The Dark Ages (2007) (TV)

Director:

Christopher Cassel

Writers:

Christopher Cassel
Alexander Emmert

Release Date:

4 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Drama

Plot:

The History Channel examines the Dark Ages from the fall of the Roman Empire to the First Crusade. |

Plot Keywords:

Crusades | Massacre | Short Life Span | Deception | Bede

Cast

Philip Daileader	...	Himself - William and Mary College
Kelly DeVries	...	Himself - Loyola College
Bonnie Effros	...	Herself - SUNY Binghamton
Adnan Husain	...	Himself - Queen's University
Michael Kulikowski	...	Himself - University of Tennessee
Thomas Martin	...	Himself - College of Holy Cross
Jim Masschaele	...	Himself - Rutgers University
Vilma Raubaite	...	Empress Theodora
Brett Whalen	...	Himself - UNC, Chapel Hill
Grigorij Strelec	...	King (uncredited)

Directed by
Christopher Cassel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Christopher Cassel
Alexander Emmert

Produced by
Christopher Cassel	....	producer
Dolores Gavin	....	executive producer
Bill Hunt	....	executive producer
Vincent Kralyevich	....	executive producer
Shannon Mechutan	....	development producer (as Shannon Sasser)
Lina Miseikyte	....	line producer (as Lineta Zukauskiene)
Bobby Munster	....	technical producer
Kristine Sabat	....	executive producer
Diane Wai	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Kerry Muzzey

Cinematography by
Tim Metzger

Film Editing by
Jennifer Honn

Casting by
Arturas Zukauskas

Production Management
Jerome F. Calimeri	....	production manager
Vladas Lyndo	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Laura Akstinaite	....	trainee assistant director
Andrius Brazas	....	first assistant director
Alexander Emmert	....	assistant director
Agne Januskyte	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Chad Birmingham	....	sound recordist
Jacques Boulanger	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Brian Spears	....	special effects: prop heads

Visual Effects by
Justas Giedraitis	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Roman Grigaravicius	....	stunts
Ruta Nemaniene	....	assistant horse master
Arturas Nemanis	....	horse master
Grigorij Strelec	....	stunt rider

Camera and Electrical Department
Toby Birney	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Rimas Jurgelevicius	....	gaffer
Bo B. Randulff	....	camera operator: "b" camera

Editorial Department
Jerome Bourgeois	....	post-production coordinator
Christina Choi	....	assistant editor
Alice Goguen	....	assistant editor
Nicolas Huve	....	post-production coordinator
Andrew Noble	....	assistant editor
Sandy Patch	....	colorist
Sandy Patch	....	on-line editor

Other crew
Vladas Lyndo	....	location manager
Elizabeth Riebling	....	production coordinator
Laurie-Anne Vazquez	....	production coordinator (as Laurie Vazquez)
Rasa Vilkaityté	....	production coordinator
Codine Williams	....	production accountant

Production Companies

• KPI Productions
• Kralyevich Productions

Distributors

• History Channel (2007) (USA) (TV)
• History Channel (2007) (worldwide) (TV)

Other Companies

• Baltic Film Services  production services

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:PG13

Filming Locations:

Lithuania

Company:

KPI Productions

murder was nothing; everybody killed someone (but in some ways, things haven't changed much)

We've probably all heard of the period in European history between the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. But unless we see this documentary, we can't even begin to understand how unpleasant it was (and what we see here is probably tame compared to how things really were). "The Dark Ages" shows how Rome's collapse led to the balkanization of Europe and the rise of the Catholic Church, then the Holy Roman Empire and the Vikings, and all the while a semi-successor to Rome was going on in Constantinople. Not to mention the Bubonic Plague.

There is a brief look at how the Catholic Church and the monarchs were intent on forcing their religion on conquered people, but I think that the documentary could have looked more at how vile the Catholic Church got in its full-scale corruption. But the part about the Crusades was well done, in that it showed how the soldiers went over there with the aim of conquering the region but found a more advanced society (the Arabs were keeping alive the knowledge that the Catholic Church suppressed in Europe).

Anyway, we get a sense of how the Dark Ages - or Middle Ages, if you want to call them that - led to the Renaissance. Hearing about some of what happened during the Dark Ages, it seems like in some ways, things haven't gotten much better: we still have wars, oppression, and disease. Can technological advancements really mean anything? Overall, I recommend this documentary.