Of all the countless iterations of the legend of Robin Hood, one reigns supreme – Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights. This Robin Hood story may not be the first the comes to mind out of the many movies the timeless legend has inspired over the years. There's Ridley Scott's take on the legend, which reunited him with his Gladiator star Russell Crowe. There's the campy Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. There's the 2018 effort from Otto Bathurst, which is...better left undiscussed. And of course, there's the animated Disney film, which reinterpreted the famous archer and his allies as animals. Mel Brooks' version, though, stands heads and shoulders above the rest, providing the most compelling on-screen version of the story – an irony because Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a parody.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights starts out like any other Robin Hood film: Robin of Loxley (Cary Elwes) is captured while fighting in the Crusades and finally returns home to learn that Prince John (Richard Lewis) is oppressing the people alongside the corrupt Sherriff of Nottingham (Roger Rees). Robin then assembles a band of merry men to take back Nottingham, all the while rekindling things with his old flame Maid Marian (Amy Yasbeck). Sounds simple enough, right? Where Men in Tights differs is in the approach it takes to the material.

Mel Brooks Adapted the Robin Hood Legend in His Signature Style

Cary Elwes as Robin Hood in Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Image via 20th Century Fox

By the time Mel Brooks wrote, directed, and produced Robin Hood: Men in Tights, he was well-known for his satirical takes on different film genres. Spaceballs was a successful send-up of popular space movies including the Star Wars franchise. Blazing Saddles mocked the Western. And Brooks took shots at the world of horror not once, but twice with Young Frankenstein and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. That tradition continued with Men in Tights, right down to its opening sequence. Said sequence happens to feature a group of archers firing flaming arrows that form the opening credits...and the inhabitants of a village running for their lives. "Every time they make a Robin Hood movie, they burn our village down!" one exasperated villager groans.

The jokes don't stop there. When the Sherriff challenges Robin to a duel, he slaps him with a glove in the usual tradition. Undaunted, Robin picks up a glove from a suit of armor and whacks the Sherriff right in the face with it. The training sequence with the Merry Men features them outright failing to hit archery targets or even a simple jousting dummy. And both the Sheriff and Robin fight for the affections of Marian - but are hampered by the chasity belt she wears, as well as her muscular maid Broomhilde (Megan Cavanagh) who insists she gets married before any hanky panky takes place. But the funniest moment has to be when Robin enters an archery tournament in disguise. He ends up losing, to the point where he actually has to pull out the script to double-check the ending!

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'Robin Hood: Men in Tights' Shows Mel Brooks' Genuine Love For the Legend Genre

Even though it's poking fun at the Robin Hood legend and its various tropes, Robin Hood: Men in Tights - much like Mel Brooks' other movies - showed that he had a genuine love for the legend genre. The romantic moments between Robin and Marian are a clear example of this: there's a genuine sweetness to their dialogue, and Robin even breaks into a full on romantic serenade. Even some...suggestive shadow puppetry can't ruin the moment. Brooks had employed a similar trick in Spaceballs, and it worked just as well there. It's proof that great comedy doesn't need to be mean spirited or dismissive of its roots - genuine love for a thing means you can actually give some comedic insight into it.

'Robin Hood: Men in Tights' Has an All-Star Cast

Dave Chappelle as Ahchoo and Cary Elwes as Robin Hood back to back in Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Image via 20th Century Fox

And what would a Mel Brooks movie be without an all star cast? In my opinion, Elwes is the perfect Robin Hood - equal parts dashing and heroic. That and he has some of the best comedic timing, especially in his facial expressions. Rees is all bluster as the Sherriff, and Lewis gets some choice lines in as Prince John. But what most people remember Robin Hood: Men in Tights for is the film debut of Dave Chappelle as Ahchoo. Chappelle showed off his cutting sense of humor early on, including a visual gag involving pump up sneakers. And in a first for his films, Brooks only has a minor role as a traveling rabbi with a miniature guillotine. Three guess what it does.

For me, the best appearance comes from none other than Patrick Stewart himself as Prince Richard. Yes, Mel Brooks managed to get Patrick Stewart himself in a movie. And Stewart manages to lend quite a bit of gravitas to his sole scene in the film - even adding to the romantic overtures by marrying Robin and Marian. Though in true Brooks fashion, he claims the right of prima nocta and lays a kiss on Marian. This leads the Rabbi to quip, "It's good to be the king," in a great homage to History of the World, Part I. Even thirty years later, Robin Hood: Men In Tights manages to make me laugh and warms my heart.

Robin Hood: Men In Tights is currently available to stream on HBO Max.