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Densham, Pen
Watson, John
ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1990)
Kevin Costner stars as Sherwood Forest's outlaw hero in this 1991 version of the classic tale of intrigue, romance and pageantry. When the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) murders Robin's father, the legendary archer vows vengeance. To accomplish his mission, Robin joins forces with a band of exiled villagers (not to mention the comely Maid Marian), and together they battle to end the evil sheriff's reign of terror...
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This moviescript available in following formats:
Densham, Pen. ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Script
PRINCE OF THIEVES
FADE IN:
SUNSET
The glowing orb ripples like a blood-red eye.
BLACK, ROBED FIGURE
A face of the ages. Dark, wrinkled skin. Wizened,
almond eyes. He howls at the sun. His voice ECHOES
across the sky. The Moslem call to prayer.
Hundreds of feet below his tower, a mud-walled city of
minarets and mosques. A human ants’ nest. Scurrying to
their devotions.
EXT. TWELFTH-CENTURY ARAB CITY - ESTABLISHING SHOT
INT. DUNGEONS - SUNSET
Pervasive blackness. Moans of men in pain. Dripping
water. Rats. Filth. The nadir of human degradation.
Bedraggled white men, POWs from the Crusades, caged
together with Arab cutthroats. Jailers wrench two
crusaders from their cell. ROBIN OF LOCKSLEY and PETER
DUBOIS. Their appearance reeks of long imprisonment, but
remnants of their noble heritage still glimmer in their
faces. Peter is so frail he can barely walk.
INT. TORTURE CHAMBER - SUNSET
A furnace. Torture instruments glow red hot. Chained
victims. A massive INTERROGATOR scrutinizes the two
white men. Indicates a rat-faced lowlife, who points at
Peter, jabbering in Arabic.
INTERROGATOR
He says you stole his bread.
PETER
It is a lie. I caught him
stealing ours.
The lowlife jabbers some more. The Interrogator debates.
INTERROGATOR
Cut off the infidel’s hand.
The jailers haul Peter to the chopping block.
(CONTINUED)
2.
CONTINUED:
ROBIN
No!... I took the bread.
PETER
That’s not true.
ROBIN
They’re not interested in truth.
You are too weak, Peter. You
would not live through it.
The Interrogator stares into Robin’s eyes.
INTERROGATOR
Sacrifice for the weaker? How
noble... As you wish... Cut off
this one’s hand as well!... But
first...
He indicates an Arab prisoner, who is dragged forward.
His struggling hand is laid on the executioner’s block.
INTERROGATOR
Show them the courage of Allah.
The prisoner’s face braces for the pain. A red-hot
scimitar flashes down. The hand flips into a basket.
Twitching.
Robin is next. His composure fails. He flops to his
knees, crying. The Interrogator laughs. The jailers
unlash the thongs on Robin’s hand. They stretch it out,
forcing it down. Robin goes limp, sobbing. Peter
catches his eye... Robin winks.
The scimitar. Drawn from the coals. Spitting flame.
Arcs down. Robin is suddenly galvanized.
ROBIN
And this is English courage.
He hurls his holders aside. Swings upward, driving his
fast into the executioner’s throat. Grabs the sword.
Slash. His thongs melt like butter. A jailer leaps at
him. Steaming, the scimitar slices into the man’s chest.
Despite his bindings, Peter wrestles the Interrogator.
Knife pressed to his throat, Peter is forced against the
furnace. At the last second, he flips the man into the
fire. Screaming.
PETER
That’s for five years of hell.
(CONTINUED)
3.
CONTINUED:
A jailer aims a scalding blade at Robin’s back.
VOICE (O.S.)
Behind you!
Warned, Robin ducks away. Slams the jailer’s head into
the wall.
Peter frees himself, but they are still outnumbered.
While fighting, Robin acknowledges the man who shouted
the warning. An imposing, shaven-headed SARACEN.
Heavily-muscled arms and chest, covered in tattoos. Even
his bald head is ornamented.
ROBIN
You speak English?
SARACEN
The king’s own. Set me free.
PETER
No, Robin.
SARACEN
For pity’s sake. Mine is a
sentence of death.
Robin sidesteps, propelling a guard into a pit.
PETER
Don’t trust him.
Two more guards attack, yelling fury. Robin eyes the
curved scimitar.
ROBIN
What I would give for an English
sword. This is a pruning hook.
A guard swings at him with a giant axe. Robin slashes...
shears the axe handle in two.
ROBIN
Hmm! Not bad.
He runs the man through. Peter loses his sword. His
opponent moves in for the kill... Peter grabs tongs from
the fire and smolders his opponent with a backhand.
Commotion outside. RAISED VOICES and RUNNING FEET.
SARACEN
Free me and I will show you a way
out.
(CONTINUED)
4.
CONTINUED:
ROBIN
Why should we trust you?
SARACEN
If you don’t, you are dead men.
ROBIN
He makes a point.
The door bursts open. More guards rush in.
ROBIN
A good point.
He slashes the man free.
PETER
Robin!
ROBIN
Whatever blood is in his veins, he
does not deserve to die here.
SARACEN
This way!
He beckons them to the back. A hidden door leads into a
tunnel.
INT. SEWERS - NIGHT
They wade through foul water up to their waists. The
Saracen leads... A snake lashes out for his face. Robin
lops off its head.
SARACEN
You are fast, my friend.
ROBIN
Five years I’ve waited for the
smell of free air. That makes a
man fast.
Guards drop down from above, carrying torches. Blocking
the way.
SARACEN
You will need to be yet faster.
A narrow opening to their left... they splash through.
Half running, half crawling in the dank water. Fire
arrows land around them. The orange smoke is choking.
(CONTINUED)
5.
CONTINUED:
SARACEN
Poison air. Hold your breath.
Flames illuminate the walls, alive with a loathsome mass
of crawling slime. Peter falls. A pursuer descends on
him, thrusting a blazing torch at his face. The Saracen
intercepts the blow. Grabs the man’s neck, SNAPPING it
with one mighty twist.
PETER
(coughing)
Thanks. I misjudged you.
SARACEN
Save your breath.
Gasping for air, they find the tunnel veers steeply down-
ward. A slippery, granite tube. Losing purchase, they
slide headlong. Sharp, rusted spikes jut out from the
walls ahead.
Robin grabs at the walls to break the fall. No use.
They’re picking up speed. He turns his sword crossways,
bracing it against the sides of the tunnel, as a brake.
Sparks fly. The sword cuts into Robin’s chest... but it
works.
SARACEN
Allah be praised.
ROBIN
Amen, brother.
A bloodcurdling scream. A pursuing guard tumbles down
the sewer chute. The three men press themselves against
the wall. The man hurtles by... is impaled on the
spikes.
A draft of fresh air from the roof of the tunnel. Using
the spiked guard as a ladder, Robin climbs. Removes a
grating.
EXT. ARAB STREET - NIGHT
Robin’s head appears... ducks back down, as a squad of
mounted soldiers thunders right over him... he reappears.
All clear. They’re outside the prison wall. Robin helps
Peter up.
ROBIN
God willing, we may now be safe.
(CONTINUED)
6.
CONTINUED:
Swoosh. An arrow pierces through Peter’s chest -- fired
from the prison wall. He reels... Robin leads him under
the wall for protection. Shouts of alarm. Soldiers
approaching.
ROBIN
Come, Peter. We must hurry.
Raising his sword, Peter faces the oncoming soldiers.
PETER
It is mortal. Leave me.
ROBIN
Hold on to my shoulder.
Peter shakes him off.
PETER
My mother... my little sister.
Tell them I love them. Tell them
I died a free Englishman.
Robin looks despairingly to the Saracen.
SARACEN
His wound is by the heart. We
cannot save him.
Robin knows it’s true. Peter pulls an insignia ring from
a hidden pouch in his clothes. Thrusts it into Robin’s
hand.
PETER
Take this to my sister. Swear you
will protect her for me... Swear
it, Robin!
ROBIN
(reluctantly)
I swear it.
Summoning hidden resources of strength, Peter charges at
the oncoming soldiers, brandishing his sword.
PETER
For England.
He fells the first Arab. The Saracen pulls Robin away.
SARACEN
Come now! Do not fail your friend.
Make his sacrifice an act of honor.
They vanish into the night. Fighting like a man pos-
sessed, Peter is swallowed in a sea of enemy soldiers.
7.
DESERTED ALLEY - LATER
Robin and the Saracen catch their breath.
ROBIN
Farewell, friend. God speed you
on your way.
SARACEN
Our way is together. With the
speed of Allah.
He grins. This strange man has a sense of humor.
ROBIN
I go to England.
SARACEN
Then I go to England.
ROBIN
England? Why?
SARACEN
You saved my life. I must stay
with you until I save yours.
ROBIN
Go your own way. I relieve you of
your obligation.
SARACEN
Only Allah can do that.
ROBIN
And if I don’t want you?
SARACEN
You have no choice... unless you
think you can kill me.
He grins broadly. Offers his hand.
SARACEN
My name is Aslan.
Resigned, Robin takes the proferred hand.
ROBIN
Robin of Locksley. You know a
short route to England, Aslan?
CUT TO:
8.
EXT. LOCKSLEY CASTLE (NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND)
Eerie shapes. Weaving. White light on water. The moon
reflected in the moat of a small castle. Towers shrouded
in night mist. Smoke curls from a chimney.
