Welcome to a video that is twice as long as usual because my gosh we are going to call out every move in this fight like it’s… … …Yu-Gi-Oh? Is that where they call out their attacks? IDK. Anyway, let me know what you think 😁 Buy my book: books2read.com/juststabmenow

Imagine a movie about medieval Europe that is not filmed in a grey-brown pallette with everyone wearing black leather biker gear. It is probably illegal nowadays.

Having only seen Prince of Thieves and Men in Tights, it's impressive how closely Mel Brooks matched the Adventures of Robin Hood visually. I kind of want to see you breakdown the sword fights in Men in Tights now...

_Robin Hood and little John_ _Walkin' through the forest_ _Laughin' back and forth_ _At what the other'ne has to say_ _Reminiscin', this-'n'-thattin'_ _Havin' such a good time_ _Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally golly, what a day_

Lady Marian decides to stay in the castle instead staying in the forest so she can act as a spy... sure, sure... yeah, I would do that too, I would totally sacrifice myself to become a spy in a warm castle with good food... 😂

My sister went on vacation to England last week and my little niece kept asking if they could go and visit the "stab me" lady. Lol!

"You're going to be watching this in the Cinema one time. You're not going to be slowing it down to look for flaws." I will be using this quote from now on.

Little trivia (there's a LOT of trivia about this film.) That palomino horse that Lady Marion is riding when Robin captures her and the Sheriff in the forest? It was a well known horse used quite often because it was so nice that was named Golden Cloud. (Good name.) A certain young up and coming Western cowboy star saw that horse and decided he really liked it. So he bought it, changed its name and rode it til it died. After it died he had the animal stuffed and put up in his own museum. That Singing Cowboy star (who partly got hired because he had diabetes and couldn't be drafted away from the studio in WWII when all the other cowboys were going off to war) was Roy Rogers and the palomino's name became Trigger...and the two of them appeared in dozens of B Westerns and had their own television series during the 1950's...which I watched because all little boys growing up in the 1950's did. Sold a ton of merch. I had the lunchbox!

Sword fights are all very well, but the best bit of TAORH for me is - the music! Korngold won an Oscar for it, and well deserved it was. It fits perfectly into every scene, and to every part of the fight. An aside - on being told that Korngold's music "sounds like Hollywood", Andre Previn replaied: "No, Hollywood sounds like Korngold".

I've gained a whole new respect for Basil Rathbone watching this, Zorro and The Court Jester

Fun fact: In Prince of Persia (1989), the sword fighting animations were rotoscoped from Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone's duel in The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Just a little background flavor. In the early 1970s (yes, I'm that old), my cousin was an actor on the soap opera Secret Storm and lived in the same building as Basil Rathbone's widow, Ouida Bergère, in New York. According to her, Basil was NOT a fan of Errol Flynn and his antics, but apparently his biggest complaint was the fact that he had to "work so damned hard to make Flynn look good". She never said anything about Tyrone Power.

9:49 this is the exact point that they would kiss in a flirty fight

"Buy my book!" But I already have it, Jill (It is a lot of fun!)

Jill calling out the numbers of the fight reminds me of my dentist taking gum measurements and calling out the numbers for the assistant to write down. (Though analyzing fight scenes is far more enjoyable than the dentist.)😆

Wait wait wait, we're getting a "to be continued"? I can't wait to hear about the Captain Blood swordfight

I love how bent Robin's sword was after hitting a candle. Stayed bent in a couple other of the camera angles too until Robin stands back up.

😎💙 I wish we could have had Basil Rathbone as a hero in one of his movies - especially since he can actually fight.

Funny you mention the hair. The forest scence was shot first. Even Eroll didn't like the cut - but, he was wearing a hat. He went to the higher ups and demanded/requested/begged them to change to the style we see the rest of the movie. It was the hat that saved him - since it wouldn't matter what his head would look like without it.

I really enjoyed the background detail on how British military instruction influenced the choreography for this era of film. Also concerned for any cavalrymen who were attacked from any angle other than above.

Errol Flynn was a disturbingly interesting man. In so much that he trafficked weapons for fun on occasion.

this stresses again why I love Mel Brook's Robin Hood. NOT Because it's mocking it, but the attention to detail even to this.... it's STUNNING! Just helps having Cary Elwes saying "Unlike other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an english accent."

