Some Ridley Scott fans consider this movie (more specifically, the extended cut) to be one of his crowning achievements. He's been my favorite filmmaker since circa 2013, but this one has always bounced right off me for whatever reason. It still does. I watched it in theaters back in 2005 looking for big, sweeping action, and thought it was just ok. The battle scenes in The Two Towers and Troy were more exciting. About 15 years later I watched the director's cut on Blu-ray and was only moderately engrossed, somewhat resenting the runtime.
In all, I'd pick the longer cut for having more meat in its bones, character-development-wise, but if I just want a (relatively) quick fix of Scott mayhem I might go for the compromised cut.
All of this is to say it's kind of a draw for me. They're both different enough to stand on their own.
Directors cut, no debate. It’s one of Ridley’s best as far as I care. I’m hoping we get a 4K of it eventually. For what it’s worth, the latest Blu-ray roadshow edition is a better transfer slightly than the existing Blu-ray which was a little iffy.
I'm adding this movie to my Netflix queue (pronounced "kwee" according to a friend of mine) and I see there are two versions. Normally I would opt for the newer, "better" version, but since Director's Cuts are often just longer movies without the additional of any real substance I thought I'd ask the Blu-ray.com community.
Thoughts?
This is one movie you WANT the Director's Cut. It adds so much to the story that it makes it a completely different but far superior movie.
IndieWire: As the man who popularized director’s cuts with “Blade Runner,” where does this film rank for you in terms of Hollywood’s mistreatment of your work?
Ridley Scott: You could write a book about that, dude — and that would be Chapter One only. The problem is it is a constant aggressive dance between commerce against art, and each side has the right to have an opinion. If somebody’s giving me a million dollars to **** around and make my movie, he has a right to have some opinion. If somebody’s giving me $200 million, he has every right to have a ****ing opinion. If I was on that side, I would want to know everything. So in a way, you both get in each other’s way.
But I never made a movie until I was 40 — I was experienced in advertising. I’d done Steve Jobs’ first commercial. but I’d probably done 2,000 or 3,000 commercials as a filmmaker and operator, and I was very, very successful where we had offices in Paris, London, New York, and L.A. So when I moved to Hollywood, I ain’t a learner. I’m not a kid. I’m walking in with “The Duellists,” which won [best debut film] at Cannes. They [didn’t] know what to do with it, so they made seven prints for America. My first film is “Duellists,” my second film is “Alien,” third one is “Blade Runner,” the fourth film is “Legend.” And at the end of all that, because none of them quite worked except for “Alien,” one of them said, “Have you ever thought making a film about normal people?” I thought, maybe they’re right. So then there was a very little, really great film called “Someone to Watch Over Me.”
Four-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and visual master Ridley Scott stays busy, even when he doesn't have an epic blockbuster in the works. In fact, in this one-on-one with Collider's Steve Weintraub, the director explains that he doesn't only revisit his work when 20th anniversaries roll around, like for the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray rerelease of Kingdom of Heaven, but rather "every three or four years," just to keep up with times. That's why his films "always look good."
Twenty years ago, Scott released his Crusades-era epic, starring Orlando Bloom and Eva Green. Now, fans have the opportunity to own the coveted Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut, completely remastered in 4K. The three-disc set comes complete with over eight hours of bonus material, including VFX breakdowns, commentary from Scott, Bloom, and Oscar-winning writer William Monohan, and deleted scenes.
If you’ve only seen the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven, you absolutely need to take the time to watch the Director's Cut. Unlike some extended or Director's Cuts that add a few scenes or a deleted scene that should have been left on the cutting room floor, the Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut adds around forty-five minutes of footage that should never have been removed. What you need to understand is the Director's Cut was the theatrical cut until the studio forced him to make the film a lot shorter. So even though the cuts destroyed an incredible film, that’s what Scott had to do. But thanks to home video, you can now watch one of Ridley Scott’s best films in stunning 4K.
Check out the full conversation below, where Scott discusses not only the merits of Kingdom of Heaven's extended edition and the restoration, but also his crucial collaboration with Monohan and why he forgives the man responsible for the theatrical cut that toes the line between flop and masterpiece. Scott also talks about his favorite cut of Blade Runner, how Francis Ford Coppola inspired the controversial Harrison Ford narration, the Western he's yet to make, and what to expect from his upcoming Bee Gees project.
Jumping into Kingdom of Heaven. The new 4K edition has the director's cut, and it has a roadshow format presentation. When people own it, and they push play, which version do you want them watching first?
SCOTT: You want the extended version first, which is very much the story about the Princess of Jerusalem, who euthanizes the child.
Kingdom of Heaven is the best director's cut I've ever seen of any movie, period. There's no comparison. The director’s cut is a masterpiece. Are there any films that you directed that you would like to go in and tinker with, or was this the one that's like, “This needed to be fixed?”
SCOTT: That's a tough question because I tend to do quite big movies. By the time they finish these scale movies, you're like, “Enough!” Right? “Next case.” So, you're starting to weaken. To me, it's like a sport. You can't weaken, otherwise you're gonna get beaten. I will go to the last dying argument to try and get my way. Then there’s a moment where you think, “You know what? **** it. Go for it.” But the thing I love about all the platforms, and I started to love about discs, but we're way beyond that now, is my film, which is now 50 years old, called The Duellists. It runs every night online. So, to me, instead of being buried somewhere in some dark vault, it's very healthy to see it out there still playing.
