Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
213,897
edits
Kingdom of Heaven: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
(quote cleanup) |
No edit summary |
||
| (3 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 11:
{{tropelist}}
* [[Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene]]: Many, especially one-on-one scenes between Balian and, variously, Godfrey, the Hospitaller, King Baldwin, Sybilla, and Imad.
* [[Actor Allusion]]: Liam Neeson as a knight? [[Excalibur (film)|Where have we seen]] [[The Phantom Menace|that before]]?
* [[Angel Unaware]]: [[No Name Given|The Hospitaller]] is implied, especially by [[Word of God]], to be this, though we do see {{spoiler|his severed head later on}}.
Line 32:
* [[Break the Haughty]]: 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 [[Save the Villain|spares his life]].
* [[Beauty Equals Goodness]]: Subverted, since the hideous leper King Baldwin is a good guy and a competent ruler (and has a [[Cool Mask]]).
* [[California Doubling]]: Huesca, Spain stands for France, Seville stands for Jerusalem, and Morocco stands for any exterior shot in the Holy Land.
* [[Cherubic Choir]]
Line 40:
** 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."
* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: Yes, that's right. Always hold your sword in high guard where it can't block most strokes, plus a few other [[wikipedia:Kingdom of Heaven (film)#Historical accuracy|inaccuracies]] that made historians of the crusades [[You Fail History Forever|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.
* [[Dramatic Unmask]]: When Sibylla takes off her brother's mask {{spoiler|after he dies}}.
* [[Dull Surprise]]: Orlando Bloom as Balian. Even when murdering a priest in the heat of the moment, his facial expression is best described as "mild curiosity". It works, however, since Balian was so beaten down at that point that he just didn't give a damn anymore.
* [[Epic Movie]]: Cast of thousands, enormous siege, Crusader epic...
* [[Mr. Fanservice]]: 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 [[The Lord of the Rings|Legolas]].
Line 58:
* [[Handicapped Badass]]: Baldwin IV certainly qualifies. As a leper, he defeated Saladin in battle at ''16''.
* [[Hero of Another Story]]: Godfrey went from being a minor French Lord to a Baron in the Holy Land, gathering such a reputation that his son's mere existence merits an audience with kings. He also somehow somehow gathers a party including a German, a Hospitaller, and a ''Moor''. All we ever hear of how he achieved this is that he almost killed Saladin in Damscus.
* [[Historical Hero Upgrade]]: 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, [[Handicapped Badass|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.
* [[Hollywood History]]: 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.
* [[Hollywood Tactics]]: 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. [[Truth in Television|Which is basically what happened historically with a forced march during the day in armor with a battle at the end of it.]] [[Too Dumb to Live|Yeah...]]
* [[Honor Before Reason]]: "You go to certain death!" "All death is certain."
Line 72:
{{quote|'''Guy''': "If I had fought you when you were still capable of making bastards..."
'''Godfrey''': "I [[Get Thee to a Nunnery|knew]] your mother when she was making hers. Fortunately you're too old to be one of mine." }}
* [[I Owe You My Life]]: Nasir to Balian. Balian doesn't accept it.
* [[Ill Boy]]: King Baldwin, whose face is disfigured due to leprosy. {{spoiler|His nephew, as well}}.
* [[Improbable Age]]: [[Truth in Television]], modern expectations aside. While the real Balain was much older, it's not at all implausible for someone in their mid-twenties to be highly experienced and competent in war in the the 12th Century. Baldwin IV ''did'' assume the throne at the age of 13 - and almost immediately went off to raid around Damascus and otherwise fight Saladin.
* [[Ironic Echo]]: "God wills it!"
* [[It's Up To You]]: There were only three knights left in the city, hence it fell to Balian to defend Jerusalem.
Line 80:
* [[Knight in Shining Armor]]: Balian's crew. <small>"These people are defenseless..." "We cannot attack that and live." "Are you with me?"</small>
* [[Knight in Sour Armor]]: Tiberias, literally.
* [[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.
* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]
* [[Magic Feather]]: The mass knighting.
Line 88:
* [[Mask Power]]: Nice metal mask, King Baldwin.
