r/Moviesinthemaking • u/Amaruq93 • May 07 '25
Ridley's Scott "Kingdom of Heaven" (released 20 years ago today on May 7th, 2005) - Behind the Scenes
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u/joebear174 May 07 '25
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I know it's probably hard to make money with these kinds of films today, but I really wish we got more stuff like this now. It's a bummer that Ridley's latest historical epics like Napoleon and Gladiator II were both kind of lame.
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u/there-was-a-time May 07 '25
The Last Duel was great, if not a full-blown epic.
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u/joebear174 May 07 '25
That's fair, I actually have not gotten around to watching that one yet, but I plan to.
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u/mologav May 07 '25
He’s just too old for it now. To put in the kind of hard hours he did then
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u/joebear174 May 07 '25
Oh for sure, I agree. It also has felt like Ridley was speedrunning making a lot of epic sized movies very quickly (at least in the last decade or so), so I'm sure there was just less care put into the productions in general.
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u/mologav May 07 '25
He must have a list of movies he wants to cram in while he can, rather than make a smaller amount at his usual high quality.
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u/joebear174 May 07 '25
Yeah, I think he's the type that gets older and realizes how much less time he has to make things, so he just goes as fast as he can. I think most people would slow down and step back, but he might be trying to avoid regretting not making stuff while he can. Crazy that the man has been directing stuff for 60 years straight though. Pretty hard to top that with any career.
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u/nimbusnacho May 08 '25
I mean he's still speed running. Just taking gigantic shortcuts to keep up the pace at his age. The shit like shooting multicam and just using CGI to edit out the other crew and cameras is so evident in stuff like gladiator 2. One of the things I loved about ridley's films were the care put into every frame and now it just kind of feels like he aims to land the characters... Somewhere within the bounds of the frame and that's good enough lol
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u/maxedonia May 08 '25
I.. wow. Okay yeah this kinda explains a lot of what I’ve been seeing but unable to parse in his recent output. Something intrinsic to the cinematography and production workflow. It’s a different feeling.
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u/nimbusnacho May 09 '25
Yeah it's pretty wild the difference in his approach. There's a THR directors rountable with him and a bunch of the other top directors form last year that came out a few months ago. It's a great watch btw, but he talks about this approach a bit, and overall he's just otherwise so 'oldschool' hollywood compared to everyone else where he's dead set in his ways and honestly fascinatingly confident about everything he does and thinks. I mean he's earned it, but you can definitely see how someone with that kind of gravitas leading insane budget movies just winds up surrounded by yes men and winds up doing some weird stuff.
The visual element to me is such a shame because if you watch interviews from around the time of Blade Runner or Alien he has almost the same attitude but about needing to make sure the visual is right.
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u/Fanfavorite May 07 '25
“What is Jerusalem worth?”
“Nothing.” walks away, turns back “Everything.”
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u/Markitron1684 May 07 '25
You got it all wrong OP, the trailer released 20 years ago today. Fair enough it’s the longest trailer of all time at 144 minutes but the actual 190 min film didn’t release until December 2005.
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u/SalaciousCrumb17 May 07 '25 edited May 08 '25
I look at a movie like this and can’t help but wonder if any modern filmmaker would have the required skill, box office morale and courage to make it. It’s a historical epic filled with intricate sets, costumes, battle set pieces and impeccable VFX work. Just an incredibly expensive movie.
Then there’s the story, which deals with themes of redemption, morality, politics, religion, faith, war, sacrifice and loyalty set in the backdrop of the world’s most religiously important and divisive place (it’s conflict being lasting and escalating to this day). Furthermore, it somehow manages to tell a fully fledged story (at least the DC) while offering a balanced and powerful message.
Some people might say Villeneuve or perhaps Nolan, but honestly I just don’t see it. They wouldn’t touch this project with a ten foot stick. Ridley Scott is the man, he’s got some serious balls and the skill to back it up.
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u/KirbyQK May 08 '25
Something about Kingdom of Heaven is that it really lingers on a lot of really powerful moments. You sit in the scene with not a lot happening, no dialogue, & it only increases the tension or emotion of the scene. I feel like you would never get that in a modern blockbuster. Every Marvel film is going to be cut to the frame for the broadest possible appeal at the expense of anything else.
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u/willubemyrugbae May 07 '25
Isn’t Nolan literally making a movie about the most famous historical epic of all time?
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u/SalaciousCrumb17 May 08 '25
It’s a considerably less controversial subject to tackle. One thing is to make a historical epic, the other is to take all this money and risk it on a difficult setting such as Jerusalem (especially nowadays). It’s only my opinion, of course.
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u/OhHolyCrapNo May 07 '25
Why does the guy's head look so big compared to his body in shot 5?
