Medieval Trickery

Around 40 English and Scottish ballads are devoted to this hood and his merry men. Although The Sheriff of Nottingham was always being done in by Robin, this troublemaker was loyal to his king. The stories were so popular for so long, there may be a tim e factor involved in the dual identity of Robin's king -- either Richard I of the 12th Century or Edward IV, who didn't show up until three centuries later. It has been pointed out that the Disney crew's choice of animal types for its adaptation was part icularly appropriate, especially since the fox was a "trickster" animal in medieval Europe, the way coyotes are in American Indian lore.

The newest study of animals as figures in folklore is Jan M. Ziolkowski's Talking Animals (ISBN 0-8122-3161-9 ), while a real life Robin Hood is found in Rob Roy MacGregor, the biography by Nigel Tranter published by Barnes & Noble.

Bandit of Sherwood Forest
(1946) Cornel Wilde is at it again!
86 min., Color, not available

Court Jester
(1956) Danny Kaye isn't much of a jester here, but he is a clown with tongue twisters, armor hoists and straight-people like Angela Lansbury, Robert Carradine and the underappreciated Mildred Natwick.
101 min., Color, $14.99 Lase r $29.99

Disney's Robin Hood
(1973) Terry-Thomas and Andy Devine supply the quirkier voices in this straightfaced subbing of animals for human characters.
83 min., Color, Rated G, $24.99

Keroppi Starring in Robin Hood
(1994) One of those Sanrio characters you see everywhere in the mall sports some new costumes in this double-featurette, with an adaptation of the Robin legend followed by another, of Gulliver's Travels (with a tie d-down frog instead of a giant).
52 min., Color, $12.99

Rob Roy
(1995) After a 1953 live action and a later animated version, the fight between Rob Roy MacGregor and King George has been restaged as a Liam Neeson vehicle. A great cast of bad guys is led by John Hurt and the ubiquitous Tim Roth. Owe n Gleiberman calls it an amalgam of Robin Hood, Last of the Mohicans and Death Wish.
(Coming soon, priced to rent)

Robin and Marian
(1976) Maltin whined that scriptwriter Goldman and director Lester had stripped the characters of their romantic magic, but this was a bold experiment that worked: two icons come to grips with impending death and old wounds. Co nnery left off any toupee, Hepburn was unyielding, and the temptation for needless plot complications was resisted to the end. Bravo!
112 min., Color, Rated PG, $19.99

Robin and the 7 Hoods
(1964) Last call for The Rat Pack, with Bing brought in to keep up the crooner/gangster in-joke with Sinatra, almost like that old Warner Brothers' cartoon.
103 min., Color, $14.99 Laser $39.99

Robin Hood
(1991) A TV miniseries out on the heels of the Costner version. This one has Uma Thurman in it.
116 min., Color, $19.99

Robin Hood: Men In Tights
(1994) Mel Brooks tries to recapture the old magic, with Mark Blankfield a poor substitute for Marty Feldman. Only Roger Rees and Cary Elwes deadpan with any grace, and they make the movie in the last scene.
$19.99

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
(1991) Kevin Costner does the seemingly impossible -- as usual. With Morgan Freeman in another of his usually thankless supporting roles, and other fun folks like Brian Blessed and a loopy Alan Rickman as the Sher riff.
138 min., Color, PG-13, $19.99 Laser $39.99

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men
(1952) A Disney live-action bit of business, starring Richard Todd.
83 min., Color, not available

Sword of Sherwood Forest
(1960) A British continuation by Terence Fisher introduces a new bad guy, the Earl of Newark.
80 min., Color, not available

Time Bandits
(1981) John Cleese plays Robin in this Post-Python collaboration by Gilliam and Palin. Physically murky and depressing as Jabberwocky, which may appeal to gloomy types, but with all the rude humor we've come to expect as wel l.
110 min., Color, Rated PG, $14.99 Laser $39.99