Search - World Almanac Video - Mummies and Pyramids: Egypt and Beyond on DVD

Everything you want to know about pyramids and mummies. And

Stephen Pletko | London, Ontario, Canada | 09/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

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In this fascinating four-part documentary, we are presented with everything you want to know about pyramids and mummies. These are cultural artifacts found around the world including the Americas. (Yes! These are not just found in Egypt.) Along the way we are told of cultures, creations, and customs that inspire awe, shock, and, above all, wonder.

Throughout all four parts or episodes, we get comments from such people as anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, Egyptologists, professors, and even "anatomical detectives." Besides pyramids and mummies, we get to see or are introduced to such things as digs, excavations, ancient artifacts, burial grounds, construction techniques, ancient rituals & beliefs, ancient writings & drawings, and art.

Besides the large amount of information transmitted to the viewer in all four parts, the photography is breathtaking.

Each part begins with a thirty-second prelude, a kind of "teaser" of what a particular episode is about. Below I will state the title of each episode and duplicate the narrative of its prelude so you can get a feel of what this entire documentary is about.

(1) The ultimate guide to pyramids (50 min)

"These are some of the world's greatest monuments [referring to images of pyramids]. They combine colossal mass with precision engineering. For over 4000 years, they were unsurpassed. Yet they were built by peasant societies with only simple tools. And the Egyptians weren't alone. Pyramids were the crowning achievements of other civilizations from around the world. The search for treasure has always brought thieves and bounty hunters to the pyramids. But for today's explorers, the challenge is to reveal the amazing stories of the people who built them."

(2) The pyramids of doom: an ancient murder mystery (50 min)

"In an ancient land, in a sacred place, a vanished realm of splendor and blood, archaeologists make a shocking find. [Images of skeletons and skeleton parts are shown.] Was it a gift to the gods or was it murder?"

(3) The oldest mummies in the world (50 min)

"The Atacama Desert in Northern Chile is the driest place on Earth. It stretches from the foothills of the Andes...to the edges of the Pacific Ocean. There are few signs of life here. It hasn't rained in parts for thousands of years. But the very dryness of the Atacama has made it the perfect keeper of a unique treasure. Buried in its sands are the intimate secrets of an ancient world--the legacy of a stone-age people who believed they could conquer death."

(4) Desert mummies of Peru (45 min)

"Southern Peru is a wasteland blasted by the sun. One of the last places on Earth where life should thrive. But the sands of the Atacama Desert tell another story. These barren slopes are yielding treasures more precious than gold--artifacts and a people who once conquered this land a thousand years ago."

Finally, the DVD itself is perfect in picture and sound quality. There are no extras, subtitles, or scene selections.

In conclusion, I thought I knew a lot about pyramids and mummies. This excellent documentary showed me how much I did not know!!

(2002; 3 hr, 15 min; made for TV {Learning channel, Discovery channel}; wide screen)

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