Product Details

• Actors: James Burke
• Format: NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 5
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Ambrose Video Publishing, Inc
• DVD Release Date: September 2, 2003
• Run Time: 600 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000DIZSF
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,651 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

157 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Box Set! Confusingly listed on Amazon.com however..., December 31, 2005

By 

M. Phillips (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Connections 2 (DVD)

Firstly, this is NOT Connections Vol. 2, it is CONNECTIONS 2 as in Connections Series 2. By saying it is "Vol. 2", people are likely to think it's merely one disc or volume in a series.

There were three series by James Burke in this vein. Connections (10 50 min. episodes), Connections 2 (20 30 min. episodes), and Connections 3 (10 45 min. episodes). Also, there was "The Day the Universe Changed" a series of 10 50 min. episodes.

This is actually a five-disc box set with the entire Connections 2 series. The episodes are as follows:

Connections 2 DVD - Disc. 1

Revolutions
Discover how the steam engine led to safety matches, imitation diamonds and the moon in a wild ride.

Sentimental Journeys
What has Freud got to do with maps? Or prison reform with blue dye? Or the inside of a star with the Himalayas? India reveals the answers.

Getting It Together
Start by examining a SWAT team, which leads to hot air ballooning, the root of many inventions.

Whodunit?
Who stole a set of billiard balls in 1902 and why was he the most famous crook in history? The clues: maps from 1775, Charles Darwin's cousin and the FBI.


Connections 2 DVD - Disc. 2

Something for Nothing
Something impossible happened 400 years ago. And we wound up in outer space, thanks (en route) to pigeon lovers, the Pope, and electric Italian frogs.

Echoes of the Past
On his way to finding the secret of the universe, Burke takes us to the Buddhist tea ceremony, ties it to international spies and Lincoln's assassination.

Photo Finish
The Le Mans 24-hour race is the backdrop for linking photography and bullets, relativity and blimps.

Separate Ways
Two trails split over slavery in the 18th Century. One route leads to the Wild West and Brooklyn Bridge, the other coining money and TV. Both end with a threat to peace.

Connections 2 DVD - Disc. 3

High Times
Unwrap a sandwich and you're on a path to World War II radar and Neo-Impressionist painters.

Deja Vu
History repeats itself, when you know how to look. Pizzaro beats the Incas, the first stock market opens. The Queen of England salutes a Mexican beetle and Hitler's plans misfire.

New Harmony
Microscopic bugs inspired the novel "Frankenstein" which aided the birth of Socialism.

Hot Pickle
The connections between a cup of tea, opium dens, the London Zoo and a switch that releases bombs.

Connections 2 DVD - Disc. 4

The Big Spin
The greatest medical accident in history starts a trail that leads to Helen of Troy, 17th Century flower-power, the invention of soda pop and earthquake detection.

Bright Ideas
A Baltimore man invented the bottle, which led to razors and clock springs, and the Hubble telescope.

Making Waves
Hairdressers, Gold Rush miners, Irish potato farmers and English parliamentarians are really tied together.

Routes
A sick lawyer in 18th Century France changes farming and triggers the French Revolution and new medical research.

Connections 2 DVD - Disc. 5

One Word
One medieval word kicks off the investigation into different cultures with the same stories that ends in cultural anthropology.

Sign Here
Dutch piracy starts international law and French probability math, phonetics and Victorian seances.

Better Than the Real Thing
How the zipper started with technology Jefferson picked up in Paris during a row about Creation.

Flexible Response
Robin Hood starts us on a trail from medieval showbiz to land drainage, to the invention of decimals that end up in U.S. currency, thanks to the guy who started the Erie Canal.

Having cleared that up, I wish to say that this is a great series and DVD set. Very eye-opening and educational.

It would make a great educational gift for children or a fun gift for adults. Anyone with an inquiring mind will be fascinated by James Burke's wit and intelligence, not to mention his charismatic delivery.

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Second Incredible Series from James Burke, May 23, 2004

By 

L. Newman (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Connections 2 (DVD)

Whether the second series of Connections is better or worse that the original is a matter of some arguement, but that they are both great is not. Why? Because for once someone was able to communicate history in an exciting and faciating form, showing that every person, event, or invention relates in some way to every other. Imagine a "six degrees of separation" through history, mix in a strong sense of how to tell the _story_ of history, add in a wicked sense of humor and wit, and you might have some idea of the brilliance of this show.

Until amazon gets it listed, you can also buy the first series directly from Abrose Video (ambrosevideo.com), but they are all worth owning.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Syndication Edition?, September 7, 2009

By 

B. H. Clevenger - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Connections 2 (DVD)

As a series Connections 2 is Amazing, and if I were only reviewing the program I would give it five stars. However after I bought this DVD I noticed some of the scenes were missing, and after a little research I found out that the source used in the making of this DVD set was the syndicated version of the program. I also own this program on VHS which had the original version so that's how I was able to notice the difference. It might seem like a nit pick, but the bits that are missing I thought added to the personality of the program. I would still recommend this DVD set as it is still really good, but I'm hoping for a "special edition" or something to be released with the whole program intact.