Robin Hood: Unrated Director's Cut (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) Right now

I don't know why I listened to all the bad reviews when this came out. Scott is one of the best directors alive, I think, and aside from Kingdom Of Heaven I've loved most everything he's done. I should have known he'd deliver a unique Robin Hood, and he did. This director's cut version, while long, gets better as it goes, and looks absolutely gorgeous on blu-ray.

I saw on the box that it was 2:35 and groaned, but after a decent opening RH just kept getting better and by halfway I was glad that I had so much left to enjoy. The sets and scenery are stunning, the script more intelligent than most, and there are some fine performances from almost everyone, especially Hurt, Von Sydow, Blanchett and Crowe.

I can't help but like Crowe in every role he takes on. He personifies the trustworthy honest guy, rarely more so than here. The story is not the normal robbing hood tale, but rather the backstory of how RH became the legend; it's a more political picture of the Crusades and England vs. France than one would have expected, and Crowe makes Robin thoroughly believable. It's hard not to root for him, and his appropriately edgy chemistry with Cate works nicely. Errol Flynn may have been the perfectly breezy Robin, but Crowe brings a depth that Flynn never essayed. Crowe and Scott hit a peak in Gladiator, and they're not far off that mark here. Not quite there, but still damn good.

There's only a small dose of cheese in RH, mostly in the last hour. The climactic battle goes on a little too long, though it's certainly epic; no CGI here. The whole film looks typically Ridley ravishing, and there are some gorgeous shots of the English countryside in full spring bloom that take the breath away. King John is done well by Isaac, and Hurt and the apparently immortal Von Sydow bring real gravitas to their roles. I rarely left the world of this film once I got into it, and that's not easy for a 155 minute flick.

So, lesson learned: trust your favorite directors and actors more than your favorite critics!

PS The blu-ray is exemplary, marrying a perfect transfer to an hourlong doc that's truly worth watching, a commentary with pictures by Scott, some deleted scenes that are actually as good as the film and could easily have been included, and a few other extras. A film this carefully shot deserves hi-def and it gets it here. This is one film worth getting on BD rather than dvd, no doubt.

Ridley Scott: the guy knows how to deliver quality at every step of the filmmaking process.Get more detail about Robin Hood: Unrated Director's Cut (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy).