'Kingdom of Heaven'... The Director's Cut.

     "Wait a minute, Goongala. If I'm reading this correctly, you're doing a movie review. You don't do movie reviews." Yes, I do! Well, okay, no I don't. But, now I am! At least one movie review anyway. I just had to do it, my conscience compelled me...

     The first time I watched Kingdom of Heaven, it instantly made my “favorites” list. The story was pretty good; the historical accuracy, although stretched at times, was excellent; the music was phenomenal; and the actors completely owned their characters. If there was one problem with Kingdom of Heaven, it would have been that character development was non-existent. You see only a glimpse into the backstory, a mere page in what should have been a whole book of information. In walks the Director's Cut, which adds over forty minutes to the movie as well as several changes to the original footage. PROBLEM SOLVED.

And here...we...go...

     The Director's Cut can't even get a minute into the movie before we find ourselves with new content. The grave diggers have a bit of dialogue which adds backstory. Then we have a scene of the Priest talking to the Bishop, which adds backstory. Then Balian has a flashback (adding more backstory) while he's sitting in prison (a whole new element to the story). Then there's a scene where Godfrey is feasting with his brother, the local lord; yet more backstory. The whole movie is like this, with little bits thrown here and there and sometimes back to back. As one of my friends put it, "A little thing that adds so much".

So true in Medieval Europe...

     For the theatrical cut, quite a bit of dialog was changed. Certain dialogue was changed from talking about one person to talking about another. One such change was at the beginning of the movie, when Godfrey and company are fighting off the knights in the forest. It is revealed in the Director's Cut that Godfrey is the brother of the local lord there in France. It was this lord that sent the knights to bring back Balian. At the end of the fight, Godfrey says, "Thank my brother for his love!", then brains the knight with his sword. This was changed from, "Thank the bishop for his love!" in the theatrical release. Some alterations change the story a bit, some expand the backstory, and others make the movie feel more authentic. For example, when Balian and company reach the port at Messina, the priest's line is changed to, "To kill an infidel, the Pope has said, is not murder. It is the path to heaven." The theatrical release removed, "...the Pope has said,...", which I would think is due to the political correctness of today. However, the priest's monologue would have gone something like that during the crusades. This change in the Director's Cut makes the movie more authentic to the times, and draws you further into the plot. Other dialog changes stemmed from the need to cut out certain facts from the theatrical release, even going so far as to cut out an entire person. We'll get to that in a little while...

Uncle? Who said anything about Uncle!?

     Also removed from the original theatrical release were several quote worthy phrases and conversations. For instance, when the Hospitaller is talking to Balian at his home in Jerusalem, he says " I've seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers". Even today this rings true. When reaching Ibelin, Balian's second-in-command (the bald knight) tells him that, "This is a poor and dusty place." Later, the line comes up again when Balian tells this knight that Ibelin is his should he survive the siege of Jerusalem. Reynald de Chatillion, while in prison, has a funny segment in which he walks around and climbs the walls of his cell all the while shouting, "I am Reynald de Chatillion!" It was quite humorous and drives home the fact that Reynald is nuts, not just outspoken. A guard at the beginning says, "Do yourself no injury. Other men are always good for that." How true that is...

"I AM... REYNALD OF CHATILLION!"

     Another pleasant change is the addition of several short scenes which gave both minor and major characters more screen time and gave more backstory. The German and Saracen knights who travel with Godfrey are killed off rather quickly, and only had a few lines before they died. The German gets a few more lines when talking to Balian in the blacksmith's shop, one of which reveals that Balian has been in battle before; at least once on horseback and another time as an engineer. This explains so much, considering Balian's ability command his knights in the defense of Kerak later in the movie, as well as his understanding of siege engines at the siege of Jerusalem. Again, "A little thing that adds so much." Other scenes add in new minor characters, such as the bishop in Balian's home town, which proves to be the only Christian clergyman in the whole movie who isn't corrupt. Also included were a few more conversations with the Hospitaller (David Thewlis), which were always some of my favorite interactions. He was one of my favorite characters in the original, and everything they added made him even more so. At the end of the movie, Guy finds Balian and fights him. Balian wins, but doesn't kill Guy. Instead he says, "When you rise again, if you rise, rise a knight." Balian has every reason to kill him, but his conscience is good, and he won't do it. Another scene reveals the meaning behind the ring that Sybilla kisses when she leaves his home at Ibelin. It's the little things that make a big difference.

