Destination: England
Movie: Robin Hood (2010)a Ridley Scott movie, Starring Russell Crowe and Kate Blanchett
Come for the movie, stay to watch the credits roll.
There are nearly 5 million hits at YouTube for this trailer. Unfortunately, for those of us at A Traveler’s Library looking for travel inspiration, the trailer emphasizes the action and not the gorgeous countryside shown in director Ridley Scott’s quieter moments in Robin Hood. It is even more unfortunate that you can’t get the credits roll on You Tube. Gorgeous dissolving water colors dance across the screen in a real display of art. Trust me, stay to watch the credits at the end.
The plot is shaky, the action bloody, the history distorted beyond recognition, and even the legend of Robin Hood gets tinkered with, but those aerial shots of the countryside of England (credits mention Pembrokeshire and Wales) are what will get us trip planning.
And what a cast! Russel Crowe–playing his typical part of untouchably honest hero; Cate Blanchett, a Marion not to be messed with; William Hurt with his bemused glance at the crooks around the King; and Max von Sydow for Heaven’s sake!
Karen Bryan wrote about Robin Hood month in Nottingham England in honor of this movie and the Travel Logged blog did a great series on Robin Hood and Nottingham. Many writers are bemoaning the fact that this movie is not true to the legend of Robin Hood. Whoa! A legend, by definition, is a very slippery story. Who says Robin Hood has to be as witty as Erroll Flynn? Or that Marion has to be a maid?
But when a movie posits that a stone cutter wrote the original Magna Carta, or that the King of France would ask someone to speak English (a language that was considered barbaric by all but the lowest classes)–well, one wonders a bit about their grasp of historical fact. (To get the facts straighter, read Norah Loft’s The Lute Player or Eleanor the Queen.)
But there I go again, getting away from the most important part–the scenery. So what if it was shot in Wales and Surrey instead of Nottingham? Pembrokeshire still is gorgeous and it still is in the British Isles. And Nottingham is eager to show you their Robin Hood country.
Do you like to see movies that show foreign locales you have visited? And to turn that around, do you try to go see in person places that you have seen in movies (as Ken and I will be doing with Bruges Belgium later this year after seeing the movie Bruges)?
PDF Tags: Movie, Nottingham, Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest, travel movie, trip planning
Twitter: lhartness
says:
I’ve visited so few foreign locales, so for me it’s the other way around– I like watching movies that show foreign places that I’d like to visit someday– emphasis on “someday”. It’s my hope to visit New Zealand (LOTR) and Mackinac Island (Somewhere in Time) someday, but who knows when that’ll work out!
As far as Robin Hood– I was moderately interested in seeing it, as I’m sure there are some nice big screen moments. But as I’ve learned more about it, it seems to be just a hybrid of Braveheart and Crowe’s Gladiator. I’ll probably just wait for the DVD, if I watch it at all.
Laura
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Ah yes, how wonderful it would be to be able to watch a movie and then plan a trip to whisk off there. *dreaming*
I was hoping the story would be more solid- I will go and see it though, because of the scenery
I like the legend of Robin Hood and thought the old movie with Kevin Costner wasn’t too bad. Not sure about this one though, seems like everything now has to be an action movie.
.-= Anil hopes you will read blog ..What Are Your Summer Travel Plans? =-.
In Wales earlier this year. Weather wonderful contrary to what everyone told us to expect. Country GORGEOUS. I’ll go see Robin Hood just to relive my Welsh memories.
I love movies that use locations almost like another character. I have found myself watching a movie specifically for the location, such as The Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford. The opening scenes were filmed in Rome, GA and I was living there when the film came out. I have also found myself visiting scenes from a movie. A high school buddy and I spent a great day in Salzburg trying to find locations from her favorite film, The Sound of Music. However in this case I will skip this movie. It sounds like another Braveheart. I am tired of re-interpretations of folk legends, I am tired of Russell Crowe as a hero, and I am tired of Cate Blanchett who seems to be cast in every film dealing with England before the 19th century.
Twitter: kerrydexter
says:
it’s an enduring story, however the details of the telling change.
.-= Kerry Dexter hopes you will read blog ..Patty Larkin: 25 =-.