Product Description

Disc 1. Tutankhamen 1 x 52:00 min Nearly all historical record of the mysterious Tutankhamen has been ruthlessly obliterated. This programme investigates his tomb and the tests carried out on his mummified body. We delve into his marriage to his half-sister, his relationship with his ambitious advisor and the disastrous tragedy of his childlessness. Finally we investigate his suspicious and untimely death. Disc 2. Ramses The Great 1 x 52:00 min Ramses II bragged about his military prowess and about his two hundred children. So great was his ego that he bricked up his father's mortuary temple to have more space for boasting of his achievements. He even designed a temple at Abu Simbel so that, on his birthday, the sun's rays would shine in and illuminate the statues of Ramses and the gods. We delve into the life of arguably the greatest ruler of Ancient Egypt. Disc 3. The Real Cleopatra 1 x 52:00 min Cleopatra has traditionally been painted as a cruel voluptuary, but through historical and archaeological detective work, this documentary exposes a Cleopatra never before seen. A monogamous woman who only ever loved two men; a devoted mother who planned for the success of her children even while facing her own death; and a compassionate queen, devoted to the livelihoods of those she ruled.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7398 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-04-23
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 150 minutes

Synopsis
A look at some of the most fascinating chapters of Egyptian history, including Cleopatra, Ramses the Great and Tutankhamen.

Customer Reviews

The Lives of the Pharaohs
The Ancient Egypt DVD box set is a collection of three episodes from the 1997 Discovery Channel series 'The Great Egyptians'. Each 52 minute long episode focuses on the life of one of Egypt's greatest Pharaohs.
Starting with the famous boy king, Tutankhamun, the series progresses to cover the life of Ramses the Great, (arguably Egypt's greatest king) and finally, Queen Cleopatra.

The series is typical of the shows created by the Discovery Channel in the nineties. It has very little of the budget or polish of more recent productions such as the Channel 4 series 'Ancient Egyptians'.

While watching the series, you can expect scenes of crumbling statues and temples intercut with scenes from old hollywood films, while bombastic synthesizer music plays in the background. It also contains those poor reconstructions - with wobbly sets and cheesy acting - which are repeated every 10 minutes or so.

If the documentary had only contained scenes like this, it would not have been worth watching. What saves it in my opinion are the scenes containing Egyptologist and Mummy expert, Dr. Bob Brier. He takes the viewer on a tour of some of the major and lesser known sites in Egypt and its neighbouring countries. His enthusiasm and love of the subject is infectious, and he does a good job of explaining the meaning of the hieroglyphics and tomb paintings. He also provides a fascinating look at the mummies. In one scene he even analyzes the mummified remains of the stillborn child of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamen.

It is a shame that this DVD boxset does not contain every episode from the Great Egyptians series. Instead, it is almost like a 'best of' compilation. Episodes about Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Sneferu etc are not contained on the box set.

If you want a short series on the lives of some of Egypt's greatest rulers - and you are new to Egyptian history - then this documentary might be worth watching. But if you want something a bit more in-depth, it might be better to read a book on the subject.

DVD info -

Running time: 150 mins approx
Classifaction: E - Exempt
Audio options: English
Subtitles: None
Special Features: None (except for Chapter selections).

Conjecture?
Down-side - Conjectural situations are presented as factual and ambiguous evidence is is described as definitive. Virtually nothing is shown about the "lead-up" to the discoveries or the "on-going" situation.
Up-side - Takes you to some of the lesser known sites and the camera work is excellent. I enjoyed what I did watch but only from that point of view.
In general, very disappointing and a waste of money. I bought this for information not to watch early film drama and hear hypothetical Biblical references being presented as (implied) fact. I gave up watching in disgust after 2 episodes - I just couldn't be bothered with the third.

Interesting but disk about cleopatra turned out to be ice road truckers! -_-
Ancient Egypt [DVD]

The DVDs were really interesting and a real good insight into Ancient Egypt life, but when it came to watching the documentry about 'Cleopatra' it turned out to be Ice Road Truckers season 1, I was really dissapointed about this as it was a gift.