Kingdom of Heaven 4K 2005 DC Ultra HD 2160p

“Don't chicken out in the face of the enemy. Always tell the truth - even if you face death. “Help the defenseless and do no evil. Let this be your vow...”

The young armorer Belian is forced to flee his homeland. He joins his father's crusading band. In one of the battles his father, having received a severe wound, on his deathbed dedicates his son as a knight, Balian swears allegiance to the King of Jerusalem. Having fallen in love with the king's sister Sibyla, the young man acquires a mortal enemy in the person of her husband and master of the Templar order Guy de Lusignan. Guy provokes a war with the huge army of Sultan Saladin. The dying king, along with the loyal Balian, leads his regiments into battle. Following this battle, the young warrior awaits many battles, adventures and trials, while from the fortresses of the Holy Land to the palaces of the lords of France spread the news of the great Balian - the legendary defender of Jerusalem ...

User Review

We went to see “Kingdom of Heaven”, having read just annihilating reviews about the scriptwriters, the casting, and the actors. But we went anyway and in 12 minutes we looked at each other in pleasant amazement.

Perhaps the first lesson of the movie was the following: heroes are different. Orlando Bloom should not be blamed for his character being courageous in a different way than, for example, Russell Crowe's characters. Courage comes in many different forms. For example, courage is not striving to be something other than what you are. “I'm a simple blacksmith,” is the leitmotif through the whole movie. Some will see here another example of infamous Hollywood dialog. Some who look deeper will see the materialization of a Christian worldview.

Balian goes through the most sophisticated temptations - from the opportunity to escape from the village blacksmith shop thanks to his baron father to the prospect of becoming King of Jerusalem by marrying the Queen. But despite his apparent crisis of faith, Balian remains a Christian whose main concern is to keep his soul intact. Of course, there are some things in life that are worth risking your soul for, but the interests for which others demand it from Balian are not of the same order. Gold, land, holding on to conquests are not worth it. Balian is not ready to take responsibility for choosing what is more holy - the walls, the mosque, or the Holy Sepulchre. And in this he proves to be more Christian than the fanatics ready to ravage the land in the name of Christ - because he does not take to judging. And the happy ending is not a Hollywood regularity, it is a reward for a man who remains himself, consistently and fundamentally.

The choice of Orlando Bloom for this role is truly impeccable, as it gets away from the templates in portraying the heroes of Hollywood blockbusters. Orlando Bloom's Balian is a contemplative, meditative character, looking not outward, but inward, and therefore whole and self-sufficient. The hero can also be reserved and chaste. And such an interpretation has the right to exist. The beauty of the actor is not an “aggravating” factor - on the contrary, such a Balian quite explains the passion of the Princess of Jerusalem, which arose literally at first sight.

In her turn, Eva Green perfectly conveys the character of a royal by birth, for whom there is and cannot be by definition any refusal: “The commandments are not for the likes of us!”. And her Sibylla learns an invaluable lesson from Balian, whose kingdom is within him, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of conscience. The scene in which Sibylla “lets go” of her boy puts Eva Green beyond any evaluation or debate about her acting. Well, Edward Norton as the leper king and David Thewlis as Hospitaller were admired even by those critics who saw no other merits in the movie.

The film was much criticized for allegedly curtsying to Muslims. But when Saladin's siege towers collapsed at the walls of Jerusalem, I think none of the viewers had any doubts where “ours” were and where they were not. The main idea of the movie is not to find out which religion is better and more correct. The movie is about PERSONALITY IN WAR and about personal responsibility of everyone for their choice. It is simply inexcusable not to see the value of this idea, brilliantly embodied on the screen.

The shortcomings include the impressive gaps in the script, which even the director's version does not explain - for example, how long did Balian travel to Jerusalem after the shipwreck, if the monk-hospitaller, who sailed from Messina a week later, met him on arrival? Or how long did Sibylla stay in Ibelin? There are plenty of questions about the script, but these are minutiae compared to the movie's merits. After all, nothing prevents the viewer to think it up for himself. The script at first was perceived as pure fantasy, but even this did not deprive the movie of its merits. And when it became known that it was based on real events, that indeed Jerusalem was ruled by a leper king, that Baron Ibelinsky knighted the entire population of the city capable of bearing arms, that the historical Balian was married to a queen, albeit a queen-mother, but still a queen, that in the Holy Land and indeed the origin was an empty sound, and everyone became what he could become - it only added to the respect for the movie.

A special word about the music, which is a complete work in its own right and can be enjoyed on its own. It is perfect and plays a full role in the movie, filling it with soul.

The battle scenes are amazing, except perhaps for the final fight in the breach of the wall. Everything else is just flawless. The viewer was literally given the opportunity to feel the sensation of battle on himself.

“Kingdom of Heaven” - a movie about eternal values, and therefore itself timeless. Everyone can discover it for himself in his own time.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (50.7 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Info Audio

#English: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
#German: DTS-HD High-Res Audio 5.1

Info Subtitles