After being sought out by his
estranged father (back from the Crusades) in France, Balian decides to follow
his father back to Jerusalem to start a new life (during the 12th
century). When he gets there, he finds the region embroiled in a deadly
struggle as Christian and Muslim hostilities put their truce in jeopardy. The
only thing holding the peace together is the just King of Jerusalem; however,
he is unwell and near death. Balian pledges himself to the defense of the King
and the people of Jerusalem, placing him right in the middle of the struggle.
Kingdom of Heaven is maybe
director Ridley
Scott’s most epic film to date, as its scope and scale are comparable to
that of Lawrence
of Arabia (a film that seems to have been a big influence). Scott set out
to make an epic in the style of old Hollywood classics (complete with a musical
overture, intermission and musical entr’acte). Composer Harry
Gregson-Williams delivers his career-best score (it is phenomenal).
Cinematographer John
Mathieson and production designer Arthur Max
also do great work.
The film stars Orlando Bloom
and has an impressive supporting cast, including: Michael Sheen,
David Thewlis,
Liam Neeson,
Kevin McKidd,
Nikolaj
Coster-Waldau, Marton Csokas,
Alexander
Siddig, Eva
Green, Brendan
Gleeson, Jeremy
Irons, Edward
Norton, Ghassan
Massoud, Ian
Glen, and Robert
Pugh.
Twentieth Century Fox was
skeptical that releasing a film with a runtime over three hours would prove to
be financially sound. Thus, they recut Scott’s film to be 144 minutes and
released it to mild reviews and domestic box office (grossing just $211 million
worldwide against its $130 million production budget, only $47 million
domestically). Critics complained that the film felt incomplete and lacking
texture. Fox’s cut left the film to play as a blockbuster when the film is
really so much more (actually having something of substance to say about
religious tolerance). Thankfully, Scott’s director’s cut was released later.
The film is restored to its 190 minute runtime with much more depth and historical
perspective. It is by no means a perfect film, but as an epic costume drama it
plays quite well. It is well-worth checking out for fans of epic films in the
classical style.
Trailer: Here
Available on: Blu-ray
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