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Main => The Library => Topic started by: Sir Wolf on 2013-04-14, 19:08:27

Title: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Wolf on 2013-04-14, 19:08:27
finally getting around to seeing my blue ray version. i am repairing my mittens on my hauberk so i'm more listening than watching. lol
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir James A on 2013-04-15, 00:08:37
It's a good one. I don't think I saw the original uncut version, I know for sure the last time I saw it was Director's cut (I've seen it 4 or 5 times). Good movie.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: B. Patricius on 2013-04-26, 20:33:59
"Kingdom of Heaven" is an excellent movie.  I just wish some of my friends around here would realize it is in fact a work of hollywood, not history  ;D 
what are the differences between the "director's cut" and the theatrical release?  I'm debating on picking up a copy at my local video store.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Ian on 2013-04-26, 21:06:53
The director's cut doesn't leave out the huge plot holes that the theatrical release does.  I don't even think Sybilla's son is in the theatrical release, which makes her behavior make a lot more sense.  The opening scene makes a lot more sense too, as you see who the priest really is at the opening funeral.  It's more violent...

It's something like 45 minutes longer, so there's a ton of stuff in there.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Edward on 2013-04-27, 01:24:19

Cool, I might need to pick up a copy then. I assume it's on BlueRay.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: B. Patricius on 2013-04-27, 02:16:51
Sounds like I'll be picking up the director's cut as well.  Thanks Ian!
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Silvanus on 2013-04-28, 19:18:33
My favorite movie of all time. Do watch only the director's cut. Too much is taken out of the theatrical release, in which the main character, Balian, magically transforms into an expert swordsman and engineer in the course of a few weeks. In the DC, we learn more of his past, which makes his journey more logical.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Edward on 2013-04-29, 02:33:00

I've ordered it. I look forward to seeing this version!
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Ulrich on 2013-04-29, 02:42:19
I saw the film a long time ago as a teen with my history teacher. I liked it to a degree but I still would say Ironclad was better.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir William on 2013-04-29, 16:12:03
Ironclad was, arguably, more historically accurate, but KoH was a sweeping epic- much larger budget, higher production values so it is more appealing to the eye.  FWIW, I loved Ironclad just as I loved KoH - the DC is where its at though...so much so that I normally won't watch the theatrical version when it comes on tv, despite my love for this movie.

ARN still rocks for me, though.  I read the books over the winter.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Edward on 2013-04-29, 17:48:45

Arn was very good too. I still need to watch the long version. I bought it, but haven't taken the time yet.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Ian on 2013-04-29, 20:21:58
Arn is great.  I have not had the opportunity to see the long version though.  KoH Director's Cut is pretty good as well.  I love Ironclad for the visceral experience, but the blue-warpaint Danes were kind of silly.  That and by the 12th century, weren't the Danes already Christianized?
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Wolf on 2013-04-29, 20:34:53
yup they wuz!

i have arn, but havent been able to watch it and not be doing something else. so i havent seen it yet
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir William on 2013-04-30, 14:56:12
If you've not seen the full Arn, as it were, you need to do it.  Much more faithful to the books, not the watered down version we all have seen (if you've seen it) - when they cut the movie up to package it for our audiences, they took out a lot of what would make the other scenes make more sense.  In viewing the cut up version, its all forced, done too quickly and you don't get a sense of the passage of time, despite being told it.  Incredibly well done...probably my favorite Templar movie.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Edward on 2013-04-30, 16:14:34

Yeah, I did get that feeling a bit when I watched the shorter version. I have both versions now, since I originally didn't have much hopes for them getting the long version out in the US, but of course they eventually did.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: B. Patricius on 2013-05-01, 20:52:42
I've been looking into both Ironclad and Arn myself. 

Sir Ulrich, I certainly hope in your history class there were discussions about the inaccuracies of Kingdom of Heaven, not just that it was a good source for history.  Don't get me wrong, I love that movie, but in some ways it can be as historically accurate as "Season of the Witch" or "Knight's Tale."  Both of which I own and love too!  ;D
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Ian on 2013-05-01, 21:06:40
Both Arn (the shorter version, which is still quite long) and Ironclad are available on Netflix streaming last I checked if you have the service.  Haha, I will admit to liking Season of the Witch, and of course I love Knight's Tale, even though it's total fantasy, it's still awesome and I watch it every time I run across it on TV.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir James A on 2013-05-01, 21:10:21
Yes, Ironclad and Arn are both on Netflix streaming. Season of the Witch as well.

I enjoy all of them, and A Knight's Tale, too. A Knight's Tale is my favorite. As a movie, I want the feel and the story - historical accuracy is for documentaries. Not that I wouldn't like more accuracy, but I neither expect nor demand it from Hollyweird.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Ian on 2013-05-01, 21:14:56
Not that I wouldn't like more accuracy, but I neither expect nor demand it from Hollyweird.

