Question

How does Robin Hood: prince of the thieves portray the crusades?

Answer 1

Not much was portrayed about the Crusades in a direct sense from the film other than establishing that this version of Robin Hood fought with King Richard and became a changed man after seeing war first hand. Instead of a yeoman who fought for the poor and to defend Richard's honor in Merry Old England from King John, he's now a war veteran who has returned to save the land from the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham.

It also introduced Morgan Freeman's character of Azeem, a Muslim who fights on his side, to establish that not all Muslims were "evil infidels" (as the torture chamber immediately stamps on everyone's imagination).

Also, the film simply avoids mentioning some of the problems that the Third Crusade faced, such as the fact that Richard was at one point held for ransom by a rival on his way home from the Holy Land after failing to take back Jerusalem. All that detail wasn't necessary to telling the story of Costner as Robin Hood.

Still, it's also why I thought it was funny seeing Sean Connery ride proudly into the last scene in the film knowing that he was playing a guy that had nearly bankrupted his country sending him on his adventure and then almost again in buying him back. And then he left again to wage war against another rival, dying in France, leaving the throne to - his brother John.

So in the end, John won anyway. He just had to leave Richard alone to do his thing.

For a much better portrayal of the Crusades (and of both sides) in a more recent film, you might be better served with Kingdom of Heaven.