Some scenes in the movie are extended slightly as well, We also learn in the new scenes that the witch is in fact the Sheriff’s mother, and also we see her spying on what he’s up to around the castle. For instance, there’s a ritual sequence – and it’s not the only one – around the half way point, that involves a cross, a skull and a dagger that’d take a bit of explaining to the anklebiters. I’m trying to go spoiler-light, but the main new material actually adds a pretty overt satanic edge that perhaps was wisely trimmed from what was supposed to be a family blockbuster. You get stuff that darkens his character. As much as people tend to want a version of Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves with more of Rickman in full scene-gobbling villain mode, you don’t get that in the new footage really. This isn’t the rollicking Rickman we get in the theatrical cut, either. The most substantive additions are three new scenes with the Sheriff and the Witch, where we learn more of the nature of their relationship. It’d be fair to say it’s not material that plays for comedy. The extra 12 minutes don’t just bring in more Rickman, they add a darker tone to the film. The problematic final act, involved a ‘comedy’ sequence of basically attempted sexual assault, certainly looks very different through modern eyes. Although – given the number of complaints the BBFC received around the time of the film’s original release – even the original version is now a 12 as well. Running to 155 minutes, the alternative cut added 12 minutes to the film, and instantly got it upgraded to a 12 certificate in the UK as a consequence. ![]() Thing is, whilst it confirmed the rumours of a version of the film with a lot more Rickman in it, he wasn’t the only addition. And on it came the much-rumoured extended cut of the film. ![]() There’s, for instance, a very slightly extended version of Con Air that came out, adding some stuff that in truth didn’t really add an iota to the movie.īut in the case of Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, Warner Bros duly revisited the movie for a two-disc special edition DVD release. One by-product is that studios also looked at ways to release popular catalogue titles more than once. It’s one reason why studios were able to make more ambitious films, because the DVD release offered the kind of commercial buffer that’s not there anymore. It was the proverbial licence to print money for movie studios, and the cash made by a DVD release comfortably offset a box office failure. And it turned out from my social media chats at the end of last week that there’s a good number of people who aren’t aware of it.īasically, in the early 2000s, the DVD market was in its prime. Thing is, though, what really gives the story credence is the subsequent emergence of a second cut of the film. I talked about that in a Film Stories podcast episode, here. The fact that director Kevin Reynolds was basically shut out of the editing room contributes to the legend, too. Nobody, to my record, has confirmed this who was involved in the film, but it’s one of those stories that’s also not been denied, and feels really rather plausible. But that it became clear Rickman was dominating and stealing the film, and thus it went back into the editing suite to reduce his screen time, and pop a bit more Costner back in. The legend goes that an early cut of the movie had a lot more of the late, great Alan Rickman in the film, as the Sheriff Of Nottingham. ![]() It was recommended too on last week’s Kermode & Mayo Film Review programme, where Doctor Kermode talked about the story of a very different cut of the film. I don’t hide my love of Kevin Costner films, and this was one I watched repeatedly growing up (and once I was grown up). Last week, I ended up in a conversation on social media about the 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. Light spoilers for Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves lie ahead.
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