I immensely enjoy these videos! Can't wait for the follow up. A few days ago I watched Rashômon by Akira Kurosawa, that mainly features different retellings of the same event, and in two of those retellings there is a sword fight between two characters. Now, these two versions of the sword fight are vastly different and very interesting and very telling, even for the audience who doesn't know much about swords. And when I saw the first one (not knowing the second one was coming), I thought "Man it would bea cool if Jill Bearup did a video dissecting the action here". I'm sure it could be very interesting and a lot of fun for you you to analyse both fights and really hammer in just how strongly different they are.

the grin on my face when you said Captain Blood was next up

I was privileged as a child to go see this in a double feature with Flynn's The Adventures of Don Juan - and one of the Directors of the Adventures of Robin Hood gave a speech during the intermission. It was awesome.

If you want to see a Robin Hood swordfight that's the opposite of panto, check out the fight in 'Robin and Marian' (1976) where Sean Connery's Robin goes up against Robert Shaw's Sheriff of Nottingham in much less flashy, much more grim and bloody contest that was probably much more what medieval combat was like.

Jill the pitch woman. "Buy my merch. But the good merch. Not the bad merch, which is... also mine"

You need to look at the classic Scaramouche. There are multiple duels in it which are fun to watch if not historically accurate but it is a great romp of a movie. Stewart Granger comes off to me as a 1950 Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead fame) with an element of sarcasm to him. Mel Ferrer is suitably intimidating as the Marquis de Maynes. From IMDB: "This movie contains what is reported to be the longest fencing duel ever caught on film, a sequence lasting 6.08 minutes from first sword touch to final thrust. The climactic fight ranges throughout the theater, from the balcony boxes, to the lobby, through the main seats, backstage, and finally on the stage itself. The actors spent eight weeks preparing for this sequence, having to memorize 87 different individual sword passes and 28 stunts."

fun fact Howard Hill "The World's Greatest Archer' (as he was called) an US Archery expert in the 1930s 40s and 50s was not only a consultant on the film, he is the last archer Robin shoots against in the Archery tournament. You can see his old black and white shorts uploaded on youtube.

So many wonderful things came together to form The adventures of Robin Hood….the use of technicolor, the top to bottom perfect casting, the magnificent score by Eric Wolfgang Kornhold (John Williams deeply respects Korngold) the beauty of Olivia de Havilland (she went on her own learning arc) yet smart enough to devise the plan to save Robin. The villains were wonderful and Errol Flynn was at the peak of his very masculine beauty. From what I have read de Havilland & Flynn were having an off screen relationship. Many years later she watched the film on TV & she was moved by memories of those happy times…. I have watched the film many times. I have concluded that from start to finish the movie is just fun. It entertains and that is what any good action film requires. One final note~several of the sets were first built for the Douglas Fairbanks 1922 silent version of Robin Hood.

Robin Hood is like pantomime ... Oh no it isn't !!! . . . Oh like nobody else was thinking that 😁 Love the video and looking forward to more 👍

One of my happiest acting experiences was as The Sheriff in a panto Robin Hood. It was much fun ^_^

If I recall correctly, the actor who played Friar Tuck was also in The Mark of Zorro, and had a sword fight in that movie, too.

I really enjoyed this one. Have you ever considered being a sports commentator? "5 3 5 4 4 5 2 stick him with the pointy end" 😂

The lighting in films of this era was tremendous. Totally unnatural but absolutely beautiful.

Even as a kid I knew the fight was all flummery, but, like you said, the scenes and shots are all done so well and it so fun, who cares. Thanks for the 1 2 3 4 diagram, I love inside trivia like that.

Jill, you have the most entertaining sponsorships of any KZfaq creator I've watched! One day, I will buy a premium "Just Stab Me Now" hoodie. One day. When I have the money for it. But I did buy the book, and it is excellent! :)

"Buy my book!" I bought your book. LOL

One of my all time favorite movies, and the first technicolor movie my Mother ever saw (when it came out in 1939). She said she went to the morning showing at 10:00 am and left the movie theater at 8:00 PM at night. Yes it's panto, but so is Star Wars.

Flynn was the archetypical Hero! type actor. Charisma for days that allowed him to lay some of the foundation for the modern day swashbuckler archetype: witty banter, flashing swords, beat the bad guy and win the girl!

JILL, PLEASE DO "THE PIRATE MOVIE"!!! It's a delightful, if often panned, parody of The Pirates of Penzance (SP?) musical. And, yes, it's a musical, too. But they parody more than their source material. It includes a castle spanning fight scene that, at least one moment, parody's the very fight scene you're reviewing now. (They literally have a third person wandering around with a book about great movie fight scenes turned to the page about this one.) Also, I'm still waiting for the armor rating for Dearstalker's All For One internet web comedy about D&D.

This was fun! 5! Excited for Captain Blood. Also, if you ever need a quick sword fight, you could look at 1982's The Scarlet Pimpernel with Anthony Andrews and Ian McKellen.

