Where Dreaming Is Believing . . .
Welcome to “Flipping the Script,” a monthly column where I will reconsider recent films that have been panned, frowned upon, or simply under appreciated. I believe that movies should speak to us on a deep, personal level, and this column will consist of films that have done that for me despite widespread derision or apathy. Join me on my noble quest for cinematic redemption!
20th Century Fox provided the media with an early look of Exodus: Gods and Kings, as they showed select scenes from the film, followed by a Q&A with Christian Bale (the event’s details are covered in a Hitfix post).
Although the special effects and music were still at their temp stages, Ridley Scott’s visually ambitious scope was fully evident in a riveting action sequence involving Edgerton and Bale. The chemistry between the two leads is also evident, and co-star Maria Valverde (The Liberator) also lights up the screen as Moses’ love interest.
With such epics as Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Robin Hood under his belt, Ridley Scott looks like he’s in fine form with Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Audience members can decide for themselves if Scott and company pull it off when the film opens nationwide December 12. But for now here’s the latest trailer that was just released this morning:
Exodus: Gods and Kings opens nationwide December 12.
The Kingdom of Heaven’s director’s cut is one of Ridley Scott’s finest hours as a filmmaker. With more time to work with, Scott delves deeper into Balian’s (Orlando Bloom) backstory, thus making Balian’s transition from a wide eyed blacksmith to a brave warrior in the Crusades much more believable (the theatrical version gives Balian’s journey a much more forced and truncated feel).
The nine hours worth of Special features on the ultimate edition include: an introduction from Ridley Scott, Roadshow commentary with Orlando Bloom, Ridley Scott, and writer William Monahan, world premiere footage, and numerous featurettes.
During the interviews for Sympathy for Delicious, I asked Orlando Bloom about his experience working on Kingdom of Heaven, and he talked about how the epic will stand the test of time.
“It was amazing to work on the film and the director’s cut is – I really think it puts (epic films) to bed. It was amazing and I loved it. It’s funny, I think Ridley had that experience with Blade Runner . . . and I think Kingdom of Heaven will stand the test of time in many ways…“
To hear Orlando Bloom’s full answer regarding Kingdom of Heaven, click on the media bar below (Juliette Lewis is also heard in the clip):