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"There was a Knight, a most distinguished man, Who from the day on which he first began To ride abroad had followed chivalry, Truth, honour, generousness and courtesy. He had done nobly in his sovereign's war And ridden into battle, no man more, As well in Christian as in heathen places, And ever honoured for his noble graces." Chaucer, "The Canterbury Tales" I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The first 30 minutes should have been enough to hint at what was to come: a thought –provoking, highly relevant film. FAIR TREATMENT OF THE SUBJECT: Right at the beginning- you see 2 types of Christians: a good man (Bloom), provoked into violence, by a not-too-holy priest. As he leaves for Jerusalem, you see priests calling out to the crusaders: "To kill an infidel is not murder, it is the will of God"- The chillingly familiar statement of fanatics on the path of physical Jihad (the greater Jihad is that of the soul according to Islam). You see parallels being drawn all the time in the film that no side is without blame, without honor. There are baddies, fanatics, and war-mongers on both sides. There are fair-minded chivalrous men. There are nuances to faith and belief which are touched upon. Many crusaders lose faith in the war when they realize that the war is about riches, not faith- yet they stay true to the high ideals of good conduct and high principles laid down by Jesus. (It still is the economy, stupid!). ACCURATE DEPICTIONS: Amazing! Real, live, ARAB actors playing Arabs! Full Marks! INACCURACIES: This is a movie that will be seen widely by Muslims, so this is not nitpicking. There WERE a few lapses which I have a problem with. Salahuddin says the traditional Muslim prayer, at the burial of the dead soldiers. You can almost see that he would rather have negotiated than fought, and it is a beautiful shot and wonderfully acted scene.But it was horribly edited. The prayer is edited so that it sounds incorrect and this will certainly antagonize many people. (Remember- not a full stop in the Quran has changed since it was written down centuries ago. Changing a verse from such a source saving 5 seconds- is just bad editing-BAD IDEA!) In one scene Orlando Bloom replies to the Muslim greeting of Peace be on you(Assallam-u-alaikum /wa-alaikum as-salaam).ONE Arabic phrase: dude take a feather out of Meryl Streep's hat and say it CORRECTLY! GhassanMassoud is supposedly a scholar. Hmmm. In one scene where Muslim farm hands are praying on Balian's land- I wonder he did not point out that when Muslims pray together they are encouraged to stand shoulder to shoulder- not spread out because it would look good on screen? Anyway, it was not a serious issue with me- though the first one was. CASTING: Salahuddin al-Ayubi (Saladin): Played with riveting charisma by Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud- one wonders how Ridley Scott managed such perfect casting. His face looks like he has seen war and hardships. His eyes burn through the screen, and hold the promise of wisdom which has been revered over the centuries. Yet the character is not mythologised which might even cause fanatics to object. He is, in fact, shown as something of an irreverent cynic in a conversation- but one who is simultaneously committed to his faith and to upholding strict rules of noble conduct and chivalry for which his fame has survived centuries. Who is this guy- Ghassan/ Salahuddin? Anyone out there with good Non-Orientalist histories, biographies of Salahuddin? And I do hope we get to see LOTS more of Ghassan Massoud. CASTING:
Orlando Bloom as Balian: I like Bloom. I love his cheekbones.
I thought he has an honesty about him that was true to the role.
HOWEVER, Russell Crowe in Gladiator, Liam Neeson in Rob Roy,
Mel Gibson in Braveheart, even Brad Pitt in Troy, gave more
rousing speeches. Visitors: 436 
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