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The History Channel Presents: The Crusades - Crescent & the Cross [Blu-ray]

The History Channel Presents: The Crusades - Crescent & the Cross [Blu-ray]

4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

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Item Attributes

ASIN: B001KBZ38W
Actor: Keith David
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: Blu-ray
Brand: A&E
EAN: 0733961149678
Feature: CRUSADES, THE: CRESCENT & THE CROSS - BLU-RAY (BLU-RAY DISC)
Format: Color
Label: A&E HOME VIDEO
Manufacturer: A&E HOME VIDEO
No. Of Items: 1
Package Dimensions:
- Height: 0.58 inches
- Length: 7.1 inches
- Width: 5.42 inches
- Weight: 0.18 pounds
Product Group: DVD
Publisher: A&E HOME VIDEO
Release Date: Jun 2, 2009
Running Time: 180 minutes
Sales Rank: 53504
Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO
Theatrical Release Date: 2005
UPC: 733961149678

Product Description

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 07/28/2009 Run time: 180 minutes
The History Channel Presents: The Crusades - Crescent & the Cross [Blu-ray]product

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The Christian invaders were regarded as infidels. The Arabs were scorned as lawless pagans. The Westerners saw their quest as literally a sanctified crusade, while the Muslims launched their own holy war, called a jihad, in retaliation. Sound familiar? It should, because although the events depicted in the History Channel's The Crusades - Crescent & The Cross took place nearly a thousand years ago, they are but a distant mirror to what's going on in the Middle East right now. This two-part, three-hour program impressively details all three Crusades, starting in the late 11th Century, when Pope Urban II dispatched a huge force to reclaim Jerusalem, which had been under Muslim control for some 400 years. For the knights and others who made the journey, it was a noble spiritual quest, not to mention an escape from Europe's petty wars and famines; in the end, the fact that many of them were greedy butchers who murdered Muslims, Jews, and even other Christians indiscriminately (sometimes even eating the flesh of the vanquished) detracted not at all from their conviction that they were acting in the name of God. Of course, so were the Muslims, who, after the bloody first crusade succeeded in seizing the holy city, mounted a massive counterattack under leaders like Nur al-din and his son Saladin, who managed to take back Jerusalem (from whence Mohammed was said to have ascended to heaven) and hold on to it through the failed second and third crusades, the latter led by England's Richard the Lionheart.

All of this is presented by way of techniques that will be recognizable to History Channel buffs. They include modern-day historians, who re-trace the routes of the crusaders and examine the ancient sites where the action took place, as well as actors who portray characters of the time (chroniclers, knights, and others); numerous re-enactments, aided by excellent cinematography and skillful use of CGI (whereby a few dozen extras could be made to look like many thousands), vividly illustrate the battles and other events that took place during this roughly 200-year period. It's an absorbing, enlightening look at events that prove one thing above all: the more things change, the more they stay the same. --Sam Graham

The History Channel Presents: The Crusades - Crescent & the Cross [Blu-ray]product

Customer Reviews

5 out of 5 stars The History Channel Presents: The Crusades - Crescent & the Cross [Blu-ray]
1 person found this review helpful.
History Channel did a great job with this series my only complaint was it lacked battle strategies and tactical overview maps of the warring parties,which would of been sweet! but as it stands they did do a great job none the less.

The History Channel Presents: The Crusades - Crescent & the Cross [Blu-ray]product
5

4 out of 5 stars History repeating itself...
1 person found this review helpful.
Although George W. Bush may have viewed (and publicly referred to) his "War on Terror" as a crusade, historians (and most of us with at least a middle-school education) know that the word - not to mention the actual events - is much too powerful to simply throw around as a scare tactic. Thankfully the History Channel understands this concept as well; The Crusades: Crescent & The Cross presents the story of these wars, which included some of the most bloody and religiously charged battles of history.

Although the story is set in the past, the similarities to current conflicts are clear. For while the techniques and technologies have certainly changed, unfortunately the underlying fears and philosophies have not. The Crusades explores the conflicts between two Middle Age superpowers - Christians and Muslims - fought over a period of two-centuries. The aftermath of the conflict decided the fate of the Holy Land - at least for a while - but left in its path the continuing struggles and conflict we have today.