SUPERIMPOSE: LOCKSLEY CASTLE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND
INT. LOCKSLEY CASTLE - NIGHT
FIRE CRACKLES in an open hearth. Hams and a half sheep
hang, smoking. An old DOG SNORES at the fireside. A
bone clunks on the floor, waking him.
VOICE (O.S.)
Enough of that din, Remus. I
can’t think.
Licking the bone gratefully, the dog looks in the direc-
tion of the voice... Grey. Proud. Distinguished. LORD
LOCKSLEY.
Seated at a table, wine goblet in hand, he pores over a
wonderful illustrated Bible. Reading to himself for
solace and strength. Empty chairs surround the vast
table. A deep sense of loneliness. He glances at a
portrait over the fireplace... Robin.
The dog jumps. Hackles rise. O.S. SHOUTS. Locksley
unsheathes a dagger. Obscures it in the folds of the
Bible. The door bursts open. A peasant, ragged,
desperate, KENNETH.
KENNETH
My Lord! Help me.
He’s bleeding from a face wound. Another man grabs him
from behind. Locksley’s craggy-faced retainer, DUNCAN.
Older than his master, but still strong, he holds Kenneth
back.
DUNCAN
You must wait... I am sorry you
were disturbed, Master.
KENNETH
(high anxiety)
My Lord, please!
LOCKSLEY
It is alright, Duncan.
(to Kenneth)
You are Kenneth of Cowfall?
The peasant falls to his knees.
(CONTINUED)
9.
CONTINUED:
KENNETH
They’ve taken my Gwen. My
daughter.
LOCKSLEY
Who has taken her?
KENNETH
Men on horses. In masks.
(touches his wound)
We tried to stop them. My son is
dead.
EXT. LOCKSLEY CASTLE - NIGHT
Steam pours from the nostrils of a black charger. Lord
Locksley mounts, in armor. Duncan attempts to detain
him.
DUNCAN
You cannot go alone, Master. Let
me ride for help.
LOCKSLEY
That may be too late. Kenneth,
lead the way.
He kicks his horse into motion.
DUNCAN
Master, stay! There is an evil
moon tonight.
LOCKSLEY
Good will overcome, Duncan. Trust
in that.
Duncan looks up. Crosses himself. Dark clouds race
across the moon.
CUT TO:
EXT. WOODED TRAIL
Kenneth checks the ground. Locksley waits.
KENNETH
They came this way, my Lord.
LOCKSLEY
Onward then. What is this place?
(CONTINUED)
10.
CONTINUED:
KENNETH
Nearby the Gregor Caves.
Locksley reacts -- a hint of fear. They move on...
Ahead, the hillside glows, rimmed in eerie light.
Strange primitive CHANTS, wafted on the wind. Locksley
ties his nervous horse to a tree.
Parting undergrowth, Kenneth creeps forward. Cries out.
He’s face to face with the maggot-eaten skull of a goat.
Beyond it, a gruesome host of half-skinned human skulls,
all arranged on stakes. Some male, others with rotting
female tresses, staring eyelessly into the night.
Kenneth turns to run... A hand grabs him.
LOCKSLEY
Steady, man. They are to dissuade
the faint of heart. Think of
Gwen.
From the crest of the rise, they peer down into the
craggy valley. A cave opening, ablaze with flames leers
at them like the mouth of hell. Before the cave, a
circle of stones. A miniature Stonehenge.
A medieval orgy. Men and women in masks and loose
robes. Dancing. Drinking. Reveling. Pure carnality.
Lord Locksley and Kenneth watch in horror. Faces ashen.
KENNETH
Druids.
LOCKSLEY
I trusted we were rid of such evil
a century ago.
An unearthly SCREECH. A creature leaps into the circle
of stones. Grotesque gargoyle head, horns, fur-covered
arms and legs. A living Hieronymous Bosch DEMON. Its
clawed hands slash across a reveler’s back, drawing
blood in vicious streaks. The creature tastes the blood.
The reveler is ecstatic.
KENNETH
(petrified)
Is it the devil?
LOCKSLEY
If it is, I have some Christian
steel that will test his hide.
He draws his sword. A crucifix sculpted into the hilt.
A girl is dragged from the cave. Kenneth buries his
head.
(CONTINUED)
11.
CONTINUED:
LOCKSLEY
Gwen?
Kenneth nods.
The Demon shrieks, dervishing around GWEN, who is
carried onto the central plinth stone. A pagan altar,
the shape of an elephant’s head with its trunk raised. A
masked figure stands at the head of the altar. The high
priest of the dark rite.
The girl’s body shudders as blood-red liquid is forced
down her throat. The Demon’s voice is husky and hideous.
