|
By
WAYNE KLEIN
Sometimes longer is better
particularly when you have a complex story. The
theatrical version of "Kingdom of Heaven" was
flawed from the beginning with significant
narrative gaps that undermine the character
development and the smooth momentum of the story.
That's because Fox had Scott cut the film by
nearly an hour deleted significant and important
character development at the expense of trying to
fit in more showings per theater. The result was a
sprawling ambitious project that had the epic
scope of "Lawrence of Arabia" without the
narrative strength. Thank God for DVD. "Kingdom of
Heaven: The Director's Cut" restores the material
demonstrating that the original 3 hour cut was a
brilliant film that played theatrical late last
year after the film had bombed at the box office.
The reason the film bombed was the idiotic
decision to cut the film and make it shorter
reducing the film's impact. While it might not
have made a huge amount of money it would have
done well at the box office as a prestige film AND
would have deservedly been nominated for Oscars.
Much of the background story is fleshed out and
the relationships between the various characters
are more clearly defined. "Kingdom of Heaven" is a
magnificent epic film that recalls the power of
David Lean's epics and allows Scott's historical
drama to breath. If you've seen the theatrical cut
you owe it to yourself to see this major film from
a major talent.
The film is presented like the "Lord of the Rings"
deluxe sets with the film spread over two discs.
Featuring a beautiful anamorphic transfer this
version of the film actually looks superior with
less issues with digital artifacts when compared
to the previous edition of the film. The 5.1 audio
presentation sounds wonderful with both a 5.1 and
5.1DTS track that makes exceptional use of the
format. You'll feel like you've put plopped down
into the middle of the battle sequences in the
action sequences and there's wonderful ambient
sound effects sprinkled throughout the film even
during sequences that are dialogue driven.
Special features are terrific in this set. We
start off with an introduction by Scott discussing
the "Director's Cut" compared to the theatrical
version of the film. Featuring Scott, writer
William Monahan and actor Orlando Bloom the first
commentary track (it was recorded separately and
pieced together) becomes a rich resource of trivia
beginning with the origin of the project and how
Scott and Monahan ended up working together. The
second commentary track has visual effects
director Wes Sewell, assistant director Adam
Somner and producer Lisa Elizey discussing the
technical aspects of the shoot and the challenges
they faced covering everything from the use of
digital and on set effects to second unit
photography. The last commentary has editor Dody
Dorn discussing the two different versions of the
film. We also have production notes and
information about the shooting of the film
provided as text commentary.
The third and fourth discs have most of the
supplements. Unfortunately neither has the
excellent A&E documentary that was part of the two
disc set so you may want to hold on to your other
set if you haven't sold it already. We have "The
Path to Redemption" presented in six separate
parts with each running anywhere from a half hour
to twenty minutes a piece covering the making of
the film. The first of the three parts include
text, images, early screenplay drafts and notes on
the shooting of the movie. The second part has
cast rehearsals covering everything from the
training with the weapons to costume tests. The
third of the three parts has storyboards as well
as a short documentary featuring scholars
discussing the accuracy of the film.
The fourth disc features the last three parts on
the film and includes video shot on location,
storyboard galleries and photo galleries as well
as deleted/extended/alternate scenes with optional
commentary by Scott and editor Dorn. There's also
a section on the visual effects of the film as
well as various sound elements to create the
unique sound mix of the film presented in various
stages. The last section features trailers, TV
spots, the Showest presentation. There's also
footage from various premieres around the world,
poster galleries, footage of the press junket shot
on video, image and poster galleries as well as a
brief featurette similar to the one done for
"Gladiator: The Extended Version" that discussed
the creation of this special edition.
An exceptional film that was badly butchered by
Fox prior to its premiere due to skittish
leadership at Fox, the film has finally been
presented the way it should have been in the first
place. Fox DVD has done an exceptional job in
putting together this package and has made amends
for the way it handled the film when it was
released theatrical last year. Highly recommended. |
