During the Crusades of the 12th century, a young blacksmith in Jerusalem finds himself caught up in the war and rises to protect his people from foreign invaders. Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, and Eva Green star.
Director Ridley Scott confronts hundreds of years of religious conflict in KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. An epic film set in Europe and the Middle East, the story follows one man's struggle to better himself and the world around him. Orlando Bloom stars as Balian, a French blacksmith who is mourning the deaths of his wife and baby when his estranged nobleman father (Liam Neeson) arrives and asks him to join the Crusades in Jerusalem. Mindful that conducting the Lord's work will help him atone for his sins, Balian agrees, and embarks on the perilous journey. Along the way, he reveals his gifts of inherent goodness and fair treatment of all human beings. Upon reaching Jerusalem, a city where his meager beginnings no longer matter, Balian earns respect and fealty, while the evil Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas) looks down his aristocratic nose at the former laborer.
As he did in GLADIATOR, Scott explores the theme of a man who chooses his fate, instead of accepting the fate given to him at birth. Balian comes to life in Jerusalem, protecting the weak and defenseless as his father told him he must, and catching the eye of the beautiful Princess Sibylla (Eva Green), unhappily married to de Lusignan. Scott paints a stirring portrait of the struggle over Jerusalem among Christians, Jews, and Muslims. In doing so, he also shows the passionate fight for religious freedom. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ably handles these delicate issues, effectively treating characters from all factions as individuals and not as stereotypes. By placing a virtuous man at the center of this conflict, Scott creates a powerful, universal story.
Kingdom Of Heaven Reviews:
"Mr. Scott is a virtuoso of movie violence and he does not disappoint on that count here....Filled with scene after scene of choreographed mayhem."-- Manohla Dargis, New York Times
"Working from a strong script by William Monahan and making full use of that solid cast and his own impeccable skill with imagery, Scott has fashioned an impressive film that resonates with lessons..."-- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"Scott delivers rousing entertainment layered with provocation."
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"It's all very teeming and hordelike and impressive."
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"[The film] stirs up powerful half-buried aesthetic energies simply by venturing into the chosen terrain....Best of all perhaps is Orlando Bloom's first glimpse of Jerusalem, an instant of digitized splendor that reawakens the occult dream that cinema can somehow literally transport us into the past."
-- Geoffrey O'Brien, Film Comment
"Where Scott scores is in the cinematography and set-pieces, with vast armies surging across sun-baked sand in almost Kurosawa-like ballets of light and colour."
-- Adam Sweeting, Uncut
"There's a wealth of charisma among the supporting cast..."
-- Kate Stables, Sight and Sound
COULD BE THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR! ACTION PACKED, FULL OF DRAMA, ACTION EXPLOSIONS AND SO MUCH MORE! Submitted by allen_crawley (TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Gladiator and Troy Were Better I missed seeing this movie in theaters so when I bought the dvd I got really anxious to watch this movie. Bottom line is it didn't fill my expectations. I mean this is a good movie but sometimes when I was watching it I got lost in the movie and didn't understand what was going on. Plus there weren't enough battle scenes. But on the positive note there were good performances in the movie especially from Orlando Bloom and Edward Norton. Overall this movie is worth buying and adding to your collection but it's not better than Gladiator or Troy but much better than Alexander. Trust me this is a good movie. See it!!! Submitted by AJAY204182 (East Hanover, NJ, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Well-crafted and rich in historical flavor First, the previous reviewer is quite correct in describing this movie as "uneven"...it was in several parts. Nonetheless, the acting and sets were, in my opinion, excellent. In particular, the scenes of Jerusalem under siege by the army of Salidin, with the catapults and ballistas hurling projectiles at the walls of the city were absolutely superb. My biggest problem with this DVD was removing the security seal from the top of the case (no kidding). I almost ruined the case in the process. Submitted by BrianP (Fremont, CA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Uneven, I expected better A good, certainly not great film.
I expected more from Ridley Scott.
The story kept jumping around & left you hanging about what was going on with the characters.
What was the story behind Balian & Sibylla? I did not understand this side story at all.
Orlando did a good job.
DVD wise, I had trouble with disc 2 accessing all the features.
I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEE SOME DELETED SCENES!! Submitted by Ms Kris (Home) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Excellent! Great movie with great battle scenes. I highly recommend. Submitted by Jimmy Walker (Chicago, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Region 1 Keep Case Letterbox - 2.35 Widescreen - 2.35 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 - French, Spanish Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned Subtitles - Spanish, French - Optional Disc 1: Additional Release Material: Bonus Trailer Featurette: Inside Look: TRISTAN & ISOLDE Text Commentary Disc 2: Additional Release Material: Trailers Featurette:
1. History Channel -History vs Hollywood: KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 2. A&E Movie Real: KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 3. Ridley Scott: Creating Worlds 4. Production 5. Wardrobe 6. Orlando Bloom:The Adventure of a Lifetime Interactive Features: Scene Editing
COULD BE THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!
Gladiator and Troy Were Better
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