History Film / KingdomOfHeaven

''Kingdom of Heaven'' is a film directed by RidleyScott and starring OrlandoBloom, Eva Green, JeremyIrons,DavidThewlis, BrendanGleeson, Ghassan Massoud, LiamNeeson, and EdwardNorton.

''Kingdom of Heaven'' is a film directed by RidleyScott and starring OrlandoBloom, Eva Green, JeremyIrons, Ghassan Massoud, LiamNeeson, and EdwardNorton.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Balian returns to his old home with the Queen of Jerusalem as his wife, and managed to keep the people and men under his command from being annihilated by the Saracens, but {{Richard the Lionheart}} starts another crusade that is doomed to fail, and as the ending text reminds us, ItGotWorse.]]

-->'''Baldwin:''' When I was sixteen I won a great victory... now I know I shall not see thirty. None of us know our end really... A King may move a man... but remember that [[OurSoulsAreDifferent your soul]] is in your keeping alone. Even though those who move you be kings or men of power... When you stand before God, you cannot say "but I was told by ''others'' to do thus" or that "virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice.

* BreakTheHaughty: King Guy de Lusignan, after he is defeated by Saladin and paraded naked on a donkey. The director's cut reveals that it actually didn't work; Guy still tried to kill Balian, and was again defeated in a duel by Balian (who [[SaveTheVillain spares his life]].

* EveryoneIsSexierIfFrench: Sybilla is played by the [[ButNotTooForeign French-British]] EvaGreen.

* FatBastard: Reynauld [[CompleteMonster and how]]

* FreakierThanFiction: [[CompleteMonster Reynauld de Chatillon's]] barbarism and exploits were actually ''toned down'' for the movie. See Reality Is Unrealistic, below.

* DidNotDoTheResearch:
** There are a few [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Heaven_(film)#Historical_accuracy inaccuracies]] that made historians of the crusades [[YouFailHistoryForever cringe]].
** Problems with the portrayal of swordmanship: Balian is told never to use a low guard. This is despite the fact that the "Fool's Guard" (where the sword is low and pointed down) is an excellent starting position for countering techniques. In contrast, holding the sword in high guard means it can't block most strokes. Godfrey also calls the high guard "poste dei falcone", a term that didn't appear until the Italian fighting manual of Fillipo Vadi which date to the 1480s.

** Doubly subverted when Balian's father Godfrey is wounded by an arrow in the side. He shrugs off the wound, but it gradually poisons him to death. The same happens with one of Godfrey's warriors who is able to fight on competently with an ''arrow through his neck'', but dies shortly after.

* Played more straight with this:

* YouFailHistoryForever: For reasons too numerous to list here. See discussion page. Put briefly there was a man named Balian of Ibelin married to a Queen of Jerusalem and there was a King and Queen of Jerusalem named Guy de Lusignan and Sibylla but other than that, there ain't much here to make the history nuts happy. [[YourMileageMayVary Some people]] [[TropesAreNotBad however, do still]] [[RuleOfCool consider this a solid movie, especially the director's cut]]

* MightyWhitey: [[YourMielageMayVary To some,]] the scene where Balian, fresh from Europe, has to teach a bunch of lifelong desert-dwellers how to dig a well.

* [[spoiler:ScrewThis,I'mOuttaHere: Tiberius and his knights after Guy's forces get annihilated]]

* YouSee,I'mDying: King Baldwin, due to his bad case of leprosy.

** Also OrlandoBloom playing someone who participates in a desperate last stand against an encroaching army. [[Film/LordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers wonder where we've seen that one before?]]

* CoolMask/MaskPower: King Baldwin's mask. Hey, if you have to hide your disease-ridden face, at least do it in style.

* [[spoiler:ScrewThisI'mOuttaHere: Tiberius and his knights after Guy's forces get annihilated]]

* YouSeeI'mDying: King Baldwin, due to his bad case of leprosy.

* ArtisticLicense: The [[HollywoodHistory liberties]] the film takes with history are all done in service to the film's [[{{Anvilicious}} central message]], but given that this message boils down to "Can't we all just get along?", it's a shame.

* BittersweetEnding: Balian returns to his old home with the Queen of Jerusalem as his wife. {{Richard the Lionheart}} starts another crusade that is doomed to fail, but Balian is able to stay home this time. The ending text reminds us that ItGotWorse.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Subverted, since the hideous leper King Baldwin is a good guy and a competent ruler (and has a CoolMask).

* CorruptChurch: Almost all members of the Catholic hierarchy are villains or [[JerkAss jerks]]. The one major aversion is the Hospitaller. The director's cut also featured a scene with a fairly sympathetic bishop who [[{{Anvilicious}} stated]] that "Much is done in Christendom of which Christ would be incapable."

