Line #19 Awesome/KingdomOfHeaven


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kingdom_of_heaven_screencap_jerusalem_has_come.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''[[EpicMovie "Tell my lord Saladin that Jerusalem has come."]]'']]
3	* A few unsavory characters are executed unceremoniously as angelic choral pieces play in the background.
4
5	* Meanwhile, in ''Kingdom of Heaven''...
6	-->'''Balian:''' What is Jerusalem worth?
7	-->'''Salahadin:''' Nothing. (turns to walk away, looks back, and smiles in triumph) ''[[ByNoIMeanYes Everything]].''
8	* Making the scene even more awesome is the conversation before that, when Salahadin promised that he would give safe passage to every Christian citizen of Jerusalem.
9	-->'''Balian:''' When the Christians took this city, they butchered every Muslim living within these walls.
10	-->'''Salahadin:''' I am ''not'' those men. I am ''Salahadin''. '''Salahadin'''.
11	** His emphasis on his name plays into this through a BilingualBonus. Salah a-din is actually a nickname meaning "Righteousness of the Faith". He sets himself apart from the Christians who first took Jerusalem by claiming his righteousness is because his faith tells him to be, not by virtue of it.
12	* "SIIILLLEEEEEEENNNNCE!" Because Tiberius can be a badass without ever pulling out his sword.
13	* ''"Assemble the army!"'' Despite being a weak and dying leper, Baldwin declares it with the strength and confidence of a king who is worthy of his position.
14	** In contrast, Guy sounds pathetic and flaccid when he says it, despite being DrunkWithPower. When Baldwin says it the first time, his strength of character makes Guy sound like an angry child.
15	* The king, Baldwin IV: "I ''am'' Jerusalem. And you, Reynauld, will give me the kiss of peace."
16	** Context makes this more of a brutal rebuke and thus more awesome: Baldwin is a leper since his youth; the hand he demands the villain kisses is covered with bleeding sores.
17	*** Made even more awesome that he beats the snot out of Reynauld afterward, even though it pushes his body too far.
18	* Balian gets surrounded by three Templars working for Guy disguised as Teutonic Knights. Two of them are mounted, they all got shields and helmets, and his sword is too far away from his reach. He beats the crap out of one with a ''rock'' to the helmet, then uses a pottery shard to kill another, the first guy gets thrown to the ground and then stepped on the neck to kill him. The third gives him a hard time until he lets his guard down. Balian stabs him in the head with his own dagger meant to puncture armor.
19	* ''Rise a Knight!'' Especially the moment when the Bishop of Jerusalem asks, "Does making a man a knight make him a better fighter?" and Balian looks around at the renewed sense of purpose and confidence in the men around him, turns, and says simply, [[BluntYes "Yes."]]
20	* From the extended edition - the Balian vs Guy duel ends with a classic SwordOverHead. Guy, injured and on his knees, demands a finishing blow. Instead...
21	-->'''Balian:''' When you rise again - if you rise - [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre rise a knight]].
22	* Saladin slashing JerkAss Reynauld's throat after taking a cup of water meant for Guy.
23	--> "A king does not kill a king. Were you not close enough to a great king, to learn by his example?"
24	* The entire [[TheSiege siege]] of UsefulNotes/{{Jerusalem}} at the end. The city's badly outnumbered defenders hold off the Saracens for several days thanks to Balian's strategy and the morale boost given by {{knighting}} every soldier within the walls. It's perhaps the most impressive siege ever put to film outside of the Creator/OrlandoBloom-starring ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy.
25	** Balian retakes a captured tower on his own and throws a Saracen banner down the ramparts.
26	** The use of ballistas and counterweights to cause the siege towers to fall including one that takes out another placed too close to it which Saladin answers with a face that says "NotBad".
27	** The LastStand once the wall is breached.
28	* When Saladin walks around the city of Jerusalem, he stops when he sees a Christian cross which has been knocked to the floor during the siege. He picks it up and respectfully places it back on the altar.
29	** The final sequence with Saladin, after his victory. He walks on rose-petals into the Dome of the Rock as Crusader banners fall from the ceiling. His servants and soldiers all bow and turn to leave, leaving him alone. Saladin bows in prayer as the doors close behind him.
30	* The arrival of the Crusader army at Kerak, with the Cross appearing on the horizon, followed by thousands of men with Baldwin himself at their front.
31	-->'''Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani''': ''[to a Saracen messenger]'' Tell my lord Saladin that Jerusalem has come.
32	* Before this, Balian and his men (who can't number more than two dozen at best) taking on the whole of Saladin's cavalry to buy time for the civilians outside Kerak to reach safety behind the castle walls.
33	* Saladin shutting down the annoyed mullah who comes to him demanding to know why he did not attack Kerak.
34	-->'''Mullah:''' ''(after demanding to know why Saladin has retreated from a fight)'' Why did you retire? Why? God did not favour him. God alone determines the results of battles.\
35	'''Saladin''': The results of battles are determined by God...[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome but also by numbers, preparation, the absence of disease and the availability of water. One cannot maintain a siege with the enemy behind]]. How many battles did God win for the Muslims before I came? That is, before God determined I should come.\
36	'''Mullah''': Few enough. That's because we were sinful\
37	'''Saladin''': ''[scoffs]'' It is because you were unprepared.\
38	'''Mullah''': If you think that way, you will not be king for long.\
39	'''Saladin:''' [[BadassBoast When I am not king, I quake for Islam.]] ({{beat}}) Thank you for your visit.
40	** Saladin's BadassBoast also carries with it a very palpable RealLife subtext. Upon Saladin's death, the previously-united and enlightened nations under Islam quickly devolved into infighting and squabbling which made them easy prey for the Mamluks. In addition, Saladin's death sowed the seeds of the fundamentalist takeover that has kept the greater part of the Middle East stuck in the seventh century in terms of cultural and moral values which in turn has brought nothing but sorrow for all regardless of their religion and has painted Islam as being the most violent, xenophobic, insane, and least religiously tolerant of the 3 Abrahamic religions to where the positives have been effectively drowned out.
41	** He carries the theme of the above further before the famous "Nothing, everything" line. When Balian threatens to burn Jerusalem to the ground, including all the holy places of all faiths - "[[AppleOfDiscord everything that drives men mad]]", Saladin has a thoughtful moment on the cause of the fighting.
42	---> '''Saladin:''' I wonder if it would not be better if you did.
43	*** In Islam it’s required to prostrate oneself in the direction of the Kaaba in the city of Mecca at least five times per day (although it’s not actually mandatory for pragmatic reasons). Saladin’s above comment also could mean something even deeper as Christians don’t need a physical place to even worship something Saladin believes that Islam should acquire.
44	* In the fight between Godfrey's men and the Sheriff's forces the German Knight goes down pretty quickly with an arrow to the throat. This doesn't stop him. He gets back up and proceeds slaughter a few of the Sheriff's men before another two arrows send him to the ground.
45	** There's also the Hospitaller dealing with the enemy archers on the far side of the river. He grabs onto a panicking horse, clinging to its side so the archers won't see him, then once he's across, pulls himself into the saddle and goes on the attack.
46
47	* The shot of Messina with the music [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf_Hob93mNM Crusaders]] almost resembles Renaissance painting.

Context Awesome / KingdomOfHeaven