• Howls Moving Castle
• Legend
• Secrets of Midde Earth - Inside Tolkien's "The Hobbit"
• The Princess Bride
• Kingdom of Heaven
• Constantine
• Primer
• The Ring Two
• Empires - Holy Warriors: Richard the Lionheart & Saladin -Review
• The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Labyrinth

Empires - Holy Warriors: Richard the Lionheart & Saladin

I watched this on PBS last night and wow It was really fantastic. PBS has come a long way from the dry documentary.

The middle east is such a hot spot today but this is not anything unusual. It has been a hot spot for thousands of years. This docu-drama shows the epic battle for the city of Jerusalem in the Thirteenth century. And it is absolutely fascinating to see how two very different cultures collided. The two cultures are of course still in collision and this brings that issue into a subtle focus.

The show opens with a modern day quote about President Bush believing he is Richard the Lion Hearted. This is offset by a quote that compares Osama Bin Laden to Saladin. -Wow

PBS never fails to deliver. If you are a fan of the Middle Ages this show is perfect for you. It has a great timeline, a clear explanation of events as they unfolded and they put it all in a movie like setting which is very entertaining.

There is additional value because all of this that happened some eight hundred years ago is still relevant today. This piece will lend you insight into the eternal struggle that has been going on in the middle east seemingly forever.

Additional note: As a writer the wheels are always turning and I get flashes of ideas all the time. A peculiar idea came to me while I was watching this. During his bid to recapture Jerusalem Richard the Lion Heart sieged and a city called Acre. He captured and imprisoned 3,000 soldiers. He offered to trade these prisoners for a holy catholic relic believed to be a part of the cross. (Saladin had this in his possession). Saladin refused to make the trade and Richard killed all 3,000 prisoners.

The number 3,000 struck a chord in me because this is approximately the number of people who died on 9/11. It is a strange coincidence and it brought me the kernel of an idea about 3,000 souls being sacrificed every thousand years to keep the balance and save the remainder of the people of the earth. What do you think? Seem like an interesting idea? Maybe I will put something like this in my next novel.