* FreakierThanFiction: Reynauld de Chatillon's barbarism and exploits were actually ''toned down'' for the movie. See Reality Is Unrealistic, below.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Like most of the other characters, the historical Balian of Ibelin wasn't above political maneuvering for power (also, he wasn't a bastard whose father happened to be important, but rather a prominent nobleman of the time). Baldwin of Jerusalem is portrayed as an outright pacifist; in reality he was, [[HandicappedBadass despite his handicap]], a strong warrior not afraid to go lead his forces into battle, as long he was able to do so.

** Guy's forces depart against Balian's advice to not go to war away from water. ''Immediately'' afterwards, they start to slump down and die of thirst. [[TruthInTelevision Which is basically what happened historically with a forced march during the day in armor with a battle at the end of it]], and the film is [[{{Anvilicious}} not subtle]] about it.

* KnightInShiningArmor: Balian's crew.

* MaskPower: Nice metal mask, King Baldwin.

* MightyWhitey: To some, the scene where Balian, fresh from Europe, has to teach a bunch of lifelong desert-dwellers how to dig a well.

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: The good guy westerners had world views closer to modern day secular humanism than anything period correct (though they are recognizably Christian) and the clergy all belong to a CorruptChurch. The Muslims are mostly ambiguous on this regard.

* SaveTheVillain: Balian's attitude toward Guy.

* TheSiege: The climax of the movie, the siege of Jerusalem.

* TheStarscream: Reynauld and Guy to Baldwin.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[DeathByOriginStory Balian's wife]] and [[BadassBookworm king]] [[IronWoobie Baldwin]].

* YouFailHistoryForever: For reasons too numerous to list here. See discussion page. Put briefly there was a man named Balian of Ibelin married to a Queen of Jerusalem and there was a King and Queen of Jerusalem named Guy de Lusignan and Sibylla but other than that....

* HollywoodHistory: Depends on what version you see: The Crusades were a cynical land grab by European second sons dressed up in religious sophistries, and the film makes a pretty good case of communicating that through the contempt of the main characters for the fanatics and glory seekers. The real situation was of course more complex, as both societies were feudal and had their own internal strife and cross-alliances, [[http://www.juancole.com/2005/05/ridley-scotts-kingdom-of-heaven-i-saw.html as suggested here]].
** Only a few characters actually view it as a religious war at all, and the major characters (except Guy and Reynold) on both sides clearly have little respect for this outlook. And Guy is mostly an ambitious noble and Raynald is mostly a psycopathic maniac, so their professed religious commitment is...questionable.

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Balian is a skilled blacksmith, siege engineer and silversmith, and also an experienced soldier. He is somewhere in his late 20s.
** Peasants didn't live very long in the Middle Ages; some married as young as fourteen. Balian is highly skilled, but his age isn't that ridiculous.
** It's possible, if he was apprenticed as a blacksmith for most of his youth, fought in feudal battles as a young man and picked up siegecraft there before returning. Of course, the historical Balian wasn't a blacksmith in the first place, but...
*** Being competent is one thing, but being superior to these lifelong soldiers is far more questionable. This was not like today when you learn to fight with a rifle in 15 weeks, people trained ''[[http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/steps-to-knighthood.htm since boyhood]]'' to master sword fighting in order to be capable of fighting other nobles.
*** The film also starts in 1183/1184 (not that this is immediately obvious) and Jerusalem fell in mid 1187, meaning he almost certainly had some practice in between.
** Reynauld commanded a ''pirate fleet'' in real life in addition to his other exploits.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: While the real Balian, unsurprisingly, was not an upwardly-mobile blacksmith, this trope certainly applies by the sheer number of critics of the film who thought the ''whole'' tale was made up, and that the various characters did not exist! [[note]]They do, however, turn out to be the usual [[AristocratsAreEvil wealthy and conniving nobles, just like every other named figure who has survived mention from that era.[[/note]] In fact, others have criticized the movie for not telling the real life version of events on the grounds that it is ''more'' interesting, unusual and dramatic than the plot we see in the film. The movie makes no mention or use of, for example, Reynald commanding a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot fleet of pirate ships]] that threatened to burn Mecca; or the prior relationship between Balian and Saladin when Balian was captured in the Battle of Hattin and then released on condition he would promise not to defend Jerusalem; but, upon seeing how how defenseless the city was, Balian sent a letter to Saladin and asked him to relieve him of his promise, to which Saladin complied.

