"Kingdom of Heaven"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ****1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Orlando Bloom as BALIAN Liam Neeson as GODFREY Jeremy Irons as TIBERIUS Eva Green as SIBYLLA Ghassan Massoud as SALADIN Brendan Gleeson as REYNALD David Thewlis as HOSPITALER Mron Csokas as GUY DE LUSIGNAN Rated R Studio: 20th Century Fox Directed by: Ridley Scott Back to DVD Review Home |  |
Every so often, a movie comes out with a lackluster performance but has a subsequent DVD release that is truly inspired. “Kingdom of Heaven” is just such a movie.
Ever since I’ve reviewed films and DVDs, I’ve found that rarely does a release have no redeeming value. There have been films that I’ve not liked, but thoroughly enjoyed the DVD. That’s the beautiful thing about this industry. You literally have multiple chances to woo the audience.
The original film “Kingdom of Heaven” wasn’t terrible. However, it wasn’t great as well. It was part of a series of historical epics, many of which had substandard performances at the box office. Of course, “Kingdom of Heaven” was far, far better than “Alexander,” but it doesn’t come near to competing with Ridley Scott’s other historical epic, “Gladiator.”
The film tells the story of a man’s rise to power during the Crusades. Orlando Bloom plays the lead, and he’s okay in the role. Unfortunately, Bloom really isn’t leading man material, although he is a nice piece of eye candy for the ladies. Bloom is surrounded by some great actors, including Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons and Brendan Gleeson.
Like many of Ridley Scott’s less-than-great pieces of work, the problems aren’t readily noticeable. The acting is solid. The production design is great. The special effects are incredible. In fact, the final siege on Jerusalem was one of the best large-scale battles I’ve seen in a long time. However, the real stumbling block is the story. Trying to be too accurate to history leaves the film with a script filled with too many characters and unpronounceable names.
But this isn’t the thing to think about when considering this DVD for purchase or rent. There’s so much more to it. In fact, DVD of “Kingdom of Heaven” DVD is one of the best I’ve seen all year. Coming in a double-disc set, it’s one of the few DVDs that will actually enhance a re-watching of the original film. The special features, especially the ones on the second disc, provide an extensive history lesson of the Crusades and the historical backdrop of the film.
There are other features for the cinemaphile on the DVD. In fact, much of the behind-the-scenes work is put on an interactive production grid that follows three different tracks: cast, crew and director. Each track is separated into three parts: pre-production, production and post-production. Of course, it’s an extensive and worthwhile documentary overall, but if you want to break it down a little better, this is a great feature.
In addition to the original theatrical trailer and four web documentaries, there are two additional videos that help teach the history of the Crusades. “History vs. Hollywood” from the History Channel examines how accurate the film was. “Movie Real” from A&E looks at the historical mindset during the Crusades and how it relates to today.
Of course, there’s plenty of preaching about how awful the Christians were during the Crusades. However, people seem to miss the fact that the tables are now turned with the radical Muslims who are crusading, waging holy wars and promising salvation to a soldier killed during the destruction of the infidels.
On the main disc, one of the subtitle tracks is the film itself is called “The Pilgrim’s Guide.” This presents pop-up trivia subtitle that give in-depth information about the Crusades while the movie plays. Sometimes these on-screen trivia tracks are a bit sluggish or pointless. However, if anything, “The Pilgrim’s Guide” throws too much at you too fast. Indeed, you’ll have to watch the movie separately later because you’ll spend so much time reading the constant information that you’ll miss the action on screen.
Specifications: Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround. DTS 5.1 Sound. Widescreen (2.35:1). French and Spanish language tracks. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
