Customer Reviews

Kingdom of Heaven: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook)

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"Kingdom of Heaven" is one of my favorite films, with luscious cinematography, glorious music, a good story with political intrigue and a historical perspective combines for a gritty and realistic portrayal of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. "Kingdom of Heaven: The Ridley Scott Film and the History Behind the Story" is a behind the scenes look at the making of this epic Crusader film.

The book consists of 11 chapters, arranged in two parts, as well as a foreword by Ridley Scott. Part One, "Kingdoms in the Holy Land" discusses the history of the crusades, story development and pre-production. Despite the book's subtitle, the history chapter is very lightweight, and is unlikely to satisfy many readers interested in the Crusades. However, the book does provide a further reading section, which includes The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades (Oxford Illustrated Histories), likely to be one of the better available resources on the Crusades. Part Two of the book, entitled "Swords and Stones", brings Balian's story to life by delving into the actual production of the film, with chapters on working on location ("Kingdom of Heaven" was mainly filmed in Morocco and Spain), the script, costumes, set and armour design (one of the more interesting chapters) as well as post-production.

It is accepted that Scott took certain liberties with history in making "Kingdom of Heaven". Such liberties are usually necessary for cinematic reasons and for audience clarity, and these, and the reasoning for this, are mentioned. For example, characters' names and, in some cases characterisations of an individual, may diverge from their historical counterparts. Such examples are discussed in the chapter on casting, "Casting the Kingdom", which is another one of the more interesting chapters of the book. It makes one appreciate the difficulties that filmmakers face in bringing a story based on real people to the big screen.

Lavishly illustrated with stills from behind (and in front of) the camera, conceptual art and sketches, as well as some contemporary artwork (mainly in the history chapter), this makes a good companion piece to accompany the film.

The latest entry in the acclaimed "Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook" series, Kingdom Of Heaven: The Ridley Scott Film And The History Behind The Story is the definitive film documentary of "Kingdom of Heaven", the large-scale historical epic about the Crusades that pitted the forces of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem against the armies of the Saracen general Saladin. Directed by Ridley Scale and starring Orlando Bloom, the commentary is in two major parts: "Kingdoms in the Holy Land: The Crusades and the Film Story" and "Swords and Stones: How Kingdom of Heaven Was Made". This informative guide to the film and its making is enthusiastically recommended for fans of the film, as well as professional, academic, and community library Cinematic Studies reference collections.

I already saw this movie three times. It's sooooo amazing. The book has lots of beautiful pictures and interesting information about the movie.
For everybody who loves the movie, this book is a must have. And of course the screenplay which is coming out in june.

If you enjoyed Gladiator you should love Kingdom of Heaven. It has all the thrills and color and then some...and it's far more authentic. This is an epic film filled with color and colorful characters. This book points out the details and should really be inspiring to up and coming film makers. The use of flags and banners is especially strong. I think you'll learn a lot more about the Art of film making from this book, a superb collection. Try it!