Kingdom of Heaven 10 aniversario [Blu-ray] por 20th Century Fox

The Kingdom of Heaven – Director’s Cut (KOHDC) is not one, but it is many magnitudes of cuts higher than its Theatrical version. The theater-released version is 2 hours long because it had to be recut in order to fit into the standard cinema complex time mold. Good films often can’t be whittled down to conform to movie theater time shifts of every 2 hours. The Kingdom of Heaven – Director’s Cut is one of these films.With nondescript box office ratings, Ridley Scott went into rescue/ triage mode to resurrect a movie that no one had ever heard of and changed it into one of the best current films about the Knights Templar and other Knights factions escorting wealthy Christians from Europe to the Holy land – Jerusalem. He did this by adding back 51 critical minutes that were initially pruned from the box-office edition. This crucial information transformed the film because it filled back in important character and storyline details that had been felled, so that viewers could make sense of this entire story/ film.I know this first-hand, because before I bought this KOHDC version, I had originally bought the 2-disc DVD (and played it on our BluRay player, which made every part of the DVD film crystal-clear). While watching this version, I had questions about the storyline. Then, when I bought and watched the Director’s Cut, the movie made sense AND because of the BluRay HD, every scene was deep, super-defined, and it was as if I were in the scenes as an observer (which is what the BluRay experience does to viewers). One good thing about the DVD KOH set, though, is the inclusion of extra film and film-related information, which is missing from the 1-disc BluRay. So for film enthusiasts who want to have every bit of film product possible to experience, I would suggest buying both systems and watching them like I did – from simple, truncated film DVD (144 minutes) along with the 2nd disc extras, to the expanded but clarified KOHDC in BluRay (195 minutes), with the original, almost-1 hour added back.KOHDC has a stellar international cast, including: Liam Neeson, Orlando Bloom, (pre-‘Bond Girl’) Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, and Edward Norton, whose name wasn’t listed in the credits but who gave an outstanding performance while masked! Another stellar cast-mate is Syrian writer, actor, director, and filmmaker, Ghassan Massoud, well-known and respected in the Arab World, playing the legendary Salahuddin in this film. (He was also in the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.) Western audiences need to see more work from this man.The storyline loosely follows history, starting when a blacksmith in France who lost his wife kills his half-brother, meets his real father (a Knight Templar), and journeys with him to Jerusalem to escape being tried for fratricide. The journey itself is arduous, and on the wide screen, it is epic, both on land and the sea. The raison d’tre of the Templars is to provide a safe Christian escort for wealthy European Christians traversing a hostile route. Upon arrival but outside of the city, which is rural, there is peace, calm, and tranquility for wealthy Knights who have homesteads there, with sprawling desert irrigation systems. This contrasts to the dangerous and barbarous activities occurring inside of Jerusalem in the battles between 2 different religions and between 2 different sects of 1 religion. The battle scenes are gruesome as is the dealing with the spoils of war on all sides.This religious fighting takes on a sense of cognitive dissonance: How can any religion have its members kill in the name of God? On the other hand, how can any religion not kill in the name of politics and wealth accumulation to gain land and new members to join its ranks? Why would a person go through any monotheistic religious conversion to engage in these? How could there be any jockeying of power between any 2 religious sects of the same religion? These are serious questions for viewers of this film to think about and discuss. These questions are still unanswered when we turn on our news even today and see what is happening between the East and the West.The cinematography is epic: the journey to Jerusalem on land and at sea, the battlefields, and the castle defense scenes.If the viewer has at least some knowledge of religious history and the birth pangs of each of the 2 religions, geography, cultures, etc., this film might be viewed as an action film. However, for those of us who have lived and traveled in these places, this film makes our real-life, current-day experiences especially strong and personally-relevant, even many centuries later because our everyday lives there still live and breathe this history. Our experience, instead of viewing this film as an action film, then, is displaced by living our own lives there, woven into the fabric of these countries with strong histories of survival, echoes of which still ring true for us through: religious, social, political, and intercultural viewpoints. In sum, some of us have lived through scenes today similar to what is shown on TV or internet newscasts during their international news segments.The sets, cinematography, and storyline are all noteworthy, and the fact that this film (loosely) follows history, much of which is still happening today, is remarkable in that the issues besetting the people living during the Crusades are some of the same unresolved problems that we still have today. The question is: ‘why’.I highly recommend seeing both sets of this KOH film (the 2-disc DVD and the KOHDC 1-disc in BluRay). I also highly recommend sharing these films with family and friends and discussing them to engage in dialog that prompts critical thinking and problem-solving. Our world desperately needs this right now.