DEMON
Come, my virgin flower.
Hypnotized by the creature’s voice and snake-like move-
ments, Gwen stretches herself out. A single beam of
sunlight slices through the mist, like a laser. The
first light of the rising sun, it strikes directly on the
altar, tracking down towards the girl’s heart. The
Demon’s raised talons close in on the white flesh of her
neck. Gwen’s eyes are open wide, in a trance. The crowd
of revelers encircle the plinth. Awed anticipation...
A warrior’s yell!
Sword raised, Locksley THUNDERS in on his CHARGER. The
terrified crowd parts. The Demon screams like a banshee.
DEMON
Kill him! Kill him!
The followers throw themselves at Locksley. He beats
them off. The high priest issues orders to armed guards,
who run to intercept. One aims a spear. Locksley hacks
the shaft in half. Cuts men down left and right.
Reaches the altar stone.
LOCKSLEY
Gwen! Up, girl, up!
Gwen shakes off her trance. The Demon launches itself at
Locksley. Talons rip flesh from his face. With all his
strength, Locksley hurls the creature down.
LOCKSLEY
In the name of God!
His broadsword swings in a mighty arc. Slices across the
gargoyle’s skull. Clean through half the face...
Impossibly, the demon rolls back to its feet.
(CONTINUED)
12.
CONTINUED:
The head is an elaborate mask -- beneath are the yellow
skin, white hair, and burning red eyes of an albino
crone. Screaming vitriol, the hag is unharmed.
Momentarily stunned, Locksley regains his senses, hauls
the girl onto his charger. The guards close in.
Locksley spurs his horse. Rides for an opening.
The masked high priest stands resolutely in his path.
Brandishing a burning branch. The horse is freaked.
Rears. Locksley and the girl are thrown.
Unarmed, Locksley charges the man. Slams him into the
cave wall. The mask falls. Locksley gasps in
recognition.
LOCKSLEY
Nottingham!
The SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM. Powerful build, black beard,
cruel intensity in every feature.
NOTTINGHAM
You are an unwelcome surprise,
Locksley.
LOCKSLEY
The King shall hear of this,
Nottingham.
NOTTINGHAM
I think not.
Locksley is surrounded. One by one the men reveal their
faces. Locksley backs up in shock, recognizing them.
LOCKSELY
God help us.
NOTTINGHAM
One day all England will worship
with us.
LOCKSLEY
Never.
The crone spits venom in his face.
DEMON
I am Mortianna. You will die with
my name on your lips.
Locksley’s agonized cry fills the valley. On the hill-
side, Kenneth averts his eyes. Turns to run. Five
masked figures block his way.
13.
EXT. ENGLISH SHORE - DAY
A twelfth century French sailboat at anchor. A cross on
its sail.
A longboat rows to shore. Robin stands in the prow, in
a pilgrim’s hooded robe. He gazes at the approaching
land. Unable to wait, he leaps into the surf and wades
to the beach. He kneels, pressing his hands and face
into the soil.
ROBIN
Home. Thank you, Lord.
Aslan steps from the boat, sniffing the air. The French
sailors keep their distance from him. Robin takes his
hand.
ROBIN
My friend, you have escorted me
home. I beg you to free yourself
of your vow. Return with the
boat. I know how heavy your
heart must be, this far from your
family and native land...
ASLAN (SARACEN)
Because I love them so dearly,
I cannot dishonor them.
A sailor creeps up behind Aslan, club in hand.
ROBIN
I thought you’d say that.
He nods to the sailor, who swings the club down. The
Saracen sidesteps, grabs the man’s arm and flips him
into the surf. He turns a cold stare on Robin.
ASLAN
No man controls my destiny.
Especially not one who attacks
downwind and stinks of garlic.
Robin laughs. The Saracen remains intense.
ASLAN
If our positions were reversed,
I would have done the same.
Only I would have succeeded.
He smiles broadly. Robin claps him on the shoulder.
ROBIN
Come, Aslan. By nightfall we will
celebrate your honor when we dine
with my father.
14.
EXT./INT. PEASANT’S COTTAGE - DAY
CRASH! An armored foot splinters the door of a farmer’s
hovel. Children scream and run. A soldier clubs at
them, laughing.
Outside. More soldiers. Some on horses, others on foot,
with leashed hounds. Pillaging. Vandalizing.
Searching.
GUY GISBORNE: An impressive figure on horseback.
Strikingly handsome -- except that one of his ears is
missing. We recognize his face from the Druid ceremony.
He coldly addresses a pregnant woman with a child in her
arms, FANNY.
GISBORNE
You owe the sheriff three bushels
of flax.
FANNY
You starve us. First the drought,
now you take what food we have
left.
GISBORNE
For starving people, you look
fat enough.
