Plot
Ridley Scott directed this epic-scale historical drama inspired by the events of the Crusades of the 12th century. Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a humble French blacksmith who is searching for a reason to go on after the death of his wife and children. Balian is approached by Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), a fabled knight who has briefly returned home after serving in the East. Godfrey informs Balian that he is his true father, and urges the blacksmith to join him as he and his forces journey to Jerusalem to help defend the holy city. Balian accepts, and he and Godfrey arrive during the lull between the Second and Third Crusades, in which the city is enjoying a fragile peace. Both Christian and Muslim forces are temporarily in retreat, thanks to the wisdom of the Christian monarch King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), his second-in-command Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), and Muslim potentate Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). Violent agitators on both sides are foolishly eager to end the peace in a bid for greater power, and Saladin bows to pressures from Muslim factions; Godfrey is one of a handful of brave knights who has thrown his allegiance behind Baldwin IV and his community of diversity, and Balian joins him as they use their skills as warriors in a bid to build a lasting peace. Kingdom of Heaven also stars Eva Green as the princess Sibylla, David Thewlis as Hospitaler the priest, and Brendan Gleeson as Reynald. ~ Mark Deming, RoviReview
It's a shame this film had to come after Troy and Alexander because, despite a few flaws, it is far superior to those stabs at modernizing the costume epic. Kingdom of Heaven succeeds where those films fail because it manages to hit the right blend of grandeur and subtlety. As one would expect from a Ridley Scott film, the grandeur comes through in a wealth of period detail, many stunning vistas filmed on location, and a meticulously staged battle scene in the finale. However, what makes Kingdom of Heaven rewarding is its "subtlety" component: William Monahan's script takes great pains to create a multifaceted tale that depicts both sides of the war in an evenhanded fashion and also reminds the viewer of how religion once dominated the lives of most people. It also benefits from subtle performances that counteract the trend of broad overplaying that mars many similar epics: Orlando Bloom believably underplays his role (a big contrast to his matinee-idol prancing in Troy), Eva Green makes a suitably alluring and likeably resilient romantic interest, and Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, and David Thewlis flesh out their smaller roles with a knowing, believably world-weary cynicism. On the downside, the pressure of getting across the storyline in just two and a half hours means the story suffers a few sudden leaps and awkward transitions in its first half (specifically in how Bloom ends up in Jerusalem). However, these kinks get ironed out by the midpoint and the high quality of the film's other aspects helps make up for these flaws. In short, Kingdom of Heaven has its problems but is easily the best of the recent "sword-and-sandal epic" cycle. ~ Donald Guarisco, RoviCast
- Orlando Bloom - Balian
- Eva Green - Sibylla
- Jeremy Irons - Tiberias
- David Thewlis - Hospitaler
- Brendan Gleeson - Reynald
Credit
Maria Teresa Barbasso - Art Director, Gianni Giovagnoni - Art Director, John King - Art Director, Marco Trentini - Art Director, Jose Luis Del Barco - Art Director, Carlos Suarez Bodelon - Art Director, Alessandro Alberti - Art Director, Robert Cowper - Art Director, Juan Garcia - Art Director, Neil Roche - Animator, Ty Warren - Associate Producer, Teresa Kelly - Associate Producer, James Harris - Boom Operator, Debra Zane - Casting, Jina Jay - Casting, Salah Benchagra - Casting, Neville Shulman - Consultant/advisor, Patricia Nieto - Coordinator, Shane Starr - Coordinator, Robert King - Conductor, Denise O'dell - Co-producer, Henning Molfenter - Co-producer, Mark Albela - Co-producer, Thierry Potok - Co-producer, Janty Yates - Costume Designer, Terry Needham - First Assistant Director, Adam Somner - First