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It's hard to believe Ridley Scott's handsome epic won't become the cinematic touchstone of the Crusades for years to come. Kingdom of Heaven is greater than the sum of its parts, delivering a vital, mostly engrossing tale following Balian (Orlando Bloom), a lonely French blacksmith who discovers he's a noble heir and takes his father's (Liam Neeson) place in the center of the universe circa 1184: Jerusalem. Here, grand battles and backdoor politics are key as Scott and first-time screenwriter William Monahan fashion an excellent storyline to tackle the centuries-long conflict. Two forward-thinking kings, Baldwin (Edward Norton in an uncredited yet substantial role) and Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), hold an uneasy truce between Christians (who hold the city) and Muslims while factions champ at the bit for blood. There are good and evildoers on both sides, with the Knights Templar taking the brunt of the blame; Balian plans to find his soul while protecting Baldwin and the people. The look of the film, as nearly everything is from Scott, is impressive: his CGI-infused battle scenes rival the LOTR series and, with cinematographer John Mathieson, create postcard beauty with snowy French forests and the vast desert (filmed in Morocco and Spain). An excellent supporting cast, including Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, and David Thewlis, also help make the head and heart of the film work. Many critics pointed out that Bloom doesn't have the gravitas of Russell Crowe in the lead (then again, who does?), but it's the underdeveloped character and not the actor that hurts the film and impacts its power. Balian isn't given much more to do than be sullen and give an occasional big speech, alongside his perplexing abilities for warfare tactics and his wandering moral compass (whose sole purpose seems to be to put a love scene in the movie). Note: all the major characters except Neeson's are based on fact, but many are heavily fictionalized. --Doug Thomas
Description
From Ridley Scott, the visionary director of Black Hawk Down and Gladiator, comes this spectacular epic of courage, honor and adventure. Orlando Bloom stars as Balian, a young Frenchman in Medieval Jerusalem during the Crusades, who, having lost everything, finds redemption in a heroic fight against overwhelming forces to save his people and fulfill his destiny as a knight.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extended version makes film a true epic,
By
This review is from: Kingdom of Heaven (Widescreen Director's Cut) (DVD)
Sometimes I really think that Ridley Scott should stand up to his producers. I've lost count of the different ways he's remade Blade Runner, he clearly wasn't happy with the final cut of Gladiator (or he's just reselling old material); and in this case he should have stuck to his guns and kept a substantial amount of material in. The original release is a marginal historical epic with a couple of gorgeous shots, but the extended version really develops characters further, widens the scope of the film, and, to put it bluntly, makes more sense. Once you see how certain scenes were meant to look, you'll be amazed at the ways in which he consented to butcher his own film.The fundamental weakness of the film remains unalterable - and that is Orlando Bloom. Great Legolas, great Will Turner, but lacks the gravity to be the centrepoint of an epic film. I don't know why this is so - I like the guy and enjoy his acting - but he just doesn't carry things in the manner of, say, Russell Crowe in Gladiator. Despite the film's weaknesses - in acting, in ambiguous dialogue, in some real historical whoppers - I like it. Scott is tackling an area of history where angels fear to tread, and I think that he really manages to give the audience a wonderful Salah ad-Din, and a solid Reynald of Chatillon (apart from some silly shouting). Liam Neeson as Godfrey is wonderfully dry, and probably shouldn't have gone back to France to find his son.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
KOH Director's Cut,
By Teresac (Toronto, ON CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kingdom of Heaven (Widescreen Director's Cut) (DVD)
Kingdom of Heaven, the Director's Cut, is steeped in history and faithful to the Middle Ages. The time period was filled with religious and political hypocrisy, cruelty and greed, where innocent people suffered for the power and land grabs of kings and religious leaders--sound familiar?Ridley Scott presents his vision of the Middle Ages and the Crusades with rich colours, beautiful architecture, panoramic vistas, glorious costumes, and in my opinion, with a certain sarcastic and almost angry tone to the script. William Monahan's script was written in a way to show the viewer that even though the film is about those wars that occurred almost one thousand years ago, those wars are still occurring today. And those wars still lead to the intolerable suffering of innocent people. There is a truly revolutionary subtext in the script. The oath that Balian takes when he knighted by Godfrey (played by Liam Neeson): 'Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth, always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless. Do no wrong', is an oath we should all take, with or without the God reference. We could all 'do the right thing' and in doing so, we could create a 'Kingdom of Conscience'. This idea is peppered throughout the film, and it makes one think: if we all acted ethically, there would be a lot less government and coercive religion, but more importantly, THERE WOULD BE NO WAR. The actors were well-cast for their roles. Orlando Bloom is perfect as Balian. His role requires intelligence, skepticism, ethical and physical strength, and Bloom got it exactly right. Ghassan Massoud, who plays Saladin, has a truly majestic presence on the screen that makes it easy for the viewer to believe the history--that Saladin was one of the greatest warrior kings, ever. There are some shots of battle scenes that owners of the Lord of the Rings extended edition will recognize. The raid at Osgiliath, the battle at Helm's Deep, the charge at Pelennor Fields and the siege of Gondor seem to have been transplanted from Middle Earth to the Middle East, but it is astonishing to see how much more life-like, gritty and violent Ridley Scott has filmed battle scenes. Anyone who is a history nut for the period will be rolling in catnip. Again, in my opinion, this film could be a lot longer, perhaps giving more historical background, considering all the back and forth that went on between kings and popes, etc. Sir Ridley, if you read this . . . Kingdom of Heaven is one of the best films I have ever seen.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
never trust a studio... an Epic reborn,
By George Kaplan "wwwjusticeisserved" (calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kingdom of Heaven (Widescreen Director's Cut) (DVD)
After watching the theatrical cut of the film I was dazzled by Ridley Scott's great visual style but left cold by the muddy storyline and character development. In this new 3hr cut the film is now one of my favorites of last year. The story has been fleshed out and even Orlando Bloom, who I thought was wildly miscast, seems perfect and convincing in the lead. Basically the studio thought that by cutting an hour of drama and leaving only battle scenes would make the film more exciting. WRONG. the new version flows seamlessly and I was never bored a moment. Unlike the dir cut. of GLadiator which the added scenes seemed tacked on and tedious, the new stuff here is absolutley essential. If you totally hated the first cut then you will probably won't like this either, but if you thought the film was good but could have been great I really advise you to check this out. I really think it's one of Scott's best films ( and if this version would have been released first I think it could have got a best picture nomination) oh well.........As for the set itself. the 4disc coll. is superb. the 3hr making of doc is almost too comprehensive, with a good commentary by Scott and Bloom, complete marketing campaign and dts sound to boot. Simply one of the best dvds of 2006 so far... enjoy!
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