Kingdom of Heaven (film)

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Kingdom of Heaven

Theatrical release poster

Directed by Ridley Scott

Produced by Ridley Scott

Written by William Monahan

 Orlando Bloom
Starring
 Eva Green
 Ghassan Massoud
 Jeremy Irons
 David Thewlis
 Brendan Gleeson
 Iain Glen
 Marton Csokas
  Liam Neeson
 Edward Norton
 Velibor Topić

Music by Harry Gregson-Williams

Cinematography John Mathieson

Edited by Dody Dorn

Production  Scott Free Productions

company
 Inside Track
 Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures GmbH[1]

Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Release date  2 May 2005 (London premiere)

 5 May 2005 (Germany)
 6 May 2005 (United States, United
Kingdom)

Running time 144 minutes

194 minutes (Director's cut)[2]

Country  United Kingdom[3]

 Germany
 United States

Language  English
 Arabic
 Italian
 Latin

Budget $130 million[4]

Box office $211.7 million[4]

Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 epic historical drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and
written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Ghassan Massoud, Jeremy
Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Iain Glen, Marton Csokas, Liam Neeson, Edward
Norton, Michael Sheen, Velibor Topic and Alexander Siddig.
The story is set during the Crusades of the 12th century. A French village blacksmith goes to the aid
of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in its defence against the Ayyubid Muslim Sultan, Saladin, who is
fighting to claim the city from the Christians; this leads to the Battle of Hattin. The screenplay is a
heavily fictionalised portrayal of the life of Balian of Ibelin (ca. 1143–93).
 Filming took place in Ouarzazate, Morocco, where Scott had previously filmed Gladiator and Black
Hawk Down, and in Spain, at the Loarre Castle (Huesca), Segovia, Ávila, Palma del Río,
and Seville's Casa de Pilatos and Alcázar.[5][6] The film received mixed reviews upon theatrical
release. On 23 December 2005, Scott released a director's cut, which received critical acclaim, with
many reviewers calling it the definitive version of the film.[7][8]

Contents

 1Plot
 2Cast
 3Historical accuracy
 4Production
o 4.1Cinematography
o 4.2Visual effects
o 4.3Music
 5Reception
o 5.1Critical response
o 5.2Academic criticism
 6Box office
 7Accolades
 8Extended Director's Cut
 9See also
 10References
 11Bibliography
 12External links

Plot[edit]
In 1184 France, Balian, a blacksmith, is haunted by his wife's recent suicide. A Crusader passing
through the village introduces himself as Balian's father, Baron Godfrey of Ibelin, and asks him to
return with him to the Holy Land, but Balian declines. After the town priest reveals that he ordered
Balian's wife beheaded before burial, Balian kills him and flees the village.
Balian joins his father, hoping to gain forgiveness and redemption for himself and his wife
in Jerusalem. Soldiers sent by the bishop arrive to arrest Balian, but Godfrey refuses to surrender
him, and in the ensuing attack, Godfrey is struck by an arrow that breaks off in his body, leaving a
wound that would prove fatal days later.
In Messina, they have a contentious encounter with Guy de Lusignan, a Templar Knight and
prospective future king of Jerusalem. Godfrey knights Balian, names him the new Baron of Ibelin,
and orders him to serve the King of Jerusalem and protect the helpless, then succumbs to his
injuries. During Balian's journey to Jerusalem his ship runs aground in a storm, leaving him as the
only survivor. Balian is confronted by a Muslim cavalier, who attacks him over his horse. Balian is
forced to slay the cavalier but spares the man's servant, and the man tells Balian that his deed will
gain him fame and respect among the Saracens.
Balian becomes acquainted with Jerusalem's political arena: the leper King Baldwin IV; Tiberias, the
Marshal of Jerusalem; the King's sister, Princess Sibylla, who is wife of Guy. Guy supports the anti-
Muslim brutalities of the Knights Templar, and intends to break the fragile truce between the King
and the sultan Saladin to make war on the Muslims. Balian travels to his inherited estate at Ibelin,
and irrigates the dry and dusty lands using his knowledge of engineering to the joy of its residents.
Sibylla visits him and the two become lovers.
Guy and his ally, the cruel Raynald of Châtillon, attack a Saracen caravan, and Saladin advances on
Raynald's castle Kerak in retaliation. At the request of the king, Balian defends the villagers, despite
being overwhelmingly outnumbered. Captured, Balian encounters the servant he freed, who he
learns is actually Saladin's chancellor Imad ad-Din. Imad ad-Din releases Balian in repayment of the
earlier debt. Saladin arrives with his army to besiege Kerak, and Baldwin meets it with his. They
negotiate a Muslim retreat, and Baldwin swears to punish Raynald, though the exertion of these
events weakens him.
Baldwin asks Balian to marry Sibylla and take control of the army, knowing they have affection for
each other, but Balian refuses because it will require the execution of Guy and the Templars.
Baldwin is soon succeeded by Sibylla, and Guy becomes king. Raynald is released, and gives Guy
the war he desires by murdering Saladin's sister. Sending the heads of Saladin's emissaries back to
him, Guy declares war on the Saracens and attempts to assassinate Balian, who barely survives.
Guy marches to war with the army, despite Balian's advice to remain near water. Saracens
annihilate the tired and dehydrated Crusaders in the ensuing desert battle. Saladin executes
Raynald, and marches on Jerusalem. Tiberias leaves for Cyprus, believing Jerusalem lost, but
Balian remains to protect the people in the city, and knights every fighting man to inspire them. After
a siege that lasts three days, a frustrated Saladin parleys with Balian. When Balian reaffirms that he
will destroy the city if Saladin does not accept his surrender, Saladin agrees to allow the Christians
to leave safely in exchange for Jerusalem. They ponder if it would be better if there were nothing left
to fight over.
In the marching column of citizens, Balian finds Sibylla, who has renounced her claim as Queen.
After they return to France, English knights en route to retake Jerusalem ride through the town to
enlist Balian, now the famed defender of Jerusalem. Balian tells the crusader that he is merely a
blacksmith again, and they depart. Balian is joined by Sibylla, and they pass by the grave of Balian's
wife as they ride towards the unknown. An epilogue notes that "nearly a thousand years later, peace
in the Holy Land still remains elusive."

Cast[edit]
Many of the characters in the film are fictionalised versions of historical figures:

 Orlando Bloom as Balian of Ibelin

 Eva Green as Sibylla of Jerusalem
 Jeremy Irons as Raymond III of Tripoli(“Tiberias”)
 David Thewlis as The Hospitaller
 Brendan Gleeson as Raynald of Châtillon(“Reynald”)
 Marton Csokas as Guy de Lusignan
 Edward Norton as King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
 Michael Sheen as Priest
 Liam Neeson as Barisan of Ibelin (“Godfrey”)
 Velibor Topić as Almaric
 Ghassan Massoud as Saladin
 Alexander Siddig as Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani
 Khaled Nabawy as Mullah
 Kevin McKidd as English Sergeant
 Jon Finch as Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem
 Ulrich Thomsen as Gerard de Ridefort(“Templar Master”)
 Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Village Sheriff
 Martin Hancock as Gravedigger
 Nathalie Cox as Balian's Wife
 Eriq Ebouaney as Firuz
 Jouko Ahola as Odo
 Philip Glenister as Squire
 Bronson Webb as Apprentice
 Steven Robertson as Angelic Priest
 Iain Glen as Richard I of England (Richard Coeur de Lion)
 Angus Wright as Richard's Knight

Historical accuracy[edit]
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Bloom's character, Balian of Ibelin, was a close ally of Raymond III of Tripoli, the film's Tiberias, and
a member of that faction which sought a place within the patchwork of the Near East and opposed
the aggressive policy of Raynald of Châtillon, the Templars, and "fanatics newly from Europe", who
refused to come to terms of peace with the Muslims.[9] Balian was a mature gentleman, just a year or
two younger than Raymond, and one of the most important nobles in the kingdom, not a French
blacksmith. His father, Barisan (the French "Balian"), founded the Ibelin family in the east, and
probably came from Italy. Balian and Sibylla were indeed united in the defence of Jerusalem but no
romantic relationship existed between the two. Balian married Sibylla's stepmother Maria Comnena,
Dowager Queen of Jerusalem and Lady of Nablus. Nablus, rather than Ibelin, was Balian's fief at the
time of Jerusalem's fall.
The Old French Continuation of William of Tyre (the so-called Chronicle of Ernoul) claimed that
Sibylla had been infatuated with Balian's older brother Baldwin of Ibelin, a widower over twice her
age, but this is doubtful; instead, it seems that Raymond of Tripoli attempted a coup to marry her off
to him to strengthen the position of his faction. This legend seems to have been behind the film's
creation of a romance between Sibylla and a member of the Ibelin family.[10]

William of Tyre discovers Baldwin IV's leprosy; his accounts form the historical basis for much of the film.

