• Genre: Epic, Historical Film
• MPAA Rating: R
• AMG Rating:
• Regional Coding: 1
  USA and territories, Canada

Ridley Scott directed this epic-scale historical drama inspired by the events of the Crusades of the 12th century. Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a humble French blacksmith who is searching for a reason to go on after the death of his wife and children. Balian is approached by Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), a fabled knight who has briefly returned home after serving in the East. Godfrey informs Balian that he is his true father, and urges the blacksmith to join him as he and his forces journey to Jerusalem to help defend the holy city. Balian accepts, and he and Godfrey arrive during the lull between the Second and Third Crusades, in which the city is enjoying a fragile peace. Both Christian and Muslim forces are temporarily in retreat, thanks to the wisdom of the Christian monarch King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), his second-in-command Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), and Muslim potentate Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). Violent agitators on both sides are foolishly eager to end the peace in a bid for greater power, and Saladin bows to pressures from Muslim factions; Godfrey is one of a handful of brave knights who has thrown his allegiance behind Baldwin IV and his community of diversity, and Balian joins him as they use their skills as warriors in a bid to build a lasting peace. Kingdom of Heaven also stars Eva Green as the princess Sibylla, David Thewlis as Hospitaler the priest, and Brendan Gleeson as Reynald. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bonus Features

• cc "The Pilgrim's Guide" text commentary incorporating historical and production notes while you watch the film
• Interactive production grid - lets you control the moviemaking experience from the perspective of the director, cast or crew
• "Movie Real: Kingdom of Heaven" as seen on the A&E network
• "History vs. Hollywood: Kingdom of Heaven" as seen on The History Channel
• 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes
• Theatrical trailer

Actors

Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Marton Csokas, Michael Sheen, Liam Neeson, Edward Norton, Ghassan Massoud, Alexander Siddig, Khaled Nabawy, Kevin McKidd, Velibor Topic, Jon Finch, Ulrich Thomsen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Iain Glen

Director

Ridley Scott

Producer

Ridley Scott, Charlie Bradbury

Graphic Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language

• Sound : DD5.1/DDS/DTS
• Language : Eng/Fre/Spa
• Subtitles : Eng/Spa

• Screen : WSE
• Dar : 2.35:1

Review

It's a shame this film had to come after Troy and Alexander because, despite a few flaws, it is far superior to those stabs at modernizing the costume epic. Kingdom of Heaven succeeds where those films fail because it manages to hit the right blend of grandeur and subtlety. As one would expect from a Ridley Scott film, the grandeur comes through in a wealth of period detail, many stunning vistas filmed on location, and a meticulously staged battle scene in the finale. However, what makes Kingdom of Heaven rewarding is its "subtlety" component: William Monahan's script takes great pains to create a multifaceted tale that depicts both sides of the war in an evenhanded fashion and also reminds the viewer of how religion once dominated the lives of most people. It also benefits from subtle performances that counteract the trend of broad overplaying that mars many similar epics: Orlando Bloom believably underplays his role (a big contrast to his matinee-idol prancing in Troy), Eva Green makes a suitably alluring and likeably resilient romantic interest, and Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, and David Thewlis flesh out their smaller roles with a knowing, believably world-weary cynicism. On the downside, the pressure of getting across the storyline in just two and a half hours means the story suffers a few sudden leaps and awkward transitions in its first half (specifically in how Bloom ends up in Jerusalem). However, these kinks get ironed out by the midpoint and the high quality of the film's other aspects helps make up for these flaws. In short, Kingdom of Heaven has its problems but is easily the best of the recent "sword-and-sandal epic" cycle. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide

• Release Date : October 11, 2005
• Length : 144 Minutes
• Dvdsides : 2
• Dvddiscs : 2
• Upc : 024543206408