SOLDIER
(emerging from
the hut)
He’s not here, sir. None but the
woman and children.
GISBORNE
(to Fanny)
Where is your mate? The man
they call Little.
FANNY
He died last winter.
GISBORNE
Is that so? We hear he is very
much alive. Hiding out in the
forest. He probably ran away
to escape your scolding tongue.
The soldiers join in his laughter. Incensed, Fanny
pounds her fist on his legs. Gisborne kicks her down.
FANNY
Norman swine!
A BOY of 12 springs from nowhere, thrusting a hay fork at
Gisborne’s throat.
(CONTINUED)
15.
CONTINUED:
FANNY
No, Wulf! Don’t! ’Twill only
make it worse.
Wulf backs off. Nostrils flaring with repressed hate.
GISBORNE
Seize him!
While two soldiers grab the Boy, others examine his
hiding place. A secret thatched door, built into the
side of a haystack... a bow and quiver... and a deer
carcass. Gisborne dismounts.
GISBORNE
This is Lord Nottingham’s deer.
Is this how you repay the Sheriff
for his protection?
WULF (BOY)
Like a wolf protects sheep.
FANNY
I killed it. We needed the meat.
GISBORNE
Poachers hang. Either he dies or
you die.
WULF
My mother lies to protect me.
FANNY
No, Wulf!
Gisborne drags the boy to the carcass.
GISBORNE
You have deprived us of a hunt,
boy.
He cups his hand in the deer’s blood. Smears it on
Wulf’s face.
GISBORNE
The hounds know the scent well.
He tosses his bloody glove to the dogs. They tear at
each other in their effort to rip at the glove.
GISBORNE
Run, boy. Like a deer. Give us
some pleasure before you die.
(CONTINUED)
16.
CONTINUED:
To the accompaniment of the HOUNDS’ savage HOWLS and
the horrified screams of his family, Wulf runs.
GISBORNE
Unleash them!
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DUSK
Nearing home, Robin is buoyant. The Saracen, brooding,
walks two paces behind him.
ROBIN
Why must you walk in back of me?
ASLAN
In your land am I not the infidel?
The unbeliever, the instrument of
evil?
ROBIN
Our races have fought for a
hundred years to prove that point.
ASLAN
Then I trust it is safer to appear
as your slave than as your equal.
ROBIN
For an ’infidel’ you have uncommon
clarity of thinking. Yet you
refuse to tell me about your home
and family.
ASLAN
Those are my burdens.
ROBIN
You speak my language. You have
the diplomacy and honor code of
a nobleman. I ask again, why
were you to be executed?
The Saracen maintains a moody silence.
ROBIN
So, I must continue with my
guesswork. You are highborn?
Probably... You fell from favor...
Clearly... Why? You broke the
law? You were a rival for power?
... A woman?
(CONTINUED)
17.
CONTINUED:
The Saracen reacts, almost imperceptibly.
ROBIN
By the Lord, that’s it!
Aslan is silent, but Robin knows he’s right.
ROBIN
They say there are Arab women of
such beauty that they can possess
a man’s mind, that he would be
willing to die for them. Is
that not so?
Ignoring him, the Saracen stops. Examines the darkening
sky.
ASLAN
It is close to sunset.
ROBIN
Your people must marry women
chosen for them by others, right?
No reply. Aslan unfolds a prayer rug.
ROBIN
Who is she? The Mullah’s daughter?
... Another man’s wife?... That’s
it!
ASLAN
Endless clouds. Is there no sun
in your cursed country?
ROBIN
You dog! You painted old dog!
What is her name?
ASLAN
Which way is East?
ROBIN
Her name?
ASLAN
East?
ROBIN
Her name?
ASLAN
East?!!!
Robin folds his arms. A standoff.
(CONTINUED)
18.
CONTINUED:
ASLAN
Damn you!... Jasmina.
ROBIN
Ah, Jasmina! Is she beautiful?
ASLAN
Which way is East?
ROBIN
That way.
Aslan throws his rug on the ground. Kneels.
ASLAN
Are you sure?
ROBIN
I would know blindfolded. I’m
five miles from home... Was she
worth it?
ASLAN
Worth dying for.
Robin stands smiling over him as Aslan begins his
prayers... BAYING of HUNTING DOGS... In the distance, the
boy Wulf runs toward them, ducks behind a tree and clubs
the leading dog with a branch. The other hounds close
in... panting with exhaustion, Wulf swings into the
branches. A hound savages his leg.
The soldiers surround the tree. The boy clambers
precariously onto the highest branch... Robin surrep-
titiously steals a crossbow from one of the soldiers’
horses.
GISBORNE
You’re not playing by the rules,
boy. Deer don’t climb trees...
