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Crusades

Terry Jones (Actor, Writer), Marcello Walton (Actor), Alan Ereira (Director, Producer, Writer), Rated:

Unrated

Format: DVD

124 ratings

IMDb8.1/10.0

$22.19

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Genre	Military & War
Format	Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, NTSC
Contributor	Kammy Darweish, Terry Jones, Steve Purbrick, Anthony Smee, Antony Zaki, Robin Sebastian, David South, Hash Chamchoun, Marcello Walton, Sean Arnold, Alan Ereira, Peter Pacey, Sean Barrett, Christopher Lamb, Laurence Rees, David Wallace See more
Language	English
Number Of Discs	2

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DVD
48 offers from $1.97
Terry Jones
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Product Description

Of all the wars waged in the name of God, none has ever matched the arrogance and conceit of the Christian Crusades. For nearly two centuries (1095-1291), this medieval "holy war" variously raged, sometimes so spiritually misshapen by rapaciousness, murder, and political greed that to think it all had to do with Christian faith is absurd. And really, there is no one better to dramatize such a theater of holy war than Wales-born Terry Jones, host of The Discovery Channel's Ancient Inventions and an accomplished medievalist. Best known for his absurdist contributions to all things Monty Python--he was a founding member of Monty Python's Flying Circus and cowriter of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, among others--Jones wields an uncanny ability to explain the methodologies and madness of the Crusades while not failing us his sense of humor. Jones wrote the scripts for each 50-minute presentation in the four volumes of The Crusades, which originally aired on The History Channel. His narration is not without an occasional sardonic air, almost of the roll-your-eyes type, which not only lends a skeptical perspective to a frequently misunderstood era in Western Europe, but also quite frequently editorializes the events that occurred between Pope Urban II's call for liberation of Jerusalem from the "infidels" of Islam and the embarrassing moment when officers of the fourth Crusade are conned out of its divine calling by the Venetians. While Jones's reconnaissance is sometimes oversimplified by casually not mentioning several Crusade sorties after the fourth (there were several, but by the 13th century they had become redolent of ennui and misguided commercial adventure), the technical ingenuity of the production and Jones's use of anecdote backed by academicians and preserved eyewitness accounts cinches a viewer's interest. Medieval "siege machines" are re-created to test their mettle against legends of famou

Product details

Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.25 inches; 4 Ounces
Director ‏ : ‎ Alan Ereira, David Wallace
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, NTSC
Run time ‏ : ‎ 3 hours and 20 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ January 2, 2002
Actors ‏ : ‎ Terry Jones, Marcello Walton, Kammy Darweish, Sean Barrett, Hash Chamchoun
Producers ‏ : ‎ Alan Ereira, David Wallace, Laurence Rees
Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Unqualified
Studio ‏ : ‎ Lionsgate
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00005U8F3
Writers ‏ : ‎ Alan Ereira, Terry Jones
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2

Best Sellers Rank: #120,150 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #2,480 in Military & War (Movies & TV)
- #5,415 in Documentary (Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews:
124 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		77%
4 star		6%
3 star		8%
2 star		6%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Clever and funny... but History-lite

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2005

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This is a hard documentary to review, because while I found most of the material funny - I can see how many wouldn't see the humour. Second, for the sake of "True History" it does fall short of the mark - mainly because it impossible to have an accurate descripition of the Crusades in under four hours.

So my question is what kind of documentary does it attempt to be? I think it is an attempt to be a humour informative primer on the history of the first great world war... an event that still shapes our lives. In this account "Crusades; With Terry Joens" succeeds.

True, I would have liked to seen a greater history of the Templars, and Richard the Lionheart's epic struggles with Saladin - but there really wasn't time for all of that. It covers the basics and does a good job of showing us how demanding the life of crusader must have been.

One thing that is disappointing is that this movie could have been ideal for use in High School as a brief (but entertaining) view of the Crusades. However, there are a couple of scenes that make it inappropriate - one is a scene of men sitting a round a table smoking what appears to be bongs and in disc 4 there is an extended scene of a topless women. Without these scenes it could have been a nice tool for education.

