Kingdom of Heaven (2-Disc Widescreen Edition)

The Kingdom of Heaven – Director’s Cut (KOHDC) is not one, but it is many magnitudes of cuts higher than its Theatrical version. The theater-released version is 2 hours long because it had to be recut in order to fit into the standard cinema complex time mold. Good films often can’t be whittled down to conform to movie theater time shifts of every 2 hours. The Kingdom of Heaven – Director’s Cut is one of these films.With nondescript box office ratings, Ridley Scott went into rescue/ triage mode to resurrect a movie that no one had ever heard of and changed it into one of the best current films about the Knights Templar and other Knights factions escorting wealthy Christians from Europe to the Holy land – Jerusalem. He did this by adding back 51 critical minutes that were initially pruned from the box-office edition. This crucial information transformed the film because it filled back in important character and storyline details that had been felled, so that viewers could make sense of this entire story/ film.I know this first-hand, because before I bought this KOHDC version, I had originally bought the 2-disc DVD (and played it on our BluRay player, which made every part of the DVD film crystal-clear). While watching this version, I had questions about the storyline. Then, when I bought and watched the Director’s Cut, the movie made sense AND because of the BluRay HD, every scene was deep, super-defined, and it was as if I were in the scenes as an observer (which is what the BluRay experience does to viewers). One good thing about the DVD KOH set, though, is the inclusion of extra film and film-related information, which is missing from the 1-disc BluRay. So for film enthusiasts who want to have every bit of film product possible to experience, I would suggest buying both systems and watching them like I did – from simple, truncated film DVD (144 minutes) along with the 2nd disc extras, to the expanded but clarified KOHDC in BluRay (195 minutes), with the original, almost-1 hour added back.KOHDC has a stellar international cast, including: Liam Neeson, Orlando Bloom, (pre-‘Bond Girl’) Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, and Edward Norton, whose name wasn’t listed in the credits but who gave an outstanding performance while masked! Another stellar cast-mate is Syrian writer, actor, director, and filmmaker, Ghassan Massoud, well-known and respected in the Arab World, playing the legendary Salahuddin in this film. (He was also in the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.) Western audiences need to see more work from this man.The storyline loosely follows history, starting when a blacksmith in France who lost his wife kills his half-brother, meets his real father (a Knight Templar), and journeys with him to Jerusalem to escape being tried for fratricide. The journey itself is arduous, and on the wide screen, it is epic, both on land and the sea. The raison d’tre of the Templars is to provide a safe Christian escort for wealthy European Christians traversing a hostile route. Upon arrival but outside of the city, which is rural, there is peace, calm, and tranquility for wealthy Knights who have homesteads there, with sprawling desert irrigation systems. This contrasts to the dangerous and barbarous activities occurring inside of Jerusalem in the battles between 2 different religions and between 2 different sects of 1 religion. The battle scenes are gruesome as is the dealing with the spoils of war on all sides.This religious fighting takes on a sense of cognitive dissonance: How can any religion have its members kill in the name of God? On the other hand, how can any religion not kill in the name of politics and wealth accumulation to gain land and new members to join its ranks? Why would a person go through any monotheistic religious conversion to engage in these? How could there be any jockeying of power between any 2 religious sects of the same religion? These are serious questions for viewers of this film to think about and discuss. These questions are still unanswered when we turn on our news even today and see what is happening between the East and the West.The cinematography is epic: the journey to Jerusalem on land and at sea, the battlefields, and the castle defense scenes.If the viewer has at least some knowledge of religious history and the birth pangs of each of the 2 religions, geography, cultures, etc., this film might be viewed as an action film. However, for those of us who have lived and traveled in these places, this film makes our real-life, current-day experiences especially strong and personally-relevant, even many centuries later because our everyday lives there still live and breathe this history. Our experience, instead of viewing this film as an action film, then, is displaced by living our own lives there, woven into the fabric of these countries with strong histories of survival, echoes of which still ring true for us through: religious, social, political, and intercultural viewpoints. In sum, some of us have lived through scenes today similar to what is shown on TV or internet newscasts during their international news segments.The sets, cinematography, and storyline are all noteworthy, and the fact that this film (loosely) follows history, much of which is still happening today, is remarkable in that the issues besetting the people living during the Crusades are some of the same unresolved problems that we still have today. The question is: ‘why’.I highly recommend seeing both sets of this KOH film (the 2-disc DVD and the KOHDC 1-disc in BluRay). I also highly recommend sharing these films with family and friends and discussing them to engage in dialog that prompts critical thinking and problem-solving. Our world desperately needs this right now.

