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Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

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Commentaries on this disc:

Commentary 1: Director Ridley Scott, screenwriter William Monahan, executive producer Lisa Ellzey, film editor Dody Dorn, visual effects supervisor Wes Sewell and first assistant director Adam Somner Rating:7.4/10 (9 votes) [graph]Login to vote or review
Reviewed by stuartbannerman on June 10th, 2006:Find all reviews by stuartbannerman
This is possibly a different commentery than the one listed. Well it definately is.The one on the Region 1 DC has Orlando Bloom, Ridley and Monahan talking us trough this huge production. Ridley Scott chat tracks are always amazing and this one is no different. Split over the 2 DVDs they chat for 190 minutes and pretty much tell us everything we needed to know about the film, about the historical period, and even the differences between the theatrical cut and this full 'Ridley-Cut'
highly recommended.
Reviewed by The Cubist on January 10th, 2008:Find all reviews by The Cubist
I would agree with above review that the Director's Cut commentary is the way to go. All three men talk about how they got involved in the film and what attracted them to the project. Orlando Bloom does a pretty good job of giving the perspective of an actor working on this large scale production and how intimidating it was to work with the likes of Liam Neeson. Ridley Scott talks about the differences between this longer version and the theatrical one, even addressing criticism leveled at the latter. He also does a great job explaining his approach to filmmaking. The only weak link is William Monahan who comes off as pretentious as he muses about how people didn’t “get” the film and how much he knows about the Crusades.
Reviewed by Pineapples101 on July 11th, 2011:Find all reviews by Pineapples101
This is actually three separate commentary tracks all of which are on the Directors Cut of Kingdom of Heaven.

¥ Track 1 - Director/Producer Ridley Scott, Writer William Monahan and Actor Orlando Bloom
As with all commentaries put together by frequent Ridley Scott collaborator - Charles de Lauzirika - this track is brilliantly entertaining. Covering all aspects of production from each participants separate point of view. Ridley Scott talks about and justifies his choices, making excellent arguments for his interpretation of historical events, Bloom covers his difficulties with being the leading man in such a huge production and Monahan explains the background and research process as well as his collaboration with Scott.
A fascinating track for a fascinating film.

¥ Track 2 - Executive Producer Lisa Ellzey, Visual Effects Supervisor Wesley Sewell and First Assistant Director Adam Somner
FX Supervisor Sewel and 1st AD Somner dominate this track and give superb insights into what it's like to work with a task master like Scott. Exec Producer Ellzey chips in from time to time with production tidbits, mainly to point out the monetary challenges the production faced. One point of interest - this track has more swearing in it than any other commentary track I have ever heard. Im a Brit myself but even I was surprised by just how many F@%*s 1st AD Somner could fit into his track.
Overall, another brilliant and highly entertaining track.

¥ Track 3 - Film Editor Dody Dorn
When I first approached this track, I wondered how a single person could hold my interest on a track for a film that's 192 minutes in length, I suspected a gap filled snorefest, but instead got a valuable insight into the editing process, especially valuable given Kingdom of Heavens multiple edits and studio interference. Along with fascinating editing insights, Dody Dorn talks at length her passion for the film as well as her need to remain detached from any onset politics in order to cut the film in a totally unbiased way.
A surprisingly fascinating commentary track.