From: corun@access.digex.com (Corun MacAnndra)
Subject: Re: Accents (was Re: COVINGTON CROSS)
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 16:11:43 GMT

In article <betel.715014583@camelot> betel@camelot.bradley.edu (Robert Crawford) writes:
>Bill Thomas <bt16+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>>Which brings us back to Robin Hood and Kevin Costner. In most Robin Hood
>>legends, Robin is a member of the pre-William nobility (so his father
>>would not have had a castle, by the way -- a Norman "innovation"), who
>>became a sort of anti-Norman guerrilla. This explains why the "steal
>>from the rich, give to the poor" idea caught on. Anyway, Robin would
>>have spoken some form of early English, but it would have been
>>unintelligible to us. So, Costner's accent was as historically accurate
>>as anyone's in the film -- which is to say, NO ONE's accent was even
>>close to being right. Actually, the single most inaccurate accent in the
>>film was that of Alan Rickman. NO WAY would the Sheriff of Nottingham
>>have spoken anything other than French. Of course, Rickman is generally
>>credited as the only one who spoke with a correct accent. Hooray for
>>Hollywood! 
>
>	At the time that Robin Hood:POT came out, I was dating an
>English major who had spent some extra time concentrating on Old
>English. She and I came up with the same conclusion: the only reason
>people had to complain is that there weren't more French accents.
>	Of course, try explaining to 99% of the population why Robin
>Hood sounded like he was Appalachia and the other nobles sounded like
>they just came over from France...


Alright, so Dances with Robin Hood wasn't the greatest remake of the legend,
but I have to say something in defense of Kevin Costner who gets beat up
far too much for his lack of accent.

First, he had just come off an extremely grueling schedule filming Dances
With Wolves. The accent he had in that was historically accurate for that
film. Also remember that Dances With Wolves was a very long film when it
was released, and if you knew how much of even a short (say 90 minute) film
ends up on the cutting room floor, you'd realize just how much time was taken
in filming DWW.

Second, as an actor who specializes in dialects, I know how difficult it is
to jump from one dialect to another, especially when neither are your own.
I once did a Jacobean period play where I portrayed a playwrite who was
also acting in a rehearsal, and had to jump from foppish English to drunken
Irish almost one line after another as the character applauded his own
abilities during the readings. Try this some time and you'll see what I mean.

Third, Costner honestly hounded the producers for a dialect coach, and actually
had one during the beginning of the film. This coach was taken away as the
filming got delayed and started coming in over budget. Remember too, these
are the same producers who hired Sean Connery for about a minute and a half's
worth of screen time. Ah Hollywood. You gotta love it.

Now I will admit that Costner is not the greatest when it comes to dialects,
which makes his request for a coach even more important to what he wanted
to do with the role. As for Alan Rickman's accent, he's English, and would
naturally be credited with having the most authentic English accent in a 
film that was otherwise entirely historically inaccurate. We're also dealing
with the "legend" of Robin Hood. How can you be historically accurate about
a legend? Remember that Erol Flynn's fencing ability (or the lack of it)
used to drive poor Basil Rathbone crazy. He was a trained fencer, and all
those great scenes where all you see are their shadows, were actually
done with Basil and a real fencer. Maybe people would have preferred it if
Costner's voice had been dubbed.

Finally, I challenge all those who have been detracting Costner or the
TV show Covington Cross with developing a dialect fitting your chosen
persona. Naturally I won't expect you to learn the languages, but I will
advise that you listen closely to non-English speaking peoples around and
how they alter the grammar of English to suit the grammar of their native
language. I will also allow that the English must be understandable, that
is, not Olde English, Middle English, or Chaucerian, but it would be good
to use colloquialisms that are period, and not modern. There are a great many
Scots and Irish out there who's accents are nonexsistant, and I haven't
even discussed the rest of Europe. I think this will be a fun challenge
for you, and may add a bit more spice to your role playing in the SCA. A
book I highly recommend is _Foreign Dialects: A Manual for Actors, Directors,
and Writers_ by Lewis and Margueritte Shalett Herman, ISBN 0-87830-048-1.
I'm not sure if it's still in print, but the last know publisher was
Theatre Arts Books, 333 Sixth Ave, NY, NY 10014.

BTW, my usage of "you" throughout this missive was not directed at the
posters quoted above exclusively, but all who find it necessary to openly
criticize something they think they understand better than the people doing
it. Experience is the best teacher, and I urge you all to experience the SCA
to the fullest. There is a wealth of learning out there, and we can all
be richer for it.

In Service,

Corun



-- 
===========================================================================
    Corun MacAnndra     |  The great thing about travel is getting to
  Dark Horde by birth   |   meet new people and see new places.
    Moritu by choice    |                            G. Khan