You tell him, ... Wait, what was your name?

      Most of the action is still there, but it's been intensified and in some cases lengthened. There are a few beheadings over the course of the movie, but the theatrical release only implied that they happened and didn't actually show them. The Director's Cut shows these, allowing the movie to flow more smoothly. For instance, when Guy, as the king, beheads the messenger sent from Saladin to recover his sister's body. In the theatrical release, he slits the messenger's throat and in very next scene, not three seconds later, he's got his sword out and he's saying, "Take the head to Damascus." I had always wondered how he got his sword out so fast and chopped the messenger's head off so quickly. Some parts are only extended a few seconds, but show more blood and gore. I've said many times that I like blood and violence, but I'm not a warmonger. The addition of this vivid combat adds so much to the movie. It shows the terrible nature of warfare, especially that of the Medieval era. There is a limit, however, to the extent that violence can be taken before it becomes unbelievable. At one point, a Saracen caravan is attacked by the Templars, and the leader of the Caravan is sliced almost in half, from right shoulder to belly-button (or thereabouts). I highly doubt swords of that kind were sharp enough to do that, and it takes away from the realism. See? I told you I'm not out for mindless, ridiculous violence. I know there's a line and I know where to draw it.

Oh boy, this is about to get messy...

     A lot of character development was done in the Director's Cut. For instance, did you know that the priest at the beginning was Balian's brother?  Or that the knight who comes to take Balian away in the forest was Godfrey's nephew? "A little thing that adds so much." The priest at the beginning was a scumbag in the theatrical release, but I didn't feel he was deserving of death. With the newly added segments you see just how far his depravity goes, and I would run him through myself if given the chance. The same goes for Guy de Lusignan. He's meant to be a bad guy, and, as to be expected, I disliked him. The Director's Cut adds to his wickedness, adding blackmail and adultery to an already long list of corruption and evil. The Director's Cut really elaborates on the immorality of the movie's characters, and not just the villains either. Sybilla has her fair share of evil when story is expanded. But that's somewhat of a spoiler, which I'll explain shortly...

LIAR! SCUMBAG! DIE IN A FIRE (WITH A SWORD IN YOUR STOMACH)!

     One of the biggest changes, however, comes in the form of a completely new, MAJOR character. I'm talking about a character of plot significance. Truly, when watching the Director's Cut I sometimes felt that I was watching an entirely new movie. Most of the changes up to this point have been small dialogue changes and extra content. It's feels bizarre to have to only block out certain parts with a spoiler warning, but seeing as how this character was plot significant I'm going to go ahead and do so anyway. SPOILERS: The character they add in is Sybilla's son, and heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. When King Baldwin dies, her son becomes the king of Jerusalem with Sybilla as his regent. He is found to have leprosy, same as Baldwin, and Sybilla kills him to save him from his fate. This gives her later quote, "Save the people from what I have done," more potency when you see everything that she did. It was amazing to watch the Director's Cut and see the changes made to completely cut the character out, and still more amazing that the story was able to flow smoothly afterward.

You... are a terrible person...

     The movie is not perfect, even with the additions of the Director's Cut. Although imperfect, it still ranks very highly on my list, right up there with Braveheart and Gladiator. The Director's Cut added so much more backstory and character development, which Kingdom of Heaven was missing in the theatrical release. The action is still there, as intense and exciting as before, but now bolstered by the depth of the story. I love it.