Kingdom Of Heaven (DVD)

Advantages: This is fictionalised history, set between the 2nd and 3rd Crusades - shortly before the time of King Richard the Lionhearted - Balian of Ibelin was historically "the defender of Jerusalem"
Disadvantages: It was a harsh, superstitious time - the film highlights this through its bloodiness; although not "anti-God" the film is somewhat anti-religious. NOT FOR THE QUEASY - very gory!

...FILM - KINGDOM OF HEAVEN >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> THE STORY BEGINS (AS I UNDERSTOOD IT) Between the 2nd and 3rd Crusades, the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem is at peace, while an uneasy truce exists between King Baldwin IV and Salah-ad-Din, following a victory by the young king many years before when he was only 16. One successful knight, (the fictitious) Godfrey of Ibelin, finding himself without an heir, decides ...
...(post-crusades). Thus, we chose KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, as it was set between the second and third of the eight main "Crusades" to reclaim the holy land for pilgrims seeking to more fully appreciate their redemption through Christ, who lived, died and rose there. We had mixed feelings when it was finished (explained above) due to the contrast between the content and the spectacle. VISUALLY: This is a magnificent panoramic spectacle on a wide screen. ... Read review

Advantages: Good cinematography and set design
Disadvantages: Orlando Bloom, One-dimensional characters, Frequently tedious

Kingdom of Heaven (2005) - FILM ONLY REVIEW Certificate: 15 (UK), R (USA), 15A (Ireland) Running time: 145 minutes (there is also a director's cut at 194 minutes) Writer: William Monahan Director: Ridley Scott Main cast: Balian - Orlando Bloom Godfrey - Liam Neeson Guy de Lusignan - Marton Csokas Nasir - Alexander Siddig Sibylla - Eva Green Tiberias - Jeremy Irons King Baldwin - Edward Norton Saladin - Ghassan Massoud "Kingdom of Heaven" ...
...this time is a Christian kingdom captured during the first Crusade and held/ occupied (depending on your perspective) by European soldiers seeking wealth and glory as much as for religious reasons. The kingdom is divided between Baldwin's party, led by Tiberius (Jeremy Irons), who have brokered an uneasy peace with Saracen leader Saladin (Ghassan Massoud); and the war mongering Knights Templar (who I'm sure you will remember from "The Da Vinci Code") ... Read review

Advantages: Convincing performances, great battle scenes
Disadvantages: A Bit Long

Kingdom of Heaven is the latest epic from Director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Alien) and stars Orlando Bloom. There are also appearances from a number of established actors such as Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons. Kingdom of Heaven is based between the 2nd and 3rd Crusades, where Jerusalem is currently held by the Christians. There is currently a kind of peace (in that there is not an open war) in Jerusalem and Christians, Moslems and Jews all co-exist ...
...Richard (the Lionheart) set of on his Crusade. THE STORY: Set in 1186, the story centres around Balian (Bloom), a young French blacksmith mourning the recent death of his wife who committed suicide after their baby died. As a result of this the local priest cheerfully assures Balian that his wife will be at that very moment burning in hell as suicide is a sin! At this point Baron Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson) turns up claiming to be Balian's ... Read review

Advantages: good action scenes
Disadvantages: Poor storyline, poor acting by main character

...Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and Kingdom Of Heaven certainly follows these titles footsteps in the impressive battle scenes. Actors Include: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Eva Green and Brendan Gleeson amongst others. Certificate 15 Film Time 138 minutes The main vein of the storyline is a Hollywood approach to the pre-third crusade Jerusalem. The main character, Blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom) who has just lost his child and wife ...
...by his father, a real knight of the holy land the Baron of Ibelin who has returned to bring his son into the fold. Balian refuses, subsequently kills a really annoying priest and then trots after his father in a search for forgiveness in the holyland. - Here we have the typical hollywoodisation of what could have been a really historically accurate film, while the film puts Balian as a blacksmith who rises through the ranks of society (a feat totally ... Read review

Advantages: Spectacular battle scenes in a vast setting.
Disadvantages: Difficult to understand and historically inaccurate.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - DVD Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Eva Green THE STORY In the late 12th Century, Balian (Orlando Bloom), a young French blacksmith, is mourning the suicide of his wife who took her life after the death of their new born baby. As she has killed herself, the local priest orders the grave-diggers to cut off her head before interring her body. The priest steals the cheap silver crucifix ...
...Neeson), a Baron of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, finds the smithy. He tells Balian that he is his illegitimate son, and tries to persuade him to come to Jerusalem to inherit the baron's title and lands. Balian, shocked by his father's sudden appearance, declines the offer. Following his murder of the priest, Balian decides that true forgiveness for himself, and his wife, can only come direct from Christ in Jerusalem. He chases after the baron pursued ... Read review

Advantages: Great CGI, Great Battles
Disadvantages: None

...... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Amazing HD quality and great movie
Disadvantages: Needs a HD dvd player and HD TV to play this item best.

...HD makes this movie come to life. Quite scarily too. Hugh jackman plays the hunted murderer 'Van Helsing' in his search to find his calling. Helsing tavels the world hunting and capturing if posible dangerous beasts for preists of rome. This time he has to travel to transalvania and hunt count dracula (Richard Roxburgh). It seems he has a strange link to count dracula, and he searchs for the meaning of his life. Also accomanied by Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale) who is trying to save her family from never been allowed into the kingdom of heaven she has to kill Dracula. So Helsing and Anna team up along with the key to life Frankastien to exterminate Dracula and his young. The DVD of this film is great, but nothing compares to seeing it in HD. The picture is breathtaking and the sound is crisp. Like all HD DVDs this requires... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Lesely Ann Warren, Bryan Adams, interesting subject
Disadvantages: Christopher Atkins, the horrible editing, plot holes

...and Tewkesbury talk on an audio commentary revealing what happened because, like the story in the final cut of A NIGHT OF HEAVEN, we are disappointingly left with a lot of unanswered questions. For those living in the UK that are seriously interested in checking out A NIGHT IN HEAVEN, I have some bad news: it is not available on Region 2 DVD or PAL video. So, you are left with catching it on TV, or trying to obtain a copy off of Ebay; though if you have a DVD player that can play Region 1 DVDs, then you could purchase it for only 5.61 GBP and the ASIN # is B0007WQH08. Thank you for reading this review, and I look forward to your comments, as always. Cheers for Now!!! Chris xxx ************************************************************* QUOTES, TRIVIA AND CRITIC'S CORNER ************************************************************* 1... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful