A complete restoration of Harry Gregson-Williams' Kingdom of Heaven (05), by Ridley Scott.

YOU CAN WATCH IT here.

Foreword (by Ignacio Marqués)

Throughout the history of cinema, there have been great soundtracks that fell far short of their potential due to poor application in the film and the use of unrelated music. Some cases are quite well known, such as Alien (1979) and The Elephant Man (1980), both directed by Ridley Scott. Many consider these films to be landmark works if the creators had respected the composers' original proposals. One lesser-known case—surprisingly unknown, in fact—that was much more damaging to the film itself than the aforementioned examples is the botched soundtrack of this magnificent work by Harry Gregson-Williams.

The British composer proposed an extensive and complex soundtrack employing a modern symphonic style, with the exception of some choral moments. The soundtrack was structured in an orthodox manner, using a large number of central themes for different characters, factions, and concepts. These themes were arranged to support and explain the film's discourse and narrative. On his deathbed, Godfrey, Balian's father, describes the Kingdom of Heaven as a new, better world in the Holy Land where Christians, Muslims, and Jews can live together in peace. Godfrey entrusts his son Balian with the mission of defending this idea by supporting King Baldwin of Jerusalem and caring for the people before he dies. This concept was masterfully translated into the main theme, which, in that scene, took on all that meaning and would henceforth serve to make the film's discourse more understandable. The main theme reaches its peak when Balian takes action in a scene in Ibelin (the land he inherits from his father). The inhabitants search for water by digging wells, begin to plow, and make the land flourish. They turn it into a paradise on earth, which Sibyl describes as a New Jerusalem. Moreover, perfect harmony is achieved among the inhabitants, who practice the three religions. The main theme reveals that Balian has created this Kingdom of Heaven in Ibelin. This is the moment of maximum fulfillment of the theme throughout the film. However, the main theme is unable to continue developing and expanding because of the fanatics who constantly seek war against Saladin, preventing the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven in Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land. It will continue to appear occasionally with much smaller variations as the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven becomes more distant. At the end of the film, when Balian surrenders Jerusalem to Saladin, the theme reappears—though not as fully developed as in the Ibelin scene—to give this defeat a completely different meaning: a moral victory. At least Balian has fulfilled his purpose of protecting the people of Jerusalem. As he tells Sibylla at the end of the scene, the Kingdom of Heaven can never be surrendered because it is an idea. Gregson-Williams knew how to convey this idea to the audience through the brilliant main theme. Unfortunately, this profound discourse was destroyed when a fragment of Marco Beltrami's Blade II (2002) score was introduced into the surrender scene. In both montages, the last effective appearance of the main theme occurs in the Ibelin scene. The rest of the film disappears, rendering the entire previous journey useless because the discourse it contributed was ultimately lost.

Another interesting element of Harry Gregson-Williams's musical score, which was lost in the director's cut and diluted in the theatrical release, is the musical treatment of Balian. This treatment complemented and explained the character through two central themes. Initially, Balian has only one central theme, which explains the humble man and his inner journey throughout the film. However, what the composer did with the other theme is much more interesting. In the scene of Godfrey's death, Godfrey names Balian as his heir. In addition to inheriting all of Godfrey's titles and possessions, Balian also inherits his music, or his father's central theme. From that point on, Balian has two central themes: his own and the inherited one. These themes appropriately cover the noble and chivalrous side of the newly acquired character. The second theme does not appear until the scene in which Godfrey's men recognize Balian as Baron of Ibelin when they find him in Jerusalem. The moment Balian is recognized, he takes control of his second theme. This was another clever strategy by the composer. He could have used it when the character claims to be the Baron of Ibelin. On his way to Jerusalem, he is confronted by a Syrian lord who does not believe him. Throughout the film, both themes develop simultaneously, taking on special prominence during the siege of Jerusalem when Balian takes command of the defense. Here, both themes are used expansively in the scene where Balian knights all the defenders of Jerusalem. In both versions, this scene was replaced by a fragment of Jerry Goldsmith's The 13th Warrior (1999). Finally, both themes are used in the last desperate defense when the Saracens knock down the wall. There, the two themes converge, providing an epic and emotional conclusion to Balian's musical journey. Unfortunately, this ending was spoiled by the erratic use of music from other parts of the film, including the theme for King Baldwin, who had been dead for nearly an hour at that point in the film.

There are many other interesting themes we could discuss, such as that of the Knights Templar. At first, this theme seems insignificant, but, like the Knights Templar themselves in the film, it gains power and influence until it takes over completely during the coronation of Guy de Lusignan, the deranged leader of the Knights Templar, as king of Jerusalem. This theme even overshadows that of the Crusaders in an earlier scene depicting the Christian army's march to the historic Battle of the Horns of Hattin. Another interesting aspect is the dual use of the Christian faith theme. Sometimes it is used for introspective explanations of Balian's faith, such as when he visits the grave of his deceased wife and burns the belongings of his unborn child or when he visits Mount Golgotha, where Christ died. Other times, it functions as a theme of Christianity in general, especially during the defense of Jerusalem.

All of this, as well as the development of the other themes, was seriously undermined in both productions by the use of fragments from other films, such as The Crow (1994) and Hannibal (2000), and a large amount of pre-existing music. This included medieval music by composers such as Raimon de Miraval, Guiot de Dijon, and Hildegard von Bingen, as well as classical music by Bach and modern music by composers such as Oumou Sangare, Luis Delgado, and Hossein Alizadeh. Added to this was the large number of revisions and alternative versions that Gregson-Williams had to rewrite for multiple scenes due to sudden changes in editing and the director's requests. To top it all off, many fragments were used arbitrarily, often placed where they did not belong, repeated up to three or four times, or remixed with each other, resulting in a loss of narrative coherence. This accumulation of poor decisions and incompetent practices worked against the film itself and probably makes Kingdom of Heaven one of the most damaged soundtracks, making it impossible for viewers to understand or follow any of the central themes. It is especially sad that this happened to what would have surely been one of the most brilliant and complete works of the composer's career.