Kingdom of heaven comes from Ridley Scott, the director of Gladiator and Blackhawk Down. The movie is a historic epic of the highest caliber filled with a fantastic score, breath-taking visuals, great acting, and a beautiful and very relevant story-line.The film covers the fall of the Latin crusader kingdom of Jerusalem to the Saracens. The capture of Jerusalem by the legendary Muslim general Salah ad-Din; better known to the west as "Saladin". The backdrop of this tumultuous time in history serves well to produce a dramatic and passionate look at events that still affect us to this day. We are treated to fabulous recreations of the holy city as well as some of the biggest scenes (battles and otherwise) I've ever seen in a movie.At its heart though, Kingdom of Heaven is a small personal story within the context of huge events. It is a very human tale, as Balian(Orlando Bloom), a young blacksmith who recently lost his wife struggles to find meaning, redemption, and a new beginning. His faith shattered, he decides to go to the holy land with his newfound father who shows up unexpectedly. In Jerusalem this one-time blacksmith finds the "kingdom of heaven" to be within himself in his own deeds and choices and plays a crucial role in events so much larger than himself.Balian serves the King of Jerusalem, a wise and tolerant man who knows that peace with Saladin is not only practical (as they are outnumbered) but also his moral duty. The king struggles to control fanatics like the Knights Templar lead by Guy De Leon, a man hungry for glory, power, and riches; as well as renegades like the mad Raynold, who is bloodthirsty and genocidal. The movie depicts the sad truth of historical fact, such as catholic priests preaching that "to kill an infidel (Muslim) is not murder, it is the path to heaven".Saladin, a wise and enlightened ruler has united the Arabs into a single force through his political and military prowess. Saladin himself is a quite tolerant man, and both him and the King of Jerusalem maintain an uneasy peace while religious zealots on both side cry out for blood. With the King's death, crusader renegades succeed in provoking war by attacking a Muslim caravan and killing Saladin's own sister (historically factual). Saladin marches his vast army against the outnumbered and surrounded Christians, who arrogantly and blindly march out to meet him and are annihilated. Balian now is left to defend Jerusalem against an army bent on revenge not just for this recent insult but for the slaughter of Jerusalem's Muslims by the army of the first crusade. Balian's only hope is to defend the city so fervently that magnanimous Saladin might be forced to terms, whereby he can negotiate for clemency.I think they struck the balance between history and Hollywood perfect. The story is by and large, historically accurate. While some characters such as Balian, were fictionalized in trivial ways to fit with the storyline, the larger events as well as the atmosphere itself is wonderfully portrayed. The movie over-all tells a much greater truth, exploring the role of religion and symbolism in human conflict, the constant struggle between tolerance and intolerance, and how each of us can make a difference within all of it in our own choices and attitudes.The special effects are top notch and the cinematography is absolutely excellent. Kingdom of heaven has some of the finest camera work of any movie, and adds to the terrific script and intelligent dialogue. Every dimension of this movie, from the source material, to the script, to the wardrobe and sets, to the special effects and score, to the acting is draped in excellence befitting such a complex tale. Some might not "get" this movie because there are no real "good guys". No one side is in the right, rather the forces of tolerance are at odds with fanaticism, and when the fanatics win out, it is up to good men of honor to try and protect the innocent bystanders in the wake of a war in which each side felt it was doing the will of God. But within that larger story is the story of one simple man, who on a pilgrimage to absolve his sins finds answers to questions about life and managed to do great things and find for himself a new beginning through helping the defenseless and seeing the world through clearer eyes. And at the end, even though the cycle of violence and tragedy to be only just beginning (and still is today), he is able to start his life anew, and presumably is able to live his life in peace with the knowledge that the kingdom of heaven is within us all. To any that love huge, passionate, explorative films that respect the complexities of the real world instead of giving in to the Hollywood urge to tell only one side of a story, give this movie a look! And to anyone looking for a wonderfully-crafted modern epic filled with action, intelligence, and a meaningful commentary on the motivations that drive men to fight, then this movie is also for you.The DVD includes excellent features, including production notes, interviews, making of material, a trailer, and most importantly TWO documentaries pertaining to the historical accuracy of the film (History vs. Hollywood, and A&E Movie Real) which compliment the movie terrifically. In these times we now live, we more than ever need to look back to this period in order to better understand the continuation of conflict that persists not only in Jerusalem, but between western and Islamic culture in general. There is also a very nice feature that pops up information bubbles during the movie pointing out production decisions relevant to, and/or historical gripes and points about, that particular scene.

One of "Those Few" movies that not only 'moves' you while watching, but i dare say....L O N G AFTER! ♡* AND..."Vide Com Meum" moves 'parts',that ain't been 'Moved' for.....TOO LONG.Way too long. ♡

Satisfied with product

it is a good movie but i did not rent it my children did

Excellent. They were a gift. She loved the movie

This Blu-Ray extended version is much better than the older DVD we replaced! Character development is more rounded out, some plot holes are filled, and loose ends are completed. A wonderful surprise for a movie we already loved! Highly recommended!