Kingdom of Heaven

Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Safeguard the helpless, and do no wrong.

Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 epic historical drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Ghassan Massoud, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Iain Glen, Marton Csokas, Liam Neeson, Edward Norton, Michael Sheen, Velibor Topic and Alexander Siddig.

The story is set during the Crusades of the 12th century. A French village blacksmith goes to the aid of Kingdom of Jerusalem in its defence against the Ayyubid MuslimSultan, Saladin, who is fighting to claim the city from the Christians; this leads to the Battle of Hattin. The film script is a heavily fictionalised portrayal of the life of Balian of Ibelin (ca. 1143–93).

Filming took place in Ouarzazate, Morocco, where Scott had previously filmed Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, and in Spain, at the Loarre Castle (Huesca), Segovia, Ávila, Palma del Río and Casa de Pilatos in Sevilla. The film received mixed reviews upon theatrical release. On December 23, 2005, Scott released a director’s cut of the film, which received critical acclaim, with many reviewers calling it the definitive version of the film.

Cast and characters

Many of the characters in the film are fictionalised versions of historical figures:

• Orlando Bloom as Balian
• Eva Green as Sibylla
• Jeremy Irons as Tiberias
• David Thewlis as the Hospitaller
• Brendan Gleeson as Reynald
• Marton Csokas as Guy de Lusignan
• Edward Norton as King Baldwin
• Michael Sheen as Priest
• Liam Neeson as Godfrey
• Velibor Topic as Almaric
• Ghassan Massoud as Saladin
• Alexander Siddig as Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani
• Khaled Nabawy as Mullah
• Kevin McKidd as English Sergeant
• Jon Finch as Patriarch
• Ulrich Thomsen as Templar Master
• Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Village Sheriff
• Martin Hancock as Gravedigger
• Nathalie Cox as Balian’s Wife
• Eriq Ebouaney as Firuz
• Jouko Ahola as Odo
• Philip Glenister as Squire
• Bronson Webb as Apprentice
• Steven Robertson as Angelic Priest
• Iain Glen as Richard Coeur de Lion
• Angus Wright as Richard’s Knight