DVD Review: Kingdom of Heaven: Definitive Edition

First off, after all the bluster back at the end of last year, I am finally getting around to getting a podcast up and running. I would like to ask your good self a favour though. I want feedback about anything you have thought about my ramblings and I will attempt to read out as many as I can on the podcast. You can either email me or, if you want I would love it, record your own feedback as an audio fail and email it to cinema-rama@hotmail.co.uk Oh yes, I have set-up an email account for the blog/podcast! I am really serious about this and your feedback would be so appreciated. Also, my competition I mentioned in my Spider-Man 2.1 review is very much up-and-running but with no entrys yet! Email the above address with your guesses of my 2nd and 3rd most anticipated films of the summer and of those who get it right I will pick a winner who will recieve a DVD! Not a shit one either, it will be your choice of a few! I am setting a closing date of next Friday the 11th May. Have a go, it won't cost anything. And please remember, I want your feedback! Right on to the review...

DVD Review: Kingdom of Heaven: Definitive Edition (Ridley Scott, 2005, USA).

Ridley Scott is most likely the director who has used DVD to his advantage the most. The original Gladiator DVD was one of the first to really deliver on the promises DVD could offer with a commentary, an amazing DTS soundtrack and featurettes a plenty. The "Extended Special Edition" (Note, not director's cut) adds some nice moments and features a documentary almost as long as the film itself and a very entertaining commentary with Sir Scott and Russell Crowe. He has been tinkering with a Blade Runner DVD for years now and apparently when it comes, it will have 4 versions including a brand new one. The orignal Alien DVD is also the first DVD I ever bought and includes some fantastic features also, most with direct input from Sir Scott. He knows that DVD can be used to provide material as detailed as the fan wants and can also give the viewer something we would not experience if DVD were not around. This director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven must surely be one of them.
For those who don't know there is a bit of background to this cut, if you know the story you may want to skip a couple of paragraphs for my specific thoughts. This film was originally designed to be an epic, taking what Gladiator had done and pushing it even further. Gladiator had shown that epics could work for modern audiences and so Ridley Scott was given the chance by Fox to make this film. With a script by William Monahan, one of the most respected screenwriters in Hollywood, they started filming what would be both an epic and a hit. When filming was finished and a 3 hour 5 minute cut was shown to Fox, they got cold feet and insisted on the film being cut down. Troy and King Arthur had both been critical and commercial failures (at least based on what was expected of them) and Fox was worrtied that people wre getting bored of these films. Instead of trusting the filmmakers, they turned out a botched 2 hour 15 minute edit to cinemas, aiming at the summer movie crowd and failing, making only 40 million dollars at the US box office. This edit was a mess and was quickly forgotten. However, rumblings from Scott were that he was not happy with this edit from the start and that he had a more coherent piece with plenty of room to breathe. Here it is.
Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a blacksmith whose wife recently committed suicide. At his lowest ebb, his long-lost father Godfrey (Liam Neeson) invites him to become part of the Crusades. Upon arriving in Jeruselam, he soon finds himself the protector of the "kingdom of heaven" from the outside and the inside.
The first cut of this film was a patectic rush job which screamed of studio interference and wsas an utter mess. Not only that, it was incredibly boring. This cut however, is something resembling a truly great film. While it may seem somewhat unfeasible that a film can be made that much different by a different edit, this really is the case. The fact is this film is 45 minutes longer than the theatrical version. While this was also the case with The Return Of Tke King extended edition, what is taken out here is not extra little bits which add to an overall feel when put back in, here we have vital scenes which make what were previously murky plot points into something which creates a truly epic feel. An entire plot is added which makes Sylbia (Eva Green) a character who is not just a perfunctory love interest but a fully realised character who makes the entire film a rather bittersweet affair. A simple addition such as the discovery of a caharcter actually being Bloom's brother also allows us to more fully realise the depths to which he goes before he can be redeemed.
The film also retains fully the only real redeeming point of the original cut, the quite incredible action. Scott's pefect way with handling huge battles was demonstrated in Gladiator, here it is realised to its full potential. The battle which is set over the course of days truly allows us to see how devatstaing a war of this type could be to both the individuals and the buldings they are fighting in and around. The room for this aspect of the film to breathe also improves another element, Orlando Bloom's perfomance. In the original cut, he seems little more than a moody bloke who decides to fight and inexplicably people follow. In this cut, we are shown many more character beats as he converses with those around him and really do make you believe that this "perfect knight" could inspire so few to battle so many. Bloom's peformance fares far better in this cut and it is to Scott's credit that my perception of his character is changed so much. All the perfomances are great work and unlike the previous cut where many characters felt empty and useless, all are given purpose here.
This may all sound hyperbolc but this cut really is a great work. The feel is timeless, and it says a lot for this film that it can have an overture and get away with it. Scott has done everyone involved with this production proud and I truly hope that this is the version that lives on in people's minds. Even if you did not like the original cut, I have no hesitation in recommending this.

Video: Extraordinary stuff. Scott's use of colour timing and lighting gives the film a look all of its own. I would love to see the Blu-Ray in action but this really will do for now.

Audio: You may get a DD 5.1 soundtrack but the DTS 5.1 is thunderous. From the start the bass booms out and sound blasts from all the speakers, and this pretty much does not stop. Always clear sound, with great directional effects and is truly a refernce disc for an audiophile. Again, the Blu-Ray is a tempting beast what with a lossless track retaining the quality from the original mixing desk. Drooling now.

Extras: Have only watched the Director's Cut featurette which is diminshed by the lack of Sir Scott axction. Saying that he seems to be all over this edition and I really do look forward to learning more about this film.

Truly great film, incredible video and audio with features I know will be well worth a watch. This edition is avaliable for around a tenner online and I say go buy it!!

Thoughts on this or any of my posts to cinema-rama@hotmail.co.uk please!