Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Though this Dolby Vision image came with anomalies baked into the source, it worked pretty well.
The filmmakers often opted for a somewhat gauzy impression, especially during the movie’s many candlelit interiors. This meant some shots felt a bit on the soft side.
Nonetheless, most of the film appeared accurate and well-defined. Even with some less than tight elements, the overall package showed good delineation.
No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt appropriate – and occasionally heavy – while the movie lacked print flaws.
The palette of Thieves opted for a green vibe that made sense given the forest setting. The colors seemed appropriate for these design choices, and HDR gave the hues some extra depth.
Blacks came across as dark and tight, while low-light shots appeared smooth and clear given the lighting choices. HDR added punch to whites and contrast. Thanks to the nature of the original photography and film stock, Thieves didn’t become a visual showpiece, but the 4K UHD represented it accurately.
While not a seriously impressive affair, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves worked well. The soundfield focused most heavily on the forward spectrum. Music demonstrated very nice stereo separation and imaging, and effects helped create a good sense of setting.
At times the track seemed a little “speaker specific”, and not all of the elements blended as well as I’d like. Nonetheless, they usually meshed pretty nicely.
The mix gave us a good feeling of atmosphere and came to life pretty well during action sequences. The surrounds contributed a good layer of reinforcement for the music.
They also kicked in some nice definition for fight scenes as well as some atmospheric attitude. It didn’t excel particularly, but the soundfield worked fine.
Although the soundfield was a little less involving than I’d expect, I thought the quality of the audio worked well. The score seemed especially terrific, as the music consistently sounded robust and dynamic. Bass response was tight and rich for the score.
Speech suffered from some slightly poor looping, but the lines remained fairly natural and distinct, and I heard no issues related to edginess or intelligibility. Effects occasionally sounded a little thick, but they mostly came across as accurate and distinctive.
They also displayed solid low-end material. This was a good mix, especially given its age.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray from 2009? Though the UHD’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 replaced the BD’s Dolby TrueHD 5.1, both seemed similar, if not identical.
The UHD’s Dolby Vision image offered obvious improvements, as it looked better defined and showed superior colors and blacks. Even with its minor concerns, the UHD became a significant step up in visual quality compared with the drab BD.
The 4K UHD mixes old and new extras, and we start with the movie itself, which appears in both the 1991 theatrical cut (2:23:12) and an extended version (2:35:02). This Arrow release represents the first home video presentation of the 1991 edit since an ancient DVD from 1997.
The changes to the extended edition mostly feature additional footage with Nottingham and Mortianna, as we find a substantial subplot that didn’t make the theatrical version. The alterations can be interesting to see but they don’t improve the film.
Alongside the extended cut, Thieves comes with two audio commentaries. The first features director Kevin Reynolds and actor Kevin Costner, both of whom sat together for this running, screen-specific track.
That element surprised me. Allegedly Reynolds and Costner experienced a falling out some time ago, so I didn’t expect to find the pair together for this piece.
Unfortunately, no sparks fly during this dull commentary. Praise dominates this track, especially from Costner, who frequently lauds parts of the production and Reynolds’ work. Many extended gaps occur during the presentation as well.
Locations and sets dominate the rest of the discussion, though a few more interesting matters pop up at times. We learn a little of how the pair arrived on the movie, and Costner acknowledges his inconsistent accent and explains it.
They chat briefly about rival films from the time and provide the occasional interesting anecdote from the set. For the most part, however, Reynolds and Costner fail to give us much useful material, and this commentary rarely seems compelling.
The second commentary comes from producers/writers Pen Densham and John Watson and actors Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater. All four sit together for this running, screen-specific piece. While not terrific, this track seems much more interesting than the one with the Kevins.
Densham and Watson strongly dominate the commentary. The actors occasionally toss in a few memories and reflections on their work, but mostly the writers/producers discuss the material.
