood Simple in sweaty small-town Texas, but they’re both about normal people making dangerous choices, getting in over their heads, and ultimately dealing with the consequences in one way or another. Not to mention that they both star Frances McDormand, although in very different roles. While Fargo does have some thrilling scenes of its own, Blood Simple is probably the more thrilling of the two, and I can definitely see myself coming back to it.

Up next: #97 on the list, Safety Last!, a silent romantic comedy from 1923. I haven’t seen it, and I’m really not sure what to expect in terms of thrills, but I suspect this movie is included because of the bonkers physical stunts that some of those old silent movies featured. This one is best known for a scene in which the main character dangles from the hands of a giant clock on the outside of a skyscraper

#99: SPEED (1994)

 

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, a few times

BEST SEQUENCE

If I have to choose, the early part where Keanu chases after the bus and jumps onto it, but really, the entire middle hour of this movie is a glorious thrill ride that just won’t quit

BEST LINE

“Pop quiz, hotshot” - Choosing this because it’s a line that I say frequently myself, and for years I didn’t even know what it was from. In truth, I may have first picked it up from the Leslie Nielsen movie Spy Hard, which has a Speed parody scene and also includes this line and is a really terrible movie.

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

“A terrific popcorn thriller, Speed is taut, tense, and energetic, with outstanding performances from Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, and Sandra Bullock.”

IMDB SYNOPSIS

“A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.”

THOUGHTS

• Let’s cut to the chase. As mentioned above, I think the middle hour of this movie, everything that happens on “the bus that couldn’t slow down,” is perfect. If that was all this movie consisted of, I’d happily give it a 10/10 on the Thrill Scale. The driving stunts are some of the best I’ve seen, and I whole-heartedly buy into the escalating series of events.
• The AFI put this at number 99 on their list, but I really think it deserves a higher placement, maybe even in the top 20.
• Do some of the events strain credulity? Sure. But you don’t have enough TIME to stop and question anything! Buckle in and just enjoy the ride. And I’m being extra picky here in even pointing this out, I’ve never watched this movie and scoffed in disbelief. I just grin in delight.
• When you boil a movie like this down to a one-sentence description, you sell it short. I mean, essentially yes, this movie is about a bus that can’t slow down or it will explode. But the fun part is in what the movie does with this bus! The filmmakers thoroughly explored the potential of this scenario in a way that makes sense to me and leaves me satisfied with the situations they chose to throw at this bus. I also think the pacing is top-notch.
• Keanu Reeves doesn’t bring a ton of personality to his role, but I think that’s perfectly fine - it’s not needed. He sells the action, performs some pretty impressive stunts, and hey, he’s not too hard on the eyes either!
• Besides, we’ve got Dennis Hopper and Sandra Bullock for personality. Hopper is cocky and crazed, with some great line deliveries, and Bullock is cute and capable, with some very 90s frilly socks.
• We’ve also got some familiar faces playing passengers on the bus, including Alan Ruck (Cameron from Ferris Bueller) and, much to my delight, an actress named Beth Grant, who I recognized from the Dinner Party episode of The Office, in which she played Dwight’s former babysitter/current dinner party date (“Purely carnal. That’s all you need to know.”)
• So why, oh why, does this movie only get a 9/10 on the Thrill Scale? Well, the bookends of this movie, the first half hour and the last half hour, just can’t compare to what comes between them. And the thing is, these set pieces are fine! Like I don’t think they’re awful, they just pale in comparison to the impeccable middle hour. Am I being too harsh in dropping this movie down on the Thrill Scale just because the middle section is an act that can’t be topped? Maybe. But you know what they say, life isn’t...fare…
• And on that note, I shall leave you with Ashley’s one-sentence review: “Speed: You can tap on but you can’t tap out”

Up next: #98 on the list, the Coen Brothers’ first movie, Blood Simple. Despite being a big fan of the Coens, this is one I’ve never seen, so I’m looking forward to it!

#100-B: ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991) & ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (1993) & DISNEY’S ROBIN HOOD (1973)

 

ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

No, first time watching it

BEST SEQUENCE

The execution rescue scene

BEST LINE

“Locksley! I’m going to cut your heart out with a spoon!” - The Sheriff of Nottingham, with a pretty good threat

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

51%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves brings a wonderfully villainous Alan Rickman to this oft-adapted tale, but he's robbed by big-budget bombast and a muddled screenplay.”

IMDB SYNOPSIS

“When Robin and his Moorish companion come to England and the tyranny of the Sheriff of Nottingham, he decides to fight back as an outlaw.”