Perhaps he thinks he’s a game
bird. Shall we teach him to fly?
Cut it down!
The soldiers hack at the trunk. The tree quivers.
ROBIN
Hold!... I am curious as to what
manner of creature is so fearsome
that it takes six men to attack
it.
Shrouded in his pilgrim’s hooded cloak, he approaches
them.
(CONTINUED)
19.
CONTINUED:
GISBORNE
Stand back, stranger. This is no
affair of yours.
ROBIN
Have we treed the devil himself?
Let me see... Ah ha! A small boy.
A truly dangerous animal.
GISBORNE
I advise you to move on, pilgrim.
This is the Sheriff’s land.
ROBIN
Wrong. This is my land, and my
tree. Therefore, whatever is in
it also belongs to me.
GISBORNE
I grow dangerously tired of your
wit... Chop it down!
ROBIN
The man who strikes that tree
dies.
He glances nervously at Aslan, who’s still at his
prayers. The men stop in mid-swing. More surprised
than scared. Gisborne gestures to the largest of them.
GISBORNE
Chop down the hooded fool.
ROBIN
(backing up)
Perhaps we could discuss this.
The soldier raises his sword. Robin lifts his cape...
the crossbow. Shoots from the hip. The bolt thuds
through the man’s armor. He’s dead before he lands.
GISBORNE
Kill him!
ROBIN
Aslan! It’s time to redeem that
vow.
GISBORNE
Set the dogs on him!
(CONTINUED)
20.
CONTINUED:
Aslan ignores him, lost in his prayers. Robin lifts the
other arm -- a second concealed crossbow. WHUMPF! The
bolt flips the dog handler into the vicious pack. Dead
or not, he soon will be. Robin unsheathes his sword.
ROBIN
Aslan, get off your damn knees!
I have four of them cornered.
The Saracen remains head down. Or did we see him steal
a glance? Gisborne signals his men to attack. A wave of
flashing steel.
ROBIN
I hope there’s enough of me to
satisfy you all.
Backed up to a tree, he grabs a branch and kicks out.
Two men fly back. He lunges at a third. His sword
strikes flesh. Robin sidesteps and hurls the fourth
onto a sharp tree stump.
Gisborne thrusts. Robin reacts too slowly. Blood flows
from his arm. His sword falls.
ROBIN
Aslan!!
Gisborne is on him, sword pressed to his back. Robin
freezes.
GISBORNE
Well, hooded stranger, allow me
to know your name before I run you
through.
A moment of silence... Like lightning, Robin spins,
kicks out Gisborne’s legs. Slams one foot on the man’s
sword arm, the other on his throat. Throws back his
pilgrim’s hood.
GISBORNE
Robin of Locksley!
ROBIN
On your knees, Gisborne. Pray.
He obeys. Robin raises his sword.
GISBORNE
Please, Locksley! No!
Robin drives the point into Gisborne’s rear. The man
leaps.
(CONTINUED)
21.
CONTINUED:
ROBIN
Now get off my land. And tell your
cousin the Sheriff what happens to
his scum when they pick on my
people.
Gisborne takes off, colliding with Aslan as he folds his
rug. Reacts in shock at the sight of the strange Arab.
Keeps running.
ROBIN
(to Aslan,
furious)
You worthless savage! You travel
ten thousand miles to save my life,
then leave me to be butchered.
ASLAN
I will fulfill my vow when I
choose.
ROBIN
Which does not include prayer
times, meal times, or any time
I’m outnumbered six to one!!
ASLAN
You whine like a mule. You are
still alive.
ROBIN
Barely.
Aslan examines Robin’s wound. Dismissive.
ASLAN
A flesh wound. Why did you let
their leader go?
ROBIN
After six years of the stench of
death, I have no stomach for
needless blood on my hands.
Wulf climbs cautiously from the tree.
ROBIN
Have no fear, boy.
The boy nervously eyes Robin and the Saracen, fingering
a crucifix around his neck. Runs off into the woods.
ASLAN
(laughing)
The conquering hero returns.
(CONTINUED)
22.
CONTINUED:
ROBIN
Ha! It was you he was scared of.
Aslan’s humor is infectious. Robin’s anger relents.
ROBIN
Come, my strange friend. Beyond
that hill lies the prettiest
little castle in all Christendom.
Warm hearths, hot food, real beds.
ASLAN
With feather pillows?
ROBIN
With feather pillows. Warm and
soft like Jasmina’s embrace.
EXT. LOCKSLEY CASTLE - NIGHT
Ruins. The moon hovers ominously over the once-proud
castle. Burned to the ground. Gutted and deserted.
Towers demolished. Moat drained. Robin stares, struck
dumb with horror.
The dark courtyard. Heartsick, Robin stumbles over
debris.
