Tag Archives: swashbuckling

Cool Things: The Adventures of Robin Hood

Posted by natechen on

Welcome to the merry month of May! For a while we’ve been looking at some old, black and white movies that are still worth the watching today. There’s still plenty of those out there, and I’m sure we’ll go back and look at them in time, there are a number of older movies, that you may not have heard of, which have been disqualified simply because they were shot in color. Well no more! This month we’re going to look at four great old movies that just so happen to have been made after the transition to color cinematography. Our first example is thematically appropriate in two ways!

The Adventures of Robin Hood is, in my mind, the definitive version of the legend. Why?

Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. Basil Rathebone as Guy of Gisborne. Claude Raines as Prince John! Some of the greatest large scale battle sequences outside Cecile B. DeMille before the starfighter sequences of Star Wars. This film practically oozes with talent and creativity, even as it breaks absolutely no new ground in terms of plot or story.

If you know anything about Robin Hood you already know the basics of this tale. The Good King is in exile, the Evil Prince oppresses the people, the Hero arises and fights the injustice. Hero gets caught but is saved with the help of the Heroine. In the end, the Good King returns and justice is done. It’s not The Downfall of The Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King because not all struggles are on that scale. Sometimes evil is petty and mean and transient and we wonder not if it will ever pass, but why it’s come right now and why it won’t leave us alone.

This movie shines in the strength of the actors. Everyone, from Much the Miller’s Son and Friar Tuck to the nameless knights at Prince John’s table, is given a solid reading. Even the cheesier lines are heartfelt. Flynn is swashbuckling incarnate, even more so than his Zorro counterpart, Tyrone Power. And Rathebone… he’s everything you could ever want in a villain. A razor sharp spring waiting to explode out and slash through anything that gets in his way.

They fight, of course. I could talk about it for hours, but it’d be better if you watched it for yourself.

The next best thing, after the actors, is the eye candy. The costume work, outdoor locations and all the set pieces in this movie are beautiful. Technicolor was a new technology at the time and the images don’t really have the same quality as modern day cameras would provide but even now it’s still beautiful. It’s almost like a watercolor painting brought to life.

Most importantly, it’s fun. Lots of fun. Sure, this story has it’s dark moments. All the good stories do – how could the joy at the end be as joyful if there weren’t a few dark times along the way? But it’s still more than worth it.

There’s nothing here that you haven’t seen somewhere else. But rarely will you see it like in The Adventures of Robin Hood. Check it out.

Cool Things: The Mark of Zorro

Posted by natechen on

Okay, that is not actually the plot of The Mark of Zorro but from the moment they meet each other on screen you know it’s what must happen. The razor sharp intensity of Basil Rathbone as Captain Esteban and Tyrone Power as the verbose, lacksidasical Don Diego Vega could not be more at odds with one another. We see the steel under Diego’s façade  for a moment during their first meeting but the shrewd don is quick to hide his dislike for Esteban and his partner in crime, the Alcalde, or governor, Luis Quintero. Instead of public displays against the powers that be, Diego adopts the persona of El Zorro, or The Fox, and becomes one of the first superheroes to grace the silver screen.

While not equipped with superpowers in the traditional sense, or even the advantages of masked geniuses like Batman, Zorro quickly strikes fear into the heart of the corrupt officials of California and, in doing so, rode into the minds of the American people. Zorro is charming, skilled and mysterious and, while things look bleak for a time, he never looses.

You may have noticed that this post begins with a spoiler. But, if you’re at all familiar with swashbuckling films or you’re paying any attention at all to the incredible tension between these two characters you’ll quickly realize that the battle between Power’s Zorro and Rathbone’s Esteban is more than a plot point. It’s an inevitable law of nature. The two must clash, and it will be a battle for the ages.

In fact, more than anything else, it’s the power of these two actors that makes the movie something more than basic swashbuckling fare. Power depicts Zorro with such panache, such flair, such incredible ease of attitude and motion that you can’t help but believe this dashing rogue is really the most shrewd plotter and deadly swordsman in all of California. Rathbone’s signature glare, supreme self-confidence and air of constant readiness is a brilliant contrast. It feels almost as if the two start their duel from their first meeting, only escalating to actual steel when verbal barbs and crafty schemes fail to get them what they want.

Oh, there are other brilliant moments in the movie. At any moment with Zorro or Esteban on the screen, they dominate it. When they share a scene we cannot tell where to look. There literally isn’t room for both of them there, and sooner or later one of them will have to go. For a study in well crafted rivalry there really is no film better than this one (although there might be some just as  good.)

The greatest tribute to any black and white film is to say it’s still worth watching today. For most swashbucklers, even some only a decade or two old, this isn’t the case. The acting tends to be mediocre, the action dated.

It’s true that the sword battles in The Mark of Zorro could be shot better, with better cinematography or special effects. But in terms of actual sword work these two actors are peerless and they demonstrate their skill with little of the flare or embellishment you see in action movies today – there’s nothing here but pulse pounding action.

The acting, as you’ve hopefully already gathered, is incredible.

The plot is timeless. We’ve all heard this story a million times before, but we don’t care because it’s such a fundamental tale. Sure, it’s not the greatest script, but sometimes it doesn’t have to be.

The Mark of Zorro. Watch it. You won’t be disappointed.