** Guy's forces depart against Balian's advice to not go to war away from water. [[{{Anvilicious}} Immediately]] afterwards, they start to slump down and die of thirst. [[TruthInTelevision Which is basically what happened historically with a forced march during the day in armor with a battle at the end of it.]]

* OneSceneWonder: Edward Norton aka King Baldwin, despite his very limited screen time, [[EnsembleDarkhorse is arguably the best thing in the film.]] ''Double points'' for [[MaskPower wearing a mask his entire part]], limiting acting instruments to voice and gestures.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Arguably, the RealLife version of events is more interesting and unusual than the version we see in the film. Some even criticized the movie for not telling the more-dramatic tale, such as when Reynald commanded a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot fleet of pirate ships]] that threatened to burn Mecca; or the prior relationship between Balian and Saladin when he was captured in the Battle of Hattin and then released.
** Saladin released him only on condition he would promise not go back and defend Jerusalem, whereupon seeing how defenseless the city was, Balian went back to Saladin and asked him to relieve him of his promise, and Saladin complied. Only three knights remained in the city, which is why the mass knighting took place.
** This trope certainly applies, however, by the sheer number of critics of the film who thought the whole tale was made up, and that the various characters did not exist! [[hottip:** :(They do, however, turn out to be the usual [[AristocratsAreEvil wealthy and conniving nobles]], just like every other named figure who has survived mention from that era. Balian was not really an upwardly-mobile blacksmith. But the filmmakers got the ''politics'' right, for the most part.)]]

* RichardTheLionHeart: cameo scene.

** some might say this had something to do with the fact his ARM WAS BROKEN in the fight the previous day

* TheStarscream: Reynauld and Guy.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth : [[DeathByOriginStory Balian's wife]] and [[BadassBookworm king]] [[IronWoobie Baldwin]].

** To the credit of the real Sibylla and Balian, neither of them ran away to Europe but stayed to try to salvage what they could. Balian succeeded, Sibylla failed.

** Saladin and Balian in RealLife.

** Arguably, ButItReallyHappened mixed in with AluminumChristmasTrees and a bit of HollywoodHistory. The actual story is similar and even [[FreakierThanFiction more interesting]], but Balian was less of a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]] in real life and more of an ActionSurvivor; see Reality Is Unrealistic, above.

* GorgeousPeriodDress: as indicated by the box art.

* IAmTheNoun: Used by King Baldwin as a PreAssKickingOneLiner

** Later used as an IronicEcho by Guy after he becomes king.
* IBangedYourMom: A medieval variant.

* ItsUpToYou: There were only three knights left in the city, hence it fell to Balian to defend Jerusalem.
** [[FreakierThanFiction This part is true]], apparently, hence the mass knighting.
* KnightInShiningArmor: Balian's crew. [-"These people are defenseless..." "We cannot attack that and live." "Are you with me?"-]

* [[{{Knighting}} Knighting Ceremony]]: When the bishop complains that they have no knights to defend Jerusalem, Balian knights ''every soldier'' in the walls. This incident happened in real life, too.

** It's possible to see in the movie as well: watch as Balian declares them knights, and they all stand up a little straighter, raise their heads a little higher. It goes unsaid, but what Balian does is give them ''pride'' in the coming battle: they have something to fight for, other than fighting for someone else's reason.

* MeaningfulEcho: Godfrey's knighting speech to Balian, and "Your quality will be known among your enemies, before ever you meet them."
** Balian quotes back King Baldwin's chess speech.
* MeaningfulName: Reynaud is old French [[CunningLikeAFox name for "Fox"]] ([[AKindOfOne via memetic mutation]] from a popular [[TricksterArchetype folklore character]]).
** Tiberias is modeled on a marshal of Jerusalem who was lord of the city of Tiberias.
** Godfrey of Ibelin is named after Godfrey of Bouillon, a famous leader of the First Crusade who was also the [[HeroicSociopath complete opposite]] [[BloodKnight sort of character]].
*** Godfrey was also rather more like the real Balian.

** They were notably already set up with an agricultural style that required it. It seems his like contribution was a better distribution system in the Directors Cut.
* MrFanservice: While there are a fair number of fairly attractive male examples from the mostly male cast who run the gambit of young to old, Balian who appears shirtless in at least one scene is a shoe-in as an example because after all he is [[TheLordOfTheRings Legolas]].
** Actually, in this movie he looks more like [[PiratesOfTheCaribbean Will Turner.]]

** Both religions are trashed pretty thoroughly in the process.
*** While the agnostic protagonist ends up as a hero.
** Religions are not trashed, only the guys who use them for power and greed.

