The studio cut of Ridley Scott’s epic Kingdom of Heaven met an underwhelmed response with most critics and movie goers agreeing it didn’t meet the respected British director’s usual standards.
But the 194 minutes-long director’s cut — the way it was intended to be — met with a much better reception. The above Film Radar video explains why.
So, press the top left play button on the above feature image to watch the video.
In the words of the film’s editor Dody Dorn, the cuts in the watered-down 144-minute version created big holes in the story.
They weren’t narrative holes, she explains in the above video, but character holes — leaving the viewer with less emotional connection to the story.
To Dorn the separate versions of Kingdom of Heaven felt like two completely different films.
See more about Kingdom of Heaven below with Film Radar further looking at the importance of editing.