Rob Roy (1995)

72% of critics liked it
(43 reviews)
72% of users liked it
(34,212 ratings)

The 18th century Scottish legend of Robert Roy MacGregor comes to life in this stylish adaptation of the swashbuckling novel by Sir Walter Scott. Liam Neeson stars as the title character, a cattle drover and proud head of a Highlands clan who takes a one thousand pound loan from the royal Marquis of… More The 18th century Scottish legend of Robert Roy MacGregor comes to life in this stylish adaptation of the swashbuckling novel by Sir Walter Scott. Liam Neeson stars as the title character, a cattle drover and proud head of a Highlands clan who takes a one thousand pound loan from the royal Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) in order to make a profit on some livestock that will keep his struggling people alive through the coming winter. One of the Marquis' henchmen, wily expert swordsman Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth) learns of the loan from the nobleman's factor, Killearn (Brian Cox), and steals the money by murdering Rob Roy's best friend MacDonald (Eric Stoltz). Unable to repay the loan and unwilling to give up his land, Rob Roy becomes a fugitive, hunted by none other than Cunningham, who rapes Rob Roy's wife Mary (Jessica Lange). Scotch-British politics come to a boil over the Rob Roy affair, leading to an officially sanctioned showdown between the stoic farmer and Cunningham. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 19 min.
Directed By: Michael Caton-Jones
Written By: Alan Sharp
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Apr 7, 1995 Wide
On DVD: Aug 27, 1997
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Todd McCarthy, Variety
Rob Roy has its diversions, but they are unfortunately outweighed by some heavy baggage that contains not enough of substance.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Rob Roy is best watched for local color and for its hearty, hot-blooded stars.
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle
With such a cast and the setting of the Highlands, plus a story with a gold mine of dramatic potential, it is a puzzle why Rob Roy is so uninvolving.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
You always know where it's going even as it meanders for two and a half hours getting there.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
No more than moderately satisfying.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
Director Michael Caton-Jones and Sharp, both Scotsmen, are so caught up in the legend that they don't seem to notice that RR is about as heroic as a hatful of haggis.
Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films Guide
Where Braveheart was a guts-and-glory battlefield hymn to fortitude, Rob Roy is a more personal, more intelligent, and more wrenching exploration of honor, honesty, and loyalty.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Rob Roy benefits from a smart script and fine performances by art house regulars Tim Roth and Eric Stoltz, as well as Hollywood stars Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Neeson makes a less dashing action hero than did Day-Lewis, but he brings enough gravitas to his role to endow his love for his wife Mary (Lange) and his conflict with Cunningham with real emotional punch.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This historical epic is slightly anachronistic, but the acting of Liam Neeson in the lead and especially Tim Roth as the villain is excellent.
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
In their devotion, fiery love scenes, and mutual respect, Neeson and Lange have made marriage more appealing and admirable than any movie has in years.
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
The best HEAVY sword fight sequence ever filmed.
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
Good movie, great sword fights
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com
Contains one of the best cinematic swordfights ever. Incredible flick.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
Splendid performances, smashing action

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

Scottish highland class warfare as the poor-but-honorable working class try to squeeze a break from the generally debauched upper class. Period costumes and powdered wigs, lots of grassy, mists-o'er-the-heather scenery and big buffy men pulling out their swords for a wee contest… More
Scottish highland class warfare as the poor-but-honorable working class try to squeeze a break from the generally debauched upper class. Period costumes and powdered wigs, lots of grassy, mists-o'er-the-heather scenery and big buffy men pulling out their swords for a wee contest make for a nice evening. A bottle of vino and a smile for Tim Roth's dangerously prissy fop bad guy.
Dan S

A soaring epic piece concerning a hero who stood by a code of honor and who took a stand when that code was violated in more ways than one. Liam Neeson gives a quietly intense performance as a man whose love for his family was as great as his name. Tim Roth, one of my favorite actors,… More
A soaring epic piece concerning a hero who stood by a code of honor and who took a stand when that code was violated in more ways than one. Liam Neeson gives a quietly intense performance as a man whose love for his family was as great as his name. Tim Roth, one of my favorite actors, creates a rare sort of villain, a rapist and murderer who has dominant feminine mannerisms, and whose merciless ways rank him as one of cinema's best bad guys. This film is full of surprises and great escape/fight scenes, with an ending sword battle that is flat-out incredible.
xGary X

With it's grittier direction and more personal story, this period swashbuckler seems to lack the Hollywood gloss of it's contemporary Braveheart, but scratch the surface and you'll find the usual foreign actors with suspect accents, penny whistles and noble savages… More
With it's grittier direction and more personal story, this period swashbuckler seems to lack the Hollywood gloss of it's contemporary Braveheart, but scratch the surface and you'll find the usual foreign actors with suspect accents, penny whistles and noble savages fighting the oppression of evil aristocrats, hung on a plot that could easily have been lifted directly from a western. It is however well written and solidly performed, but it is really the cast of cads that Neeson is forced into battling that make this film. John Hurt's arrogant and calculating Montrose, Brian Cox and his amusingly snide commentary on the proceedings, but most of all Tim Roth's hilariously immoral fop. It may not have the spectacle and humour of Mel Gibson's epic, but it is different enough to make it worth a watch in it's own right.
Michael S