* {{Badass}}: Godfrey of Ibelin.
** "I once fought for three days with an arrow through my left testicle..."
** Saladin. "I am ''not'' '''those''' men. I am Salah ad-Din. [[SayMyName Salah ad-Din]]."

** In {{real life}}, al Qaeda regard this as a war that has never stopped since the first western invasion of the Arab lands. They have a point.
** They would have had if it weren't the Arabs who invaded Levant that previously belonged to Eastern Roman Empire.

* BreakTheHaughty: King Guy de Lusignan, after he is defeated by Saladin and paraded naked on a donkey.
** It's shown to not work in the director's cut. He tries to kill Balian while they're getting ready to leave Jerusalem, and Balian beats him in a duel, then [[SaveTheVillain spares his life]].

* CorruptChurch: Practically every member of the Catholic hierarchy is a villain.
** And if they're not an outright villain, they're kind of a [[JerkAss jerk]].
** The Bishop at the start of the Director's Cut seems fairly sympathetic, a shame he is only in one scene. Then again, he actually flat-out says "Much is done in Christendom of which Christ would be incapable."
* DidNotDoTheResearch: Yes, that's right. Always hold your sword in high guard where it can't block most strokes, plus a few other [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Heaven_(film)#Historical_accuracy inaccuracies]] that made historians of the crusades [[YouFailHistoryForever cringe]].
** Balian is told never to use a low guard. This is despite the fact that the "Fool's Guard" is an excellent starting position for countering techniques. In this guard, not only is your sword low, it is also pointed down.
** Not to mention that the name of the aforementioned high guard, "Poste dei falcone", is a term that wont even appear until the Italian fighting manual of Fillipo Vadi which date to the 1480s; MUCH later than the time period the film takes place in. Granted, the fighting style and its terminology may very well have been the same 300 years earlier, but there is no evidence to support such a claim.
*** Arguable either way. Chances are that the basic guards and techniques were in use since the early medieval period, with the combat manuals codifying such techniques and contributing more advanced techniques.

* EvilRedhead: Reynauld de Chatillon

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Like most of the other characters, the historical Balian of Ibelin wasn't above political maneuvering for power (also, he wasn't a bastard whose father happened to be important, but rather a prominent nobleman of the time). Baldwin of Jerusalem is portrayed as a peace-loving king in reality he was, [[HandicappedBadass despite his handicap]], a strong warrior not afraid to go lead his forces into battle when the opportunity arose.
** With Baldwin this side of his personality is mentioned in the movie; he fondly remembers defeating Saladin's forces as a teenager. His interest for peace probably goes hand in hand with his increasing physical frailty.

* HollywoodTactics: A strong aversion - characters that advocate a simple outlook on battle are criticized and easily defeated. Saladin even spells it out when one of his advisors asks why he withdrew from a battle where he had superior numbers but a weak position.
** The aversion manages to get {{Anvilicious}}, when immediately after Guy's forces depart against Balian's advice about not going off to war away from water, they start to slump down and die of thirst. [[TruthInTelevision Which is basically what happened historically with a forced march during the day in armor with a battle at the end of it.]] [[TooDumbToLive Yeah...]]
* HonorBeforeReason: "You go to certain death!" "All death is certain."

** [[spoiler: What little bit of honor Guy possesses compels him to challenge Balain to a revenge duel instead of literally backstabbing him. He pokes Balain with the hilt of a broadsword to make the challenge.]]

* AnnoyingArrows: Subverted, in that Balian's father Godfrey is wounded by an arrow in the side. He shrugs off the wound, but it gradually poisons him to death. One warrior is able to fight competently with an ''arrow through his neck'' but dies shortly after.
** Then there's this...

* ArmorIsUseless: Averted. During the Siege of Jerusalem, Balian gets cut on arm and gets a nasty scar, but without the mail he was wearing his whole arm would've been cut off.
** Balian and his knights avert this hard at the Battle of Kerak where their heavy chain mail and shields lead to them killing far more in a dozens-to-one battle than they would have any right to (and in Balian's case, surviving several blows well enough to fight at Jerusalem later).

** In {{real life}}, al Qaeda regard this as a war that has never stopped since the first western invasion of the arab lands. They have a point.

*** Arguable either way. Chances are that the basic guards and techniques were in use since the early medieval period, with the combat manuals codifying such techniques and contributing more advanced techniques.

* MrFanservice: While there are a fair number of fairly attractive male examples from the mostly male cast who run the gambit of young to old, Balian who appears shirtless in at least one scene is a shoe-in as an example because after all he is [[TheLordOfTheRings Legolas]].
** Actually, in this movie he looks more like [[PiratesOfTheCaribbean Will Turner.]]