“What man is a man who does not make the world better?” – “Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s Cut” 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Kelley III
- Jun 3
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 4
4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS
Orlando Bloom plays French blacksmith Balian, who is eventually knighted by his father and ordered to protect Jerusalem from Saladin’s forces.
(Click an image to scroll the larger versions)
“KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: DIRECTOR’S CUT – 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 2005; Not Rated, includes violence and brief sexuality; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), YouTube (4K)
Best extra: “The Path of Redemption” making-of documentary
DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT has delved into the cinematic world of sword-and-sandals for decades. His Oscar-winning “Gladiator” (2000), “Are you entertained?” is considered by many one of the Top 5 within the genre. Joining the list are the likes of William Wyler’s “Ben-Hur” (1959), winner of 11 Academy Awards, with its climactic chariot race of a Jewish prince (Charlton Heston), who was betrayed by his Roman friend Messala (Stephen Boy) and sold into slavery.
Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” (1960) features a slave-turned gladiator (Kirk Douglas), who leads a rebellion against the Roman Empire. Then there’s Zack Snyder’s gritty and stylish adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel “300” (2006).
Last year, producer/director/production designer Scott helmed the sequel “Gladiator II,” with Denzel Washington stealing the show as Macrinus, an arms dealer who supplies food for the armies in Europe.
Years earlier, Scott directed the underwhelming “1492: Conquest of Paradise” (1992) with the story of Christopher Columbus’ (Gerard Depardieu) expedition to the New World. He also reunited with Russell Crowe in “Robin Hood” (2010), who plays Robin Longstride, now returned from the Third Crusade in a prequel to his folk hero persona. Four years later, “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (2014) with Christian Bale in the Biblical story of Moses, falling short of Cecil B. DeMille’s star-studded epic “The Ten Commandments” (1956), with Heston playing the Prince of Egypt.
(1-3) The opening sequence was filmed in Spain, near the historic Castle of Loarre built in the 11th century. The body of Balian’s wife (Nathalie Cox), who committed suicide after the stillbirth of their child. (4&5) Liam Neeson plays the fictional character of Godfrey of Ibelin, who introduces himself as Balian’s father. (6) Balian receives his wife’s cross after finding it around the neck of the local priest - his brother!
In the early 2000s, as U.S. and Allied forces prepared to invade Iraq to end the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which were never found, Scott started pre-production in London and Morocco for his Crusader epic “Kingdom of Heaven.” “The Crusades has always been part of my DNA,” Scott says during “The Path of Redemption” documentary featured on the bonus disc and digital. “It was one of those periods in history that in school was most interesting. It was colorful, violent, and at the time, I was less enamored with the politics and religion. I was interested in the cowboy stuff: the armor, swords, violence, and fighting.”
The Crusades began in the late 11th century as a reaction to Muslim expansion, which had taken control of the Holy Land and two-thirds of the ancient Christian world. The First Crusade lasted until Latin Christians were expelled from Syria in the early 1290s. The conflict continued into the 16th century but declined with the birth of the Protestant Reformation.
(1&2) Godfrey and his knights, including Balian, experience a bloody skirmish against a posse of men trying to take Balian back to the village after the death of his brother. (3-5) On the pilgrim's road to Messina, Italy. (6) Godfrey gives Balian final instructions before he dies.
EXTRAS
Scott provides a brief introduction (recorded in 2006) to the “Director’s Cut,” which he has touted since its original release on Blu-ray. After lukewarm test screenings in 2005, the studio ordered a 45-minute cut, which became the 144-minute Theatrical Cut (not included in this set).
The 4K Ultra HD includes the Roadshow Version (194 minutes) with Overture music and Intermission/Entr’acte music and the straight Director’s Cut (190 minutes). “This is my favorite version…with organic characterization put back into the movie,” Scott says.
The $130 million budget ‘Theatrical Cut’ received mixed reviews, with only a 39 percent rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, one of its biggest fans was the “At the Movies” critic Roger Ebert, who gave it a major “Thumbs Up!” “Scott knows how to direct a historical epic. It’s better than ‘Gladiator’ – deeper, more thoughtful, more about human motivation and less about action,” Ebert said. “Scott is a brave man to release a movie at this time about the wars between Christians and Muslims for control of Jerusalem.”
Collider.com critic Matt Goldberg considers the ‘Director’s Cut’ one of Scott’s best. “It fundamentally changes our understanding of the main characters and the larger themes with which the film is grappling … From my perspective, the first act of the ‘Director’s Cut’ is still disjointed and too much of a talkie, but once into the second act, I was hooked and swept into the grandeur and its gorgeous cinematography from John Mathieson, who won an Oscar for “Gladiator.”