I love streaming. So, I'm friendly with William Monahan...
SCOTT: Bill’s one of the best.
I've known Bill for 20 years, since right after Kingdom came out. He told me that he just saw the 4K edition at the Egyptian in Hollywood, and he said it was one of the two most emotional experiences he's ever had in a movie theater — one being Apocalypse Now and two being watching Kingdom of Heaven, the 4K edition, because of how well it played and how amazing it looked. Have you seen the new 4K edition projected on a screen?
SCOTT: Yeah. I tend to be the one who grades it.
What was the experience like for you, looking back on something that you made 20 years ago? How emotional was it for you? How does the 4K look to you?
SCOTT: I regrade all my movies every three or four years to keep them up to speed on the new technologies. That’s why my films always look good now, because I grade them. I go back into Company 3 and work with my man in there, who’s great. We regrade the movie. We upgrade it.
That's so interesting.
One of the reasons Kingdom is so fantastic is that it's not a generic action-adventure film. You and Bill made a historical epic that examines religious conflicts. Why was that important to you?
SCOTT: I met Bill because I was going to do Tripoli. Bill has written a spec of Tripoli, and I got it. That's how I met Bill. Bill wasn’t a screenwriter, he was a journalist, and he sent Tripoli my way. I was blown away. I took it on board, and I started to solve the movie, and what happened is in my family, someone became very sick. We were already building a fort at Durham, and I had to say, “I'm sorry. I can't leave LA. I will not do that, so let's find another director.” In their real generosity, Fox said, “No. It's your movie. We'll eat it.” That always really impressed me with Fox. So, from that, Bill was very disappointed, but that's what really happened.
Then, from that, Bill had done so well. I said, “Let's talk medieval.” So, we started talking, and fundamentally, you're going to go right to the Crusades. “Let's talk about it.” It started there. That was it, from scratch. Bill was so researched on almost everything that that's what came out. Once you’re in those hands, it’s helpful during the writing. He’d send me so many passages, “What about this? What about that?” But my input is minor. Bill's was everything. Then that becomes my roadmap for me to then do my thing. So, the two and two of us makes a very good four.
I completely agree. I read that Tom Rothman, the head of the studio, was the one who ordered the film to be trimmed down because he didn't believe audiences could go for such a long movie. Have you finally forgiven Tom, or is it just sort of part of the business?
SCOTT: Tom has already said, “I'm sorry. I was wrong.”
At least he owned it.
SCOTT: I was like, “Oh, great. Thanks, Tom.” Listen, it's very hard being a head of the studio. It's nearly as bad as having been a political head. Being head of the studio is very, very tough because you're always right and you're always wrong. There’s a very good TV show on right now called The Studio.
What was the experience like for you, looking back on something that you made 20 years ago? How emotional was it for you? How does the 4K look to you?
SCOTT: I regrade all my movies every three or four years to keep them up to speed on the new technologies. That’s why my films always look good now, because I grade them. I go back into Company 3 and work with my man in there, who’s great. We regrade the movie. We upgrade it.
Interesting. Is theatrical projection really changing so much every 3-4 years as to explain the new grade? Laser projection has been around for over a decade - have there really been two significant changes in image quality since it was introduced? Or is he talking about grading software significantly changing every 3-4 years? Either way I have trouble believing he regrades his films that frequently due solely to technology changes.
Interesting. Is theatrical projection really changing so much every 3-4 years as to explain the new grade? Laser projection has been around for over a decade - have there really been two significant changes in image quality since it was introduced? Or is he talking about grading software significantly changing every 3-4 years? Either way I have trouble believing he regrades his films that frequently due solely to technology changes.
He seems to be a very driven man - makes Lucas’ tinkering with his movies seem downright minimal by comparison!!
Colour regrading is pretty normal in the industry. Not the same material every 3-4 years as Scott says he does with his films, but nevertheless.
A lot of films are colour graded differently for theatrical, blu-ray/dvd and streaming. And then there's the occasional director who just wants to polish up a previous work, sometimes overseen by the DP.
He seems to be a very driven man - makes Lucas’ tinkering with his movies seem downright minimal by comparison!!
I haven't read a lot of his interviews, but he sounds like Kubrick in this respect to me. I'm wondering if Scott's tinkering is mostly perfectionism and/or interest in the latest technology. The latter of which is great, given much younger directors seem to present themselves as digital reactionaries.
I haven't read a lot of his interviews, but he sounds like Kubrick in this respect to me. I'm wondering if Scott's tinkering is mostly perfectionism and/or interest in the latest technology. The latter of which is great, given much younger directors seem to present themselves as digital reactionaries.
I think it might be a bit of both. No disrespect to him, it’s more than possible he has just a touch of OCD - and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing in a film director.
At least we can say we get the version of the movie that the director wants us to watch.
When he’s gone? Well, he’ll have left detailed instructions in his will, I’m sure!
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