Customer Reviews

Crusaders

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I purchased this movie despite reading the negative reviews about it. I wasn't expecting Kingdom Of Heaven or stellar performances from it's actors. What I was expecting, at least, was (some) type of performance or a reasonable storyline. This movie delivers neither. During the first 20 minutes, I found it mildly entertaining and likened it to the old spaghetti westerns I used to watch. It even appeared to have a promising concept to it's plot. Unfortunately, the movie quickly fell apart after 20 minutes. Poor voiceovers aside, the acting was simply atrocious and the plot appeared to lose direction. The feigned emotions or total lack thereof, turned the already improbable scenes into a farce. What was the deal with the love triangle between Rachel, Peter and Andrew?! A Jewish woman who enters the Rabbinical studies under the guise of a man and, without any time allotted to aforethought, becomes embroiled in a love triangle between a Christian Crusader and half-muslim blacksmith?! I don't think so!!! Another example is Richard's enchantment with the relic of the true cross during the battle for Jerusalem. He was more like a zombie on Thorazine than a man possessed with religious conviction. That's not to mention his total lack of any semblance of vengence toward his beloved father's murder at the hands of his usurping uncle. One would have at least wrestled with the concept before choosing a path between peace or revenge. I understand that some things can get lost in translation but, so much more was lost here than the transition between two languages. I found the movie to be almost unbearable but I still watched it to the end, just so I could say I did. In closing I'd like to assert that I've seen High School plays that showed more ambition than this movie. The only saving grace this movie had was the performance by Peter's character which, (at times), showed some real potential. And, it's my understanding that these were some seasoned actors playing these parts. I would only recommend this movie as a, "Don't Just Take My Word For It", proof of concept.

Dissenting from my worthy fellow reviewers- I rate this movie a strong buy. Perhaps the print I purchased in March of 2010 had been redone. The dubbing was good and the print was great.
The movie is a must buy for those who love the Middle Ages and Crusades- a real 3 hour bargain.It realistically portrays two noble intentioned young friends who joined the Crusades, only to become disillusioned by the treachery and misdirected blood letting. They return home: sadder and wiser.
Battle scenes are really well done and accurate.Buy and enjoy! From the Producers of Augustus and Nero

If you want a good flick about the Crusades, get the director's cut of Kinddom of Heaven.

I'm amazed by all the bad reviews for this film. But I think I understand why. Everyone is saying the acting is really bad and there's no energy. Let me inform you, this was NOT filmed in English. I've watched the German version, the original version and it was just fine. When I listened to the English DUBBING, it was a bit lacking. But that's not the fault of the film or the actors, but whomever chose the voice-over actors. The same goes for the script wording. Whenever you watch a translated film, something gets a little lost.

Enough of an explanation. Now for the film's premise. Two peasants follow their deposed Frankish lord, to the Crusades. One is the bastard son of a Saracean, one a Norman and then the lord himself. They all have their own reasons for going on the Crusade and they all develop and change as they go through the battles. The lord and Norman are a little too idealistic at first, but soon learn the truths about war. The Saracean goes in search of his history and learns a few lessons as well.

There might be political themes relating to topics today, such as help the poor Jews and Armenians are evil, but the history portrayed isn't that far off. People were tricked by unscrupulous "allies" during the Crusades. The Crusaders also did attack indiscrimanently. Look at the sack of Byzantium. They were Christian allies, but the Crusaders wanted the gold so they attacked. That's history, not a farce. I also like how they showed the peaceful living conditions in Jersuleum before the Crusaders arrived. Remember, the Crusades were basically create to keep the Europeans from fighting amongst themselves. The Muslims were just an excuse. The peace in the Holy Land was also true. Early Muslim groups were not fanatical as people like to believe. Just as Christians before the growth of the Church's power, were not fanatics. This film portrays the human side of things. Not that a particular religion is right or wrong.

Again, give this film a try. It's annoying that the American actors who dubbed the voices couldn't put any energy into their acting, but that's not surprising. Americans tend not to be friendly towards foreign films and don't have high expectations of them, so why put in the effort? Even better, get the German version and read the subtitles. It's not hard and you'll get better acting.

whenever european makethe mvies they are more realistic with the original story not like the american as they tend to make fictional movies which are boring to watch

First of all make sure you can handle 3 1/2 hours of movie watching because that is what you get. As to the historical accuracy of this movie it has it's moments but I can't say for sure on all of it. This would have been more entertaining if it was a little shorter with some of the "trying to be real" left out. All in all if you want to know something about the crusades this will give you a sense of it.

After The Pope announced the crusade against the Saracens, in holy city of Jerusalem, thousands of Europeans who had nothing to loose in their country, went for this war. The story of this movie revolves around these facts yet.........

If you are looking for true stories about the Crusaders, good acting or good filming; my only advice is; stay away from this movie.

Try Kingdom of Heaven instead; the director's cut. There you have it all.