If you're looking for the best version of Kingdom of Heaven, then this might be it. The Director's Cut was pretty good and better than the actual film.

Kingdom of heaven comes from Ridley Scott, the director of Gladiator and Blackhawk Down. The movie is a historic epic of the highest caliber filled with a fantastic score, breath-taking visuals, great acting, and a beautiful and very relevant story-line.The film covers the fall of the Latin crusader kingdom of Jerusalem to the Saracens. The capture of Jerusalem by the legendary Muslim general Salah ad-Din; better known to the west as "Saladin". The backdrop of this tumultuous time in history serves well to produce a dramatic and passionate look at events that still affect us to this day. We are treated to fabulous recreations of the holy city as well as some of the biggest scenes (battles and otherwise) I've ever seen in a movie.At its heart though, Kingdom of Heaven is a small personal story within the context of huge events. It is a very human tale, as Balian(Orlando Bloom), a young blacksmith who recently lost his wife struggles to find meaning, redemption, and a new beginning. His faith shattered, he decides to go to the holy land with his newfound father who shows up unexpectedly. In Jerusalem this one-time blacksmith finds the "kingdom of heaven" to be within himself in his own deeds and choices and plays a crucial role in events so much larger than himself.Balian serves the King of Jerusalem, a wise and tolerant man who knows that peace with Saladin is not only practical (as they are outnumbered) but also his moral duty. The king struggles to control fanatics like the Knights Templar lead by Guy De Leon, a man hungry for glory, power, and riches; as well as renegades like the mad Raynold, who is bloodthirsty and genocidal. The movie depicts the sad truth of historical fact, such as catholic priests preaching that "to kill an infidel (Muslim) is not murder, it is the path to heaven".Saladin, a wise and enlightened ruler has united the Arabs into a single force through his political and military prowess. Saladin himself is a quite tolerant man, and both him and the King of Jerusalem maintain an uneasy peace while religious zealots on both side cry out for blood. With the King's death, crusader renegades succeed in provoking war by attacking a Muslim caravan and killing Saladin's own sister (historically factual). Saladin marches his vast army against the outnumbered and surrounded Christians, who arrogantly and blindly march out to meet him and are annihilated. Balian now is left to defend Jerusalem against an army bent on revenge not just for this recent insult but for the slaughter of Jerusalem's Muslims by the army of the first crusade. Balian's only hope is to defend the city so fervently that magnanimous Saladin might be forced to terms, whereby he can negotiate for clemency.I think they struck the balance between history and Hollywood perfect. The story is by and large, historically accurate. While some characters such as Balian, were fictionalized in trivial ways to fit with the storyline, the larger events as well as the atmosphere itself is wonderfully portrayed. The movie over-all tells a much greater truth, exploring the role of religion and symbolism in human conflict, the constant struggle between tolerance and intolerance, and how each of us can make a difference within all of it in our own choices and attitudes.The special effects are top notch and the cinematography is absolutely excellent. Kingdom of heaven has some of the finest camera work of any movie, and adds to the terrific script and intelligent dialogue. Every dimension of this movie, from the source material, to the