Ridley Scott has made some of the greatest films that have stood the test of time and are celebrated today. The filmmaker is behind classics such as Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Thelma & Louise, etc, and at 86, he continues to churn out epic films mounted on a huge scale. The director is also known for being a perfectionist and is very particular about the look of his films.
One of his most divisive films was the theatrical version of Kingdom of Heaven. Audiences expected the historical epic to be on the level of Gladiator but it lacked depth and characterization. Several crucial scenes that the director wanted to put were cut from the theatrical version. However, the director’s cut version of the film became a significant improvement over it.
Frustrating Studio Interference On Kingdom of Heaven Led To The Birth of Its Director’s Cut
After hits like Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down, Scott returned to the historical epics with the 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven. The film led by Orlando Bloom chronicled the journey of Balian of Ibelin who fights to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem and tries to establish peace between the capital and the East who are engaged in a holy war.
The theatrical version of the film was released in 2005 and it received negative reviews from fans. The film seemed to be lacking several key elements throughout the story and many characters felt sidelined and unexplored. One of the characters that was criminally ignored in the theatrical version was Eva Green’s Sibylla.
In the theatrical version, the whole integral subplot about Sibylla sacrificing her son as he had contracted leprosy was omitted. This scene was focused in the director’s cut of the film and the whole subplot ran for about 17 minutes. In an interview on The Reelblend Podcast, Scott revealed he had to cut that scene due to the pressure from the studio who deemed the scene unnecessary and making the film long. He said,
The last time that a director’s cut, for me, was really relevant was Kingdom of Heaven. And to my regret, I removed the 17 minutes. Because people are saying ‘The film’s long, why do you need this part,’ and how wrong they were.
Scott’s original vision would prevail in the end as the director’s cut received great reviews and is considered the definitive version of the film. It was a great win for an artist struggling to put out his original vision against the demands of the studio. A similar situation was seen with Zack Snyder‘s director’s cut of Justice League in 2021.
Orlando Bloom Was Stumped When He Saw The Theatrical Version of Kingdom of Heaven
Much has been said about how Ridley Scott was done dirty by the studio for making several cuts and edits to his historical epic Kingdom of Heaven. The lead actor Orlando Bloom saw the theatrical cut of the film the day before doing press interviews. In an interview with Collider, Bloom revealed that he was stumped and shocked after seeing how drastic changes were made to it.
The actor stated that Scott had worked hard on making the film to be an emotionally rich historical epic. However, many changes were made to it and the heart of the film was gone in the theatrical cut. Bloom said,
I remember watching the theatrical release the day before I had to go and do press for the movie. And I was just stumped. My head went into ‘How do I make this work, How do I sell this? What am I gonna say to people?’…The heart of the movie had kind of gone and it was apparent to the press because they were coming in and going ‘Wait it feels truncated’.
Kingdom of Heaven did not work at the box office when it was released in May 2005, grossing only $218 million against a $130 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). The director’s cut of the film is now celebrated as one of Scott’s best films. One can watch/rent this version of Kingdom of Heaven on Prime Video.
