There is a new scene where the bishop of the town ( Bill Paterson) orders Balian's brother to release Balian from prison so the blacksmith can aid him in completing the construction of the new abbey.Also, newly added dialogue with the gravedigger ( Martin Hancock) reveals that the woman being buried was married to the Priest's brother, Balian the Blacksmith ( Orlando Bloom). In the opening scene, there is a shot of the Priest ( Michael Sheen) splitting open his apple only to find that it is rotten.The primary additional scenes in the Director's Cut are: Also, there is now more graphic violence in all the battle scenes, with newly added shots of spurting blood and new close-ups of wounds being inflicted. In all, 45 minutes of new scenes have been added, with the biggest addition, as Ridley Scott acknowledges in the introduction, being the subplot of Sibylla's son. The 194 minute Director's Cut is a roadshow format presentation with an Overture, Intermission and Entr'acte. Balian takes the sword and steps into history. As Godfrey passes his sword to his son, he also passes on that sacred oath: to protect the helpless, safeguard the peace, and work toward harmony between religions and cultures, so that a kingdom of heaven can flourish on earth. King Baldwin's vision of peace-a kingdom of heaven-is shared by a handful of knights, including Godfrey of Ibelin, who swear to uphold it with their lives and honor. But Baldwin's days are numbered, and strains of fanaticism, greed, and jealousy among the Crusaders threaten to shatter the truce. In Jerusalem at that moment-between the Second and Third Crusades-a fragile peace prevails, through the efforts of its enlightened Christian king, Baldwin IV, aided by his advisor Tiberias, and the military restraint of the legendary Muslim leader Saladin Ayubi. Revealing himself as Balian's father, Godfrey shows him the true meaning of knighthood and takes him on a journey across continents to the fabled Holy City. Destiny comes seeking Balian in the form of a great knight, Godfrey of Ibelin, a Crusader briefly home to France from fighting in the East. Amid the pageantry and intrigues of medieval Jerusalem, he falls in love, grows into a leader, and ultimately uses all his courage and skill to defend the city against staggering odds. The religious wars raging in the far-off Holy Land seem remote to him, yet he is pulled into that immense drama. A blacksmith named Balian has lost his family and nearly his faith. Though the onetime blacksmith tells his own fighters that the history of the place is not their fault ("None of us took this city from the Muslims!"), he also leads the bloody fight to keep the Muslims out.It is the time of the Crusades during the Middle Ages - the world-shaping 200-year collision between Europe and the East.
While the battle scenes are vast and the landscapes are breathtaking, the movie contorts history and political context to achieve these ends. Still, the film must lead to the 1187 siege of Jerusalem (here brought on by Baldwin's death and Guy's ascendance to the throne he immediately picks a fight with the Muslims), and Balian must appear to be valiant and morally sound. That is, Balian makes speeches about everyone getting along and no one having a singular claim to Jerusalem, even as he vows to fight to protect the people who live there against the Muslims who mean to win it back (the previous battle is reported to have left thousands dead). Show moreĪs these characters represent various civilian or military factions and religious beliefs, this brutal drama also delivers an anachronous "message" with weight for America's current wars.
The leprous good king wears a silver mask throughout the film after his death, the mask is removed to reveal his diseased, caved-in face (an image that might alarm some younger viewers).
The film includes a romance between the hero and the good king's sultry sister, who is also married to the bad king (this relationship leads to a passionate kiss that fades out before explicit sex). To be courteous, I should say it was against her objections"), and various references to the Crusades (battles fought, warriors lost), as a backdrop for the hero's noble cause (he wants to bring Muslims and Christians together, contrary to the desires of all devout folks on all sides). The film includes a euphemistic reference to the fact that the hero's father raped his mother (he says, "I knew your mother. Parents need to know that this movie has several one-on-one fight scenes, as well as extreme and explicit battle violence, including sword-fighting, head-chopping, limbs-lopping, impaling, fiery catapults firing, buildings and bodies burning, and blood spurting.
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