script, to the wardrobe and sets, to the special effects and score, to the acting is draped in excellence befitting such a complex tale. Some might not "get" this movie because there are no real "good guys". No one side is in the right, rather the forces of tolerance are at odds with fanaticism, and when the fanatics win out, it is up to good men of honor to try and protect the innocent bystanders in the wake of a war in which each side felt it was doing the will of God. But within that larger story is the story of one simple man, who on a pilgrimage to absolve his sins finds answers to questions about life and managed to do great things and find for himself a new beginning through helping the defenseless and seeing the world through clearer eyes. And at the end, even though the cycle of violence and tragedy to be only just beginning (and still is today), he is able to start his life anew, and presumably is able to live his life in peace with the knowledge that the kingdom of heaven is within us all. To any that love huge, passionate, explorative films that respect the complexities of the real world instead of giving in to the Hollywood urge to tell only one side of a story, give this movie a look! And to anyone looking for a wonderfully-crafted modern epic filled with action, intelligence, and a meaningful commentary on the motivations that drive men to fight, then this movie is also for you.The DVD includes excellent features, including production notes, interviews, making of material, a trailer, and most importantly TWO documentaries pertaining to the historical accuracy of the film (History vs. Hollywood, and A&E Movie Real) which compliment the movie terrifically. In these times we now live, we more than ever need to look back to this period in order to better understand the continuation of conflict that persists not only in Jerusalem, but between western and Islamic culture in general. There is also a very nice feature that pops up information bubbles during the movie pointing out production decisions relevant to, and/or historical gripes and points about, that particular scene.

A beautiful historical recount told in an action and thrilling epic. This movie inspires morality, justice and peace while keeping its audience engaged and entertained in a carefully shot medieval movie by Scot Ridley. My favorite of all times.

This is an epic movie. It has a engrossing story, insightful casting, great characters, superb cinematography, believable dialogue. It’s action, adventure, romance and history. Truly one of my favourites.

Bon film sur les croisades, relate de façon plutot fidèle "l'ambiance" à Jérusalem à l'époque de Baudoin IV le roi de Jérusalem qui était lépreux et la confrontation avec Saladin.

100 % OK Goede verzending en besteld item beantwoorde volledig aan de beschrijvingvan de verkoper ( uiterst tevreden ):-):-):-)

Rieccomi a recensire un BluRay sperando sempre di essere utile ad altri acquirenti.DESCRIZIONE E COMMENTO DEL FILM :Non vi faccio perdere tempo per la descrizione del film perchè tutti conoscono "Le Crociate", titolo originale "Kingdom of Heaven" film del 2005 del grandissimo Ridley Scott con Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons.Possiamo sintetizzare il tutto parlando del cammino eroico verso la redenzione di un peccatore che diventa cavaliere suo malgrado sullo sfondo dell'eterna lotta per la conquista di Gerusalemme tra cristiani e musulmani.Un opera epica intensa liberamente ispirata al periodo nel quale si colloca ma incredibilmente realistica e con una colonnasonora da brividi.CONFEZIONAMENTO :Finalmente anche l'edizione è per collezionisti ed amati del cinema, contrariamente a tante altre edizioni BluRay