In my opinion, better than Braveheart. A great film.
Cindy I

The story of what happend when a noble honest man tries to do business with powerful but corrupt leaders. Beautiful scenery, and good performances.
Aaron N

Referee: You are here on a matter of honor. I am here to see that you settle it honorably. There will be no back-stabbing, you will not throw your blades, nor will you use weapons other than those agreed. If quarter should be asked... Robert Roy MacGregor: No quarter will be asked.… More
Referee: You are here on a matter of honor. I am here to see that you settle it honorably. There will be no back-stabbing, you will not throw your blades, nor will you use weapons other than those agreed. If quarter should be asked... Robert Roy MacGregor: No quarter will be asked. Archibald Cunningham: Or given. An old fashioned swashbuckler, folk hero movie. Liam Neeson stars as Rob Roy, a well known Scottish hero to the people in the Highlands. Some bad things happen, which involve Tim Roth, who is just plain evil. So evil, you look into his eyes and your like, "damn, that's evil." Meanwhile there is Jessica Lange as Rob Roy's wife and Brian Cox as an asshole helping Roth. The movie looks really good with it's scenery and has a good score as well. The end of the movie features a great and justified swordfight that makes it all worth it.
Michael G

While the movie's not too bad, it's more like Braveheart's alcoholic older brother.
Deb S

"One must never underestimate the healing power of hatred" Robert MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is head of the clan MacGregor, and he has great plans to make the clan wealthier so he decides to borrow money from the local nobility. But when the money is stolen and he is accused… More
"One must never underestimate the healing power of hatred" Robert MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is head of the clan MacGregor, and he has great plans to make the clan wealthier so he decides to borrow money from the local nobility. But when the money is stolen and he is accused of the theft, he has not only to defend his honor, but also his family from the ones that have always wanted to get rid of him. John Hurt plays the greedy Marquis of Montross while Tim Roth is memorable as the stunningly evil Archibald "Fancypants" Cunningham with a yen for robbery and rape. The climax involves a great sword fight in which Rob Roy realizes he must outsmart the fiendishly clever Archie in order to win the fight. The cinematography is very good with lush scenery and ladies, if you think you don't like men in skirts then I think you should check out Liam Neeson in and out of his kilt lol.... <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=5aopys" target="_blank"><img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/5aopys.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=fliphc" target="_blank"><img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/fliphc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=35n25fq" target="_blank"><img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/35n25fq.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2w3avzo" target="_blank"><img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2w3avzo.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>
Alec B

A wonderfully entertaining film, if a bit on the long side. Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange give very good performances and pull off the accents well. Lange was fortunate because for once in a film of this kind there is a three-dimensional character for a woman to play. Although Tim… More
A wonderfully entertaining film, if a bit on the long side. Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange give very good performances and pull off the accents well. Lange was fortunate because for once in a film of this kind there is a three-dimensional character for a woman to play. Although Tim Roth is the best here and while his character may be a bit on the too evil side at times the fact that the Roth does it all in a foppish manner with a creepy smile makes him more interesting than the standard villain. The final sword duel may not be the kind of crazy fights we are used to in today’s pictures but the realism of it and Neeson's badass ending move make it one of the best put on screen.
Erin C

Very good movie - the cast was great, and the story was very interesting. The accents were a little hard to understand at times, but it was good otherwise!
Tom S

Tim Roth was great, and there were some great music, and some good lines, but lots of other things didn't work.
Dimitris S

Top notch synchronization of the sword clashes-political backdrop,a perfect action/adventure film,possibly the best you can retrieve from mr. uneven Caton-Jones,Lang is a miscast but Roth is one of greatest bad guys of the 90's.An overall highly enjoyable (if pseudo-historical)… More
Top notch synchronization of the sword clashes-political backdrop,a perfect action/adventure film,possibly the best you can retrieve from mr. uneven Caton-Jones,Lang is a miscast but Roth is one of greatest bad guys of the 90's.An overall highly enjoyable (if pseudo-historical) flick,with that darn beautiful Highlands trademark and leftovers from Errol Flynn types of films.
hawk l

Liam Neeson embodies the title role with a quiet, intense dignity, a man who prefers domesticity to action. Tim Roth's Cunningham is the perfect, frightening villain.
Leo L

Brilliant!
Barry L

Poor mans Braveheart but excellent still
Sean S

The plight of the Highlanders is examined in this very slow moving film. The sword fight at the end is worth the price of admission.