Rathbone always said Tyrone Power could "Fence Flynn into a cocked hat!" But Flynn was pretty much the premier Swashbuckling Hero of the late 30's and 40's which is where they got the term "flynning"...which I heard from you for the first time and I love it.

I grew up in the relatively small California town that the whole production relocated to when doing the Sherwood Forest location shots, and this movie was still a Big Deal™ for us decades later. There was a Robin Hood Days annual festival, and displays of original props and costumes in the city hall museum. My favorite detail is that chainmail was just yarn pulled into a loose knit and given a coat of metallic paint, because good gods there were a lot of "armored" extras.

I had a tv grpwing up, but no cable. So I grew up with this film, ivanhoe 1952 and star wars

Errol Flynn is reputed to have conducted the last Naval fight totally under sail when his trading Schooner was attacked by two Pirate Junks but that may just be an urban Legend. This is my second Favourite Flynn Movie beaten only by the Sea Hawk which has even better shadows on the wall something that Spielberg paid tribute to in the vastly underrated Hook.

I really like Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk, cannot wait for your review on the sword fights.

The vividness of "Technicolor"(tm) is a thing of the 193/40's in that most films were still B&W then, but it makes films using what was a very expensive process the become iconic. Yes, the most iconic are "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind" but studios knew colour was a big draw to customers so they could get the big stars of the time into those films. They knew those customers did not care about technique nor could you see the continuity mistakes - so did not care about that, it was the spectacal they public wanted and this film delivered on that level- so much so that Walt Disney almost used it as a "template" for its own "Robin Hood" animation.

This film formed the basis of so many of my childhood games they could probably sue.

Watched this movie for the first time last year. Was _shocked_ by how much "Men in Tights" owed to it. Had only known MiT as a parody of "Prince of Thieves" previously.

As an addition to the whole "Flynn" look-back. You could catch "My Favorite Year", which is a loose retelling of the time a much older Flynn (here named "Alan Swan" and played by Peter O'Toole) guested on the "King Kaiser (Sid Caeser) Comedy Hour" (which had a laundry list of future famous creatives in the writers' room, including a Mr. Brooks and a Mister Alan). It's a hoot, and we see clips from "Defender of the Crown" (the in-universe Robin Hood/Ivanhoe), a name so cool Cinemaware stole it for a videogame a few years later. Not too much swordplay unfortunately, but lots of drunken daring-do.

12:51 that candle cut bent Robin's sword 😂 I think that a lot of the success and spectacle of this fight can be attributed to the director and/or fight scene choreographer recognizing that Errol Flynn wasn't going to be matching Basil Rathbone's fencing aptitude and so they filmed the fight in such a way that the actual fighting wasn't the only interesting thing occurring on screen at any given time. As you mentioned, the phrases are frequently broken up by obstacles, shadow play, new weapons, etc. All of those help mask the fact that most of the actual sword contact is attack and parry 5 🤣 I think I had more to say in this comment, but my attention has been completely diverted by two adorable fledgling chicks sitting on the fence outside my window so I shall leave this here and divert my focus to the cuteness of nature instead 😊

"everyone like a sticker" the sword lady is selling rapiers, now?

At that time in Hollywood they were making so many swashbucklers that any serious leading man needed to have some sword fight training and some horsemanship skills if he wanted to work. The main training available was, of course, traditional fencing, so you get a number of films where the swords were supposed to be broad swords or short swords or whatever that had been modified so that actors could use them in a fencing style fight, regardless of how a real swordfight would've looked at the time represented. I would absolutely have loved to see a samurai film from the 30s where Flynn and Rathbone fenced each other with long, thin katanas.

Can we get a series that's all either: -Basil Rathbone (maybe some Holmes?) -Robin Hood (Trying to analyze the animated one would be funny, but there's also the infamous rising sword from Men in Tights) -Fencers who don't actually know what they're doing (I don't know enough to comment) I feel like any of these could be solid

For your next challenge - pick an fight or two from the Robin of Sherwood TV series that you will enjoy reviewing. That's a *proper* Robin Hood!

I think this was quite possibly the first 'sword fight' I ever saw. I don't remember how old I was exactly, four or five perhaps, almost certainly on a tiny black and white TV, but I remember I loved it. I would probably have watched it again and again had the technology existed. As it was nothing made my little ears perk up like the sound of blade on blade in any film and I was constantly in search of more. I probably would not have loved Star Wars, for example, half as much as I did if it hadn't had 'sword' fights in it. In fact with hindsight this film is the one that birthed a life long fascination with sword fights and fantasy in general. You can quite possibly trace the responsibility for my subscription to it. Weird huh? Shame the choreography was not any better, but it was good enough to totally invest me in the story. So there you go if you truly want to enjoy this film turn yourself into a five year old boy!

