When The Moors Ruled In Europe (Acorn Media DVD)
Picture: B- Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: B-
Contrary
to current myth perpetuated by many against Islam, their civilization has been
buried more than even the least bashing (most politically correct) person might
think and it turns out the famed Moors were Islamic Civilization, lasted 700
years and their conflicts with Western Europe forced them to break out of their
troubles, Dark Ages, separate church & state and move on to greatness of
their own. While some are sick enough to
think they are continuing a war that goes that far back, in real life, the
innovations turn the “terrorist” stereotypes on their ear.
Bettany
Hughes hosts this detailed, revealing, in-depth look at a history that is still
being deliberately buried, made countries like Spain and Portugal possible,
plus brought on innovations for which there is more than fleeting evidence of
that are landmark. It helps that some
key buildings remain, including some built on advanced mathematical ideas that
have more to do with progress than destruction.
Turns out El Cid (see the review of the film elsewhere on this site) had
a Moorish ancestry.
Many will
have jump reactions to reject this series in an instant, but it is worth going
out of your way for, especially if you are a fan of the recent cycle of fantasy
and ancient battle films. If anything,
they’ll make more sense than ever.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a little sharper, clearer and more
colorful than expected, nicely shot and edited.
So many HD productions seem undercut by DVD, but this one survives
better than most and a Blu-ray should reveal even more. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is just fine for
such a production, with a good recording, but no pro Logic surrounds. The only extra is very brief text on Hughes.
- Nicholas Sheffo