ROBIN
Father! Hello!
His VOICE ECHOES around the fallen battlements. Aslan
places a hand on his shoulder and points... Suspended
high on a tower wall is a decaying human corpse.
CLOSE - MEDALLION
round the corpse’s neck. The Locksley crest.
ROBIN
Noooooo!
A paroxysm of rage and grief. He smashes furniture.
Slams his fists relentlessly into the wall. Pained,
Aslan looks on.
ROBIN
I should have been here.
Spent, he leans against the wall. In the silence, they
hear an eerie TAPPING. Robin draws his sword... A
hunched, old man emerges, walking with the aid of a staff
... Duncan.
(CONTINUED)
23.
CONTINUED:
ROBIN
(shaking him)
Damn you, Duncan. Why didn’t you
cut him down?
DUNCAN
Master Robin, is it you? A
miracle. I thought God had
abandoned us.
ROBIN
You left my father to hang like
a common thief, carrion for the
crows.
ASLAN
Easy... Look at him.
Duncan steps into the moonlight. His face crudely-
scarred.
ROBIN
What has happened?
DUNCAN
They say they captured him
worshipping with the Druids. He
signed a confession before the
Bishop of Hereford.
ROBIN
Did they have witnesses?
DUNCAN
Just one. Kenneth of Cowfall.
The Bishop decreed all the Locksley
lands forfeit.
ROBIN
Did you believe the charges?
DUNCAN
Not even when they took my eyes.
ROBIN
Who did this to you, Duncan?
DUNCAN
Guy of Gisborne. With the sheriff
looking on.
Robin holds the old retainer to his chest. Stares into
the night in silent rage.
24.
EXT. NOTTINGHAM CASTLE - NIGHT
Marked contrast. A forbidding fortress. Cliff-like
battlements.
INT. NOTTINGHAM CASTLE - NIGHT
Face like thunder, Guy of Gisborne strides up curving,
stone steps. A long corridor leads to a guarded oak
door.
SENTRY
Sir Guy. His Lordship is not to
be disturbed.
GISBORNE
Away, fool.
He shoves the Sentry aside.
EXT. CASTLE BATTLEMENTS - NIGHT
Torches illuminate Nottingham’s face. Chilling cruelty
in Manson-like eyes. Seated, his manicured hand dis-
tractedly strokes a semi-naked girl. She sits at his
feet like a frightened dog. When Gisborne enters, she
covers up.
NOTTINGHAM
Who bade you cover up?
He smashes his fist into his chair. She timidly
uncovers.
NOTTINGHAM
Cousin, I trust you justify your
intrusion with news of profound
value.
His attention is riveted on a dark niche in the corner of
the courtyard. UNEARTHLY SOUNDS emanate from the black-
ness.
GISBORNE
I met a hooded man today. He bade
me warn you not to harm his
people.
NOTTINGHAM
His name?
GISBORNE
Robin of Locksley.
(CONTINUED)
25.
CONTINUED:
NOTTINGHAM
Ha! The prodigal son returns. He
is a whelp. This girl could best
him.
GISBORNE
This whelp bested five of my men
in the blink of an eye.
NOTTINGHAM
Your men were probably drunk. Yet
you survived, cousin?
Heavy scorn. The sheriff pats Gisborne’s hand like a
child’s. The voice from the darkness becomes a loud
CHANT. A wrinkled, monkey-like figure dances INTO VIEW,
wearing a necklace of human fingers. You might think
she was a hundred years old, if not for her incredible
agility. MORTIANNA.
GISBORNE
(stunned)
You brought her here?
NOTTINGHAM
Quiet!
The crone’s fingers dart into a bag. Emerge with a
writhing, SQUEALING mass... a PIGLET. A knife flashes.
Blood spurts into an ornate, sacred platter.
The girl flinches in horror. Mortianna shakes the con-
tents of a pouch across the bloody dish. Carved bone
dice -- Runes.
She rattles the platter. The rune symbols dance in
trails of blood. Eyes vacant, mouth frothing, she hisses
out her incoherent visions. Nottingham follows her every
move. A connoisseur.
NOTTINGHAM
What do you see?
MORTIANNA
Change the seat of power.
NOTTINGHAM
London?
MORTIANNA
Change it.
NOTTINGHAM
Move the capitol to Nottingham?
Excellent. How?
(CONTINUED)
26.
CONTINUED:
MORTIANNA
Ally with royal blood.
NOTTINGHAM
Put someone on the throne and rule
through him? Who?
MORTIANNA
That is not revealed.
The idea takes shape in Nottingham’s mind. Mounting
intensity.
NOTTINGHAM
Ally with royal blood. What else
do you see?
MORTIANNA
Armies.
