KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT (2005) - ****1/2
Character development, atmosphere, narrative flow, and plot details were casualties in the theatrical edit in the goal of making the 150 minute editing time. With the director's cut(how many does Ridley Scott have anyway?), these facets are reinstated in a movie that went from being a noble if flawed as hell 145 minute summer blockbuster historical period epic to a 194 minute tale of dilemma in fulfilling the code of honor and righteousness as a knight and within religion in a reality where such things are merely tools for power, and nothing more.
What keeps this film from being Ridley's 3rd masterpiece (after ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER) is probably that the film, instead of allowing the story and actions to make its thesis points through drama, states way more than once quite openly that "religion fanaticism is bad", "we should be in peace", blah blah blah. As I noted in my WALKER film review, political arguments themselves in film are irrelevant if the film can't make you give a shit about it. Luckily, this complaint against KOH is minor and doesn't detract from easily Ridley's biggest movie.