THOUGHTS

• Well, let’s get it out of the way. Kevin Costner, as Robin Hood, is really bad in this. Most famously, he was ripped apart for his English accent, and it really is quite terrible, especially since you can tell that in some scenes there was an unsuccessful attempt. More importantly for me, though, he’s just so incredibly boring in this movie in general. He’s a black hole of charisma, and you’d think an outlaw leader living in a treehouse town would be having a little more fun, but he really isn’t interesting to watch.
• I’m not sure why, but I feel like I’ve always had an affection for Kevin Costner, despite not having seen him in much. I think he’s good in The Untouchables, and at some point in my life I’ve seen Field of Dreams and Bull Durham, and that’s about it. Thinking about those movies, Kevin Costner is maybe just a boring actor and that’s his range? It works in The Untouchables because that’s the character’s whole deal, but come on, Robin Hood needs a little more pep.
• Alan Rickman as the Sheriff, on the other hand, you can tell he’s having a good time, and that was generally the critical consensus. But in my opinion, he’s fine. Sure, he’s more interesting than Kevin Costner. But he doesn’t make this movie worth watching.
• He got more and more unhinged towards the end of the movie, but at the beginning I got distinct Hans Gruber vibes. If I want to get Hans Gruber vibes, though, I’m just going to watch Die Hard (a movie that we’ll be talking about in full a little later, and I can’t wait)
• The rest of the cast is also pretty much fine, with some more inconsistent accents. Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman pretty much sound like Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman. Respectively, I mean, they didn’t swap voices or anything, although I do think that would look and sound hilarious.
• The first half of the movie is terribly dull. I’m fairly certain Robin doesn’t even shoot an arrow until minute 56
• There are a couple of good action scenes in the back half of the movie - the Sheriff attacks Robin’s hideout, burning it down, and that’s pretty thrilling. As well, as mentioned above, the climactic sequence in which Robin saves a group of his men from hanging is pretty effective. Nice to finally be able to say that the climax of a movie is the best part, especially after most of the Marvel movies left me a little cold

ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (1993)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

4

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but it’s probably been 20+ years

BEST SEQUENCE

Little hard to choose a best sequence in a movie like this, but I’ll go with the rapid-fire gags in the training montage.

BEST LINE

“Because, unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent.” - Robin, explaining why the people of England will follow him

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

40%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

“Undisciplined, scatological, profoundly silly, and often utterly groan-worthy, Robin Hood: Men in Tights still has an amiable, anything-goes goofiness that has made it a cult favorite.”

IMDB SYNOPSIS

“A spoof of Robin Hood in general, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) in particular.”

THOUGHTS

• Fun fact, Mel Brooks has not directed a movie since 1995 when he directed Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Robin Hood was the second-last movie he directed, and we can be honest, this is not peak Mel Brooks
• But did I have fun? Sure. More fun than I had watching the movie this was directly parodying
• I love Cary Elwes. He was clearly having a ball in this, and he’s actually pretty good at sword fighting, as we’ve seen in The Princess Bride, leading to this having a higher-than-expected Thrill Score!
• Richard Lewis as Prince John and Roger Rees as the Sheriff are also pretty fun! Slimy and sleazy
• All of these live-action Robin Hood movies include a scene where someone gets whacked on the butt with the broad side of a sword. Was sword spanking actually a thing?! Let me know, all you medieval scholars, and put your research to good use
• Jokes that flew miles over my head when I was a pre-teen:
• When trying to rouse the troops Robin makes an attempt at an inspiring speech by emulating Winston Churchill. This falls flat, so Dave Chappelle puts on some Malcolm X glasses and actually succeeds. Definitely would not have recognized the references, and especially the glasses.
• There is an attempt to assassinate Robin, in which a sniper hides out in a tower to shoot Robin with a crossbow. There’s a sign in the tower which reads “Royal Folio Depository,” referencing the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK from the Texas School Book Depository.
• And yeah, Dave Chappelle was in this movie, in his film debut!
• And finally, a couple more lines that made me laugh:
• Isaac Hayes, as Asneeze, describing his son, Ahchoo: “He is in need of guidance. He is headstrong and cocksure. Or is it the other way around?”
• Robin’s servant, Blinkin, presenting Robin with a gift left to him by his late father: “Your father wanted me to give you this. He said that inside is the key to the greatest treasure in all the land...May I keep it?”

ROBIN HOOD (1973)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

4

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but it’s been even longer, 25+ years

BEST SEQUENCE

The Phony King of England song

BEST LINE

“You heard his mightiness, move it, creepy, get lost. Begone, long one.” - Little John, in disguise, shooing away Sir Hiss

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

54%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

“One of the weaker Disney adaptations, Robin Hood is cute and colorful but lacks the majesty and excitement of the studio's earlier efforts.”