Assistant Director, Pedro Lazaga, Jr. - First Assistant Director, Mohamed Nesrate - First Assistant Director, Darin John Rivetti - First Assistant Director, Adil Abdelwahab - First Assistant Director, Ridley Scott - Director, Hugh Johnson - Second Unit Director, Dody Dorn - Editor, Terry Needham - Executive Producer, Branko Lustig - Executive Producer, Lisa Ellzey - Executive Producer, Michael Elson - Executive Producer, Teresa Hinton - Hair Styles, Marselle Genovese - Hair Styles, Salima Ouled Dahhou - Hair Styles, Anna De Santis - Hair Styles, Elena Gregorini - Hair Styles, Giorgio Gregorini - Hair Styles, Mercedes Guillot - Hair Styles, Gaetano Panico - Hair Styles, Mar Paradela - Hair Styles, Marco Giacalone - Location Manager, Driss Gaidi - Location Manager, Gonzalo Canellas - Location Manager, Abdeslam Ngadi - Location Manager, Alberto Poveda - Location Manager, Pablo Ramirez - Location Manager, Jose Luis Escolar - Line Producer, Karim Abouobayd - Line Producer, Harry Gregson-Williams - Composer (Music Score), Marc Streitenfeld - Musical Direction/Supervision, Paul Engelen - Makeup, Melissa Lackersteen - Makeup, Marese Langan - Makeup, Patricia Rodriguez - Makeup, Zhor Bennani - Makeup, Mari Carmen Clavel - Makeup, Hayat Oulad Dahou - Makeup, Montserrat Damas - Makeup, Souad El Khatabi - Makeup, Ghislane Nejjar - Makeup, Bouchra Sakhi - Makeup, Matteo Silvi - Makeup, Chris Plevin - Camera Operator, Daniele Massaccesi - Camera Operator, Martin Hume - Camera Operator, Clive Jackson - Camera Operator, Robert Smith - Camera Operator, Arthur Max - Production Designer, John Mathieson - Cinematographer, Bruce Devan - Production Manager, Ken Lawrence - Production Manager, Patricia Nieto - Production Manager, Emily Stillman - Production Manager, Julia Wigginton - Production Manager, Ridley Scott - Producer, Charlie Bradbury - Producer, Lisbeth Scott - Singer, Back Choir - Singer, Catherine Bott - Singer, Choir of the Kings Consort - Singer, Iestyn Davies - Singer, Brian Gulland - Singer, Nicole Tibbles - Singer, Neil Corbould - Special Effects, David A. Stephenson - Sound/Sound Designer, Ivo Kristof - Stunts, Ignacio Carreno - Stunts, Gabor Piroch - Stunts, Eugenio Alonso - Stunts, Alejandro Cobo - Stunts, Ricardo Cruz - Stunts, Ivan Mica - Stunts, Peter Olgyay - Stunts, Jose Maria Serrano - Stunts, Marek Toth - Stunts, Martin Uhrovcik - Stunts, Jason Rodriguez - Stunts, Pavel Vokoun - Stunts, Gergely Csolle - Stunts, Peter Hric - Stunts, Roman Jankovic - Stunts, Ratislav Kotula - Stunts, Branislav Martinak - Stunts, Lubomir Misak - Stunts, Stanislav Satko - Stunts, Zoltan Molnar - Stunts, Pedro Garcia Garcia - Stunts, Ales Kosnar - Stunts, Filip Kadlec - Stunts, David Garrick - Stunts, Menyhert Balog-Dutombe - Stunts, Domingo Beltran - Stunts, Rastislav Benza - Stunts, Ferenc Berecz - Stunts, Toni Bobeta - Stunts, Oleg Botin - Stunts, Pablo Casillas - Stunts, Jose Manuel Cerdan - Stunts, Jonathan Costelloe - Stunts, Rogerio Carlos De Oliveira - Stunts, Tomas Ereminas - Stunts, Pedro Fraile - Stunts, Vladimir Furdik - Stunts, Gabriel Garcia - Stunts, Vladislavas Jacukevicius - Stunts, Saulius Janavicius - Stunts, Krisztian Kery - Stunts, Martin Kraus - Stunts, Gustav Kyselica - Stunts, Inocencio Losada - Stunts, Anderson Martin - Stunts, Atilla Mora - Stunts, Giedrius Nagys - Stunts, Joaquin Olias - Stunts, Jose Antonio Ona - Stunts, Hernando Ortiz - Stunts, Domonkos Pardanyi - Stunts, Peter Plazak - Stunts, Lehocky Radoslav - Stunts, Stanislav Samuchov - Stunts, Miguel Santiago - Stunts, Gabriel Manja Sarki - Stunts, Gaspar Szabo - Stunts, Istvan Szigeti - Stunts, Laszlo Ujvari - Stunts, Mark Aaron Wagner - Stunts, Allan Smith - Stunts, Phil Neilson - Stunts Coordinator, Alex Corven - Unit Production Manager, William Monahan - Screenwriter, Hugh Johnson - Second Unit Camera, Peter Chiang - Visual Effects Supervisor, Jon Thum - Visual Effects Supervisor, Wes Sewell - Visual Effects Supervisor, Tom Wood - Visual Effects Supervisor, Bryan Bowen - Sound Effects Editor, Martin Cantwell - Sound Effects Editor, James Harrison - Sound Effects Editor, Sue Lenny - Sound Effects Editor, Oliver Tarney - Sound Effects Editor, Stephen Barton - Additional Music, Steve Dent - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Peter White - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Andres Albarracin - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Quinn Donoghue - Unit Publicist, Roisin Carty - Dialogue Coach, Ginette Nelson - Dialogue Coach, Keith Brachmann - Associate Editor, Marco Sacerdoti - First Assistant Camera, Craig Bloor - First Assistant Camera, Simon Hume - First Assistant Camera, Keith McNamara - First Assistant Camera, Ben Fox Wilson - First Assistant Camera, James Needham - First Assistant Camera, Robert "Chuck" Finch - Gaffer, William "Wick" Finch - Gaffer, Ricardo Rodriguez - Gaffer, Sonny Postiglione - Grip, Santiago Casado - Grip, Lahcen Herraf - Grip, Gianpaolo Majorana - Grip, Jose Ramon Munoz - Grip, Kamaleddine Talmi - Grip, Anselmo Villalba - Grip, Dave Appleby - Key Grip, James Crowther - Key Grip, Carlo Postiglione - Key Grip, Edmundo Sanz - Key Grip, Martin Tillman - Musical Performer, Paul Clarvis - Musical Performer, Frank Ricotti - Musical Performer, Goksel Baktagir - Musical Performer, Mercan Dede - Musical Performer, Nigel Eaton - Musical Performer, Tim Garside - Musical Performer, Jacob Herringman - Musical Performer, Hugh Marsh - Musical Performer, Dawson Miller - Musical Performer, Hussein Zahaway - Musical Performer, David McKimmie - Post Production Coordinator, Sandra Odelga - Production Coordinator, Sally-Jane Spencer - Production Coordinator, James Prosser - Production Coordinator, Gemma Thompson - Production Coordinator, Hind Hanif - Production Coordinator, Salima Lakkari - Production Coordinator, Kimberley Ann Berdy - Production Supervisor, Peter Hooper - Properties, Petr Richter - Properties, Anthony Driver - Properties, Paul Purdy - Properties Master, David White - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Michael Minkler - Re-Recording Mixer, Myron Nettinga - Re-Recording Mixer, Anna Worley - Script Supervisor, Minta Townshend - Script Supervisor, Richard Goodwin - Second Assistant Director, Emma Horton - Second Assistant Director, Ian Stone - Second Assistant Director, William Dodds - Second Assistant Director, Noureddine Aberdine - Second Assistant Director, Mustapha Grumij - Second Assistant Director, Jamal Abdelwahab - Second Assistant Director, Carlos Gras - Second Assistant Director, Mustapha Steila - Special Effects Coordinator, Dave Appleby - Still Photographer, Per Hallberg - Supervising Sound Editor, Victoria Alonso - Visual Effects Producer, Mei-Ming Casino - Visual Effects Producer, Jennifer Silver - Visual Effects Producer, Amanda Trewin - Costume/Wardrobe, Roberta Federico - Assistant Art Director, Lucio Di Domenico - Assistant Art Director, Alexandro Santucci - Assistant Art Director, Antonio Tarolla - Assistant Art Director, Andrew Cripps - Assistant Costume Designer, Robert Worley - Assistant Costume Designer, Marco Perna - Assistant Hair, Fiona Garland - Assistant Production Coordinator, David Mackie - Assistant Sound Editor, Haroune Layoussisi - Assistant Sound Editor, Ceri Thomas - Assistant Sound Editor, Phil Murray - Best Boy Grip, Norman Baillie - Buyer, Grady Bishop - Buyer, Gina Cromwell - Buyer, Zineb El Idrissi - Buyer, Lorena Laguna - Buyer, Jose Antonio Ruiz - Buyer, Rosalind Ward - Buyer, Imad Rechiche - Camera Loader, Lewis Hume - Camera Loader, Robin Hudson - Casting Assistant, Laura Augustin - Costumes Assistant, Roberto Gonzalez - Costumes Assistant, Maria Gordo - Costumes Assistant, Emilia Montero - Costumes Assistant, Maribel Perez - Costumes Assistant, Abdelkrim Akellach - Costumes Supervisor, Clare Spragge - Costumes Supervisor, Colin Ritchie - Dialogue Editor, Simon Chase - Dialogue Editor, Claudio Del Gobbo - Dolly Grip, Gary Romaine - Dolly Grip, Gustavo Canales - Electrician, Carlos Sasha Garcia - Electrician, Daniel Guirles - Electrician, Antonio Lopez - Electrician, Oscar Perez - Electrician, Adil Satarad - Electrician, Ahmed Satarad - Electrician, Javier Pérez - Electrician, Billy Dowd - Extra Casting, Penelope Snelling - Extra Casting, Peter Burgis - Foley Artist, Andi Derrick - Foley Artist, Harry Barnes - Foley Editor, Fatiha Ait Baddi - Greensman, Pilo Silva - Greensman, Lola Belsito - Personal Assistant, Housna Choukri - Personal Assistant, Natascha Maksimovic - Personal Assistant, Neil Murphy - Personal Assistant, Kevin Otero - Personal Assistant, Jordan Sheehan - Personal Assistant, Jane Templeton - Personal Assistant, Jim Stanes - Scenic Artist, Julian Martin - Scenic Artist, Max Von Turpentine - Scenic Artist, Basil Fenton-Smith - Second Assistant Camera, Robert Palmer - Second Assistant Camera, Kevin Haverty - Second Assistant Camera, Ciro Candia - Second Assistant Camera, Ed Jones - Second Assistant Camera, Kim Whittaker - Second Second Assistant Director, Gina Cromwell - Set Dresser, Graham Bishop - Set Dresser, Robert Cowper - Set Dresser, Oscar Romero - Set Dresser, Alex Kirby - Set Production Assistant, Topaz Adizes - Set Production Assistant, Moving Picture Company - Visual Effects, Sonja Klaus - Set Decorator, Richard Harvey - Featured Music, Paul Conway - ADR Supervisor, Tony Currie - ADR Supervisor, Abigail Barbier - ADR Voice Casting, Louis Elman Amps - ADR Voice Casting, Jorge Galocha - Cable Person, Juan Diego Rama - Cable Person, Peter Hunt - Color Timing, Franco Di Bernardino - Construction Foreman, Franco Fabietti - Construction Foreman, Claudio Magrini - Construction Foreman, Francesco Valento - Construction Foreman, Enrico Zannoni - Construction Foreman, Nigel Heath - Foley Mixer, Edward Colyer - Foley Mixer, Alex Joseph - Foley Supervisor, Professional Negative Cutting Limited - Negative Cutter, Mandi Dillin - Production Secretary, Colin Codner - Production Sound Mixer, David Stephenson - Production Sound Mixer, Luke Edwards - Runner, David Roker - Runner, Justo Garasa - Set Medic/First Aid, Hakima Hammoudi - Set Medic/First Aid, Houda Jabrane - Set Medic/First Aid, Mustapha Oikil - Set Medic/First Aid, Gareth Wingrove - Special Effects Technician, Serge Gagne - Special Effects Technician, Anthony Stephen Ciccarelli - Special Effects Technician, Javier Hernandez - Special Effects Technician, Mark Howard - Special Effects Technician, Julio Navarro - Special Effects Technician, Jean-Nicholas Roussel - Special Effects Technician, Benjamin Harrison - Third Assistant Director, Pierre Ellul - Third Assistant Director, Nathan Butt - Third Assistant Director, Luis Fernando Machi - Third Assistant Director, Robert Hamilton - Video Assist, Tim Morris - Video Assist, Ian Differ - Visual Effects Editor, Jo-Anne Dixon - Visual Effects Editor, Tim Pounds-Cornish - Visual Effects Editor, Francesca Birri - Art Department Coordinator, Eleanora Sparagna - Art Department Coordinator, Carolyne Chauncey - Assistant Editor, Jonathan Sales - Assistant Editor, Deborah Richardson - Assistant Editor, Lea Morement - Assistant Editor, Andrew Haigh - Assistant Editor, Mike Nollet - Assistant Editor, Tom Chichester-Clark - Assistant Music Editor, Christopher Benstead - Assistant Music Editor, David Abbott - Standby Carpenter, Martin Riedle - Compositor, Doug Larmour - Compositor, Roger Bolton - Compositor, Julian Gnass - Compositor, Sean Heuston - Compositor, Russell Horth - Compositor, Matt Packham - Compositor, Dave Phillips - Compositor, Glen Pratt - Compositor, Catherine Burrow - Compositor, Matt Holland - Compositor, Arundi Asregadoo - Compositor, Delphine Buratti - Compositor, Alessandro Cioffi - Compositor, Vincent Goodsell - Compositor, Tim Hey - Compositor, Nicolas Hodgkinson - Compositor, Tom Kimberley - Compositor, Natalie Macdonald - Compositor, Jolene McCaffrey - Compositor, Salima Needham - Compositor, Martin Ofori - Compositor, Scott Pritchard - Compositor, Norbert Ruf - Compositor, Giuliano Vigano - Compositor, Joey Brattesani - Compositor, Stuart Cripps - Compositor, Nancy Hyland - Compositor, Cesar Romero - Compositor, Dan Trezise - Compositor, Dick Edwards - Visual Effects Compositor, Ed Hawkins - Lead Compositor, Gavin Digby - Lead Compositor, Sheila Gorman - Lead Compositor, Marian Mavrovic - Lead Compositor, Vito Consoli - Painter, Luciano Curti - Painter, Giancarlo Di Fusco - Painter, Vittorio Di Persio - Painter, Glauci Isidori - Painter, Domenico Reordino - Painter, Marcello Turco - Painter, Barbara Perez Solero - Assistant Set Decorator| Kingdom at Stake (1914 Film), Kingdom Hospital (2004 Film) | |
| Kingdom of Youth (1918 Film), Kingdom of the Blind (1995 Film) |
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