The Crusades: Crescent & The Cross

Many people just don’t know much about this past and it’s connection to the present: and so our future, epecially our children’s. This is a first class production and should be seen by all.

It’s just half the Crsuades , till the showdown between Saladin and Lionheart . It would’ve been a better documentary if it was about all the Crusades .
They’ve wasted their budget on re-enactments , re-enactments are a bore . I enjoyed the mini documentary about the Knights Templar in the bonus material more than this documentary .

Documentaries are not about big buget fanfares , its’s about informing , educating and smart movie making ,with as few as possible cast behind the camera and as many as you want of real people in front. No actors please .

And , re-enactments are a bore .

The crusades, assuming the history channel is accurate, showed one clear fact. Neither the Christians nor the Muslim’s followed their own religions’ teachings. If they would have there would have been no crusades but would have lived together in peace. The Christians have no excuse, neither do the Muslim’s. Jesus opposition to war and conflict was taught in Matthew 26, 26:52: “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword.” Even beyond this we are to love our enemies. “But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you.” Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet and, as with all other prophets, including Mohammed, every time they refer to Jesus Muslims say, in respect, “Peace be upon him.” Furthermore, the Quran discusses several miracles Jesus performed, including giving sight to the blind, healing lepers, raising the dead, and breathing life into clay birds. His importance in the Muslim faith was enormous, so great that in the Qur’an, Jesus (Isa) is referred to in over ninety verses, more than almost any other prophet. The film pictures the Muslims dragging the cross through the conquered city, yet this is a gross disrespect for their (Muslim) prophet (they do not teach he was Gods son, God had no son, but Isa was a great prophet).

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.

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.

This dvd set is well narrated. The film and image montage is well done. They even have some nice interviews and historian information to qualify what’s being shared. There’s a lot of information that’s well organized. It’s delivered smoothly with maps that have colour and arrows to help keep the direction flowing easily. It only covers the first three crusades. It’s a shame they didn’t mention the other two. The fourth one is mentioned briefly on the bonus disc which covers the Knights Templar, but it’s very brief, so there’s still a big hole and info lacking on that end. But even missing the last two crusades, I did learn a lot of things I’d had wrong all this time, which is why I watch these dvd sets.