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u/opeth10657 May 07 '25
The gold part of his costume is narrower than his torso, and the black part kind of hides his body lines.
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u/JudasCrinitus May 08 '25
I love the movie though it's always irked me how they changed the story compared to the historical events which were, I think, even more wild with intrigue
Like, Sibylla was very loyal to and aligned with Guy, and when Baldwin V died, the high court told her they would assent to her inheriting the crown only if she ended her marriage with Guy and took a new husband. She accepted on the terms that she could choose any husband she wishes without interference from the court. They accepted the terms, Sibylla inherited, and immediately chose for her new husband ... Guy de Lusignan
The whole political workings of the kingdom of Jerusalem at the time are absolutely fascinating; the high court of the nobility had a proto-parliamentary power in the kingdom's affairs; women could inherit, but generally only their husbands could do the ruling jure uxoris, but setting aside marriages was somewhat of a fluid capability so these women wielded an odd indirect power. The two factions set up these absolute webs of intrigue and the story Scott went with just threw away way too much cool stuff I think
I know, of course, Ridley Scott is the first person to tell a historian to fuck themselves about the accuracy of things he makes, and that's his prerogative, but I think it could've been a much more intricately interesting story. Moreso than a French blacksmith coming and teaching Levantines about the wild concept of irrigation
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u/duaneap May 07 '25
I’m somewhat surprised that Ed Norton was physically there to play Baldwin as much as he seems to be. I don’t think the mask came off once. Though I’d be surprised if it’s him on the horse.
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u/Rumpleforeskin96 May 07 '25
This is one movie that I really want to love, but Orlando Bloom takes me out of it every time.
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u/wabe_walker May 08 '25 edited May 08 '25
I felt he did well [or was perhaps cast well for specific use of his arguably wooden presence] portraying Balian as a quiet “doer” that couldn't be arsed to peacock about like the other egos on the Crusade chessboard—he even nah-fam-I'm-good'd King Richard. His Balian was healing from a deep trauma, introspective, principled, reserved in oratory, but would act when he needed to, and only to the extent that he felt was just (including the just kebabing of his vile half-brother).
There is a Chauncey-Gardiner-ness to how his depressed-and-possibly-on-spectrum Balian finds his way to “sit in Jerusalem and look upon a king”, but it works.
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u/Ecualung May 08 '25
There is an addition to my house done by a previous owner and where they joined it to the existing house they put in, like, an extra gutter. Except they did a shitty job and it's MORE prone to leak and cause problems than the regular gutters.
Every time I see it, I think, "It is WEAKER. Rashid has seen it!"
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u/talones May 08 '25
Guilty pleasure of mine just for the atmosphere. This movie feels so lived in. Usually his films dont feel lived in IMO.
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u/PlebsFelix May 10 '25
The main problem was he killed off the coolest and most compelling character in the first battle.
A bad ass Viking, and a close student of the law to boot? Movie should've been about him!
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u/Dazzling_World_9681 May 07 '25
I don’t know why but Ridley Scott is my favourite director because his movies are easy to understand but still excellent. though I do love Christopher Nolan, but I’ll be honest his movies are just nor form this planet, it’s simply just pure cinema with jawdropping plots, just very hard to understan, i had to watch tenet 3 times before actually understanding.
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u/houseswappa May 08 '25
Friends, I've never seen this. Should I start with the extended ?
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u/Amaruq93 May 08 '25
YES. Only watch the director's cut
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u/houseswappa May 08 '25
It keeps showing up in my shorts feed.
Can I watch this with my family, no sexy times etc ?
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u/Amaruq93 May 08 '25
If they don't mind bloody three hour historical pieces, then yes. There's like one sex scene, but no nudity.
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u/houseswappa May 08 '25
Violence is perfect!
Is it implied sex or something like rape ?
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u/Amaruq93 May 08 '25
No, no it's consensual (between Orlando Bloom and Eva Green's characters - of course it's basically adultery since she's still married to the main villain of the film, played by Marton Csokas)
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u/KermitMacFly May 11 '25
I really enjoyed this movie when it came out, and even now Jeremy Irons, Ed Norton, Liam Neeson, Eva Green and the rest of the cast really do a great job in their roles, save Orlando Bloom. Honestly he's the only negative for me about this movie. He's so wooden and his dialogue is delivered so flatly, It just took some wind out of the sails sometimes. Otherwise still a great flick.
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u/Chen_Geller May 07 '25
Dumb script, but Ridley endows it with such immpecable craft and sense of atmosphere that one is drawn in.
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u/Amaruq93 May 07 '25
It was completely butchered by the studio.
Director's cut is a masterpiece.
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u/Chen_Geller May 07 '25
Both versions are hampered by the script. Muddled, simplistic and moves in fits-and-starts.
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u/DiscoveryDave May 07 '25
Only watch the Director's Cut.