"The definitive version of the story" - The Washington Post. Transports you to another place and time for thrilling clashes of good and evil: the centuries-old legend of Robin Hood was never more vividly brought to life than in this acclaimed British series. Combining history with elements of magic and mysticism, and set against a backdrop of gritty medieval realism, Robin of Sherwood has captivated fans of all ages.
Heading up the superb ensemble cast are Michael Praed (Dynasty) as Robin of Loxley, Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) as seething-mad Will Scarlet, and Nickolas Grace (Brideshead Revisited) as the greedy, conniving Sheriff of Nottingham. Shot entirely on location in English castles and countryside, the series boasts an authentic atmosphere enhanced by an award-winning soundtrack of haunting melodies by the Irish band Clannad. Includes all 13 episodes in Series 1 & 2.
Last fall we
had the scoop that Acorn Media had begun preparing a high-def Blu-ray Disc release of
Robin of Sherwood - Set 1, the mid-80s series that ran in the USA on the Showtime cable channel. At the time we passed along a planned release date of May 3rd, but today Acorn has formally announced the title with a finalized street date of
June 7th. It will come on 4 discs costing $79.99 SRP in the USA (but you can pre-order from Amazon at a discount using the button link below), and CA$99.99 SRP in Canada. 3 of these discs are in the Blu-ray format containing the featured episodes, as well as bonus material: Episode Commentaries (5 episodes), a Behind-the-Scenes Documentary "The Electric Theatre Show," upgraded and expanded from the original release (37 min.), Photo Galleries containing nearly 500 images (24 min.), and Music-Only Tracks (4 episodes). The fourth Bonus Disc is a DVD with these additional extras:
- Nothing's Forgotten: The Making of "Robin of Sherwood" (remastered), two documentaries about the making of Series 1 and 2 (102 min.)
- New featurettes with director Robert Young and actors George Baker and Philip Jackson on episodes "The Prophecy," "The Swords of Wayland," and "The Greatest Enemy" (23 min.)
- Outtakes (16 min.)
- Textless and foreign credit sequences (11 min.)
- PDF material including PR, Richard Carpenter's original story treatment, and several scripts (insert disc into your computer's DVD-ROM drive and open file to access PDFs)
There's also a 40-page booklet with extensive production notes included in the box, too! Note that the 13 included episodes (approximately 700 minutes) will be presented in the original episode order as intended by series creator. The official specs for the episodes are that they are presented in 1080p resolution but with the original 1.33:1 "full screen" video format preserved. Audio for the main program is in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and in the Original English Mono, with English and Polish subtitles available. Some bonus materials are presented in anamorphic widescreen at standard (480p) video resolution. Acorn also sends along this note regarding the high-def quality:
This Blu-ray was created from a high-definition transfer and restoration of the original program elements. While it represents a vast improvement in picture quality and level of detail over previous releases or transmissions, viewers may notice variable quality due to the inherent limitations and age of the original elements.
Fair enough, Acorn, and we're sure that all the fans appreciate this heads-up just like we do. Here's the Blu-ray package art for this set:
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