6 people found this helpful

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dmaak112

The Crusades: Falsehoods, Mispercetions, and Reality

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2006

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Terry Jones is proably best known for his participation in the Monty Python troupe. The present Broadway musical about King Arthur demonstrates the ability of this British comedy to attract audiences. Not so well known is the serious side of this actor. Mr. Jones is an amateur historian about the Middle Ages and especially the Crusades. Although there were a number of "crusades" such as against the Slavs in the Balkans or the Cathars in southern France, most Westners think of the struggle between Christians and Muslims from the end of the 11th century to the end of the 13th century. Jones gives a sweeping view of this struggle--entertaining as well as informative. Drawing upon actual locations, contemporary documents, and recognized experts in the field as Sir Steven Runciman, Jones illuminates this time period to the general public. Many will be surprised about the revelations that Jones presents. With subtle and sometimes not so subtle humor, viewers will remember tidbits as a "divinely inspired goose" leading a crusade or that Peter the Hermit looked like his donkey. The ordinary comes to life as Mr. Jones poses questions as how does one walk in soft leather shoes thousands of miles? Or what it must have been like to wear a suit of armour? One cannot help but come away with a greater appreciation of what it must have been like to be on campaign in Syria or Palestine in the 11th century. But, Mr. Jones goes beyond the entertainment level to address the sinister aspects of the Crusades. Each Crusdae often began with pogroms against the local Jewish population as in Germany. The journey to Constantinople was marred by fighting, pillaging, and killing. Once in Asia Minor, the Western knights commited acts of barbarism and cannibalism. The taking of Jerusalem was accomplished with the wholesale slaughter of Muslims and Jews. Just as disturbing, Jones does not gloss over the capture of Constantinople by Western knights and the three days of mayhem that followed. Jones includes wonderful vignettes as the high level of Islamic culture compared to the West in the Middle Ages or the observation that Muslim and Jew fought alongside one another in defense of Jerusalem. Perhaps due to production constraints, there were occassions when history was a bit garbled. One of the most glaring was Mr. Jones reference to the Mamluk warrior Baibars. The video gave the impression that Baibars completed the destruction of the Cursader states when in fact his successors did. The most important note of this video is when Mr. Jones sees the relevancy of the Crusades to what is happening in the world today. The misperceptions of the West in the 11th century has not much altered in the 21st century. As we portray the Muslims as fanatics that threaten us, Westen armies and their surrogates occupy Arab-Muslim lands. Mr. Jones comment about unleashing a people's fury is as telling for Reynauld, Guy, or Richard I then as it is for Blair and Bush today.

11 people found this helpful

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Stephen

Crusades - Review from the other side

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2008

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Nice introduction to this history block. Good use of the the opposing (Islamic) sides views. Nice use of technology and side cultural notes. Disagree with some of his comments; I am not apologist for the pure mercenary members of the Crusades or methods but I see the political side of his view of history. His views are well known about the Global War on Terror from his editorials in the Guardian. He like many Muslims are still hung on the Crusades and use it as an excuse for their presnt actions.

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Amazon Customer

My wife loves this excellent book. It is the first book that she ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2018

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My wife loves this excellent book. It is the first book that she has read that covers all of the crusades.

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Diego Simonson

Crusades series

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2005

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This series is a very insightful and entertaining examination of the Crusades, a historical period which naturally is quite relevant for contemporary studies. It is important for all Westerners to be thoroughly familiar with the Crusades, to better understand (though not to condone) the mentality and actions of those currently living in areas affected by the Crusades, and this documentary has a plethora of fascinating anecdotes, primary source quotations, humorous presentations, and stunning cinematography that is especially essential to engage Western youth, many of whom are thoroughly accustomed to tuning out many traditionally formatted documentaries. As a social studies teacher, I highly recommend it (though take note of a possible inappropriate scene near the very end), as well as to all who want an overview of this unfortunate series of events that have strained Christian-Muslim relations.

4 people found this helpful

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leapfrog

Arrive quickly from USA, thank you

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019

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This was an excellent programme, I have been looking for the CDs for a while.

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compton

Wish we had more of these

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2013

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My wife who is from England turned me on to these and they are fantastic, very informative, educational and entertaining. Buy them all we did and couldn't be happier....

One person found this helpful

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william brennan

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Terry Jones makes it enjoyable

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2015

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I am not a scholar by any stretch of the imagination. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Terry Jones makes it enjoyable. I learned a lot as well.

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Top reviews from other countries

D. Njoku

Good history. We can now see why the Crusades ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2015

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Good history. We can now see why the Crusades took place; what transpired during its course; who were some of the main characters and what was the final result. Some of these things are still with us today, but in altered form. It is good to be able to make the connection and to be able to benefit from a better perspective through reading history.