Agreed.  It's fun to point out random inaccuracies here and there, but I think it's an effort in futility and quite silly to look down your nose at every historical drama that hollywood puts out as garbage based solely on the fact that it's not historically accurate.  It can still be a great piece of entertainment.

Now what does bother me, is that documentaries are often just as flawed as hollywood productions, and the people believe what they see as historical fact, not by any fault of their own, but because they simply don't know any better.  If you're making a documentary, you better get your facts right, or go make a drama instead.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Wolf on 2013-05-01, 21:34:21
ya, even i like all of the movies stated. although i often pull a "Nelson" going "AHA!" when i see something wrong in them
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir William on 2013-05-01, 21:34:42
Both Arn (the shorter version, which is still quite long) and Ironclad are available on Netflix streaming last I checked if you have the service.  Haha, I will admit to liking Season of the Witch, and of course I love Knight's Tale, even though it's total fantasy, it's still awesome and I watch it every time I run across it on TV.

Took me a couple times to like SotW, but I grudgingly do.  lol

I do still like Black Death...it's grim tho, real grim. 

If you want one to watch that'll just have you in tears (be it due to laughter or frustration), In the Name of the King is a good one for that.  From the horrid dialog, to the wooden acting, to the crappy costumes or the shockingly beautiful set locations...and Gimli and Henry Hill and Burt Reynolds are principals.  Its all so horrible its almost a hoot to watch.  I'm waiting for the MST3K version to come out. 
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: B. Patricius on 2013-05-02, 00:37:39
In one of my 400 level classes, we had a discussion about "anthropologically correct" versus "historical accuracy."  It was really cool because one student in the class was a history major that took the class to get a more "objective perspective" as he put it.  We ended up watching "Knight's Tale" after a discussion ensued, and I of course, having owned it.   :)

Is it remotely historically accurate?  Kind of  ;) there were tournaments, Geoffrey Chaucer and Prince Edward did in fact exist, the Battle of Poitiers did happen, and the armour in one century or another was accurate to the archaeological record.  But looking into that movie, with its music, the choice of name for William, his alter-ego "Sir Ulrich," etc, etc, is awesome.  It's a contemporary film for a contemporary audience.  It's easy for anyone to understand the gist of what's going on, and in fact has made my family better understand why I do what I do as a hobby.  So, as a study of the "human condition" as us Anthropologists like to put it, it's a very very good movie.

Sorry, I could go on and on about that film. 
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Edward on 2013-05-11, 23:49:14

I'm on the intermission right now between disc 1 and 2, of the directors cut. Heh, I did something stupid and ordered the 4-disc DVD set, instead of the blue-ray. The DVD version has the movie split over two discs, and cost double what the blue-ray does. Doh!

So I ordered the blue-ray too. Now I'm going to have 3 copies of this movie.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir William on 2013-05-13, 15:58:06
It won't hurt Sir Edward, I promise.  lol  I've got two versions, the theatrical version is still buried somewhere in an obscure box that has yet to be unpacked.  The dc is on a mantle of sorts with all the rest of my medieval movies.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Edward on 2013-05-13, 18:40:45

The director's cut is actually pretty good. It's interesting to see what was changed. It's a shame the theatrical version lost the entire conversation about Balian's war experience, and knowledge of siege engines. This makes everything make more sense later, that he just needs refinement, not 100% training to be a knight from being just a simple blacksmith.

Everything else that was cut, I can see why they did (from the movie studio's perspective), in that removal of it just reduces the film to the core plot. Re-adding those scenes makes it into a broader, more artistic piece.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Ian on 2013-05-13, 20:25:47
**DIRECTOR's CUT SPOILER**

I thought one of the key pieces was the inclusion of Eva Green's (can't think of the character's name of the top of my head) son.  In the theatrical release her loyalties and motivations seem so arbitrary since her son isn't in the movie at all, but in the director's cut it makes a lot more sense why she behaves the way she does.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Lord Dane on 2013-05-13, 21:48:52
Historically, isn't her son Baldwin V but too young to rule and dies?
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir Wolf on 2013-05-13, 21:52:29
i thought there would be more to the Odo part. he pretty much says hi i'm Odo and then he dies in the next scene.
Title: Re: kingdom of heaven directors cut
Post by: Sir William on 2013-05-14, 14:08:54
The scenes that were removed were probably done to keep the overall run time from being too long; but they went far in explaining some of the character motivations that I didn't get when I first saw it.  Why does Isabella do what she does?  How did Balian know anything about siege machines, where'd he learn to fight with a sword so well?  My thinking at the time was, if all it took were two lessons from Liam Neeson, where do I sign up?