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In assessing "Robin Hood" (2010) as a project, one must first, I suggest, view it as a film that its creators intended as a tool for reviving the genre, purposes and intentions of "historical drama". Writers Brian Helgeland (screenplay and story) and story writers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris recast the Robin Hood legend in three vital ways at least. They made Robin Longstride a commoner, one only impersonating Robert Loxley, hereditary nobleman,at the request of his father to save their property from royal tax collectors. Secondly, they set the film after the death of Richard the Lionhearted, not during his lifetime. And then they laid the groundwork for a period of outlawry for Robin and his forces that would culminate as a "legend" in the writing of the Magna Charta forced upon Richard's successor King John by England's barons --nder the leadership of "Robin of the Hood" son of a father, a stonemason, who had died for trying to engineer this visionary charter of "rights" years before. Russell Crowe and his executive production team working with veteran director Ridley Scott deserve credit for many successes, I claim, not the least of which are the sets, major reimagnings of the Tower of London and entire castles, towns and villages, a Medieval siege, battles, troop landings from the Channel, court ceremonials, towns and forests. So many parts of this alternative history and reconstruction seem to me to work so realistically that there is much praise to distribute to the technical creators. First, there is the stirring but subtle music provided by Marc Streitenfeld, which I found by turns to be subtle and then noteworthy where majesty was implied. Then there was the clean color cinematography achieved by John Mathieson. More than a dozen art directors working together captured a Medieval English look that I suggest has never been surpassed on film, understating much but being as "colorful" as necessary as in the final meeting of barons with King John as the savvy could desire. Production Designer Arthur Max achieved an imitable yet original balance of light, nature, landscape and man- made buildings, as a setting for costumes, human forms, animals, etc. throughout. Set decorations by Sonja Klaus and the costumes created by Margarethe Schmoll and Sharon Long contributed mightily to the effect desired by the authors of transporting the viewer to the late 12th Century, but in making it a world where ideas, loyalties and the need for justice are not much different than our own 22nd Century needs for the same human en; this, I assert, was the formula by which Hollywood's filmmakers once circumvented the anti-conceptual bias, totalitarian bigotries and pseudo-puritanism of corporate studio moguls in the past to project an American--not U.S.--constitutional narrative onto past eras. Even more: the makeup, hairstyling, second-unit direction, lighting, sound and rerecording tasks met within the film were in most cases handled with distinction, seconding the believability of the main narrative's effect. Among the actors who helped to bring the story to enacted life on the screen, one must begin with Russell Crowe's sometimes understated commoner Robin played coolly against Cate Blanchett's worldly but noble Marian. Max Von Sydow seemed both noble and from a different, better era as Walter Loxley as did Eileen Atkins as Eleanor of Quitaine. Notable in the cast for their effectiveness were also Mark Strong as Godfrey, Matthew Macfadyen as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Kevin Durand as Little John, Danny Huston as Richard the Lionhearted, Mark Addy as Friar Tuck and Lea Seydoux as Isabella of Angouleme. As the cunning weakling John, Oscar Osaac is occasionally effective, and William Hurt underplays William Marshall with more than customary skill. No one else is given very much to do in this long attempt, but many smaller parts are by my standards well-done. In sum, I wrote at the time I first saw the film that its makers had single-handedly revived the color adventure genre, perhaps a most-welcome leaven to the bad concepts, neocon and altruist ideas, and fantasy-parody bent of film for over the past three decades as a demonstrably viable film choice. What was here expensively produced and used for dramatic effect can elsewhere be used as an antidote to brooding antiselfhoodism and postmodernistic reality- bashing on many occasions, hopefully in the form of westerns, adventures set in the human past and perhaps even idea-level films extending human hopes into a brighter, better future.

