The film Text copyright Filmverdict 2006. Any film stills are copyright of their respective owners. Used without permission, sorry!
Orlando Bloom plays Balian, a recently widowed French blacksmith, who is whisked off to fight the Crusades in the Holy Land when his long-lost father rides into town. The film is incredibly realised, but the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven was a great disappointment, considering that it was from Ridley Scott. The film became just another one of a glut of mediocre historical epics (including such non-classics as Troy, King Arthur and Alexander), all of which were well made with great visuals, but lacking in heart. Well, the 45-minute longer Director's Cut of KoH is, while still not up there with Scott's other epic, Gladiator, a massive improvement. It is a far more engaging, emotive and flowing film than the one that was seen in May 2005. The storyline is more dramatic, and somehow, the film feels like it moves faster than in the shorter incarnation. The film will always have its negatives, such as Orlando Bloom (who is not terrible, but doesn't make much of an impact), and a slightly unfulfilling ending, but the new version is a cut above most of the competition.
The extras
The package is extremely impressive, following the template of the Lord of the Rings extended editions, with two discs for the film and two for extras. The main part of the extras is a two and a half hour documentary chronicling the whole production. It is one of the most entertaining and insightful 'making of' features I have yet seen, as it is packed with information and also little unique touches. The DVD also has several other featurettes and some more deleted scenes that are not even in the Director's Cut. There are three commentaries for the film too, of which I've only listened to one (by editor Dody Dorn), which was extremely interesting.
The summary
This new version of Kingdom of Heaven is a huge improvement on a lacklustre original version, and while still not completely flawless, is extremely engrossing and rewards repeat viewings. Basically, it's a clear 9 out of 10, but I don't give half stars. The DVD is one of the best yet too.
