The History Channel Presents The Crusades - Crescent The Cross

For thousands of years the Holy Lands of the Middle East have run with blood. Here the scars of battle fought between three of the world's great religions are etched into the earth. But, the deepest wound was made by a war between Christian and Muslim began at the close of the eleventh century and fought for 200 years. Now this Holy War has passed into legend, but there were those who saw it with their own eyes; great chroniclers from two different worlds, Christian and Muslim, who wrote of great deeds, great battles, great warriors and men who would lay down their lives for their God. This was the collision of two great faiths, the clash between the Crescent and the Cross. This was the Crusades. "The Crusades: Crescent & The Cross" is a 2-DVD set. The first disc discusses the First Crusade, beginning with the call of Pope Urban II. The second half of the first disc discusses the Second and Third Crusades. As is expected with productions made by the History Channel the story is focused on providing accurate history, yet told in an entertaining manner. The first disc of the set has a running time of about 180 minutes. The second disc in "The Crusades: Crescent & The Cross" consists of "History in the Making: The Crusades" which shows how the History Channel went about making the first disc of the set. It shows how the reenactments were stages, and the locations and computer animations used in the production. Also on the second disc of the set is "The Knights Templar" providing a brief look at the origins and mysteries of the Crusade's mightiest warriors. When considering the Knights Templar it has long been established that Templars led diplomatic missions to the courts of Arab princes and learned the Arabic language. They may have also had dealings with a fanatical drug taking sect known as Hashashiyyin, whose name passed into English as assassins. The Templars certainly had extensive connections with Islamic and Judaic cultures, and may have absorbed a great deal of their cultures. It is rumored that the Templar's Muslim and Jewish friends were teaching them the ancient wisdom of the East; secret arts such as alchemy, astrology, and numerology, and some believe they delved even deeper into forbidden rites and knowledge. What this forbidden knowledge is and how it was used by the Templars is introduced in the second disc of The Crusades Crescent and The Cross. The second disc in the set runs for about 70 minutes. Entertaining, Educational, and Highly Recommended. Read more

This documentary explains the 1st, 2nd and Third Crusades. Imagine Christians and Muslins fighting in the name of religion. After watching this DVD it made me think of all the Hypocrisy in religion and all the symbols used. The DVD is very well done. The graphics are great the presentation is great. The history is great information the help reveal what is going on today. I thought that most of the problems in the Middle East was caused by oil. That may not be true. It is possible that Christians, Judeans and Muslins continue to make foolish claims to a holy city. Nearly every county has the ability to build their own holy city and erect the symbol of choice. This is a very good DVD. Read more

A lot of people watched this and hail Saladin as a holy warrior. Even one of the Muslim commentators seemed to make excuses for his vicious bahavior, saying "you had to be back then". The main point of the movie is that in the first Crusade the Christians "took back" Jerusalem from the Muslims. In the second Crusade, the muslims "took back" Jerusalem from the Christians. In the third Crusade the Christians tried unsuccessfully to retake Jerusalem back. This documetary left out one key point: Jerusalem belonged to NEITHER the Christians NOR the Muslims. The city of Jerusalem was originally inhabited by the Jews, but that fact seems to have gotten lost somewhere. Both Saladin and Richard I commited vicous crimes and they both murdered thousands of people. People seem to forget that Saladin probably murdered as many Knights Templar and Hospitalars as Richard did Muslims. They wer both cunning, vicious and excellent military Strategists. The documentary also states something that was probably true: After Years of Fighting each other they learned to respect each other as generals. This movie tried to be as objective as possible but there was a lot of Christian-bashing here, not that it wasn't deserved. Tariq whatever his name was seemed to be on a Crusade to make the Christians look as evil as possible. He defends Saladin's actions, when the fact is that both generals committed many what we call today "war crimes". After saying all this, I still say it was very educational and enjoyable. EW Read more

The History Channel makes fantastic, and well researched videos of history, and this video is no exception. It breaks down each of the various Crusades and brings them to life in an interesting way. Of note however, is the fact that there does seem to have some bias against the writing, and narration against the Christian Crusaders in how they are portrayed and with one of the main "experts" used for commentary. Very little is said or shown about how the Islamic empire forcibly conquered the holy land, yet the Christian attempt to re-take it is shown to be "barbaric" and filled with "war-crimes." The western expert comments on the archeology of the locations, and historical sites, but the Arab "expert" constantly commented with his opinions on how terrible and evil the crusaders were. Read more

Its a high quality DVD; extremely well done. From the narratives, to the costumes and cinematography, this is hands down one of the best DVD of my collection. One thing that is very rare about this DVD is that each of the separate shows/segments presents a fairly comprehensive retelling and historical account of the Crusades from BOTH perspectives - those of the Christians and those of the Muslims. Take note, yes, some of the interviewees might come across as a little biased and opinionated, but the producers do a pretty good job balancing the perspective for the audience. No matter what your take on this subject, you'll walk away from this DVD feeling well informed, moved, and impressed. Read more