Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Balian of Ibelin travels to Jerusalem during the Crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writer:

William Monahan

Stars:

Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson

5 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Hancock	...	Gravedigger
Michael Sheen	...	Priest
Nathalie Cox	...	Balian's Wife
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Firuz
Jouko Ahola	...	Odo
David Thewlis	...	Hospitaler
Liam Neeson	...	Godfrey de Ibelin
Philip Glenister	...	Squire
Orlando Bloom	...	Balian de Ibelin
Bronson Webb	...	Apprentice
Kevin McKidd	...	English Sergeant
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Village Sheriff
Steven Robertson	...	Angelic Priest
Marton Csokas	...	Guy de Lusignan
Alexander Siddig	...	Imad

Storyline

It is the time of the Crusades during the Middle Ages -- the world-shaping 200-year collision between Europe and the East. A blacksmith named Balian has lost his family and nearly his faith. The religious wars raging in the far-off Holy Land seem remote to him, yet he is pulled into that immense drama. Amid the pageantry and intrigues of medieval Jerusalem, he falls in love, grows into a leader, and ultimately uses all his courage and skill to defend the city against staggering odds. Destiny comes seeking Balian in the form of a great knight, Godfrey of Ibelin, a Crusader briefly home to France from fighting in the East. Revealing himself as Balian's father, Godfrey shows him the true meaning of knighthood and takes him on a journey across continents to the fabled Holy City. In Jerusalem at that moment--between the Second and Third Crusades--a fragile peace prevails, through the efforts of its enlightened Christian king, Baldwin IV, aided by his advisor Tiberias, and the military ...

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Plot Keywords:

crusader | 12th century | jerusalem | templar | knights templar | 

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Taglines:

Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Safeguard the helpless, and do no wrong

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and epic warfare

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was not cut on film, but was instead cut using a Digital Intermediate (the first time either Ridley Scott or Dody Dorn had ever used a DI). Originally the plan was for only the siege to be cut via DI, but due to the level of complexity in the editing, and the fact that so many things were changing so often, it was felt prudent to cut the film using a DI rather than the original negative.

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Goofs

During the battle for Jerusalem, the crescent moon and the star in the banner change positions during a short period of time. First, the crescent is horizontal, with the star a short distance above it. In the next scene, the crescent is on an angle, and the star is where the unlit part of the moon would obscure it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gravedigger: Crusaders.
Squire: Clear the road, if you will.

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Crazy Credits

The opening 20th Century Fox logo has a ocher-yellow tint added to it.

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Alternate Versions

The Director's Cut on Blu-ray Disc (released November 14, 2006) runs 190 minutes as the overture and intermission have been excluded. The Ultimate Edition Blu-ray released in 2014 includes both the 190-minute and 194-minute versions, the latter as the "Director's Cut Roadshow Version".

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Connections

Referenced in Kingdom of Heaven: Production Design Primer (2006)

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Soundtracks

SAZ VA AVAZ NAHOFT
Written by Hossein Alizadeh
Arranged by Homayoun Shajarian, Kayhan Kalhor
Performed by Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Hossein Alizadeh, Kayhan Kalhor and Homayoun Shajarian
Courtesy of World Village Music

User Reviews

Some history...

Kingdom of Heaven is an entertaining and spectacular film, to say the least. However, being an enthusiast of the history of the crusader states, I would like to mention some historical facts and accuracies that generated the film.

For a start, all the main characters of the film are historical figures, from Balian to the unfortunate Baldwin IV (oftenly referred as "Baldwin the Leper"). However, the only connection of Balian and Sybilla was that he indeed helped her defend Jerusalem and negotiated its subsequent surrender to Saladin. However, he was not only a political opponent of her husband (Guy de Lusignan), but also of HERS.

You see, Sibylla actually loved Guy enough as to fight to make him a king, even if the barons of the kingdom were against him. She actually tricked them: She agree to divorced him before her coronation, with the only term to choose herself her new husband. When the barons accepted, she just chose to remarry Guy and established him in the throne of Jerusalem. Balian was married with her stepmother, mother of her half sister Isabella (completely ignored in the film). He conspired with Maria to have another noble, Conrad of Montferrat, marry Isabella, giving Conrad a stronger claim to the kingdom.

Sibylla actually succeeded her son from a previous marriage (Baldwin V), not her brother, as the film suggests. He was a child-king that succeeded his leper uncle but lived only for one year. Indeed Guy was captured in the Battle of Hattin. When Saladin was besieging the Holy City (and Sybilla personally led the defense) and she was permitted to escape to Tripoli with her daughters. However she died of an epidemic 3 years later in Tyre, the only city in the kingdom that did not fall. Her daughters also died of the same epidemic, and Guy (by now released) lost the kingdom of Jerusalem and was compensated with the Lordship of Cyprus by Richard the Lionheart.

Balian died 3 years later. He NEVER retired from the politics of the kingdom as the film suggests.

Details

Country:

UK Germany Spain Morocco USA Italy France

Language:

English Arabic Latin Italian

Release Date:

6 May 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Crusades

Filming Locations:

Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$130,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,635,996, 8 May 2005

Gross USA:

$47,398,413

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$218,122,627

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Scott Free Productions, BK

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min 190 min (director's cut) 194 min (director's cut roadshow)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby Digital 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) DTS (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (D-Cinema prints) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1