Product Details

• Actors: Terry Jones
• Directors: Phil Grabsky and Daniel Percival
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Microcinema
• DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
• Run Time: 300 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0029R81G2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,532 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Look Here for "Ancient Inventions", November 2, 2008

By 

R. Sardrena (shrinking tributary in Brazil) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Terry Jones Collection (DVD)

Long have I searched for Terry Jones' "Ancient Inventions" series (well, at least since 1998 when it briefly aired). For those of you who remember James Burke's brilliant "Connections" series, you would also like Jones' short series about the unexpected, serendipidous paths taken towards humanity's most noteworthy inventions. Given that Jones is a Monty Python alum, it shouldn't be surprising that this program is more heavily weighted towards humor than Burke's was. It doesn't trivialize its subject matter however; its ultimate thesis actually goes grimly further than James Burke's program did. According to Jones, every innovation has brought vexing new problems. Human history is not a march of progress, but rather a vicious circle carved by a species forever trying to overtake challenges of its own making. Moreover, he adds that inventions don't simply enter use when they are devised, but can rot away, unappreciated, until political and social circumstances are ripe.

As an educator, I've found that "Ancient Inventions" is highly accessible to cynical teenagers. Its tongue-in-cheek discussion of many inventions slips deftly into young minds. As wonderfully appropriate as "Ancient Inventions" is, the next installment in this series - "The History of Sex" - while similar in tone and interest, is not. So park the latter at home, folks.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History without the boring bits, January 30, 2010

By 

DG Bucknall (Atlanta, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Terry Jones Collection (DVD)

.........this is what I would have liked my history classes to be like when I was at school. The historical eras covered by Terry Jones in these DVDs is not to everyone's liking but the presentation and discussion of the history is very engaging and is very watchable. The visual imagery of Terry Jones in various historical costumes to help explain a point is perhaps not what everyone wants their history to be reduced to, but he does this with style that few other more formal presenters could match. This does make the program more lighthearted that some weightier programs but in many respects the result is much more memorable this way.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Value for your money!, October 15, 2010

By 

David D. Lawson "A Legend in his own mind" (The Peoples Republic of California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Terry Jones Collection (DVD)

I first found out about Terry Jones and his history films when I saw his film on the Crusades. Frankly that was an excellent piece of work. As it was funny and packed full of interesting facts that were well presented. This collection is in the same league. I especially like his series on Ancient Egypt and the life of the average Egyptians. Ditto for the series on the Romans. As I do not want to give away too much but I found this series to be very refreshing & informative to say the least.