NOTTINGHAM
Whose?
MORTIANNA
Yours. Men and weaponry in great
numgers.
NOTTINGHAM
And victory?
MORTIANNA
Much blood will be spilled.
NOTTINGHAM
Whose?
CLOSE SHOT
A dice splashes blood. Lands -- a death’s head symbol.
Mortianna hammers the platter. The dice spins and lands
again. Again the grinning skull.
BACK TO SCENE
The tray smashes to the ground. The hag runs at
Gisborne.
MORTIANNA
Who have you seen?!
She shakes him. Screams spittle in his face.
(CONTINUED)
27.
CONTINUED:
GISBORNE
(freaked)
No one. I have seen no one.
MORTIANNA
You lie! A man... A painted man.
NOTTINGHAM
What is wrong?
MORTIANNA
I have seen my death.
She whimpers. Spins, as if fearing invisible intruders.
MORTIANNA
The painted man. He haunts my
dreams.
GISBORNE
Locksley has a companion. A dark-
skinned foreigner. He had the
marked skin of Islam.
Mortianna trembles like an epileptic. Eyes wide with
terror.
MORTIANNA
Kill them! Kill them!
She throws herself at Nottingham for protection. He
caresses her. Gisborne is thunderstruck.
NOTTINGHAM
Cousin. Prove to Locksley that
your survival was his last mistake.
MORTIANNA
(frantic)
And the painted man! Kill him.
NOTTINGHAM
Kill them both.
He continues to stroke her. Her trembling subsides.
NOTTINGHAM
You have done well, Mortianna.
Exceedingly well. No one shall
harm you, I swear it.
Mortianna reaches out bloodied fingers towards the young
girl, who shrinks away. Nottingham gently takes the
girl’s hand.
(CONTINUED)
28.
CONTINUED:
Draws it to his mouth, as if to kiss it... and bites down
viciously, drawing blood. The girl screams.
NOTTINGHAM
Now, my child, Mortianna’s kisses
will seem soft, like an angel’s.
(to Mortianna)
Take her. You have earned her.
Mortianna grabs the terrified girl’s wrist. Drags her
away.
GISBORNE
It is madness bringing the hag
here.
NOTTINGHAM
Fear not for my sanity, Guy. For
in madness, there is great power.
EXT. LOCKSLEY CASTLE - DAWN
Red shards of sunlight slice through mist-shrouded trees.
Robin hammers a crude cross over a hillside grave.
Heads bowed, Duncan and Aslan stand at his side.
ROBIN
Our last words in this world were
spoken in anger. He called the
Crusades a foolish quest, said it
was vanity to force other men to
our religion. He was right.
(looks to Aslan,
then back to the
grave)
Please forgive me, Father.
DUNCAN
He loved you till the end, young
master. He never gave up hope of
your return.
ROBIN
I failed him. I should have been
here at his side.
DUNCAN
You must leave, head north to
safety. Gisborne will surely seek
revenge.
ROBIN
Leave me.
(CONTINUED)
29.
CONTINUED:
DUNCAN
I know what you’re thinking. But
one man can achieve nothing
against so many. You would need
an army.
ROBIN
Leave me.
ASLAN
Come, friend.
He leads the old man away.
CUT TO:
GRAVE SIDE - LATER
Pouring rain. Robin stands drenched at the grave side.
Aslan watches from the shelter of trees. Duncan heats a
stale chunk of bread over the ashes of a small fire.
DUNCAN
He still stands vigil?
ASLAN
Like a rock.
Duncan offers half the bread to the Saracen.
DUNCAN
A curse on the Saracens! Were it
not for their ungodly ways, he
would never have left. This would
never have happened.
ASLAN
It surprises me that one who
curses others so readily has lived
so long.
DUNCAN
I do not recognize the style of
your voice, friend. Are you
Irish? A Cornishman?
ASLAN
Er... no.
DUNCAN
What manner of name is Aslan then?
ASLAN
A fine Saracen name.
(CONTINUED)
30.
CONTINUED:
DUNCAN
Lord, no!
He chokes in shock. Spitting bread.
ASLAN
Lord, yes. But eat in peace. I
take no offense.
(glances at Robin)
By the prophet! What is the man
doing?
Robin raises his dagger over his wrist. Aslan runs to
him.
ASLAN
Wait!
Too late. Robin slashes the dagger across his palm.
Rain and blood mingle. Streaming onto the grave.
ROBIN
I swear by my own blood. I will
not rest until I have restored my
father’s name.
(a whisper)
... Or until I am dead.
EXT. FOREST PATH - DAY
Ooze sucks at feet. The three men stomp through mud and
rain.
ROBIN
We make a fine army, do we not,
Duncan? A blind man, an Arab, and
a fool.
&nb |
