Director Kevin Reynolds speaks of a ‘murder’ and a ‘despicable’ and ‘senseless’ act. He even makes a comparison that seems strange at first glance: His movie “Robin Hood – King of Thieves“I have now suffered the ‘second loss in recent years: first Alan Rickman and now this!’
But what exactly is it about? The Sycamore Gap Tree is, or rather, one of Britain’s most famous trees. The sycamore maple stood alone in a depression between two hills directly on Hadrian’s Wall in Northern England – until the 150-year-old factory was illegally felled with a chainsaw a few weeks ago. The police have been investigating since then. A 16-year-old teenager and a 68-year-old man have now been arrested, but the investigation is still ongoing.
“Robin Hood” made the tree famous – now fans are mourning
Particularly in Britain, a wave of grief and outrage has broken the spell – almost like when someone dies. And this is where Kevin Reynolds comes into play. With his adventure classic “Robin Hood – King of Thieves” he played a significant role in the tree’s fame. Reynolds, who was already a fan of the special location, insisted on including a key scene in his film Kevin Costner And Morgan Vrijman to shoot there – and made its idyllic location and impressive plane tree truly famous. Since then, countless ‘Robin Hood’ fans have visited the tree on Hadrian’s Wall.
Here you can watch an excerpt from the film, which focuses on the iconic plane tree – and also shows how director Reynolds staged and paid tribute to it. The sequence begins with a slow tracking shot, at the end of which the tree is in the center of the panoramic shot – and not the two people approaching it.
But isn’t it going too far to compare the felling of a tree to the death of a human being, especially that of actor Alan Rickman? Reynolds’ statement seems strange at first, but he himself elaborates on the comparison, which may seem strange to many.
“The comparison is fair: Alan would agree!”
“I know some people will say, you can’t compare the death of a tree to the death of a human being. But some things are so iconic, so perfect in their existence, that they have such a profound effect on people. That’s why I think the comparison is fair. And I know that Alan [Rickman] would agree with me,” Reynolds told the newspaper BBC.
Kevin Reynolds’ 1991 classic Robin Hood: King of Thieves is currently available to stream on WOW and is now one of the best ways to remember the tree. Whether it will ever be there again remains uncertain. The log, which also damaged and threatened to further damage the masonry of Hadrian’s Wall, was removed after a short time. The tree stump remains in place. It must now be given special protection – in the hope that the tree will grow again. However, if this succeeds, it will take many decades before it regains its impressive size.