molto misere.Attenzione però perché la mia recensione si riferisce all'edizione francese "Kingdom of Heaven" e non come ho scritto nel titolo e non alle cover "Amaray", cioè quelle di plastichetta blu in vendita su Amazon o su tanti altri siti.Purtroppo per avere versioni di questa bellezza bisogna quasi sempre ricorrere ad edizioni straniere perché in Italia si ha la tendenza a fare semplici cover di plastica a costi contenuti.Questa edizione è francese infatti anche nella cover esterna ma è semplicemente fantastica.Si tratta di un book a tutti gli effetti dove i due BluRay sono alloggiati bel retro della copertina anteriore e posteriore; sotto di essi le immagini plastificate e con bellissimi colori accesi dei due protagonisti maschili e femminili del film (Orlando Bloom ed Eva Green).All'interno, come un libricino a tutti gli effetti, ci sono diverse pagine a colori plastificate che illustrano i personaggi e la scenografia del film con immagini a colori molto suggestive.Insomma una edizione per veri intenditori e, cosa che non guasta, ad un prezzo accessibile per un articolo di questa bellezza.Per i collezionisti ed amanti del cinema come me, posso dire che esiste una sola versione di questo film confezionata meglio o alla pari con questa.Si tratta dello SteelBook in lingua originale inglese; ne sono stato seriamente tentato, anche perchè acquisto quasi esclusivamente edizioni in MetalBox che sono le mie preferite.Ma stavolta ho scelto diversamente e ne sono veramente soddisfatto perchè questa edizione la ritengo sicuramente migliore e più accattivante dal punto di vista estetico.Tra l'altro è il secondo film acquistato con questa cover particolarissima a libricino perché finora ne ero riuscito a trovare soltanto un altro: il mitico "Master And Commander" e sempre su Amazon.Per chi volesse farsi un idea dell'altra edizione da collezione in SteelBook, consiglio di cercarla su EBay così vi rendete conto con i vostri occhi e potete scegliere quella che preferite.Naturalmente, se delle edizioni particolari, vi interessa il giusto, basta acquistare l'edizione su Amazon "Amaray" in plastica blu a 8 euro circa e tutto quello che ci siamo detti scordatevelo pure... è stato ugualmente un piacere potervene parlare.E poi detto tra noi po dovuto comprarlo anche io per sostituire il film in francese ... ho speso qualche euro in più ma ho un edizione fantastica con un BluRay in italiano.Ormai tutti i collezionisti sono costretti a farlo se desiderano avere le migliori cover da esposizione senza dimenticarsi poi del film all'interno ... pochi euro in più ed il gioco è fatto.COMPARTO AUDIO/VIDEO :Come detto il film che sto recensendo si riferisce all'edizione francese senza audio in italiano.Le lingue sono soltanto francese ed inglese.Per l'edizione italiana potete consultare l'altra mia recensione.Spero di esservi stato utile.Buona visione a tutti

Regisseur Ridley Scott (u.a. "Blade Runner", "Gladiator", "Alien", "Legende", "Black Hawk Down", "Hannibal", u.v.m.) ist mit "Königreich der Himmel" ein wahres Meisterwerk im Stile von 'Gladiator' gelungen. Nachdem Paul Verhoeven Anfang der 90er mit seinem Kreuzzugsepos "Crusade" nicht so sehr bei den Massen ankam, griff der britische Filmemacher, der momentan mit Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck und Sam Rockwell an einem Jesse James Western arbeitet, das historische Thema erneut auf und hatte damit deutlich mehr Erfolg. Kein Wunder, denn der Film strotzt nur so vor Monumentalität und Epik. Dabei wird "Königreich der Himmel" trotz knapp 140 Minuten Spielzeit zu keiner Minute langweilig, da der Film mit viel Kurzweile und spannendem Schnitt wie auch aufregender Story zu begeistern weiß. Selbstverständlich