By 2005, I was heavily into researching the Crusades for a project I'm still working on. Although my interests focused mainly on the Fourth Crusade, I eagerly consumed any material leading up to it, and so was very excited to learn about "Kingdom of Heaven".
I saw the movie with my cousin, Jim, at the Cineplex Cinemas on the Queensway, (which had replaced our old standby, Sherway Cinemas, back in 2001). While newer, there was a certain charm to the older cinemas, which remains lacking, today.
The film is set in the mid-1180s, and follows a fictionalized account of the career of Balian of Ibelin. The cinematography was gorgeous, augmented by an evocative score by Harry Gregson-Williams.
Unfortunately, Orlando Bloom was badly miscast as Balian. This was compensated for by great performances by Edward Norton as King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, Ghassan Massoud as Saladin, and Eva Green as Sibylla.
The film drew criticism for its depiction of the relationship between Christians and Muslims during the period involved, having been more influenced in reaction to contemporary events, rather than by actual historical accounts.
As with "Troy", a Director's Cut of "Kingdom of Heaven" was later released, which I thought was a much better film, and even included a mini-doc on the historical aspects "Creative Accuracy: The Scholars Speak".
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