Thursday, May 9, 2019

DVD Review: The Adventures of Robin Hood: The Complete Series


Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon
Hopefully, I'm not the only one who's tired of the countless remakes and reboots of Robin Hood! Hollywood has milked the folk hero story to death!! And many of the recent takes on the character have been horrible.

Well, it's a good thing us fans can go back and watch the better versions (movies and television series) on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital. Mill Creek Entertainment will be releasing The Adventures of Robin Hood: The Complete Series DVD Set ($34.98; 59hrs 33mins) on May 14th; which features all 143 episodes from the classic British series on 11 discs. There are no special features or bonus extras; though it does come with a Digital code that can be redeemed and streamed on Mill Creek Entertainment's website.

The Adventure of Robin Hood aired on ITV in the UK and on CBS here in the United States from 1955 to 1959. The series started Richard Greene as Robin of Locksley, a Saxon nobleman who returns home to Nottingham from the Crusades and quickly becomes an outlaw. He teams with the other Sherwood Forest outlaws and eventually becomes their leader (a.k.a. Robin Hood) by the end of the second episode. Along with Little John (played by Archie Duncan), Friar Tuck (played by Alexander Gauge), and their merry men, Robin Hood robs from the rich and gives back to the poor, as well as outrunning the Sheriff Nottingham (played by Alan Wheatley).

Other cast members included Bernadette O'Farrell as Maid Marian in Seasons 1 & 2, Patricia Driscoll as Maid Marian in Seasons 3 & 4, and Ian Hunter as Sir Richard of the Lea.

FYI: Richard Greene reprised his role as Robin Hood for the 1960 Hammer Film Productions' feature film  Sword of Sherwood Forest. It was basically a retelling of how Robin Hood met Maid Marian. None of the other cast members from the series returned.


Final Thoughts

This isn't the first time Mill Creek Entertainment has released The Adventures of Robin Hood to DVD, as the company has released separate seasons sets and a complete series set in the past. Each episode runtime is 25 - 26 minutes with a "Brought to You By" sponsorship at the beginning of most episodes. The picture and sound quality varies from episode to episode, but don't expect the best. I'm taking a guess these episodes were transferred from the CBS syndication prints. There are around 12 to 13 episodes per disc!

The packaging for the box set is made from flimsy cardstock. The DVDs are stored in cardstock sleeves, which isn't too bad as the none of the discs were dislodged. Besides for the included Digital code and new box art design, it's basically the same as the previous complete series release.

Overall, The Adventures of Robin Hood: The Complete Series is a nice DVD set, if you don't already own the 2009 box set. While the episodes aren't restored, they're all watchable. I'm giving the set a 3 out of 5 rating, mostly due to my dislike for the cheaply made packaging that can easily be damaged.
*Note: I received a review copy from Mill Creek Entertainment. 
All opinions are my own.




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