Wow… that really was a bunch of fives. It’s a great video Jill and I can’t wait for Captain Blood! Just don’t get any on the cheese.

Love the fact that Rathbone pulled out a dagger!! Both for practical and character reasons-using a dagger in close quarters is a solid move to kill an opponent, but can also be seen as cheating or cowardly depending on the society’s code of honor

Any time you have Basil Rathbone in a cinematic swordfight, you know it's good.

Loved this! I never thought of the difference between fencing swords and the swords they used making a difference, but of course it would., The idea that the overhead strikes come from military training is fascinating too. I'm intrigued by the 'Pantomime' thing as well, we don't really have that in the USA but I've always loved this movie as sort of a storybook come to life vibe that I think fits. Also Captain Blood is one of my faves, great to hear it's getting looked at :D

That exhaustive detail was just delicious and luckily for me I do like the number 5 😂 definitely worth staying up til midnight for. Much love, from Australia 🇦🇺 ❤

Watching this while crocheting was a mistake, though I feel like actually turning the numbers into something knitted and stabby, somehow.

This adaptation of Robin Hood and Captain Blood are among my favorite movies (along with the Mark of Zorro). Poor Basil though, I love his as an actor and fencer but dang he always loses the fights. LOL A fight that might be good for analysis is the fight between Gregory Peck and a rather unknown (at the time) Christopher Lee in Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)

Howard Hill, who was the archery advisor and did a bunch of the stunt archery on this movie, has a book about his adventures with archery called Hunting The Hard Way, which is quite a good read.

12:51 After a few more decades of evolution, Flynn's Candle would eventually develop enough sharpness and durability that one of its more advanced descendants would cut right through Charlie Sheen's sword in Hot Shots! Part Duex

Stewart Granger (star of Scaramouche, another fight you need to review) told Errol Flynn "I'm a much better swordsman than you" to which Flynn replied "I've got a nicer arse, and that 's what matters in film"

This is one of my favorites. The VHS copy i had before I was married has been worn out. This movie was the first reason I got into Dungeons and Dragons,. It is required watching on our TV just like Jaws is for my wife. After so many watchings, there are many flaws with this movie, but I still love it. And it was nice to see Alan Hale play a mischievous "smart" character. As opposed to some of the other characters he plays in other movies with Errol Flynn. Don't forget Una O'Connor. Nice review.

😂😂😂 the spear stuck in the stone 🪨 pillar and pinned the cape 😂😂😂

Yes!! Do Captain Blood! I just watched it a couple weeks ago. I’m slightly disappointed that you didn’t comment on THE most egregious case of bad props ever. In the scene where Robin is threatening the guard in the dungeon his sword is badly bent.

Thos poor, abused candles.

We LOVE Robin Hood in exhaustive detail ❤️

A Flynning double feature? I'm here for it. Looking forward to next week!

"This video was _still_ sponsored by me. Buy my book." I like this line so much, I might just go get another copy.

I have never heard that anybody complaints about Errol Flynns hairdo in Robin Hood. NEVER!

One of my absolutely favorite movies as a kid (like 5/6 yrs old). It came on all the time as a "filler" movie.

When I was in charge of promoting Robin Hood Country in the 1990’s we used to have live sword fighting, archery and jousting in Sherwood Forest every year at the Robin Hood Festival!

Jill, Robin and my morning coffee …. A good start to the day

I swear there is always an archery contest in Robin Hood movies. 😂

I'd criticize Robin's choice to stop and fight on the stairs @7:57 where he had the low ground (Obi-Wan would be appalled) and where his sword hand is against the wall! You may as well literally tie one hand behind your back if you're going to give yourself that much of a disadvantage.

What I like about Robin's killing thrust, it looks like he does a high feint, then stabs low as Gisbourne goes high to defend. Another thing, too, that makes it so great, they are frequently close together, normally a lot of fights have the combatants fighting at distance most of the fight. In my opinion, the greatest Robin Hood movie out there.

