Kingdom of Heaven

9/25/2018

Good start and ending, weak middle, but magnificent photography and haunting score "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) isn’t as good as contemporaneous sword & sandal flicks "Troy" (one of my favorites) and "King Arthur" (very good), but it's not bad either. THE PLOT: After the death of his child and suicide of his wife, Balian (Orlando Bloom) meets his long, lost father (Liam Neeson) who encourages him to go to Jerusalem and start a new life. After a long eventful trip, Balian arrives in Jerusalem and is introduced to Princess Sibylla (Eva Green), the leprous King Baldwin and other VIPs. The political maneuverings of these key personnel is mindboggling (I suggest using the subtitles to keep track of who’s who) but, when all is said and done, Balian must rise to the challenge of defending t

2/20/2024

One of the most hated movies by Ridley Scott, that shows the difference of what versions and cuts can have on a movie. This movie have a Theatrical version (144 min.) a Director's Cut (189 min.) and Director's Cut Roadshow Version (194 min.) (that I watched years after watching the theatrical on cinema). The movie is loosely based on the story of Balian I of Ibelin (originally a noble of French or Italy, but portraited as his son in this movie and epoch) travels to Jerusalem during the Crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people. A tale of noble actions and ideals on the 2nd Crusade among equally noblesse and troubled people. It is not totally historically accurate (let's say 50%) but is one of the most impressive movies about