Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Directed by

Mel Brooks

Genre

comedy film, action film, parody film

Country

France, United States

Runtime

1h 44m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 2,325 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Robin Hood returns to England from the Crusades to find the Sheriff of Nottingham oppressing the people. He assembles a band of misfit outlaws to fight back and win the heart of Maid Marian.

sillylightheartedfast-pacedgoofyparodiccampyenergeticwhimsical

What happens

Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a 1993 adventure comedy film and a parody of the Robin Hood story. The film was produced and directed by Mel Brooks, co-written by Evan Chandler, and J. David Shapiro based on a story by Chandler and Shapiro, and stars Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, and Dave Chappelle (in his film debut). It includes frequent comedic references to previous Robin Hood films, particularly Prince of Thieves (upon which the plot is loosely structured), and the 1938 Errol Flynn adaptation The Adventures of Robin Hood. Brooks himself had previously created the short-lived sitcom When Things Were Rotten in the mid-1970s, which also spoofed the Robin Hood legend. The film also features Brooks in a minor role – the first time he had appeared in one of his own films in which he does not receive top billing or play the lead role since Young Frankenstein. In addition to Brooks, it features Brooks regulars Dom DeLuise and Dick Van Patten (who had been a cast member on When Things Were Rotten) in minor roles, as well as Rudy De Luca in a cameo as a party guest. Reflecting its spoof nature, while some character names (such as Robin of Loxley and Maid Marian) remain unchanged from the source material, other names are altered: Nottingham becomes "Rottingham" and one of the Merry Men is given the name Will Scarlet O'Hara, referencing the character from Gone with the Wind. Brooks, being Jewish, changed his cameo character from Friar Tuck to "Rabbi Tuckman". Though the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $72 million on a $20 million budget. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Robin Hood (1973)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• Robin Hood (1991)
• The Three Musketeers (1993)
• Les Visiteurs (1993)
• The Triumph of Robin Hood (1962)
• The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984)
• Robin Hood (1912)