Product Details

• Actors: Ken Bell, Frank Lucas
• Directors: History
• 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: 3
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: December 16, 2008
• Run Time: 568 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001HNDR3Q
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,248 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #10 in	Movies & TV > Television > Reality Shows
  #17 in	Movies & TV > Television > History Channel
  #70 in	Movies & TV > Television > A&E Home Video

• For more information about "Gangland: The Complete Season Two" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Gangland: Complete Season Two continues the History Channel program's focus on the gang phenomenon all over the United States. While the 12 episodes in this box set speak to the cultural and ethnic diversity of gangs in different parts of the country, there are some fascinating common threads. Among them, many gangs begin not as organized criminals but have roots in protecting a vulnerable community. A lot of gangs offer protection to individual members both on the streets and in prisons, testimony to their powerful reach. Finally, some gang members grow up to become repentant community activists, forsaking violence after seeing too much of it.

Aside from those sociological observations, episodes of Gangland offer collective portraits of different gangs in different cities. Two shows--"Crip or Die" and "The Blood"--tell the story of the longtime rival gangs Crips and Bloods in Los Angeles and their bloody war in neighborhood streets. Brutal and gruesome, the show tells a number of stories of arrogance and impulsive actions that took the lives of many innocent people. "Maniacal" is the story of the Maniac Latin Disciples out of Chicago, waging a war with rivals for drug turf in the city's Humboldt Park. The Maniacs are among the few gangs talked about in Gangland with a female membership as destructive as the gang's men. "Deadly Triangle" focuses on Asian gangs in America, including Chinese tongs, which began as protectors and enforcers for different industries (a garment industry tong, for example). "Texas Terror" concerns the Texas Syndicate, a very different kind of crime organization comprised of everyone from common street thugs to white-collar lawyers, all involved in the lucrative drug trade. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Get even closer to the truth about America's gangs in Season Two of Gangland. Rarely seen footage and unique access to the lives of both former and current gang members provide a solid insight into why gangs exist, how they operate, their increasingly destructive methods, and the alarming rate at which they're spreading to suburban and rural areas. Delve deep into the rich and bloody history of gangs in America, from the long-stretching tradition of the Asian Triads, to the full-blown motorcycle gang war between the Outlaws and the Hells Angels, to the growing occurrence of girl gangsters, as this season of Gangland goes to the darkest corners of America to infiltrate some of the most dangerous terrain in the world. Other gangs featured in Season Two include the Maniac Latin Disciples, the Texas Syndicate, Los Angeles' 18th Street, and the Mongols.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the 4 seasons..., May 16, 2009

By	Jazzin Knight (Bay Area) - See all my reviews

It's been over 10 years since I've witnessed firsthand the destruction that gangs have on the fragile thread that ties American society together. In reality, I've had friends who were gang members and this was a time where I learned about being careful about the friends I choose and watching my back for potential enemies.

Gangland is a series that not only revives those memories of my past vividly, but also informs everyone that the gang problem in the United States is a bigger problem than anyone could have imagined.

This a 3 disc set that includes information that is broad in its spectrum, covering history and current events of all various types of gangs from the bloods and crips of Los Angeles, Biker gangs such as the Mongol Nation, and even asian gangs such as the Chinese Triad in San Francisco.

What I found interesting about all the episodes in season 2, and the entire series in general, is that this program does an excellent job of denoting each gang's history, their rise to fame, the key players of each gang, how each gang finances their activities, and accounts from either current or former gang members. For example, this documentary did a great job in describing who Tookie Williams and Raymond Washington were and their significance in how the Crips came to power in South Central Los Angeles. In addition, the Bloods, who are outnumbered by 2-1, came to existence to protect other gangs who were not enticed to join True Blue. Chicago's history was well covered with the Vice Lords and especially the Gangster Disciples AKA GD6 who continue to terrorize the midwest. After watching this season, I kinda felt that this season should have actually been season 1 since the Bloods and Crips are known to anyone.

Although the episodes are very informative, I did find some information that was left out. For example, although information was discussed about how the word Crip came about, the narrator did not mention that CRIP actually stood for Community Revolution In Progress. Also, as someone who grew up in San Francisco, the coverage of the Asian Triad was nice, but neither this season 2 nor any season in Gangland provide history about other gangs in San Francisco, namely the turf war that continues to exist in the Hunter's Point/Bay View area, which included members of the infamous RBL Posse rap group (Mistah C, Big Cee).

Despite these minor setbacks, this is an excellent series for anyone interested in not only the history of gangs, but how the gang problem is something all of us should be aware of.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gangland: The Complete Season Two, April 13, 2009

By	Lora Bradley-jackson (TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We have used some of these DVDs for training, and the evaluations have been very good. In addition, these DVDs will be placed in our media library for our entire staff to check out and view.