The aim was to give Kevin Costner's version a good kicking': director John Irvin on his anti-Thatcher Robin Hood

"It was very much a stand-alone film with the aim of giving Kevin Costner's version a good kicking if we could, says Irvin, now 85. The studio wanted to go immediately because they wanted to pre-empt the Costner."

"Before being appointed as chair of 20th Century Fox in 1989, American film executive Joe Roth had been developing a Robin Hood movie. Unable to bring the project with him to Fox, it was picked up by Warner Bros and became Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."

"The production was tricky. It was cold and wet. It was winter, so Robin Hood couldn't be in Merry England'. All the trees were bare, so nobody could hide and ambush people. Quite serendipitously, we found in Cheshire, near the castle, a whole warren of salt mines."

Thirty-five years ago, two Robin Hood films competed at the box office in 1991. Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves became the dominant blockbuster, while John Irvin's Robin Hood, featuring Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman, remained largely forgotten. Irvin's film was deliberately greenlit as a rival production after Joe Roth's original Robin Hood project was transferred to Warner Bros and transformed into Costner's heavily Americanized version. Irvin, now 85, directed the film without involvement in the studio politics surrounding its creation. Production occurred over three months beginning in October 1990, filming at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire and Welsh locations. Irvin faced significant production challenges, including harsh winter weather and bare trees that prevented traditional forest ambush scenes, leading him to utilize nearby salt mines for underground sequences.

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