They relate how the program came to fruition and various elements of bringing a new version of the myth to the screen. They also get into script issues, production aspects like choosing locations and casting, and a mix of other topics.
We also learn what scenes are new to the extended edition. Overall, the commentary moves at a decent pace – though it sags occasionally during the second half - and it seems like a fairly useful synopsis of the production.
Hosted by Pierce Brosnan, Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie comes from 1991 and runs 31 minutes, 52 seconds We hear from Reynolds, Costner, Freeman, Slater, Watson, Densham, actors Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael McShane and Alan Rickman, writers/producers Watson and Densham, costume designer John Bloomfield, composer Michael Kamen, stunt coordinator Paul Weston, historian Sir James Holt, author Graham Black, education officer John Charlesworth, Robin Hood “relative” David Lemm, Sheriff of Nottingham Alfred Stone, Robin Hood folklore authority Jim Lees, and film historian Rudy Behlmer.
“Myth” starts with a quick overview of the historical legend; that takes up about a third of its running time. After that, we get notes about the movie, with an emphasis on costumes, music, the cast, stunts, and various anecdotes from the set.
The program includes some decent information. The historical bits are superficial but interesting, and the shots from the Thieves set are fun to see.
However, the show’s heavily promotional tone seems too obvious most of the time, and that makes “Myth” somewhat tough to take. It exists simply to get folks into theaters, and it lacks much depth.
Under One-on-One with the Cast we find a collection of vintage interviews with a few actors. We get remarks from Costner, Mastrantonio, Freeman, Rickman and Slater in a collection that lasts a total of 19 minutes, 15 seconds.
Unfortunately, the comments seem awfully bland, as mostly we hear about the different characters and what the actors thought of the material. They also reflect on the other performers, but no one says much of interest.
New to the Arrow release, Here We Are Kings runs one hour, seven minutes, 10 seconds. The six-part documentary brings info from Densham, Watson, Costner (from 1991), Bloomfield, Rickman (from 1991), 1st AD David Tringham, cinematographer Douglas Milsome, art director John Ralph, set decorator Peter Young, production supervisor Malcolm Christopher, 2nd unit camera Mike Brewster, propmaker John Chisholm, stuntman Rocky Taylor, editor Peter Boyle, supervising hairdresser Colin Jamison, film music historian Daniel Schweiger, composer Michael Kamen (1991), composers/orchestrators Lolita Ritmanis and Chris Boardman, and actor Daniel Peacock.
Watson and Densham tell of their early experiences, how they joined forces and their development of Thieves. We also learn about finding cast and crew, photography, sets and locations, props and costumes, performances, editing, the departure of Reynolds from the project, music, and the flick's release/legacy.
The absence of most castmembers disappoints, but "Kings" still comes with good information. Despite some repetition from elsewhere, this turns into a satisfying overview.
Next comes a music video in which Bryan Adams plays his megahit “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” from a concert at Ireland’s Slane Castle. It seems odd that we don’t find the actual music video for the song – this performance comes from a decade after the film’s release - but this offers an interesting alternate.
5.1 Music Soundtrack Cues splits into eight segments and presents Michael Kamen’s score in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. This doesn’t deliver an isolated track you watch along with the movie.
Instead, it works just like a compact disc on your 4K UHD disc: you can run the whole thing or skip to different parts. I don’t care about the music myself, but this nonetheless seems like a very nice bonus, even if the absence of lossless audio disappoints.
Along with the movie’s theatrical trailer and three TV spots, the set concludes with two Image Galleries: “Publicity Stills” (47) and “Behind the Scenes” (8). Both add some decent shots, though I do like the elegant black and white promo photos.
A fairly bland example of a summer movie, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves seems too awkward and forced to succeed. Thieves simply feels like a self-conscious attempt to borrow highlights from other movies without any ingenuity or spark of its own. The 4K UHD provides solid picture, audio and bonus materials. Arrow delivered a fine release for this meh movie.