The U.S. theatrical release suffered a disappointing box office of less than $50 million, while internationally it made nearly $171 million.
(1) Muslims prepare to pray along the Messina shoreline. (2) Alexander Siddig plays Imad, a general for Muslim leader Saladin. (3) Balian climbs Golgotha, the hill where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, with hopes to hear from God. (4&5) He offers water to Sibylla of Jerusalem (Eva Green), sister of Baldwin IV, the ruler of Jerusalem.
The enclosed bonus disc features nearly six hours of extras (also available on digital copies), including the 135-minute Production Sequences, which first highlight the “Kingdom” rehearsals that started in December 2003. The walls are lined with Scott’s hand-drawn storyboards, and marks the first time the director let a camera into his pre-production process. Seated around the table is Scott, his leading actor Orlando Bloom, who plays Frenchman Balian, a village blacksmith, whose wife has committed suicide, and Liam Neeson, the Knight Godfrey, who has returned from the Crusades.
The six-part “The Path of Redemption” runs over two hours, and covers the development of the project (70 drafts) with screenwriter William Monahan (“The Departed”). It focused on the “Leper King,” Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (Edward Norton), before adding the additional central characters of Balian, Godfrey, Sibylla (Eva Green) sister of Baldwin, Saladin (Gassan Massoud), Mullah (Khaled Nabawy) and Imad (Alexander Siddig); 24-weeks of pre-production casting, and the tapestry of costumes, hardware and construction of Jerusalem narrated by Production Designer Arthur Max (“The Martian”); production in Spain and Morocco; post-production (editing from over 1 million feet of film, visual effects, and scoring), and its release “Sins and Absolution,” where the diverse cast gives their final impression of the project. “My ideal world is that this film is shown to as many Arabs as Westerners, but I realize that’s not going to happen,” Siddig says.
The 4K disc also includes three commentaries: First with Scott, Monahan, and Bloom, second with Executive Producer Lisa Ellzey, Visual Effects Supervisor Wesley Sewell, and Assistant Director Adam Somner, and lastly with Film Editor Dody Dorn.
(1) Knights Hospitaller (David Thewlis) was one of Godfrey of Ibelin’s closest friends. (2) Raynald of Châtillon (Brendan Gleeson) led the Crusader army that defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. (3) Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (Edward Norton) plays chess with Balian. Baldwin developed leprosy, and during one of the commentary tracks, it was revealed that a mask was used to save money on makeup. (4) Raymond III, Count of Tripoli, Lord of Tiberias (Jeremy Irons).
VIDEO
The original 35mm camera negative captured in the Super 35 format was scanned in 2K during its 2004-05 post-production. It became Scott’s first film edited and mastered digitally, and color timed at that resolution.
For this special 4K anniversary edition, no source details were provided by 20th Century/Disney, but they acknowledge that they spent over six months restoring the film. Scott approved the new 4K master.
The onscreen results are superior to its previous Blu-ray editions with more detail and cinematic depth. The Director’s Cut was encoded onto a 100 GB disc, providing a varying video bitrate from 28 Megabits-per-second to 86 Mbps, averaging in the low 50 Mbps. Surprisingly, Sony, which handles 4K physical media releases for Disney, didn’t push for the encoding over two 100 GB discs, like their recent 4K re-release of “Gandhi” and the spectacular 4K favorite “Lawrence of Arabia.” Both Academy Award Best Picture winners are over three hours long.
HDR10 and Dolby Vision grading was applied, boosting the overall contrast level with an excellent black level, within the numerous dark scenes. Colors are well saturated and natural throughout. The film grain is well defined from start to finish, adding to the cinematic feel.
The enclosed Blu-ray is also sourced from the new remaster, giving it a nice shot in the arm over the previous 2014 or 2006 release.
AUDIO
The original 5.1 DTS HD soundtrack has been remastered to a Dolby Atmos mix. The sound completely envelops home theaters from the front, back, sides, and ceiling speakers. There are plenty of sound effects (wind, animals, weapons) from height speakers, while the dialogue remains front, centered, and focused. The Blu-ray carries over the previous 5.1 soundtrack. The orchestral score from composer Harry Gregson-Williams (“Man on Fire,” “Gladiator II”) – a collaborating friend of Hans Zimmer – is dynamic, filled with period and regional instruments, and a rich choral arrangement.
With the recent 4K release of the Western classic “Tombstone” and now Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven,” the new partnership between Disney and Sony is starting to fill a void in the physical media world. Both Steelbook Editions sold out quickly, and a second stamping is in the works.
And, just leaked yesterday, “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” gets a 4K Ultra HD release from 20th Century Studios in August.
— Bill Kelley III, High-Def Watch producer
