film review: Kingdom of Heaven
Sunday, May 29th, 2005 11:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranthHaven't been to the cinema as much as usual in recent months, due to Werk and Visitor. I do miss it.
One thing that struck me was that it was much shorter than I expected. Checking the actual length on imdb, 145 mins, I'm starting to wonder if the version we saw was cut: programme started at 5:30, and I'm sure we were out just after 8pm, including ads, trailers and credits ...
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swisstone remarked on the fact that there were great swathes of nothing-happens. True: but they were beautifully lit and shot. All the fab things that Scott does with natural light (the dimness of the Northern European scenes compared with bright Jerusalem sunshine; the long shadows of late afternoon; a mirage hovering in front of an army) still draw me in reliably. Especially impressed with the distortions of a polished metal mirror that subtly evoke the twist and warp of leprosy.
A good role for Orlando Bloom, as for much of the time he was the silent type and only had to glower at people and beat them up. More memorable, Edward Norton acting from behind a rigid metal mask, and still managing to convey emotion and nuance very clearly. And Marton Csokas, who makes a far better decadent French noble than he does an Elf. Splendidly villainous! And Jeremy Irons, all scrawny and passionate as usual. I'd love to see him in a role where he doesn't give a damn about anything.
Battle scenes immensely reminiscent of The Two Towers and The Return of the King. I indulged (during a plotfree period) in speculation re the current trend for huge armies gathering, etc. Everyone mocks the golden-age historical epics, but I don't think verisimilitude was their first concern. Nowadays, with CGI, it's easier to assemble a 'cast' of hundreds of thousands.
Scott does something that was at first annoying, but on reflection made sense: he names very few of the characters that we meet. They're 'the King', 'the priest', 'that bloke in the black tunic', 'the German' etc. (Often not referred to by any tag at all, so the audience keeps track only visually. I think this has the advantage of not overwhelming the viewer with information, and with making them pay attention to what they're watching. But I had to look up which king it was.)
Some irritating gaps in the narrative: from leaving Jerusalem to standing in a French village, for example, a journey of months at the very least. And I'd've liked some detail on what happened to characters other than Balion.
Liberties taken with history, but I wouldn't have expected anything else. Looks lovely: kind of slow in places: worth seeing for (a) Edward Norton, (b) Greek Fire (or equivalent), (c) that mirage scene. Oh, and Fretwork (early music group) doing some of the soundtrack, a mix of medieval chansons and modern action-picture music a la Lord of the Rings.
One thing that struck me was that it was much shorter than I expected. Checking the actual length on imdb, 145 mins, I'm starting to wonder if the version we saw was cut: programme started at 5:30, and I'm sure we were out just after 8pm, including ads, trailers and credits ...
swisstone remarked on the fact that there were great swathes of nothing-happens. True: but they were beautifully lit and shot. All the fab things that Scott does with natural light (the dimness of the Northern European scenes compared with bright Jerusalem sunshine; the long shadows of late afternoon; a mirage hovering in front of an army) still draw me in reliably. Especially impressed with the distortions of a polished metal mirror that subtly evoke the twist and warp of leprosy.A good role for Orlando Bloom, as for much of the time he was the silent type and only had to glower at people and beat them up. More memorable, Edward Norton acting from behind a rigid metal mask, and still managing to convey emotion and nuance very clearly. And Marton Csokas, who makes a far better decadent French noble than he does an Elf. Splendidly villainous! And Jeremy Irons, all scrawny and passionate as usual. I'd love to see him in a role where he doesn't give a damn about anything.
Battle scenes immensely reminiscent of The Two Towers and The Return of the King. I indulged (during a plotfree period) in speculation re the current trend for huge armies gathering, etc. Everyone mocks the golden-age historical epics, but I don't think verisimilitude was their first concern. Nowadays, with CGI, it's easier to assemble a 'cast' of hundreds of thousands.
Scott does something that was at first annoying, but on reflection made sense: he names very few of the characters that we meet. They're 'the King', 'the priest', 'that bloke in the black tunic', 'the German' etc. (Often not referred to by any tag at all, so the audience keeps track only visually. I think this has the advantage of not overwhelming the viewer with information, and with making them pay attention to what they're watching. But I had to look up which king it was.)
Some irritating gaps in the narrative: from leaving Jerusalem to standing in a French village, for example, a journey of months at the very least. And I'd've liked some detail on what happened to characters other than Balion.
Liberties taken with history, but I wouldn't have expected anything else. Looks lovely: kind of slow in places: worth seeing for (a) Edward Norton, (b) Greek Fire (or equivalent), (c) that mirage scene. Oh, and Fretwork (early music group) doing some of the soundtrack, a mix of medieval chansons and modern action-picture music a la Lord of the Rings.
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no subject
Date: Sunday, May 29th, 2005 01:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, May 29th, 2005 04:09 pm (UTC)If I were Scott, I'd've focussed on the boy who was knighted...