King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, who reigned from 1174 to 1185, was a leper, and his sister Sibylla did
marry Guy of Lusignan, though on her own initiative. Baldwin IV had a falling out with Guy, and so
Guy did not succeed Baldwin IV immediately. Baldwin crowned Sibylla's son from her previous
marriage to William of Montferrat, five-year-old Baldwin V, co-king in 1183.[11] The little boy reigned
as sole king for one year, dying in 1186 at nine years of age. After her son's death, Sibylla and Guy
(to whom she was devoted) garrisoned the city, and she claimed the throne. The coronation scene in
the movie was—in real life—more of a shock: Sibylla had been forced to promise to divorce Guy
before becoming queen, with the assurance that she would be permitted to pick her own consort.
After being crowned by Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem (who is unnamed until late in the movie),
she chose to crown Guy as her consort. Raymond of Tripoli was not present, but was in Nablus
attempting a coup, with Balian of Ibelin, to raise Sibylla's half-sister (Balian's stepdaughter),
Princess Isabella of Jerusalem, to the throne. Isabella's husband, Humphrey IV of Toron, refused to
precipitate a civil war and swore allegiance to Guy.[12]
Raymond of Tripoli was a cousin of Amalric I of Jerusalem, one of the Kingdom's most powerful
nobles, and sometime regent. He had a claim to the throne himself, but, being childless, instead tried
to advance his allies in the Ibelin family. He was often in conflict with Guy and Raynald of Châtillon,
who had risen to their positions by marrying wealthy heiresses and through the king's favour. The
film's portrayal of Raynald of Châtillon as insane is not supported by contemporary sources, though
the same sources do portray Raynald as a reckless, aggressive freebooting warlord who frequently
violated truces between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Sultanate of Egypt. The film's picture of
Guy encouraging Raynald of Châtillon to attack Muslim pilgrimage convoys on their way to Mecca to
provoke a war with Saladin is false. Guy was a weak, indecisive king who wanted to avoid a war with
Saladin and who was simply unable to control the reckless Raynald. Saladin's abortive march
on Kerak followed Raynald's raid on the Red Sea, which shocked the Muslim world by its proximity
to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Guy and Raynald also harassed Muslim caravans and
herders, and the claim that Raynald captured Saladin's sister is based on the account given in
the Old French Continuation of William of Tyre. This claim, unsupported by any other account, is
generally believed to be false. In actuality, after Raynald's attack on one caravan, Saladin made sure
that the next one, in which his sister was travelling, was properly guarded: the lady came to no
harm.[10] The depiction in the film of the Battle of Hattin, where the Crusader force wandered around
the desert for three days without water before being ambushed, is consistent with the known facts.
The scene in the film where Saladin hands Guy a cup of iced water (which in the Muslim world was a
sign that the victor intended to spare the life of his prisoner), and then notes that he did not hand
Raynald the cup (indicating that Raynald was to be executed) is supported by the Persian
historian Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani who was present with Saladin after the Battle of Hattin.
Balian was present at the Battle of Hattin, but escaped and fled to Tyre and then Jerusalem, to
retrieve his wife and children. The defenders of the city, including the military orders and the
Patriarch Heraclius, named him the leader of the city's defence. On the ninth day of the siege of
Jerusalem, Saladin's forces breached the wall, but the defenders held out until the tenth day, when
Balian surrendered the city to Saladin. The Christians of the city were made to ransom themselves,
and Balian was unable to raise the funds to ransom all the city's poor; thousands marched out into
safety and thousands into slavery.[13]
Balian and Sibylla remained in the Holy Land during the events of the Third Crusade. Sibylla was a
victim of an epidemic during the Siege of Acre. Balian's relations with Richard I of England were far
from amicable, because he supported the claim to kingship of Conrad of Montferrat against
Richard's vassal Guy. He and his wife Maria arranged her daughter Isabella's forcible divorce from
Humphrey of Toron so she could marry Conrad. Ambroise, who wrote a poetic account of the
crusade, called Balian "more false than a goblin" and said he "should be hunted with dogs".[14]
An episode of The History Channel's series History vs. Hollywood analysed the historical accuracy of
the film. This program and a Movie Real (a series by A&E Network) episode about Kingdom of
Heaven were both included on the DVD release.