Fun facts, from the commentary and behind the scenes on the DVDs: Errol Flynn said he hated the wig he wore as Robin Hood. Technicolor was a brand new tech at the time and the studio really wanted to show it off. Remember, it was the following year that The Wizard of Oz came out. The director, Michael Curtiz, was apparently well known for his use of shadows. He also directed Captain Blood, Casablanca, and White Christmas. Thanks for the video, Jill! Like many, I was looking forward to this one. Suggestion for the future: Alatriste

I used to adore these old time movies as a kid. Robin Hood, Captain Blood, Seahawke - and any like them. I could see then how. . .silly. . .they kind of were, but as a kid, you just don't care. They are adventurous, and romantic and exciting. Definitely favourites through my middle-school/high school days. Little less so now as I can see how silly they also are, but the 'flavour' is still there, so it's fun to revisit them from time to time. It's interesting to see you take a closer look at them, I used to watch and enjoy the fights, then could see how silly they were and totally choreographed. I think what did it for me was one of these - I don't recall WHICH one at this point - the heroes sword actually gets bent, and he's fighting with a bent sword. It was hilarious but enough to break any illusion you had about this being remotely real. (It might have been Robin Hood with Richard Greene. . .) I can't say I don't enjoy these old movies still. . .but yeah, they aren't quite as enthralling as they once were. Errol Flynn. . .eh. I'll agree he was not the greatest hero out there. The haircuts really. . .really didn't help. But I do like the 'flavour' of the movies he did. At least the three I listed above. Not sure I remember if there were more. Or if I saw them. His movies do sort of fit that . . .romantic, adventurous. . .dramatic flavour that can be so fun, though.

can't wait to hear about the Captain Blood swordfight...

This movie is one of the stable movies of my childhood. I adore it and Errol Flynn in general

I think the best part of this movie is the archery, mainly because they paid the extras bonuses for being shot with actual arrows by Howard Hill off screen, who was Errol Flynn's "good friend"/yachting buddy, archery buddy and also one of the archers in the movie competition (He's the man with the dagged suede leather doublet, teal undershirt and suede cocked hat during the competition)

Full disclosure: Mr. Flynn's Robin Hood led to the folllowing: me, doing: 1) Olympic competitive fencing....epee' , of course..... 2) learning, then teaching, stage combat... 3) acting.....lots of Shakespeare..... Thanks so much! Love your work. If I live long enough (nearly 70.....), perhaps some day we may, in good fun, cross swords. Thanks!

I love this movie! Thank you for talking about it! Great work! (May I suggest the sword fight from The Great Race next, real actors fencing!)

"Thankfully the fight scenes are undercranked to a degree that you generally don't notice the first time through..." Whilst I doubt I got all of them, that one stood out like a sore thumb. Yes, even on first viewing whilst not looking for it. Not going to go looking for the ones I missed, though. Glad you mentioned it, though, and looking forward to your next!

Quite stoked for you to cover Captain Blood. The Adventures of Robin Hood is just a fun romp. I guess it just hits different if you see it before you know anything about Flynn. When I first saw it he was just the guy playing Robin, and later Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk and in Against All Flags. Once more of the off-screen details were known, it takes the shine off the films a bit, and Flynn is quite😬 indeed. Despite all that, The Adventures of Robin Hood is my favorite telling of the story, followed by the Disney animated one and then Men in Tights.

I freaking love every Rathbone fight. He was so skilled not because he was a great swordsman (he was) but he was able to make his partner look so damn good on stage. Flynn was never a great fencer, but Basil carried him in two movies to create some iconic duels. Both here and Captain Blood! Flynn really could only do a 5 cut. Jill, have you ever looked at the Jose Ferrer/Stuart Granger duel from Scaramouche? Edit: was typing and watching at the same time.. Woo! Captain Blood!

And just today, I finally understand what Mel Brooks was parodying in the final fight in Men In Tights when Robin and Mervyn (your name is Mervyn?) made shadow animals.

This video gives me a greater appreciation of Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

I was all but shouting at the screen, "Captain Blood! Captain Blood! YAAAAAY, CAPTAIN BLOOD!!!!!" ;D Very much looking forward to it. :)

You’re making the fight scenes more interesting with these commentaries and calling out the numbers ❤

watching this, i realize i want a top 10/5 sword fight list from you. if you've not done one. my start; the princess bride the mask of zorro the court jester

To this day, this is THE Robin Hood movie. I've loved it as a child and do to this day. So do my kids of 8, 10 and 12 today. It's a feelgood movie. A bit overly colourful perhaps. Korngold's score is awesome. And Errol Flynn is a gem.

Ahhhhhh. Now the universe is properly balanced again. Thank you, my lady!

While the fight scene is iconic, I love the Price John lines Example: “Ho, varlets, bring Sir Robin food! Such impudence must support a healthy appetite!”

We rented this video The Adventures of Robin Hood and Grease 40 years ago and returned the videos two years later. I loved the food sections and Robin asking Marianne "Doncha? Doncha?". And we'd gave sword fights with sticks.