With “Gladiator,” Ridley Scott achieved something groundbreaking: he brought historical and sandal cinema back to life in the early 2000s. A genre that was actually buried. As a result, the Oscar-winning filmmaker the great”Kingdom of Heaven‘ which will be shown on NITRO today, April 5 at 8:15 p.m, was allowed on stage. However, in order to enjoy the movie in its entirety, one point should be considered.
The theatrical version, which also airs today on Free TV, is just a truncated version of Ridley Scott’s actual vision. The 150 minute version is also quite a visually stunning journey to the time of the Crusadesbut to truly appreciate Kingdom of Heaven as a masterpiece, you need to read the 190 minute Director’s Cut. You can get this on Blu-ray through Amazon, while the theatrical version is available with a Disney+ subscription.
This is what “Kingdom of Heaven” is all about
In the 12th century, a religious war raged over the holy city of Jerusalem. European crusaders are trying with all their might to defend the city where Jesus was crucified against the troops of Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). It is precisely at this time that young blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom) and his father Godfrey (Liam Neeson), a highly respected crusader, begin the long journey from the French provinces to the Holy Land.
However, on the perilous journey, Godfrey dies in battle and Balian, feeling an increasing need to follow in his father’s footsteps, reaches Jerusalem alone. Here the young man finds himself in the middle of the warrior’s vortex, rising from servant of King Baudouin IV to knighthood. However, he is not concerned with winning the war, but with mediating peace between the different religions…
One of the best director’s cuts of all time
Of course, “Kingdom of Heaven” is also included in our ranking of the best director’s cuts of all time. In fact, the long version of the historical epic is one of Ridley Scott’s best films for me. That’s not only because the tumult of battle, which erupts in the last third of the film, is not only much more complex and gory, but also because Ridley Scott also has something to say about the violence in the version he wanted.
Rather than merely depicting war events in virtuosic, detail-obsessed pictorial worlds, Ridley Scott sees nothing heroic or urgent in the killing. For me, “Kingdom of Heaven” is one of the few monumental films that look with disgust at the horrors of war. Orlando Bloom, embodied by Balian, becomes a kind of moral standard that makes it increasingly clear: holiness lies in righteous action, not in the shedding of blood that supposedly follows God’s will.
Although this is about the crusades, the message of the kingdom of heaven is timeless and universal. When Saladin utters the wise words that “Jerusalem means nothing and at the same time everything”, the film makes it clear that no one is entitled to this Holy Land because everyone is entitled to it. The Director’s Cut, which develops character motivations and storylines much more deeply, takes on a particular bitterness when it shows that war is not about beliefs, but always about economic and political interests.
I probably don’t need to explain further at this point that nothing has changed. In any case, “Kingdom of Heaven” is a timeless, evocative appeal to the human spirit. Here you get impressive visuals, as you are used to from Ridley Scott, together with a thoroughly demanding, moving story. And there is also a real star ensemble: in addition to Orlando Bloom and Liam Neeson, David Thewlis, Eva Green, Brendan Gleeson, Edward Norton and Jeremy Irons are also present.