Sword of Sherwood Forest 09/18 Blu-ray (Rental)

Product Description Another rendition of the Robin Hood legend, in which Greene goes undercover to infiltrate a group headed by Cushing and the evil earl, Pasco. He discovers their plan to murder the Archbishop of Canterbury and to take over Bawtry Castle. But Greene organizes his band of men and quells the insurrection. Amazon.com Richard Greene, who stole from the rich to give to the poor every week on US and UK televisions in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1959), reprises his most famous role in this swashbuckling adventure from England's Hammer Films. Greene is the only actor to cross over from the small screen to this theatrical release (Hammer's second Robin Hood film after The Men of Sherwood Forest, 1954), but his Merry Men are an impressive Who's Who of British supporting talent, including Niall MacGinnis (Curse of the Demon) as Friar Tuck, Nigel Green (Zulu) as Little John, Desmond Llewelyn (Q from the Bond films), and best of all, Hammer vet Peter Cushing as the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham. The plot is unnecessarily convoluted at times--at its crux, it's about the Sheriff's plan to usurp land from a noble away in the Crusades, and Robin thwarting a scheme to assassinate the Archbishop of Canterbury, who opposes the Sheriff--but Greene and his band of brigands deliver a level of derring-do on par with their series work, and Cushing is always a pleasure to watch (as is a young Oliver Reed, who has a minor role as a vicious lord). Modern audiences may find it a bit stiff and campy, but those who remember the series should appreciate this return to the days of TV yore. The original Columbia Pictures trailer is included as an extra. --Paul Gaita