Home cinema in comparison: "Kingdom of Heaven" as stream, Blu-ray and UHD

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If you take out streaming subscriptions, you can watch reasonably up-to-date films at no extra cost. However, the versions shown on Apple, Amazon, Disney and Netflix are often slimmed down compared to the purchased versions on disc: Not only are extras such as audio commentaries and making-offs missing, the streaming providers also skimp on picture and sound quality.

Even if they are advertised with buzzwords such as 4K and Atmos, discs often show more details and resolve the sound better due to the higher bit rates. However, as silver disks are often much more expensive, the question arises: is it worth it? And if so, for which movie?

We want to take a closer look at the answers to these questions on heise online in future. We start with "Kingdom of Heaven", a 2005 historical epic from director Ridley Scott, which has just been re-released in an extra-long version with restored picture and sound on Ultra HD Blu-ray (UHD), which also includes a Blu-ray disc that was previously not available separately. We compare these new versions with the older Blu-ray disc and the streaming version on Disney+. We briefly look at the plot and background to the production and then compare the differences in the picture and sound of the various versions in detail.

Plot and production

"Kingdom of Heaven" is set at the time of the Crusades around Jerusalem at the end of the 12th century: the French blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom) is mourning his recently deceased wife. Crusader Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson) offers to take him to Jerusalem. Once there, Balian gets caught up in a dense web of intrigue that ultimately leads to a massive war between Christians and Muslims – epic battle scenes included.

After the outstanding success of Gladiator, with which Ridley Scott breathed new life into the sandal film in 2000, expectations were high. The ingredients sounded promising: enormous production costs, magnificent costumes, mass scenes and an ensemble that was impressive. Orlando Bloom flanked by Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson and a magnificent Edward Norton behind a silver mask.

But the triumph failed to materialize. Critics and audiences reacted cautiously and the theatrical release was a disappointment. One of the main reasons: producers shortened Scott's three-hour-long epic by a good 50 minutes to 138 minutes against his wishes. The epic adventure became a fragmented work with clear gaps. Characters remained pale, motivations unclear, historical connections only hinted at.

With the DVD release at the time, Scott then presented the director's cut –, which he considered to be the only "correct" version. He added an additional 50 minutes to the running time for central storylines. Political intrigue in Jerusalem was also deepened, giving characters such as Tiberias a higher profile. The long version is more complex, more character-oriented and (somewhat) more historically credible. It is therefore a prime example of the importance of artistic control in studio films.

In the extended cut, Kingdom of Heaven is not just an elaborate war film mosaic, but a meditation on honor, power and faith. Scott succeeds here in depicting the political tensions between Muslims and Christians in a much more nuanced way.

But the feature-length version is not without its weaknesses: Orlando Bloom, as charismatic as he may appear visually, carries the character of the inwardly torn Balian with a certain wooden indecision. One sometimes wishes for an actor with more foundation and height. Some moments of pathos are also a little over the top. But the score by Harry Gregson-Williams, the opulent sets, the visual power of Scott's production – all make up for the stumbling blocks.