Charles Perrault, Robin Hood

Charles Perrault (12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known of his tales include Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Le Chat Botté(Puss in Boots), La Belle au bois dormant (The Sleeping Beauty) and La Barbe bleue(Bluebeard).^[1] Many of Perrault's stories, which were rewritten by the Brothers Grimm, continue to be printed and have been adapted to opera, ballet (such as Tchaikovsky'sThe Sleeping Beauty), theatre, and film. Perrault was an influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and was the leader of the Modern faction during theQuarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns.


2011/5/27 HBO 兩部Robin Hood電影之一

Plot

It is 1199 and Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is a common archer in Richard the Lionheart's (Danny Huston) army. A veteran of the Third Crusade and Richard's war against Philip II of France (Jonathan Zaccaï), he now takes part in the siege against Chalus Castle. Disillusioned and war-weary, he believes the King when he invites him to give an honest view of the war and the King's conduct. After Robin gives a frank but unflattering appraisal, Richard immediately breaks his promise of no repercussions for speaking honestly and has Robin and comrades taken prisoner to be judged after ending the siege. The betrayed men decide to free themselves and desert. Following the death of Richard, Robin and two other common archers, Allan A'Dayle (Alan Doyle), Will Scarlett (Scott Grimes), as well as soldier Little John (Kevin Durand), attempt to secretly return to their homeland after fighting abroad for the past 10 years. Along the way they come across an ambush of the Royal guard by Sir Godfrey (Mark Strong), an English knight collaborating with the French. Philip of France had ordered Sir Godfrey to assassinate Richard. Having discovered the King is already slain, Sir Godfrey is chased off by the arrival of Robin and his companions. Aiming to return to England safely and richer in pocket than when they left it, Robin and his men steal the armour of the slain knights and, under the guise of noblemen, head for the English ships on the coast. Before leaving the scene of slaughter, Robin promises one of the dying knights, Robert Loxley (Douglas Hodge), to return a sword to the knight's father in Nottingham.
Upon arriving in England, Robin (who has assumed the identity of Loxley) is brought to London and chosen to inform the Royal family of the King's death. He witnesses the coronation of King John (Oscar Isaac), the younger brother of Richard. Showing no remorse to his poor kingdom, John orders harsh taxes to be collected, sending Sir Godfrey off to the North to do so. He has no idea that Godfrey is a French agent who, using French troops, will use this Royal Decree to stir up enough unrest to cause civil war in England.
Robin and his companions head to Nottingham, where Loxley's old and blind father Sir Walter (Max von Sydow) asks him to continue impersonating his son, in order to prevent the family lands being taken by the crown. Loxley's widow, Lady Marian (Cate Blanchett), is initially distrustful of Robin, but soon warms to him when he recovers taxed grain for the townsfolk to plant.
Meanwhile, Godfrey's actions have stirred up the northern barons, who march to meet King John and demand the signing of a charter of rights. Having realized Godfrey's deception, and knowing he must reunite his people in order to meet an imminent French invasion, the King agrees. A battle follows in which Robin and the northern barons attack Godfrey's men while the latter are ransacking Nottingham—but not before Godfrey has slain the blind Sir Walter.
The film climaxes with a French invasion on England's Dover Beach, opposed by an English army. In the midst of the chaos, Marian attempts to kill Godfrey but he gains the upper hand over her and prepares to kill her. However, Robin intervenes and duels Godfrey himself. The English are victorious and Godfrey attempts to flee on horseback, but Robin, from long distance, puts an arrow through his neck. When King John sees the French surrendering to Robin rather than to himself, he is unhappy, believing it to be a major threat to his power. Therefore, in the final scenes, King John not only reneges on his promise to sign the Charter of the Forest, but also declares Robin to be an outlaw. In response to this, Robin moves to Sherwood Forest with Lady Marian and his friends to form what will become the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest. "So," as the concluding scroll says, "the legend begins."

Cast

• Russell Crowe plays Robin Longstride / Robin Hood, a good-hearted archer who becomes involved in a great struggle. This marks Crowe's fifth collaboration with Scott.^{[nb 1]}
• Cate Blanchett as Lady Marian, the strong-willed, intelligent widow of Sir Robert Loxley. She becomes Robin Hood's love interest. Marian takes on the responsibility of managing her aging father-in-law's debt-ridden estate and lean harvests. A situation made difficult by an unsympathetic Church, the greedy and lecherous Sheriff of Nottingham, and the recurring runaway children in Sherwood forest who frequently raid the grain storehouses in Peperharrow. Sienna Miller was originally cast in the part, but was dropped from the production because her slender figure made Crowe look overweight in their shared scenes.^[4][5]
• Mark Strong as Sir Godfrey, King John's henchman and the main antagonist, Godfrey is portrayed as sadistic, ruthless and diabolically clever. Although he serves John, he intends to ally himself with the French and seize power for himself.^[6] When interviewed in November 2008, Strong stated the character was originally called Conrad and was based on Guy of Gisbourne. He described the original character as having blond hair and a disfigurement from being struck by a crossbow bolt.^[7]
• Oscar Isaac as King John of England, younger brother of Richard. Vain, selfish and fiery-tempered, he is nevertheless brave, self-assured and darkly charismatic.^[6]
• Mark Lewis Jones as Thomas Longstride
• Mark Addy as Friar Tuck
• William Hurt as William Marshal^[8]
• Danny Huston as KingRichard the Lionheart
• Eileen Atkins as Eleanor of Aquitaine, King Richard and King John's mother. She makes no secret of loving Richard more than John and she and John have an antagonistic relationship as a result. Vanessa Redgrave was originally cast for the part, but pulled out after the death of her daughter, actress Natasha Richardson.^[9]
• Max von Sydow as Sir Walter Loxley
• Jonathan Zaccaï as Philip II of France
• Matthew Macfadyen as the Sheriff of Nottingham^[10]
• Kevin Durand as Little John^[11]
• Léa Seydoux as Isabella of Angoulême, the French King's niece whom John marries after annulling his first marriage in order to sire an heir and gain a claim to the Castilian throne. She and John have a loving and affectionate relationship, despite his self-absorption.^[6]
• Scott Grimes as Will Scarlet.^[11]
• Alan Doyle as Allan A'Dayle - Crowe enlisted Doyle to play the Merry Men's minstrel, having collaborated on the album My Hand, My Heart.^[12]