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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0024543206439
Format: NTSC
Region Code: 1
Sales Rank: 96523
Theatrical Release Date: May 06, 2005
Editorial Review:
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.
Amazon.com:
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - A great action movie about the fall of Jerusalem
The movie delivers the story of Balian of Ibelin (Orlando Bloom) the Frankish Crusader who ends up leading the defense of Jerusalem right before its fall to the Saracens under Saladin. The climatic battle sequence, the defense of Jerusalem, is one of many gruesome and exciting battle scenes throughout the movie. Kingdom of Heaven reminds me of other great epics like Braveheart, Gladiator, and Troy. If for nothing else, the battle sequences will make the movie for any action fan.
Spoilers ... Read More
Rating:  - Visual Grandeur
This film is well worth seeing for its visual grandeur, accuracy of the battle scenes, and the general success of recreating the haunting quality of the doomed crusader state of Jerusalem, presided over by an unforgettable leper king. Ridley Scott's direction and the actng crew led by Orlando Bloom cannot be faulted. And this 4 DVD set is packed with fascinating material including an in depth look at the way Ridley Scott works. It's worth the price.
That said, the script is a turkey. ... Read More
Rating:  - PROBLEMS WITH SIGHT AND SOUND
My husband and I only watched an hour of "Kingdom of Heaven," because we could not see or hear it. Possibly the dvd was defective, because the scenes were so dark, they were hard to see, and the volume was so low, we couldn't hear it.
I'm sure the story is marvelous, but I'll never know for sure.
Rating: - WHERE'S RUSSELL CROWE OR EVEN GERARD BUTLER WHEN YOU NEED THEM??
Kingdom of Boredom more like it.
Truly epic looking crusades flick has some eye popping battle scenes and looks gorgeous on Blu-Ray. Pity that it's such a colossal bore. Ridley Scott's a master artisan whose skills are fully on dosplay in this sumptious production- but even he's struggling to haul a good movie out of a terribly wobbly script and fly weight leading man.
There's definately a lot of quality in this elephantine film, including the stellar supporting cast and ... Read More
Rating:  - Kingdom of Heaven (what was missed in the cut version)
What you will expect is a whole new movie that makes sense (sic)? It should never have been cut in the first place. When Kingdom of Heaven was cut up it was disjointed with the characters leaving many questions and even less answers. It was some time later that one of my Crusader re-enactor friends had to fill me in on the Director's Cut. It was an epiphany for me and my sons to suddenly see this beautiful movie come together in one of the great wide screen spectaculars (as it was meant to be)! The fact ... Read More
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