Remember Sometimes longer is better particularly when you have a complex story. If Tony Scott is the more workman-like (Ok we can use the word hack here if you choose but he’s a talented hack) of the Scott brothers Ridley has the vision. A talented film director who often dreams bigger than he can deliver when he’s on target his films can be brilliant, visceral experiences that no one can come near to recreating. “Blade Runner” despite being a mess (both in the original release and the Director’s Cut) is a brilliant mess with enough innovation in one sequence to fill 10 movies for other directors. “Hannibal”, “Someone to Watch Over Me”, “Legend” and the ambitious “1492: The Conquest of Paradise” are all flawed films but Scott gives a grandeur to all of his subjects that also makes up for the excesses (particularly in “Hannibal”) that mar some of his larger than life projects. “Kingdom of Heaven” was flawed from the beginning with significant narrative gaps that undermine the character development and the smooth momentum of the story. That’s because Fox had Scott cut the film by nearly an hour deleted significant and important character development at the expense of trying to fit in more showings per theater.

The result was a sprawling ambitious project that had the epic scope of “Lawrence of Arabia” without the narrative strength. Thank God for DVD. “Kingdom of Heaven: The Director’s Cut” restores the material demonstrating that the original 3 hour cut was a brilliant film that played theatrical late last year after the film had bombed at t he box office. The reason the film bombed was the idiotic decision to cut the film and make it shorter reducing the film’s impact. While it might not have made a huge amount of money it would have done well at the box office as a prestige film AND would have deservedly been nominated for Oscars. Much of the background story is fleshed out and the relationships between the various characters are more clearly defined. “Kingdom of Heaven” is a magnificent epic film that recalls the power of David Lean’s epics and allows Scott’s historical drama to breath. If you’ve seen the theatrical cut you owe it to yourself to see this major film from a major talent. ---

Image & Sound:

The film is presented like the “Lord of the Rings” deluxe sets with the film spread over two discs. Featuring a beautiful anamorphic transfer this version of the film actually looks superior with less issues with digital artifacts when compared to the previous edition of the film. The 5.1 audio presentation sounds wonderful with both a 5.1 and 5.1DTS track that makes exceptional use of the format. You’ll feel like you’ve put plopped down into the middle of the battle sequences in the action sequences and there’s wonderful ambient sound effects sprinkled throughout the film even during sequences that are dialogue driven.

We start off with an introduction by Scott discussing the “Director’s Cut” compared to the theatrical version of the film. Featuring Scott, writer William Monahan and actor Orlando Bloom the first commentary track (it was recorded separately and pieced together) becomes a rich resource of trivia beginning with the origin of the project and how Scott and Monahan ended up working together. The second commentary track has visual effects director Wes Sewell, assistant director Adam Somner and producer Lisa Elizey discussing the technical aspects of the shoot and the challenges they faced covering everything from the use of digital and on set effects to second unit photography. The last commentary has editor Dody Dorn discussing the two different versions of the film. We also have production notes and information about the shooting of the film provided as text commentary. ***

The third and fourth discs have most of the supplements. Unfortunately neither has the excellent A&E documentary that was part of the two disc set so you may want to hold on to your other set if you haven’t sold it already. We have “The Path to Redemption” presented in six separate parts with each running anywhere from a half hour to twenty minutes a piece covering the making of the film. The first of the three parts include text, images, early screenplay drafts and notes on the shooting of the movie. The second part has cast rehearsals covering everything from the training with the weapons to costume tests. The third of the three parts has storyboards as well as a short documentary featuring scholars discussing the accuracy of the film. ***

The fourth disc features the last three parts on the film and includes video shot on location, storyboard galleries and photo galleries as well as deleted/extended/alternate scenes with optional commentary by Scott and editor Dorn. There’s also a section on the visual effects of the film as well as various sound elements to create the unique sound mix of the film presented in various stages. The last section features trailers, TV spots, the Showest presentation. There’s also footage from various premieres around the world, poster galleries, footage of the press junket shot on video, image and poster galleries as well as a brief featurette similar to the one done for “Gladiator: The Extended Version” that discussed the creation of this special edition. ---

Final Words: