Kingdom of Heaven

For almost five years now, Hollywood studios have been trying to duplicate the success of Gladiator by making the same big-budget historical battle epic over (The Last Samurai) and over (Troy) and over (King Arthur) and over (Alexander). Each movie has re-imagined history from a modern, let's-keep-an-open-mind perspective, hewing to a shopworn formula in which the hero rallies his men against formidable odds for a great cause, invariably leading them into the same blood-and-mud war scenes, which are always shot in the same staccato slow-motion (oh, and the hero also always finds time to romance a beautiful woman from another culture--in this case Eva Green). Kingdom of Heaven is more of the same, with Orlando Bloom as a bland French blacksmith who becomes a knight of the Crusades, defending Christian-occupied Jerusalem against a massive Muslim army that lays siege to get it back. Although director Ridley Scott (who also helmed Gladiator) has no trouble bringing his ancient world to life with realistic costumes, hair, makeup, and CGI-rendered 12th-century cityscapes, he's unable to maintain enough of a narrative pulse to keep that world interesting. Optional.  [Note: DVD extras on this double-disc set include “The Pilgrim's Guide” text commentary incorporating both historical and production notes, the “Interactive Production Grid” allowing the viewer to see the film's “making-of” from the perspective of the director, cast, or crew (84 min.), the A&E-aired “Movie Real: Kingdom of Heaven” (45 min.), the History Channel's History vs. Hollywood episode for the film (43 min.), four behind-the-scenes internet featurettes—“Ridley Scott: Creating Worlds,” “Orlando Bloom: The Adventure of a Lifetime,” “Production Design,” and “Costume Design”—totaling 10 minutes, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a flawed film.] (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review—May 16, 2006—Fox, 4 discs, 194 min., not rated, $34.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 2005's Kingdom of Heaven (4-Disc Director's Cut) boasts an excellent transfer and features both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS sound options. DVD extras on this 194-minute version of the film include an introduction by producer-director Ridley Scott, three audio commentaries (the first by Scott, writer William Monahan, and costar Orlando Bloom; the second by executive producer Lisa Ellzey, visual effects supervisor Wesley Sewell, and first assistant director Adam Somner; and the third by film editor Dody Dorn), the onscreen text track “The Engineer's Guide” with production notes and trivia, a near-two-hour six-part “making-of” documentary, over 30 minutes of deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary, never-before-seen cast rehearsals, an interactive sound design suite (with sample tracks and mini-featurettes), an early draft of the screenplay (with development notes), footage from the London, New York, and Tokyo premieres, numerous galleries (production design, conceptual art, costume, unit photography, and storyboard), domestic and international posters, and TV spots and trailers. Bottom line: the “director's cut” of Kingdom of Heaven adds 50 minutes to the running time and—against all odds—is definitely improved, fleshing out characters and subplots. Coupled with the outstanding extras package, this new edition is unhesitatingly recommended.]