* [[Meaningful Echo]]: 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.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Reynaud is old French [[Cunning Like a Fox|name for "Fox"]] ([[A Kind of One|via memetic mutation]] from a popular [[Trickster Archetype|folklore character]]).
** Tiberias is modeled on a marshal of Jerusalem who was lord of the city of Tiberias.
Line 97:
* [[Necessarily Evil]]: Raynald seems to think of himself this way. "I am what I am. Someone has to be."
* [[Never Accepted in His Hometown]]: Saladin had recognition problems at home, not to mention unhappy nobles to contend with, and died a pauper after giving all his wealth to charity.
* [[Nightmare Face]]: The King of Jerusalem, with his [[Cool Mask|mask]] off.
* [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot]]: 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.
Line 109:
* [[One-Woman Wail]]: Although the [[Cherubic Choir]] is more prominent.
* [[Pirates Who Don't Do Anything]]: The crusader armies during the truce.
{{quote|'''Hospitaller:''' These men are [[The Knights Templar|Templars]]... They killed Arabs.
'''Balian:''' So they are being executed for what the Pope would have them do?
'''Hospitaller:''' But not Jesus, I think... [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|Or this king]]. }}
* [[Politically-Correct History]]: 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 [[Corrupt Church]]. The Muslims are mostly ambiguous on this regard.
Line 117:
* [[Pretext for War]]: The reason why Guy releases Reynald once Guy becomes King.
* [[Rape Discretion Shot]]: Reynald's rape and murder of Saladin's sister is presented this way. To wit: he approaches her from a distance. She asks him if he knows who she is, and he replies 'yes' before ripping the veil from her face before the scene cuts away.
* [[Reality Is Unrealistic]]: Arguably, the [[Real Life]] 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 [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|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! <ref>(They do, however, turn out to be the usual [[Aristocrats Are Evil|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.)</ref>
* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: Baldwin IV and Saladin.
* [[
* [[Richard the Lion Heart]]: cameo scene.
* [[Say My Name]]: REYNALD DE CHATILLION!
* [[Save the Villain]]: Balian's attitude toward Guy.
* [[Scenery Porn]]: Ridley Scott had an admitted fetish for fluttering flags in this film. Thousands of them.
* [[Shields Are Useless]]: When {{spoiler|the walls of Jerusalem are breached}}, Balian casts aside his shield and charges in.
Line 136:
* [[The Starscream]]: Reynauld and Guy.
* [[Stealth Hi Bye]]: The Hospitaller pulls one off in the middle of the desert. One of the hints that he's a [[Spirit Advisor]].
* [[Stock Scream]]: You can hear a Wilhelm during the siege when one of the attackers falls from a siege tower.
* [[The Stoic]]: The [[Alternate Character Interpretation|nicer interpretation of]] Orlando Bloom's performance as Balian.
* [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]] : [[Death by Origin Story|Balian's wife]] and [[Badass Bookworm|king]] [[Iron Woobie|Baldwin]].
* [[Translation Convention]]: Most of the European character should be speaking French, and the Muslims Arabic.
* [[24-Hour Armor]]: Typical case. Knights variously treat their armor as normal streetwear, business suit, or evening attire. Tiberias even wears it during office hours.
* [[Warrior Poet]]: Saladin
* [[We Are Not Going Through That Again]]. "I am the blacksmith."
** 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.
* [[The Wise Prince]]: King Baldwin IV.
{{quote|'''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 [[Our Souls Are Different|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.}}
* [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask]]: Queen Sybilla.
{{quote|'''Sybilla:''' A woman in my place has two faces, one for the world and one which she wears in private. With you I'll be only Sybilla. Tiberias thinks me unpredictable; I am unpredictable.}}
* [[Worthy Opponent]]: Saladin, and Immad ad-Din with him.
** Saladin and Balian in [[Real Life]].
* [[You Fail History Forever]]: [[Your Mileage May Vary]] 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....
** Arguably, [[
{{reflist}}
Line 159:
[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Heaven]]
[[Category:Films With Recuts]]
[[Category:Military and Warfare Films]]
[[Category:Film]]
| |||