IMDB SYNOPSIS

“The story of the legendary British outlaw is portrayed with the characters as humanoid animals.”

THOUGHTS

• I liked it! Fun voice acting, appealing characters, and nice animation and scenery.
• He’s a very prolific and famous actor, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Peter Ustinov in anything else. He plays Prince John the lion in this and he’s hilarious!
• I always had it in my head that Little John in this and Baloo from The Jungle Book were portrayed as the same bear. Phil Harris voiced both, but nope, they’re definitely different bears. Little John is brown and Baloo is grey
• I had the same idea about Sir Hiss from this and Kaa from The Jungle Book. They’re even further removed, though. Different voice actors and different appearance, although they do both hypnotize people with their eyes.
• At some point, practically every character in this movie says “oo-de-lally,” to the extent that I started to wonder if it was actually an expression from medieval England, but nah, apparently it was popularized in the 1950s. So much for verisimilitude.
• Also, multiple characters refer to the Sheriff as “bushel-britches” which is such an oddly specific thing to say more than once.
• Another pretty good escape scene as a climax!

And now, time to compare all four Robin Hood movies I watched!

Best Robin Hood: Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood

Best Maid Marian: Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood

Best Prince John: It's a tie! Claude Rains in The Adventures of Robin Hood, Peter Ustinov in Disney, and Richard Lewis in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, I like them all. But Prince John isn’t even a character in Prince of Thieves!

Best Sheriff of Nottingham: Alan Rickman in Prince of Thieves

Best Little John: Phil Harris in Disney

Best Friar Tuck: Mel Brooks as Rabbi Tuckman in Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Best romance between Robin and Maid Marian: Disney

Best Action: The Adventures of Robin Hood. If I could go back, I might even bump that Thrill Score up to a 7/10, but I shall try my best not to change scores after they’re decided

Up next: Speed! And spoiler alert, for the first time we’ll be talking about a movie that I think should be much, much higher up on the list!

#100: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)

 

THRILL SCALE 1-10

6

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

No, first time watching it

BEST SEQUENCE

Robin’s escape from execution. About to be hanged, Robin's men rescue him, and there's a really cool part where Robin chops through a rope, dropping a heavy portcullis, and riding the rope to the top of the gate.

BEST LINE

“There’s a lusty infant!” - Robin Hood, the first time he sees Little John

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

100%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

“Errol Flynn thrills as the legendary title character, and the film embodies the type of imaginative family adventure tailor-made for the silver screen.”

IMDB SYNOPSIS

“When Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army.”

THOUGHTS

• Errol Flynn certainly dashing as Robin Hood
• Claude Rains as Prince John is not intimidating in the least, just whiny and obnoxious. Sometimes that makes for a perfectly hateable villain, though, and that’s surely what they were going for
• Basil Rathbone as Guy of Gisbourne, on the other hand, is supposed to be the intimidating one, but he doesn’t leave much of an impression. His climactic sword fight with Robin is pretty exciting, however
• Olivia de Havilland is a lovely Maid Marian
• Impressive sets and beautiful scenery. And you have to love the costumes
• Some of the action scenes have a weird sped-up, cartoony quality. Just a filming technique from back then, I suppose
• In some scenes the good guys are killing dudes in cold blood by shooting them through the heart with arrows, and in other scenes they’re swinging around on vines and jumping out of trees like frigging Ewoks
• The archery is really quite effective, though, and the arrows thunk into the bad guys with an impact you can feel. At first I assumed it was just movie magic and they weren’t real arrows, but according to Wikipedia, “Stunt men and bit players, padded with balsa wood on protective metal plates, were paid $150 per arrow for being shot by professional archer Howard Hill.” Sure, I’ll take an arrow for $150, come at me
• Lots of talk about the Normans and the Saxons, and I have so little knowledge about English history that I have no idea what either means
• While I chose Robin’s “lusty infant” line as the best line of the movie, just because of how bizarre it sounded, there were actually quite a few great lines throughout the movie:

Maid Marian, to Robin: “Why, you speak treason!”
Robin: “Fluently”

Maid Marian, defending herself, after being caught helping Robin Hood: “I’d do it again if you killed me for it”

Prince John: “Prophetic speech, my lady. For that is exactly what is going to happen to you.”

• And lastly, perhaps my actual favourite line.

Will Scarlet enters and sees Friar Tuck (a portly fellow) for the first time.

Robin, to Will: “It’s all right, he’s one of us.”

Will: “One of us?! He looks like three of us!”

• I mean, come on...that’s just funny.

Up next: We supplement the AFI's 100 Thrills list for the first time by checking out a more modern Robin Hood story with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.