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A millennium ago, Christian knights and princes descended
on the Holy Land to take back Jerusalem from Muslim conquerors,
setting off a bitter struggle whose effects are still felt
today. Ridley Scott's movie, Kingdom of Heaven, is
set during that 200 year collision between Europe and the
East - at a time when the Christian King Baldwin IV and the
Saracen general Saladin forged a brief truce amid the carnage
of the Crusades.
Drawn
into this immense drama is the young French blacksmith Balian
(Orlando Bloom), who becomes a reluctant Crusader yet a true
knight. Sword to serve the king and uphold this fragile 'kingdom
of heaven', Balian is torn between knightly honour and his
love for the king's sister. Sibylla (Eva Green). And when
Jerusalem faces its greatest peril, he must use all his wits
and courage to defend it against staggering odds.
This
companion book, illustrated with more than 200 photos, drawings
and Ridley Scott's own storyboards, documents every side of
this landmark production; the massive sets, fabulous costumes,
and period weapons, the depiction of medieval warfare of a
scale never before seen. But it also delves into the details
of storycrafting that give Kingdom of Heaven its solid
historical grounding, and features a lively primer of the
Crusades hat will expand readers' appreciation of both the
film an the history behind it.
This
book is great as movie companions go, but it does have quite
a restrictive audience. I think you're only likely to buy
this if A: you are a film nut, B: you are obsessed with Orlando
Bloom, C: you're into history or D: you're into religion.
Having
said that though, this book is very informative in many aspects,
both in terms of the history behind the film as well as making
it. It's broken up into lots of different sections, explaining
about various groups of the time, knighting ceremonies etc.
and then also how much time and effort the crew put into creating
a feature which was as historically correct as possible.
Also
great is the artwork. A mixture of ancient paintings, storyboards,
sketches and photographs, they really add to the book. Then
for the film fans, a section is dedicated to the casting of
the film and how the team chose who would play each character
(a good section of Orlando pics girls!)
With
many other sections dedicated to weapons of the time, clothes,
film making etc., sure this isn't a book for everyone, but
for anyone with an interest in history, a passion for films,
or just a love for one of its characters or crew, then this
companion is great!
Keri
Allan
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