MANILA, Philippines - Russell Crowe has been entranced by the legend of Robin Hood ever since he was a boy growing up in New Zealand and Australia. His latest starrer, Robin Hood, released through United International Pictures, opens in local cinemas on May 14.
But as much as he loved the story, Russell believed that as yet there hasn’t been a film version that fully does justice to it — until now.
It’s no surprise then, that when producer Brian Grazer came to Russell with the idea for a modern-day version of this classic myth, Russell was immediately intrigued and keen to commit. And to honor the story that he has loved for years.
The actor and director Ridley Scott both agreed that their version of Robin Hood would tell the story of how the myth began — how Robin Longstride, a warrior who has been away fighting in the crusades, becomes Robin Hood.
The production was based at Shepperton on the outskirts of London and Ridley and his key crew settled on locations within a 30-mile radius of the studios including building Nottingham village on the 2,000-acre Hampton estate in the heart of the beautiful Surrey countryside, which is studded with ancient Oak trees — an iconic hallmark of the Robin Hood legend.
The one exception took them to the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastline in Wales where Ridley filmed a key battle scene. “It was incredible,” says Russell. “We had 130 horses going at full gallop on that beautiful beach and 500 odd extras on foot. The adrenaline rush was extraordinary.”
They also returned to a location that they used to great effect in Gladiator — Bourne Wood in Surrey. So it seemed fitting for Russell that some 10 years later he would return to Bourne Wood and film key scenes for Robin Hood.