FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Kingdom Of Heaven (4 Disc Special Extended Director's Cut) [DVD] [2005]

Kingdom Of Heaven (4 Disc Special Extended Director's Cut) [DVD] [2005]
enlarge	Director: Ridley Scott Actors: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£29.99~~ Buy New: £4.49 as of 21/11/2009 16:00 GMT details You Save: £25.50 (85%) New (11) Used (1) from £4.49 Seller: twentyfiveorless Rating: 21 reviews Sales Rank: 2632 Format: Box set, Director's Cut, PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 4 Running Time: 185 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5039036027649 ASIN: B000ERVG20 Theatrical Release Date: 2005 Release Date: September 25, 2006 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 21 1 2 3 4 5 Next » Like a butterfly from a chrysalis September 21, 2006 D. J. Dubery (Belfast) 47 out of 47 found this review helpful I have the US version of this. Kingdom of Heaven was a better film that people gave it credit for but it certainly had flaws. The Directors Cut is far, far better- making this into a great film in my opinion. At least as good as Gladiator (in fact, if it weren't for the class injected by the late Oliver Reed into Gladiator, I'd say that Kingdom of Heaven DC is a far better film). The longer cut of the film gives far more time for characterisation and fills in quite a few of the blanks from the theatrical version of the film. This isn't just a few dodgy deleted scenes put back into the film- it's a completely different film with whole new areas of plot development. It's a first class effort and I'd urge anyone who even half liked the original version to buy it. br / br / A noble crusade... June 18, 2006 Trevor Willsmer (London, England) 153 out of 157 found this review helpful Kingdom of Heaven was probably my favorite film of last year, and the 194-minute director's cut gives the film more room to breathe, but it won't make converts of the unbelievers. Instead, it's a more leisurely paced version of the film for the faithful who liked the theatrical cut and want to revisit its world and characters in a little more detail. Closer in style and tone to sixties roadshows than Scott's Gladiator, and all the better for it, in many ways it's the richest and most ambitious of the recent batch of epics. It's more of a journey in the extended version, and a bloodier one (the added violence will please the gore hounds), although there are a few moments that tip over into self-indulgence and could have been tightened or omitted entirely. br / br /The extended opening allows more character detail, but at the expense of more of Michael Sheen's caricatured greedy priest, now revealed as Balian's brother. Orlando Bloom's limitations are also given a little more room than they had in the theatrical cut, but he certainly never stoops to the lows of Gerard "I'm wonderful, me" Butler in Beowulf, Colin Farrell's Alexander or Clive Owen's truly catastrophic non-performance in King Arthur that left that film with a void at its center. Edward Norton's performance as the Leper King suffers a little from using different takes than the theatrical version, and at least one of his expanded scenes is simply longer without really being any better than its equivalent in the shorter version. The real winner in the extra footage stakes is Eva Green, who I think I'm falling in love with and whose part is considerably expanded and much more complex, allowing her a mass of contradictory motives (few of them noble), impulses and emotions that were smoothed away in the theatrical version. The subplot involving her son also helps add more of an emotional charge to Baldwin's death, with the shot of his leprous face no longer gratuitous but essential. In fact, in this version of the film, there are even a couple of genuinely touching sequences. br / br /While the added complexity in this cut is more in the characters than in the plot, some of the problems of the theatrical version have been addressed. The shipwreck is just as rushed in this cut as in the theatrical version, but the pacing problems in the astonishingly spectacular siege finale are much improved by the addition of a fairly minimal amount of footage. It no longer seems quite so hurried and there's more of a sense of the human cost after the battle at the Christopher Gate that was lacking in the shorter version by the simple expedient of including characters we briefly get to know among the dead. There IS one massive miscalculation after the siege where a redundant swordfight has been added: not only is it completely ineffective, dwarfed by the sheer scale and weight of what has come before, but it's also unnecessary, winding up a plot point no-one cares about any more and simply underlining the events of the previous scene. br / br /It also now comes with added Bill Paterson, which is rarely a bad thing, especially since his brief scene as a compassionate Bishop establishes the incompatibility of fanatical adherence to religious law with the actions of a loving savior that is one of the film's major themes. Although most of the Christian clerics here are transparent hypocrites, they are also counterbalanced by David Thewlis' Knight Hospitaler just as the `good' Muslims are counterbalanced by fanatics as both Saladin and Baldwin have to walk a tightrope with their own people to prevent war. br / br /Thanks to a strong script this is easily Scott's best film since Blade Runner. Unlike Gladiator it doesn't feel like it was written on the hoof, and he has enough confidence in the material not to overdo the stylistics at the expense of the storytelling: here the visuals serve the picture, which isn't always the case in his past work. Even John Mathieson, probably the worst cinematographer to ever win an Oscar, finally delivers