Great read, Craig. You are missed around here.
Finally watched the HD DVD version of The Adventures of Robin Hood last night. It looked terrific. Was disappointed to find my ability to suspend reality, and be swept up in the story, has been diminished by more modern movies and computer generated special effects.
For example, in the past, when Robin and his men are "sneaking" into the Archery contest, I was able, without thinking about it, to overlook that Robin, et al., were easily recognizable, simply accepting that, though I could easily recognize them, none of the villains could. It wasn't even noticed that the disguise was more implied than literal (realistic).
Last night, I found myself saying "oh c'mon! The bad guys would know Robin in that getup from a mile away." And, of course the violence is stylized rather than graphic. "What? No blood spurting from those sword thrusts, no limbs hacked off and flying through the air?
Truth be told, I'm not certain which is the better way. The "reality" path is certainly more honest. But, just as when we changed from radio to TV ("theater of the mind" to visual reality), something is lost when moving from stylized fantasy to graphic reality. The ability to fantasize is a joyous gift. Perhaps that's why, since reading is "theater of the mind," I still love to read.
It would make sense that you younger people, though able to intellectually grasp my meaning, do not understand, emotionally, why I'm waxing poetic about the past. But, just stay alive long enough and you will. There is a price to pay for progress.
I've had the Robin Hood disc awhile but got hooked on all the special features included on the disc. I've been watching most of those over the past few days. Fun to see the 70 year old, behind the scenes stuff, IMHO. YMMV.