Unlike some documentaries that are often full of bad re-enactments and laden with tedious interviews with historians and academics, the History Channel's presentation is alive with excellent cinematography and high quality production value. The modern-day historians who are included provide excellent and engaging insight into the battles and beliefs of the Crusades, and the ancient locations where it all took place. The re-enactments are impressive, the acting solid, and the use of CGI excellent. This is an engaging, enlightening and entertaining documentary that can be appreciated by young and old alike.

The Crusades is presented in two-parts, for a total of three-hours. As a television documentary, Bonus Features are not part of the production process.

The History Channel Presents: The Crusades - Crescent & the Cross [Blu-ray]product
4

3 out of 5 stars Either too long or poorly paced - choose one
1 person found this review helpful.
Ever wished your favorite movies were documentaries instead of narratives? That Morgan Freeman didn't just offer a few prose passages between Red's time in Shawshank but pretty much read Stephen King's story on an audio track? Or maybe Christopher Walken voicing over the Deerhunter? Really the choices are endless and, to sweeten the pot, imagine the things you'd learn about the characters. Guess what? Apparently the History Channel is doing that now. At least they did it for Kingdom of Heaven, the movie about the crusades starring Orlando Bloom and Liam Neeson.

Okay, they didn't really do that but you'd never know the difference.

The Crusades: Crescent & the Cross plots out the major events and the hidden history of the greatest mistakes ever pursued in the name of religion. The strip of land on which Jerusalem stands has been the most contested area in the history of the world. Tribes have fought and died for it. Kings have politicked and schemed for it. But full-scale war made the Crusades unique in the size of their blundering.

Despite being a horrible mistake (three horrible mistakes, really) the Crusades provide an interesting contrast against which to measure the current happenings both within the Gaza strip and across the globe. Watching the interactions of historical figures like Richard the Lionheart or Nur al-Din you begin to see similarities between their attitudes and those of today's politicians. The re-enactments may sometimes feel like an overwrought presentation from the cutscenes of Medieval Times, but the parallels between then and today still hit home.

The three-hour presentation offers a sizeable amount of material and quite honestly it feels twice its length. Even with content as interesting as the Crusades, stretching coverage of each to about an hour doesn't sound like too much. But it is. Or at least, it is in a single serving. Sitting on a couch as a narrator bleats on an on with temporary breaks of people in Crusader or Muslim warrior costumes discussing their motives and anger holds interest for an hour or two - two is the max. The three hour stretch is maddening.

Where this epic fails in captivating material it succeeds in creating beautiful imagery using hi-definition filming and decent CGI. The CGI might help the special to imagine how things occurred, but the footage is what makes this special something to behold. Wide breaking shocks of open deserts, sparsely populated desert towns and Crusade-age fortresses have been filmed in hi-definition and add a nice counterbalance to the meager dramatic scenes used to drive the story. The History Channel does this a lot. They create these pieces that might have a substandard concept and narrative audio track, but then complement them with must-see visuals that help their presentations jump off the screen. At the end of it all, you'll have grown so used to the overexposed desert scenes that seeing an outdoor shot that doesn't have a harsh yellow glare will just seem unnatural. It's long, but it's beautiful.

With that, we have the reason History Channel chose to release this piece on Blu-ray and not just another standalone DVD to get lost on your shelf. The amount of conjecture and hypothesizing in the story allows for some creativity on the part of the producers but in the end that's not what does the most damage to the special's watchability. Three hours. Listen, I am fascinated by the Crusades. I've read lots of books on the subject and yet three hours in front of this special still feels too long. The pacing is far too dry and the narration not at all immersive. Shave off 45 minutes, replace Keith David as the narrator for the piece and rewrite the narration and this piece could be a compelling special worthy of purchase for more than its good looks. Good looks can only carry you so far, and on the History Channel it isn't nearly far enough.

The History Channel Presents: The Crusades - Crescent & the Cross [Blu-ray]product
3

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