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DiscountDelight - Kingdom of Heaven (4-Disc Director's Cut)
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List Price: $34.98
Our Price: $19.00
Your Save: $ 15.98 ( 46% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Directed By: Ridley Scott
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0024543241454
Format: Box set
Label: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Number Of Items: 4
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-05-23
Running Time: 191
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release Date: 2005-05-06
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: director's cut / mostly good and a little bad
Comment: After such a long time of anticipation, when I got to see the theater release, I walked out disappointed. And all because of one 'little' point,
How the hell did a blacksmith learn how to fight and defend a city after nothing more than a ten minute swordfighting lesson from his father?
A big fan of knights and crusader myths since I was a boy in the fifties, there were scenes in the film that just sent chills up my spine: the crusaders riding into the village; crusaders going about their business in Messina; the first approach into Jerusalem; the approach of the christian army onto the battlefield with the shining cross and the forest of spears and flags.
It was everything I wanted to see in a good crusader movie.
But, "How the hell..."
The directors cut fixed it.
Now, "How the hell could any studio exec have thought that information was superfluous?"
The dvd version is now one of the best movies ever, IMHO.
Except for:
"Overture"
Beautiful, perfect intro to the movie. I closed my eyes and waited for the start of the film. Then "BAM!" 20th century fox fanfare and studio logo crap!
Not good.
The young Prince holds his hand over the candle until his skin chars and doesn't feel anything. When he appears next, there is no bandage or evidence of damage or indication that enough time has passed for the damage to heal. Later, the wax drips on his arm and his mother notices he doesn't feel it. That really could have been enough. I think the candle flame scene was inserted in case we were too stupid to get the candle wax implication.
When the wall is breeched at the end of the siege and both armies swarm the opening, the seething mass of fighting men who clog the breech is a perfectly realized moment. A small number of doomed men doing the actual fighting, pressed so close they could hardly wield their weapons (described sometimes as being so closely pressed that the dead could not fall), while the ones in back push forward against each other. I was surprised when the camera pulled up to an overhead shot and saw that both armies were holding back while the breech was contested by smaller contingents. This may have been more to the truth but I really wanted to see it the way the old romatic painters used to portray it: Both armies pushing their way in.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forlorn_hope
The last meeting/duel between Balian and Guy de Lusignan was not satisfying.
In the original release, Guy just disappears. I just figured they killed him.
Would it have been better if Balian had killed him? No. The director's cut scene is fitting with Balian's character's motivations, but still, the scene did not satisfy.
Now the only complaint I have about the movie is one that is really a compliment to the director:
Godfrey and his knights: I understand that Ridley enjoys the fact that we are surprised that many of them die so soon. But, even in the original version, I walked out wishing that we could see another movie about them and their adventures. As the camera panned over their dead faces, I wanted to know where they had been and what they had done.
I still do.
I wish the black muslim had been able to pull his saracen blade during the fight!
And the Hospitaler! I want to see another movie with more of him.
I've read that Scott would like to do another movie set in this time and I hope like hell he gets to do it.
One other little thing:
The fight on the beach. There are three horses. But only two go to Jerusalem. I didn't see one get killed. Balian gives his horse to the Muslim but rides one away. What happened to the other horse?
Customer Rating:
Summary: DO NO SETTLE FOR THE SHORT VERSION
Comment: I saw this movie in the theatres and enjoyed it but found it a bit choppy. This one, the directors cut, is 47 minutes longer and incredible. The battle scenes in both rival LOTR movies but the directors cut story is so far above and beyond the theatre version. A must own.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing Movie
Comment: This film has such a simple message. Life is about personal responsability. Each day we decide as individuals to do the right thing or not. It is easy to get caught up in all the drama around you but individual integrity is the only real power we have. Scott uses politics and religion as a backdrop to study man and his need for war, violence and power. No one in the film is a super hero or super villian they are just ordinary humans beings. War means that real people die. In each battle you feel the pointlessness of the massacre of human life, you are not rooting for sides. I don't know why people don't connect with this film. I can only assume it is because it challanges them to have integrity in difficult situations. "what is a man who does not make the world a better place..." corny i know but sorely lacking in our modern world.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A totally different (and better) movie!!!
Comment: When I saw Kingdom of Heaven in the theater I tough it was a "Good" movie. After reading favorable reviews about the Director's Cut I bought it and, well... they were 100% right.
Riddley Scott's version is a totally different and a much, much better movie that the one shown in the theater. It has the soul that the other lacked. We can see much more about Sybilla which helps us to understand many other things and the beginning of the movie (when Balian is still in his village) finally makes sense.
If you liked Kingdom of Heaven you have to see the Director's Cut. Now you will LOVE it!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Theatrical Release = 2 stars; Director's Cut = 4.5 stars
Comment: What a difference 45 minutes of extra footage makes!
As a fan of the great historical epics such as "Braveheart" and "Gladiator", I had high hopes for this film when it was released in the theaters. Like most people, I was disappointed with that version, which felt rushed, incoherent and whose characters lacked depth.
Thank goodness we now have Director's Cut DVDs. This film is so vastly improved by the added material that it is difficult to believe I was watching the same movie. Balian, Sibylla, and Godfrey particularly benefit from this version as we learn more of their histories and the events that motivate them.
Almost miraculously, Orlando Bloom's acting seems improved in this version. Some of his speeches ("Rise a Knight!") remain cause for a roll of the eyes, but in this version he seemed to be much more acceptable.
If Russell Crowe had been cast as Balian and the Director's cut of the film released in theaters, there is no doubt it would have been a Best Picture nominee.
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Editorial Reviews:
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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 On the DVD
The Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut is truly a DVD set of biblical proportions. If you are familiar with Ridley Scott's excellent, albeit massive, extended DVD sets for Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, you have a pretty good idea of what you are in for with this set. The biggest difference--unlike the Gladiator Director's Cut, which had some nice new scenes that really didn't add much to the film--is that this cut of Kingdom of Heaven is a drastic improvement over the theatrical release. This extensive 194-minute version brings the film back to Scott's original vision, maintaining an impressive balance of history, plot, and believable period reenactments and battle scenes. The best way to describe the improvements on the extended version is the film is now able to breathe a bit more, it's less choppy, and it has stronger character development. In addition to the extended scenes (which now span two discs in a clunky Road Show presentation), there is an exhaustive three-hour, six-part documentary detailing every aspect of filmmaking from the development of the "idea" through post-production and release. Also included are three feature-length commentary tracks, the best being the first with Ridley Scott, writer William Monahan, and actor Orlando Bloom. Included on the original release but missing from this set are the A&E/History Channel documentaries, the theatrical cut of the film, and "The Pilgrim's Guide," the fantastic text commentary which pointed out the historical anecdotes as the film played. Fans of the film and completists will probably want to hold onto both versions. However, those picking up Kingdom of Heaven for the first time need only to look to this definitive version. --Rob Bracco
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