[viczgz]

EL, I read the post of Harv you asked for. Thank you very much for it.
Is this:


SPOILER WARNING

Mr Beethoven and Elf Lady: The beginning of the film has definitely changed. Although it opens with the burial of Balian's wife there's a bit more of dialogue between the Priest (who is immediately revealed as Balian's brother) and the Grave Digger (who later reappears and is "knighted" for the defense of Jerusalem). We learn that the Priest has framed Balian for being mad and he is currently in prison. So the first time we are introduced to Balian it's actually in a brief flashback as Balian looks out of his home at his wife tending their garden. But it's Balian actually in prison, thinking of happier times. Next there is a scene of dialogue between the Lord and the priest and it is revealed that Balian is being released because he is needed in the blacksmith. It is also mentioned that he was an engineer and built siege engines and such (which adds an extra dynamic to the siege of Jerusalem when they take down all those siege towers and gains the respect of Saladin). Later on in Act II, when Balian meets King Baldwin IV for the first time, there is an extra moment where Balian gives the King some advice on the defense of the city.

There are further scenes involving the Lord of the Town who is revealed to be Godfrey's brother as Godfrey and his men dine with the Lord in his castle and the dynamics between the siblings are revealed. The Lord's son is the town's sheriff who would later go after Balian for the murder of his brother and refers to Godfrey as "Uncle". We get the sense that the Lord resents Godfrey for returning home. Finally there are a couple of extra scenes leading up to the the theatrical reveal of Balian (where we see him hammering away in the blacksmith shop) where his character deals with his wife's death.

That post Is really interesting.
I’m still missing some scenes like young Godfrey with Balian’s wife (also in a flashback), Balian waking up in his bed with his house all messed up (after he is released from prison, I believe).

The story of the grave digger (Martin Hancock) is very curious, he’s a Frech actor that I met shooting the scene of the grave in the crossroads. In the scene he was singing a song and had a little dialogue with the priest while the other gravedigger was digging, and at the end he cut off the head of Balian’s wife.
After the shooting I talked to him and asked him about his role in the movie, he said he was playing “a friend of Balian”, but he didn’t reveal me that he was going to be a knight later on in the film, so I thought that he just appeared at the beginning in the grave scene. But when I watched the movie, I saw him again in the scene when Balian makes the knights and I realised why he said that.

The scene of the flashback begins with a close up of Balian in prison, it took a long time till Ridley Scott got the expresion he wanted in Balian's face, he has his head inclined to the right, half in light half in shadow, with a very sad and thoughtful look.

And what about Balian's dog?, nobody talked about it yet, but I'm pretty sure we will see it in the extended DVD.
For example, when Balian is released from prison, the dog is waiting for him and follows him through the road of the village, when he's sleeping in his bed the dog is also sleeping close to the bed, when he is eating some food, the dog is lying close to him, when he throws the cradle of his son to the flames the dog is following him.
To make the dog follow him, Orlando had to give him a little candy just when the director said "action", then the dog followed him. And between the shots Orlando played with the dog to be familiar to him.

Oh, and in the scene of the grave that was deleted, with Balian and the priest kneeled, they were going to bury a little ball to make the dog look for it scratching the ground, as if he fnew that Balian's wife was buried there, but they finaly didn't do it.

Edit: EL, sorry you couldn’t make it to L.A.