the goods. CGI is used sparingly and very effectively when it is (none of the poor FX problems that plagued parts of Gladiator here, thankfully). Instead, much of the spectacle is shot for real - not only is it usually cheaper, but it's certainly a lot more impressive to look at. br / br /The transfer quality is not as good as on the theatrical version, but it's more than acceptable. The extra features on the 4-disc set are impressive, including a deeply depressed screenwriter mulling over its US failure. Of the additional deleted scenes included as extras, there's nothing that needed to go back into the picture: most are ideas that didn't really work while a couple are just plain silly. The DVD also includes an interesting collection of trailers and TV spots that try to sell it as everything from The Passion of the Christ II in an outrageous piece of false advertising involving adding a "Don't worry, God is with me" line of dialog not in the film (particularly ironic considering its Humanist viewpoint and the crisis of faith of its hero), a family movie, an epic adventure, a country and western rock video and a kick-ass heavy metal teen bloodbath: anything to avoid mentioning Muslims or, God forbid, history. Can't think why this didn't take off at the US box-office... br / br / The real Kingdom of Heaven September 19, 2006 tatty oola (liverpool) 29 out of 30 found this review helpful I've never watched a directors cut that added so much to the final version of the film. So mny questions that dogged the theatrical version are answered. The additional information puts Orlando Bloom's performance into context and allows it to be seen for the fine piece of acting it is. br / br /Eva Green must have been particularly upset with the version that was released origianally since in that film so many of her reactions made such little sense. br / br /I believe this to be a fantastic and undervalued film. Must Own for any Ridley Scott Fan June 19, 2007 Jay (Mauritius) 9 out of 9 found this review helpful Kingdom of Heaven (KOH) is an amazing film. I saw it in the theater but the reason it's so great is because of the 4-Disc Director's Cut, which is a must own for any KOH fan. br / br /Story: A well written script, KOH is about a blacksmith whose wife has committed suicide and he seeks out to redeem her in the city of Jerusalem, but ends up defending the people in the great battle against the Muslims. br / br /Cast: The cast for this film was outstanding. One would at first question Orlando Bloom as the leading role of Balian (let's face it, he's no Russell Crowe), but this is by far his best main character performance. Liam Neeson is great as usual, as Balian's long lost father. Jeremy Irons is a great pick because he looks like he's from the crusades and his voice is undeniable. Obviously he's a great actor as well. Eva Green does very well for basically being the only woman in the film and she also fits the the time period well. Martin Csoskas give a great show as the bloodthirsty wanna-be king. Brendan Gleeson.. Do I even need to say anything? The man is incredible. He's so great at being the jerk. Ghassan Massoud and Alexander Siddig do great as playing Muslims in the film. Edward Norton is completely astounding in his uncredited performance as the leper King Baldwin. He is one of my favorite characters in the film. br / br /Music: The music score for this movie is definitely in the top 10. Harry Gregson-Williams delivers a powerful score in this one. Gregson-Williams was a great pick though straying from Ridley Scott's usual Hans Zimmer. br / br /Other: The sets, the costumes, the editing, the cinematography are all superior. They are all very authentic and beautiful and add to the films realness. br / br /Ridley Scott is brilliant. You can definitely see a resemblance of Gladiator in KOH, which is a great thing because who doesn't like Gladiator. His ability to create worlds is unlike any other director in history. The 4-Disc Director's Cut allows you to see more of what Ridley Scott's methods are like. br / br /4-Disc Director's Cut: It has everything you want to see. It puts approximately 45 minutes back into the film and what a great 45 minutes it is. It goes much more in depth especially with Eva Green's Character Sibylla. It includes all the essentials that you would want in a 4-Disc set. br / br /Overall this is a great film and has become one of my very favorites since the past year or so. There is something about it that even makes it rival the quality of Gladiator. It was very underrated by critics and was very well deserving of some Oscars. Watch it! This should have been released instead of the original July 22, 2007 Andalusian (Sheffield, United Kingdom) 5 out of 5 found this review helpful I'm so glad I took a chance on this extended edition, I watched it with a friend who's also a history lecturer, and not only did we agree that it was incredibly accurate in its portrayal of the conflict, it was also a rollicking good film. br / br /The characters are so much more developed, due to the additional dialogue in the renewed scenes, and this leads the viewer to being more sympathetic to them, especially Balian, who came across as being quite a lightweight in the original. Orlando Bloom comes across much better in this version. br / br /More scenes with the excellent Ghassan Massoud, who does a fine portrayal of Salahuddin. In fact, I would say that between himself and Eva Green, who were able to express intense emotions just in the look on their faces, and Edward Norton acting behind a mask, they outdid many of their contemporaries. br / br /I would highly recommend this version, in particular, if you haven't bought the original. Showing reviews 1-5 of 21 1 2 3 4 5 Next »

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