Ridley Scott's previous films have demonstrated his mastery of cinematic storytelling that is epic in dimension but with a deeply personal, human core. In Kingdom of Heaven, he turns to the Crusades--that world-shaping 300-year collision between Europe and the East. A millennium ago, Pope Urban II urged the nobility of Christian Europe into a frenzy to reclaim the holy city of Jerusalem, conquered by Muslim armies that swept through the Middle East in the 7th century. Thousands answered the call, from kings to peasants, and in the ensuing waves of war ancient cities fell to bloody sieges, Christian kingdoms were founded in the Holy Land, Jerusalem was retaken and lost again, and unspeakable atrocities were committed on both sides. Early in the Crusades, however, two visionary leaders--King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and the Saracen general Saladin--forged a brief, shining era of peace amid the carnage. Drawn into this immense drama is a young blacksmith, Balian (Orlando Bloom), newly claimed as the son of a great knight, Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), who inherits his father's lands and title and finds himself at the center of a political crusade for the kingdom's soul. Ridley Scott and the veteran production team with whom he worked on Gladiator--including the same production designer, art and costume directors, and cinematographer--surpass all their earlier achievements in creating historical worlds onscreen. This official companion book chronicles their achievements in building astounding sets on locations in Morocco and Spain, peopling them with a brilliant international cast and thousands of extras, and then seamlessly merging filmed action with the latest special effects technologyand re-creation of authentic period weapons--along with the casting, story-crafting, editing, and scoring that make a Ridley Scott epic so satisfying to filmgoers on all levels.