Keeping it real with Robin i' the hood
A flashback to the 1980s: M. and I have been watching some episodes of Robin of Sherwood.
This was the "Pagan" Robin Hood, thanks to the appearance therein of Herne the Hunter, not to mention bits of ceremonial magick.
Back in 1983, the show was a cult favorite in several senses of the term.
Now, it makes me think "Sir Walter Scott (think Ivanhoe) meets Dennis Wheatley." Or Hammer Studios in the Greenwood.
And then there is the issue of knitting. Dear reader, when you see characters wearing knitted "chain mail," you know it's a cheap production.
If you see male characters wearing knit tights, you might surmise that the director made his girlfriend the costume manager, because knitting was not even known in 12th-century England--not even by hand, let alone machine-knit.
In fact, if 12th-century male characters are wearing short tunics and tights, then the historical research for the film probably consisted of watching the 1922 version of Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., which seems to have set the fashion for most subsequent adaptations.
This was the "Pagan" Robin Hood, thanks to the appearance therein of Herne the Hunter, not to mention bits of ceremonial magick.
Back in 1983, the show was a cult favorite in several senses of the term.
Now, it makes me think "Sir Walter Scott (think Ivanhoe) meets Dennis Wheatley." Or Hammer Studios in the Greenwood.
And then there is the issue of knitting. Dear reader, when you see characters wearing knitted "chain mail," you know it's a cheap production.
If you see male characters wearing knit tights, you might surmise that the director made his girlfriend the costume manager, because knitting was not even known in 12th-century England--not even by hand, let alone machine-knit.
In fact, if 12th-century male characters are wearing short tunics and tights, then the historical research for the film probably consisted of watching the 1922 version of Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., which seems to have set the fashion for most subsequent adaptations.
posted by Chas S. Clifton at 10:07 PM Permalink
5 Comments:
While I won't go into the issue of knitted tights...
_History of Knitting_ shows pictures of knitted socks from Eqypt circa 1000, knitting became known in England circa 1500, and Italy somewhere in between.
You haven't watched much classic Dr. Who, have you? *g* The British just aren't hung up on special effects the way we Americans are; they just look at the cardboard backdrops and knitted "chain mail" and use their imaginations.
HR: It's a big jump from 1200 to 1500.
Mam: I did see some of those shows. Often filmed in gravel pits (i.e., alien planets) as I recall. But you would be right in thinking that I never was a Dr Who fanatic.
So is RoS out on DVD now? I've nver seen it. Heard a lot about it though.
You may think the anachronisms in Robin of Sherwood were bad, but you should have seen the recent utterly awful BBC version of Robin Hood. Eeeeuuuuwwww, it was dreadful. Bad accents, bad script, bad costumes, bad acting, bad, bad, bad.
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