The film begins when a miller, who is poaching deer on lands belonging to the King of England, is detected by a hunting party led by the cruel Norman knight Sir Miles Folcanet. The miller flees the hunting party until he runs into a Saxon earl, Robert Hode and his friend, Will. The miller pleads for help and Will urges Hode to intercede, as the Normans arrive threatening to poke the miller's eyes out. Folcanet is enraged by Hode's interference and demands that Hode be punished by the local Sheriff (shire-reeve) Roger Daguerre, who is Hode's friend.
Privately Daguerre confides to Hode that he needs peace with Folcanet because he has agreed to give Daguerre a large portion of his niece Marian's wealth once they are married. Publicly Daguerre orders a single stroke of the whip for Hode after he apologizes; Hode is enraged, insulting Daguerre and is outlawed as a result. He flees into Sherwood Forest, meets John Little and the usual cast of Merry Men and under the name "Robin Hood" takes up arms and fights against the Norman nobility. After seeing Hode's Merry Men humiliate Folcanet, Marian joins their band in disguise, until a disgruntled outlaw recognizes her and betrays her to the Sheriff.
Hode convinces everyone to attack Nottingham Castle to stop the wedding, certain that she loves him. Folcanet is defeated and Daguerre is convinced to set aside their feud and bless the marriage of Robin and Marian.
The film shares some of its underlying plot with the famous 1938 swashbuckler, The Adventures of Robin Hood, concentrating on the struggle between Normans and Saxons. Details of the storyline and the identities of the characters differ widely, however, between the two versions.
Although the familiar characters Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and Much the Miller's Son appear in this version, the traditional Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisbourne have been replaced by original antagonists. The Baron Daguerre takes the Sheriff's place as the scheming, greedy tax collector (though in this version, he is originally Robin's friend) and Folcanet stands in for Guy as the violent, vindictive knight after Robin's head (and Marian's maidenhead).[6] Unlike many modern versions of the story, King Richard does not appear at the end and instead Daguerre is reconciled with Hode and promises a future where Saxons and Normans are treated equally.
Filming
Film set at Peckforton Castle
It was filmed on location at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, England, a medieval-style Victorian era edifice built between 1842 and 1851. Some filming was also done near Betws-y-Coed in North Wales. Other filming locations were Beeston Castle and various locations within the Frodsham area including Heathercliffe and St Lawrence Church.
Release
20th Century Fox was originally supposed to release Robin Hood only domestically, with Carolco Pictures handling international territories. However, the deal fell through due to financial problems and as a result, Carolco called off distribution deals for the film. Fox then decided to release Robin Hood internationally as well, starting off with Japan in mid-April 1991, the UK in May and the rest of the world in June. In the United States, the film was broadcast as a three-hour-long television film on the broadcasting block Fox Night at the Movies on 13 May.[7]
The film grossed £387,139 in the United Kingdom and $23 million worldwide.[2][3]
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