Kingdom of Heaven (film) - Extended Director's Cut

Extended Director's Cut

An extended director's cut of the movie was released on December 23, 2005, at the Laemmle Fairfax Theatre in Los Angeles, unsupported by advertising from 20th Century Fox. This version has been widely praised; at approximately 45 minutes longer than the original theatrical cut, it is reportedly the version Ridley Scott originally wanted released to theaters. The DVD of the extended Director's Cut was released on May 23, 2006. It comprises a four-disc box set with a runtime of 194 minutes, and is shown as a road show presentation with an overture, intermission and entr'acte; the Blu-ray Disc release omits the roadshow elements, running for 189 minutes. Scott gave an interview to STV on the occasion of the extended edition's UK release, when he discussed the motives and thinking behind the new version.

After the pitching of this film, studio marketing executives took it to be an action-adventure hybrid rather than what Ridley Scott and William Monahan intended it to be: a historical epic examining religious conflict. 20th Century Fox promoted the film as an action movie with heavy elements of romance and, in their advertising campaign, made much of the "From the Director of Gladiator" slogan. When Scott presented the 194-minute version of the film to the studio, they balked at the length. Studio head Tom Rothman ordered the film to be trimmed down to only two hours, as he did not believe that a modern audience would go to see a three-hour-and-fifteen-minute movie. Ultimately, Rothman's decision backfired, as the film gained mixed reviews (with many commenting that the film seemed "incomplete") and severely under-performed at the US box office.

The Director's Cut (DC) has received a distinctly more positive reception from film critics than the theatrical release, with some reviewers suggesting that it is the most substantial Director's Cut of all time and a title to equal any of Scott's other works., offering a much greater insight into the motivations of individual characters.

As well as including more shots depicting violence and bloodshed, the later director's cut provides several details not present in the original theatrical release:

• The village priest who taunts Balian and is killed by him is revealed to be his half-brother (his mother's son by her lawful husband). The animosity between them is shown as originating from the priest's coveting of the firstborn Balian's meager inheritance.
• Godfrey is not only the father of Balian but the younger brother of the village lord who believes that Godfrey is looking for his own son to be Godfrey's heir in Ibelin. It is this lord's son and heir who organizes the attack on Godfrey's party in the forest and is subsequently killed. Both this plot point and the one above hinge on the firstborn son's right to exclusive inheritance: this is what apparently drove Godfrey to the Holy Land and the priest to begin his scheming against Balian.
• A dying Baldwin IV is shown refusing the last sacrament from Patriarch Heraclius.
• The character of Baldwin V, shown in some of original trailers but lacking in the theatrical release, is re-inserted into the film. He is the son of Sibylla by her first husband; not named in the film, the father is William of Montferrat. The boy is crowned King after Baldwin IV's death, but is then discovered to have leprosy, like his uncle. His death is depicted as an act of euthanasia by his mother, who administers poison via the child's ear. As in the theatrical version, Sibylla is then crowned queen.
• Balian fights a climactic duel with Guy near the end of the film, after Jerusalem is surrendered and Guy has been released by Saladin (an act intended to humiliate Guy in the eyes of his former subjects). Guy is humiliated furthermore by challenging Balian to a duel, being defeated, and then spared by Balian.
• A scene with Balian discussing his situation with the Hospitaller in the desert, which included the line "I go to pray" (featured in most trailers) is re-inserted.
• It is made clear that Guy de Lusignan knows that Sibylla is having an affair with Balian; however, his interest in her is primarily political, rather than emotional.
• It is revealed that Balian has fought in several battles in the past, is a skilled strategist, and is well known for building siege engines.
• Saladin decapitates Raynald de Châtillon instead of only cutting his throat; this is generally believed to be more historically accurate.
• Sibylla is portrayed as much less corrupt and unpredictable, despite what she herself states earlier in the film, and does her best to uphold her brother's peace until Guy forces her hand by threatening her son.
• The Gravedigger of Balian's wife is given more than his previous one line, despite his lowly status he is very intelligent, remarking that the suicide was far more of a personal choice and not an act of the devil and realizes that Sibylla is not a nurse but the Queen.