Production[edit]
Director Ridley Scott in 2005

Cinematography[edit]
The visual style of Kingdom of Heaven emphasises set design and impressive cinematography in
almost every scene. It is notable for its "visually stunning cinematography and haunting
music".[15] Cinematographer John Mathieson created many large, sweeping landscapes,[16] where the
cinematography, supporting performances, and battle sequences are meticulously mounted.[17] The
cinematography and scenes of set-pieces have been described as "ballets of light and color" (as in
films by Akira Kurosawa).[18] Director Ridley Scott's visual acumen was described as the main draw
of Kingdom of Heaven, with the "stellar" and "stunning" cinematography and "jaw-dropping combat
sequences" based on the production design of Arthur Max.[19][20]
Visual effects[edit]
British visual effects firm Moving Picture Company completed 440 effects shots for the
film.[21] Additionally, Double Negative also contributed to complete the CGI work on the film.[22]
Music[edit]
Main article: Kingdom of Heaven (soundtrack)
The music differs in style and content from the soundtrack of Scott's earlier 2000 film Gladiator[23] and
many other subsequent films depicting historical events.[24] A combination of medieval, Middle
Eastern, contemporary classical, and popular influences,[23][24] the soundtrack is largely the work of
British film-score composer Harry Gregson-Williams. Jerry Goldsmith's "Valhalla" theme from The
13th Warrior and "Vide Cor Meum" (originally used by Scott in the Hannibal movie and composed
by Patrick Cassidy and Hans Zimmer), sung by Danielle de Niese and Bruno Lazzaretti, were used
as replacements for original music by Gregson-Williams.

Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Upon its release it was met with a mixed reception, with many critics being divided on the film. Critics
such as Roger Ebert found the film's message to be deeper than that of Scott's Gladiator.[20]
The cast was widely praised. Jack Moore described Edward Norton's performance as the leper-King
Baldwin as "phenomenal", and "so far removed from anything that he has ever done that we see the
true complexities of his talent".[25] The Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud was praised for his portrayal of
Saladin, described in The New York Times as "cool as a tall glass of water".[26] Also commended
were Eva Green, who plays Princess Sibylla "with a measure of cool that defies her
surroundings",[16] and Jeremy Irons.[27]
Lead actor Bloom's performance generally elicited a lukewarm reception from American critics, with
the Boston Globe stating Bloom was "not actively bad as Balian of Ibelin", but nevertheless "seems
like a man holding the fort for a genuine star who never arrives".[28] One critic conceded that Balian
was more of a "brave and principled thinker-warrior"[16] rather than a strong commander, and Balian
used brains rather than brawn to gain advantage in battle.[29]
Bloom had gained 20 pounds for the part,[16] and the Extended Director's Cut (detailed below)
of Kingdom of Heaven reveals even more complex facets of Bloom's role, involving connections with
unknown relatives. Despite the criticism, Bloom won two awards for his performance.
Online, general criticism has been also divided. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives
the film a score of 39% based on reviews from 189 critics. The site's critical consensus reads:
"Although it's an objective and handsomely presented take on the Crusades, Kingdom of
Heaven lacks depth."[30] Review aggregator Metacritic gives the film a 63/100 rating based on 40
reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews" according to the website's weighted average
system.[31]
Academic criticism[edit]
In the time since the film's release, scholars have offered analysis and criticisms through a lens
situating Kingdom of Heaven within the context of contemporary international events and religious
conflict, including: broad post-9/11 politics, neocolonialism, Orientalism, the Western perspective of
the film, and the detrimental handling of differences between Christianity and Islam.[32]
Academic criticism has focused on the supposed peaceful relationship between Christians and
Muslims in Jerusalem and other cities depicted. Crusader historians such as Jonathan Riley-Smith,
quoted by The Daily Telegraph, called the film "dangerous to Arab relations", calling the movie
"Osama bin Laden's version of history" which would "fuel the Islamic fundamentalists". Riley-Smith
further commented against the historical accuracy, stating that "the fanaticism of most of the
Christians in the film and their hatred of Islam is what the Islamists want to believe. At a time of inter-
faith tension, nonsense like this will only reinforce existing myths", arguing that the film relied on the
romanticized view of the Crusades propagated by Sir Walter Scott in his book The Talisman,
published in 1825 and now discredited by academics, "which depicts the Muslims as sophisticated
and civilized, and the Crusaders are all brutes and barbarians. It has nothing to do with
reality."[33][34][35] Paul Halsall defended Ridley Scott, claiming that "historians can't criticize filmmakers
for having to make the decisions they have to make ... [Scott is] not writing a history textbook".[29]
Thomas F. Madden, Director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance
Studies, criticised the film's presentation of the Crusades:
Given events in the modern world it is lamentable that there is so large a gulf between what
professional historians know about the Crusades and what the general population believes. This
movie only widens that gulf. The shame of it is that dozens of distinguished historians across the
globe would have been only too happy to help Scott and Monahan get it right.[36]
Scott himself defended this depiction of the Muslim-Christian relationship in footage on the DVD
version of the movie's extra features. Scott sees this portrayal as being a contemporary look at the
history. He argued that peace and brutality are concepts relative to one's own experience, and since
contemporary society is so far removed from the brutal times in which the movie takes place, he told
the story in a way that he felt was true to the source material, yet was more accessible to a modern
audience. In other words, the "peace" that existed was exaggerated to fit modern ideas of what such
a peace would be. At the time, it was merely a lull in Muslim-Christian violence compared to the
standards of the period. The recurring use of "Assalamu Alaikum", the traditional Arabic greeting
meaning "Peace be with you", is spoken both in Arabic and English several times.
The "Director's Cut" of the film is a four-disc set, two of which are dedicated to a feature-length
documentary called "The Path to Redemption". This feature contains an additional featurette on
historical accuracy called "Creative Accuracy: The Scholars Speak", where a number of academics
support the film's contemporary relevance and historical accuracy. Among these historians is Dr.
Nancy Caciola, who said that despite the various inaccuracies and fictionalized/dramatized details,
she considered the film a "responsible depiction of the period."[37]
Screenwriter William Monahan, who is a long-term enthusiast of the period, has said "If it isn't in, it
doesn't mean we didn't know it ... What you use, in drama, is what plays. Shakespeare did the
same."[38]
Caciola agreed with the fictionalization of characters on the grounds that "crafting a character who is
someone the audience can identify with" is necessary in a film. She said that "I, as a professional,
have spent much time with medieval people, so to speak, in the texts that I read; and quite honestly
there are very few of them that if I met in the flesh I feel that I would be very fond of." This appears to
echo the sentiments of Scott himself.
John Harlow of the Times Online wrote that Christianity is portrayed in an unfavourable light and the
value of Christian belief is diminished, especially in the portrayal of Patriarch Heraclius of
Jerusalem.[39] When journalist Robert Fisk watched the film in a Beirut cinema, he reported that the
Muslim audience rose to their feet and applauded during a scene in the film in
which Saladin respectfully places a fallen cross back on top of a table after it had fallen during the
three-day siege of the city.[40]

Box office[edit]
The film was a box office disappointment in the US and Canada, earning $47.4 million against a
budget of around $130 million, but did better in Europe and the rest of the world, earning $164.3
million, with the worldwide box office earnings totalling at $211,643,158.[41] It was also a big success
in Arabic-speaking countries, especially Egypt. Scott insinuated that the US failure of the film was
the result of bad advertising, which presented the film as an adventure with a love story rather than
as an examination of religious conflict.[citation needed][42] It has also been noted that the film was altered
from its original version to be shorter and follow a simpler plot line. This "less sophisticated" version
is what hit theatres, although Scott and some of his crew felt it was watered down, explaining that by
editing, "You've gone in there and taken little bits from everything".[43]

Accolades