"Call Me Madam" (1953) possesses perhaps the most complete list of attributes that most other musicals made since the early 1970s have completely lacked of any film ever made. Its protagonist is past 40 and not particularly attractive, female. gruff, tough-minded and smart. Her romantic opposite number in the film is foreign, classically-trained as a singer, anti-United States, honest, unpopular in his own country and a nobleman. The second leads are a comic dancer and a short, skinny blonde playing a member of a foreign royal family. Veteran Walter Lang used this material to fashion a well-directed film set in a Graustarkian nation all of whose leaders want U.S. aid from the new ambassador--except for one man, the man the heroine, the new U.S. ambassador, falls for. Arthus Sheekman deserves the credit for making of Russel Crouse's and Howard Lindsay's book of the stage hit of the same name, with music by Irving Berlin, the best of his musicals and a filmic delight. Solid Sol Siegel produced and Leon Shamroy supplied vivid cinematography for this ambitious work that goes indoors, outdoors, presents at night and by day and does all with seemingly effortless ease, by my standards. With art direction by Lyle Wheeler and John De Cuir, set decorations by dependable Walter Scott and a range of colorful costumes by Irene Sharaff the movie had to be beautiful, and it is. Add in musical work by Ken Darby with the singers, Earle Hagen as orchestrator and Robert Alton as choreographer, and interesting results should have been expected. Songs such as "You're Not Sick You're Just in Love", "It's a Lovely Day Today" a folkloric showstopper, "The Hostess With the Mostess" and a dance number that rivals Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at their best for staging and the possibilities improve even more. But the film is also one that moves well, is pleasant, intriguing, and features a large number of locales, moods and scenes, tied to a running gag about the then new female ambassador's boss, Harry Truman, who appointed her and to whom she reports by phone. Something special with these elements mixed well was bound to happen. It happened I say because of Ethel merman's very professional approach and the great singing and acting of her award-level co-star, George Sanders as the honest official who woos her. Billy de Wolfe is Merman's insufferable underling, Donal O'Connor her protégé and Vera Ellen the royal with whom O'Connor falls in love. Helmut Dantine is powerful as O'Connor's rival, Walter Slezak and Steven Geray two bumbling comic ministers. Others in the large and talented cast includes Ludwig Stossel, Lilia Skala as his wife, capable Emory Parnell, Percy Helton and Charles Dingle as well as Oscar Beregi, Olan Soule and Nestor Paiva. For an adult viewer, one willing to forego Hollywood's usual musical clichés, this amiable and memorable entertainment--based loosely on the life of real-life hostess Perle Mesta--should work satisfactorily from brassy opening to intelligent conclusion. Not to be missed, if only for Sanders' musical numbers.

"The Desert Fox" (1951) I judge to be a dignified, highly-intelligent and thoroughly absorbing account of the last days of Erwin Rommell . He was of the officer class of Germany who with extreme care divorced themselves from "politics". Their job, as Rommell, in the person of James Mason in the film states, they considered to be to fight for their country. The film is in fact as much about his battle with his own perception of the Hitler gang and their interferences in his conscience, his command and his freedom to do his assigned tasks as it is about his soldiership. Producer Nunnally Johnson's brilliant dramatic script, based upon Desmond Young's investigation of Rommel's death performed only a few years after WWII, is narrated by Michael Rennie, as Young. For a recent critic to quibble at celebrating Rommel's humanity after the recent attempts by politicians to sell the idea of "executive infallibility" would have to rank as a treasonable opinion or worse. As this mostly-accurate film proceeds, we become aware that Rommel should have done more and done it sooner to try to save the wartime situation for his soldiers and for all Germans; but that is hindsight. What we are given is the rare opportunity to live this bright man's gradual disillusionment with the old maxims of warfare and political leadership, as we learn the truth along with a man who eventually dies for his errors both of omission and of brave commission. Solid veteran director Henry Hathaway keeps events moving with vigor and extreme clarity from the riveting opening raid scene on Rommel's headquarters (it should have happened that way) to the unforgettable final scene as the General is taken away by Hitler's emissaries. The brilliant music for the film by Daniele Amfitheatrof and the cinematography by Norbert Brodine in B/W are both far-above-average. Set decorations supplied by Thomas Little and Stuart Reiss add a great deal to the story's atmosphere as well. Art directors Lyle Wheeler and Maurice Ransford and editor James B. Clark are to be commended for matching WWII footage with original shots with uncommon skill. But this is an actors' movie, I claim; and it is the cast who brings this sobering and powerful tale to life. The center of the film is James Mason as Rommel; here this sensitive actor delivers one of his best early performances, certainly Oscar caliber. As Von Runstedt, his enemy and later his friend, Leo G. Carroll is unquestionable and riveting, as always. Richard Boone as Mason's subaltern, Jessica Tandy as his wife, and stalwarts such as George Macready, Paul Cavanagh, John Hoyt, Everett Sloane, Luther Adler (playing Hitler), Eduard Franz, Cedric Hardwicke and Michael Rennie are all more-than-adequate or better by my exacting standards. Several scenes may be true standouts--Hardwicke and Mason's second scene arguing the case for removing the Fuhrer, Carroll's two scenes with Mason enlarging on the enormous cost of the mistakes being made by Berlin's amateurs that has already lost the Reich two armies, and the early scene in the Desert when Rommel refuses to lose his entire army to a "victory or death--no retreat" order are among the best by my lights. The movie humanizes Rommel, but also gives evidence of his hesitation, his overly- loyal service to a monstrous regime and the web of danger he finally sees being spun about him. This is a moving, and I find, an extraordinarily-memorable film; the action scenes under director Hathaway and assistant director Gerd Oswald are brilliantly done. In any era, a literate and compelling script that shows the cost to a great man of adherence to the cult of the infallible leader--explicitly religious or clandestinely so as here--carries forward a message of eternal importance in the unending struggle between the advocates of the individual and the advocates of the collective. This is by my lights as writer, actor and philosopher, a great film. It stands head and shoulders in my estimation above almost every other film of its fictionalized biography genre relating to war.