darf man nicht erwarten, dass der Film sich sehr an das Geschichtsbuch hält. Zwar gab es all die historischen Figuren wie Saladin bzw. Salah ad-Din, Balian von Ibelin, Guy de Lusignan, Renaud de Chatillon, Sibylle von Jerusalem oder Balduin IV, doch nicht alles stimmte. So hatte Sybille nicht wirklich ein gutes Verhältnis zu ihrem Bruder, sondern verbündete sich mit ihrem 2ten (!) Mann Guy de Lusignan gegen ihn und den Regenten Raimung III, der übrigens im Film überhaupt nicht auftauchte. Zudem hatte sie keine mit Balian von Ibelin sondern sollte lediglich mit den Bruder Balduin von Ramla bzw. Ibelin verheiratet werden. Doch eben ihr Bruder war es, der sie schließlich mit seinem späteren Widersacher Guy verheiratete. Dafür gibt es auch etliche Wahrheiten in dem Film, die übrigens mit Hilfe des Untertitelkommentares "The Pilgrims Guide" optional im Film angezeigt werden kann. Fakt ist zum Beispiel dass der Guy's Verbündeter Renaud de Chatillon (dessen Festung wirklich in Kerak lag) tatsächlich ein äußerst brutaler und gefürchteter / gehasster Zeitgenosse war, der sich schnell den Ruf erkämpfte sehr brutal und skrupellos zu sein. Fakt ist auch seine Todesursache, wobei seine Hinrichtung sich damals wirklich so zutrug wie im Film gezeigt, wenn auch ein klein wenig abgewandelt / gekürzt! Balduin IV war auch im Original ein eher friedliebender Mensch, der eher den Frieden als den Krieg suchte. Und Saladin's Kriegstalent (obwohl er ursprünglich gar kein Krieger werden wollte!) und Güte ist auch heute noch bekannt, hat er tatsächlich dem englischen König Richard I (aka Löwenherz), als dieser erkrankte, seinen Leibarzt plus Pfirsiche und Schnee zur Kühlung von Getränken geschickt! Seine Grabesstätte ist mittlerweile sogar eine gern besuchte Touristenattraktion. Balian hingegen war wie auch im Film sehr wichtig für die Verteidigung von Jerusalem und auch hinterher bei den Verhandlungen. Es stimmt, dass er ein Widersacher von Guy de Lusignan war, leistete aber widerstrebend den Treueid, als dieser zum König ernannt wurde. Im Film wurde aber verschwiegen, dass er bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt mit seinem Bruder Balduin in die Schlachten zog. Zudem war er auch kein französischer Hufschmied.Nichtsdestotrotz steht im Endeffekt das von William Monahan verfasste Drehbuch im Vordergrund und das bietet eine sehr schöne Story über ritterliche Tugenden wie Ehrlichkeit, Treue und gegenseitigem Respekt, wobei für die weiblichen Zuschauer auch die Romantik nicht zu kurz kommt.Phänomenal sind neben der Hafenszene zu Beginn auch die Schlacht um Jerusalem, die vor allem an die großen Schlachten in 'Der Herr der Ringe' erinnern lässt. Aber auch die Landschaften sind wirklich sensationell und malerisch schön; die Wüstenszenen wurden z.B. in Spanien und Marokko gedreht.Was mich eigentlich, unabhängig von der Abweichung zur wirklichen Geschichte, etwas verwirrt hat, ist die Tatsache, dass ein einfacher Hufschmied, den Balian darstellen soll, ein wirklich umfangreiches Fachwissen über Agrarwirtschaft und taktische Kriegsführung mit nahezu sensationellen Ideen hat. Na ja, kann ja sein, dass man das damals auf der Hufschmiedschule alles beigebracht bekommen hat, aber ich war eher der Auffassung, dass im Gegenteil viele damals nicht mal lesen konnten, geschweige denn sich für derartige Themen interessieren würden, zumal er am Anfang des Films nicht mal richtig mit einem Schwert umgehen konnte.Davon aber abgesehen - wir nehmen einfach mal an, dass er ein Naturtalent ist - erledigt Orlando Bloom in "Königreich der Himmel" einen sehr guten Job, der lediglich oft etwas zu düster wirkt. Sensationell sind dafür die übrigen Rollen besetzt. Gleich zu Beginn zeigt