There’s been a lot of talk of director’s cuts lately. Ridley Scott has been touting a four-hour cut of Napolon coming this year and Zack Snyder is preparing R-rated director cuts for both parts of Rebel Moon. So that got me thinking of what must be one of the best director’s cuts ever assembled. Back when it was initially released in 2005, Kingdom of Heaven was a poorly received film and a flop in the North American market, earning almost $48 million against a $130 million budget. The star power of Orlando Bloom, fresh from Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean hype, and Ridley Scott, who saw a recent string of critical and commercial success with Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, was considered a failure. And rightly so, the theatrical cut just wasn’t that good. But a year later all that changed when the film was rereleased.

In case you have forgotten (and I wouldn’t hold it against you if you have),  Kingdom of Heaven is an epic historical directed by Ridley Scott set during the events of the Second Crusade. It follows the French blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom) as he fights for the people of Jerusalem. That’s the plot in a tiny nutshell as the film is very dense with history (embellished) and multiple characters, all played by great actors I might add too, from Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson, Edward Norton and David Thewlis.

Studios often cut their films to make them more appealing to a general audience rather than making a better overall film. Sometimes that means stepping on the vision of the writer and director. They will cut a three-hour film down to two if they believe it will result in more people paying to see it, as you can fit in more screenings in a day with a two-hour film, thus more profit. Three-hour films are a hard sell already due to the time commitment, so Fox Studios decided to trim around 45 minutes out of Kingdom of Heaven. That is a huge chunk of film being removed from the story and it honestly made a huge difference for the movie. The theatrical cut was in turn a poorly made film and currently sits at a 39% average on Rotten Tomatoes. The film had poor pacing, unclear character motivations, and plot holes galore.

Scott, thankfully, wasn’t done with the movie and decided it was time to put his magic touch to work by releasing a director’s cut of the film a year later. Director cuts can go either way, they either add a whole new layer to the film and enhance the overall experience, or deleted scenes get stuffed in for the sake of it, creating a viewing experience that’s either unfocused or bloated. Kingdom’s thankfully falls into the former. Of all the director cuts out there, this would surely be one of the best. In my opinion, it’s one of the top three ever made. It took a mediocre film and elevated it beyond expectations.

Scott reinstated many scenes into the film, so much so that the run time swells from 144 minutes to 190 minutes. In this cut, Balian is given clear motivations this time around for going to Jerusalem, creating a depth and reasoning not seen in the original cut. Without spoiling, the original motivation was to redeem the soul of his late wife, who died by suicide and thus is considered to be burning in hell. The director’s cut adds a complicated layer of darkness surrounding Balian and his family, creating a new reason and a new perspective on the character that ultimately creates a better character arc for him. Bloom does his best leading the film as Balian, but he’s definitely the weakest of the actors in the film. The supporting cast is far more interesting and the actors playing them feel that much more confident, especially Ed Norton and Eva Green.

Another rather large addition to the film is the entire subplot concerning Sibylla ( Green) and her son, who like her Kingly brother, is a leper. In the original cut of the movie, her son is barely referenced and has no real impact on the plot apart from pushing things along, but in this version of the film, he plays a critical role in how the narrative is shaped and completely changes the character arc for Sibylla. It justifies why she remains with her vile husband Guy de Lusignan (Martin Csokas) and the subsequent attacks on Jerusalem make so much more sense in this movie than in the original version. It’s honestly baffling why this subplot was taken out of the movie, as it changes everything about the story and a lot of the improvements to Kingdom of Heaven come from this story arc and the ramifications that come with it.

There are more additions to the plot that flesh out the world and characters, but I recommend watching the film and discovering for yourself. I wanted to note in conclusion that the director’s cut reinstates the violence that was neutered in the theatrical cut, showing a lot more blood and gore. Personally, I find that if a movie is about war, it should not shy away from the reality of it, thus violence is a necessary factor that elevates the world-building of the fiction, especially if a film has already secured an R-rating.

In short, this version of the film allows a lot more characterization to come through, creating a film that makes a lot more sense and also making it easier to become invested in these characters as we understand their motivations. Combine this with the fact that the film is a marvel of set design and costume, with a fantastic cast along with Scott’s epic scope and it’s crazy that the studio thought it was a good idea to trim so much of this movie down. Because this cut is a great movie, and the one we got on the big screen was kind of just, meh. So if that’s your only experience with this movie, I’d highly encourage a rewatch of this cut. You may be surprised.