Plot hole: The Bishop in the film is performing the duties you would expect of someone in his position (giving mass, hearing confessions, performing weddings etc.) He has his own private chambers in the cathedral, refers to Robin as 'the boy I knew' and talks about hearing his Father's confession four months earlier; so he's been around for a while. The problem is the credits refer to him as the 'Bishop of Hereford'. No explanation is ever given for why the Bishop of a city 100 miles away is living and working in Nottingham rather than looking after his own diocese; or why the Bishop of Nottingham isn't around to look after his. (The Bishop of Hereford was an enemy of Robin Hood in the original ballads, and it's likely the filmmakers just gave that name to the Bishop in the film due to its familiarity, without thinking about the plot hole this creates).
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Plot summary
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Kevin Costner, Christian Slater, Alan Rickman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Brian Blessed, Michael McShane
After returning from the Crusades, Robin Hood finds that his land has been taken away for taxes. Using villagers as a sort of fight team, he goes to meet with the king. What follows is a great adventure from King John to the beautiful Maid Marian.
Guy of Gisbourne: Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe?
Sheriff of Nottingham: Because it's dull, you twit! It'll hurt more!
Trivia: When the villagers are pushing the catapult to the castle so they can get Robin and Azeem inside, the person on the very right of the screen is wearing the same clothes as Will and has the same hair style, but it is definitely not Christian Slater. It is his stunt double.
Question: Who exactly are the masked cult of which the Sheriff is a member, shown at the beginning when he unmasks and demands that Robin's father join them or die? If memory serves, the cult and the Sheriff's affiliation with them isn't referenced again at any point in the film. I know the Sheriff and the Witch are dark magic practitioners, but that was suggested to be a private thing between them in the bowels of the castle.
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Chosen answer: The masked men weren't part of a cult, they were the Sheriff's soldiers, the same ones that Robin meets when he first returns home. They are just in hoods and masks to appear intimidating while trying to kill the noblemen, like Locksley.
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