Liam Neeson (u.a. "Nell", "Michael Collins", "Star Wars - Die dunkle Bedrohung", "Batman begins", "Schindlers Liste", "Les Miserables", "Rob Roy", "Das Geisterschloss") als Balian's Vater Godfrey, der seinen Sohn zu sich ins heilige Land holen will und dessen Erbe der junge Schmied letztendlich antreten muss. Nicht minder schlecht stellt sich auch der Neuseeländer Marton Csokas als arroganter und selbstherrlicher Guy de Lusignan dar, der vielen sicher zunächst unbekannt vorkommen wird, in Wirklichkeit aber in Blockbustern wie "Der Herr der Ringe: Die Rückkehr des Königs", "Der xXx - Triple X", "Star Wars: Episode II - Angriff der Klonkrieger", "Der Herr der Ringe: Die Gefährten", "Timeline" oder auch in der bekannten Serie "Xena" mitgewirkt hat. Ebenfalls sehr gut schlägt sich an seiner Seite Brendan Gleeson (u.a. "Harry Potter und der Feuerkelch", "The Village - Das Dorf", "A.I. - Künstliche Intelligenz", "Mission: Impossible II", "Gangs of New York", "Michael Collins", "Braveheart") als Renaud de Chatillon, dem man den überheblichen, engstirnigen und extremistischen Schlächter sehr gut abkauft. Neben den weiteren Darstellern Eva Green als Sibylla, Jeremy Irons (u.a. "Dungeons & Dragons", "Lolita", "Der Mann mit der eisernen Maske", "Das Geisterhaus", "Kafka" oder "Mission") als Tiberias und Edward Norton (u.a. "The italian Job", "Fight Club", "Roter Drache", "American History X", "Zwielicht", "25 Stunden", "The Score") als König Balduin ist allerdings Ghassan Massoud als Salah ad-Din. Der Syrier, der nebenbei erwähnt in Finnland und Deutschland studierte, lehrt normalerweise als Professor an der Theaterhochschule in Damaskus, Syrien, zeigt in "Königreich der Himmel" allerdings wirklich, dass er sein Handwerk versteht und das, was er normalerweise seinen Schülern beibringt auch selbst versteht umzusetzen. Ich hoffe, dass Ghassan uns weiterhin in kommenden Filmen erhalten bleibt.Sie alle, unter der Regie von Ridley Scott, verkünden die Botschaft, welche Werte damals herrschten: einerseits edelmütig, friedliebend, tugendhaft, andererseits ohne Gnaden skrupellos, brutal und machtgierig. Zudem wird auch der Stellenwert der Kirche gezeigt, welche weniger im Sinn hatte die Lehre Jesu zu predigen, als lieber die eigene Haut zu retten und ans eigene Wohl zu denken (Zitat: "Bekennt euch zum Islam und widerruft es!" - was für eine feige Sau!). Der Regisseur hat aber auch die übrigen sozialen Zustände der damaligen Zeit sehr gut wieder gegeben, wobei den Maskenbildnern und Kulissenbauern ebenfalls ein großes Lob zugesprochen gehört.Auf alle Fälle heißt es auf den Director's Cut zu warten, der bereits vor DVD-Release von Ridley Scott angekündigt wurde, aber leider nicht einmal auf der Special Edition Verwendung fand. Dafür gibt's als zusätzlichen Bonus auf der ersten DVD den optionalen Kommentar "The Pilgrims Guide", den man sich auf Wunsch zum Film einblenden lassen kann und über wahre Begebenheiten parallel zum Film informiert. Auf der zweiten Disk gibt es 9 ausführliche Featurettes zu den verschiedenen Produktionsstufen mit Ridley Scott, den Schauspielern und der Crew als interaktive Navigation, die alleine über 2 Stunden in Anspruch nimmt. Des weiteren ein "A&E Movie Reel", sowie ein Vergleich "Historie vs. Hollywood", das aufzeigt, was Fakt und was Fiktion ist. Doch soll's das noch nicht gewesen sein, denn ebenfalls findet man noch die Specials "Ridley Scott - Welten kreieren", ein Produktions-Featurette, ein Kostüm-Featurette, 'Orlando Bloom: Das Abenteuer des Lebens' und diverse Original Kino-Trailer auf der Bonus-Disc.Fans von "Gladiator", "Braveheart", "Der Herr der Ringe" oder ähnlichen epischen Filmen sollten sich diesen Film aber unbedingt mal anschauen-