Crusaders and Saracens; Good Guys and Bad Guys (On Both Sides) Battle Over Jerusalem
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Summary
The place is Jerusalem between the second and third Crusades, where a fragile peace prevails due to the concerted efforts of the Christian king, Baldwin IV, his adviser Tiberias and the legendary Muslim leader, Saladin. Even though the main story is about a young French crusader, Balian (Orlando Bloom), and his heroic efforts to save Jerusalem from destruction, you would we wise to consider Balian and his love interest, Sibylla (Eva Green), as that necessary evil - the Hollywood part of the film. They are glamorous and as weighty as Sibylla's gauzy veils. They are not Russell Crowe and Connie Nielsen.
As good as [Jeremy Irons] is, he is topped by a brilliant Syrian actor, Ghassan Massoud, who makes Saladin into the most attractive character in the film. The great military leader, who was celebrated by both friends and foes, has been given the part of a lifetime by writer William Monahan. However clichéd some of the dialogue, Saladin's lines - which Massoud delivers with charismatic, sardonic wit - cut to the bone, make perfect sense (all political and military leaders should be so clear-headed) and are even humorous. I'm going to see this movie again, just to savor Massoud's performance.See the full content of this document
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Crusaders and Saracens; Good Guys and Bad Guys (On Both Sides) Battle Over Jerusalem
A lot of the things people hated about Ridley Scott's Gladiator - its length, its majestic pacing, its mournful love story and the CGI that made the edges of the Colosseum bleed into infinity - w...
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