Search - Nefertiti Resurrected on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 4/1/2024...

Great for those that enjoy history and detailed facts documentary.

Nathaniel W. from PACE, FL
Reviewed on 10/4/2011...

Absolutely loved it!! I've watched it over and over again, amazingly informative.

Melody Z. from SPRINGFIELD, MO
Reviewed on 12/15/2010...

I loved it. Very interesting and educational.

Back in the Box

Holy Olio | Grand Rapids, MI USA | 06/19/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I just read that Joann Fletcher got banned from doing Egyptology in Egypt because she didn't follow Zahi "Zowie" Hawass' procedure of letting him announce everything. He does indeed appear in the video, making quite reasonable remarks about how there's no evidence in favor of Fletcher's thesis. Kent Weeks, excavator of KV5, also appears, suggesting that her claim isn't that farfetched, but that it will have to wait for better technology in coming years to rule it in or out. That is also reasonable.

The real reason to watch this video is to laugh and laugh and laugh. Fletcher has an unfounded belief that she has found the mummy of Nefertiti; she refuses to be convinced otherwise; she takes every single disconfirmation (which is every test performed for this video, other than her own subjective views about the mummy's hairstyle and ear piercings) in stride, getting more and more wild-eyed, and making one unsubstantiated claim after another.

Perhaps my favorite is her trip to the unfinished tomb of Akhenaten -- Fletcher stands at the head of what would have been the sarcophagus and claims that Nefertiti stood there and conducted the rites for her dead husband. Fletcher also refers to Akhenaten as "such a terrible politician" and grants Nefertiti entirely imaginary characteristics and abilities.

All existing evidence shows that Nefertiti predeceased Akhenaten. It's possible that her tomb was plundered shortly after her death and the end of the 18th dynasty, as a gold artifact bearing her name was found on the Ulu Burun wreck. There is a modern drive to turn Nefertiti into some kind of feminist anachronism and have her rule as a man. Fletcher appears to subscribe to that view, but gives no attribution for or reference to its originator.

A case can be made that Marianne Luban originated Fletcher's premise (see Luban's website, and the Archaeology magazine review of this video for more); according to Mark Rose, Luban started a lawsuit, but dropped it subsequent to seeing how badly received the broadcast was.

Two stars -- the video is a work of fiction being passed off as fact, but c'mon, you'll get to see the insides of tombs currently (and for the foreseeable) closed to the public, and have a really good laugh at the expense of Joann Fletcher and the Discovery Channel."

Nefertiti Repetitive but Nevertheless Fascinating

Dr. Christopher Coleman | HONG KONG | 02/13/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Nefertiti Resurrected was originally a Discovery Channel production, and shares common flaws with other of their works--primarily, a tendency toward padding and sensationalism. As these shows are originally intended for television, they are designed with commercial breaks every 10 to 15 minutes with lots of back announcing for those who came in late or who suffer severe short term memory loss. It's extemely annoying, and in a DVD might well drive the viewer mad. The repetition is so constant that a half an hour could easily be cut from the show, perhaps even more, with no loss of content.But nonetheless, the content of this production is, for the most part, superior. Anthropologist Dr. Joann Fletcher's work is featured throughout, and I felt fairly convinced by her evidence. She discovered a mummy which she believes is Nefertiti, and whether or not you agree, the sorts of evidence she gathers is diverse and fascinating. One of the highlights is the reproduction of Nefertiti's face from the skull x-rays using current forensic techniques deployed today in identifying modern corpses. Discussions of Nefertiti's role in Egypt, as consort and eventual replacement of the Pharoh Akhenaten, and ultimately her downfall, are well done--the evidence is placed in meaningful historical context. That some Egyptologists are not convinced by Fletcher's claims is not surprising and it's unlikely that a definitive answer will ever be known, barring the discovery of a tomb labelled in hieroglyphics: Nefertiti's Buried Here. But that's not really the point. The search itself, the questions raised, the methods used and the historical context are well worth your attention if you have any interest in the subject at all. I've got to say, though, that the ending is totally hokey in the worst of New Age ways..."

So so...

Dr. Christopher Coleman | 10/26/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this on televison on the Discovery channel and was rather let down by it. It was so repetitive that they could have trimmed down the time from 2 hours to one hour"