Egypt (Dbl DVD) (WS)

I searched everywhere and could not find "The Showman & the Pharoah," so I was elated when I found it as one of the episodes in this "docu/drama". When I received it, there was a warning that it was not compatible with the type of player I had, so I decided to purchase a multi-region player. To the credit of this seller, there is a warning on the packaging that clearly states that it requires a certain player, and not to open it if you want to return it. (Why oh why don't the powers-that-be provide this on the product description?) If you are interested in ancient Egypt, you'll like this. My favorite is The Showman, but each episode is dramatized and interesting and is presented professionally.

The media could not be loaded.  Just to see and i liked it and it was very good

For anyone with even the mildest interest in ancient Egypt and/or archaeology, this video is a must. It is rare indeed to find a presentation based on historic events that does not play loose with the facts. In this BBC series, the history matches the actuality that I have gleaned from many books on the subjects and passes with nary a transgression. In doing this, the producers could have come up with a dry as desert sand presentation but, no, the video is engrossing and moves along briskly. The series is a drama with great writing and excellent acting. The persona of Carter and Carnarvon are played so well, it is almost as if they were plucked from the era by a time machine. The depictions of ancient Egypt and the pharaohs Tutankhamen and Rameses the Great are done with no romantic overlay or "epic" effects. Yet always the video is interesting and engaging. For me, I know I will be watching this video over and over. It is that good. No other video on ancient Egypt even comes close.

I'm a great fan of documentaries especially historical ones. This documentary film is simply breathtaking! It's a unique re-telling of the ancient superpower that was Egypt. The larger-than-life characters are portrayed by actors who were right for the part.There are three different stories from different eras that will captivate the audience from start to finish. BBC also did a great job simplifying the stories for people to better understand (and relate to the characters) without turning it into fiction. It is real history at its finest, so if you're an avid fan of history, or documentary, or just wanting to watch something uniquely different with a touch of "Indiana Jones", this is definitely it.

The three-disc Region 2 DVD set is an excellent addition to my personal library. This is a dramatization of the major events that shaped our knowledge of ancient Egypt. Well-cast and written, the six episodes are on the first two discs. The third disc contains "Pyramid", a dramatized account of one (fictionalized) man's contributions to building the greatest of all the pyramids and the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that still stands to this day. Both dramatizations are built around actual accounts of the people and the events.

You can find some video of this DVD in YouTube. But I am still recommend this hard dvd because it’s qulity in the movie itself and resolution.Best bbc documentary for Egypt adventure!

A good dramatization of the finding of Egyptian tombs. Not the best but it gives you a good feel for the actual archeology.

Very good presentation. Some of it is very familiar... but there were other less well-known facts included which I have enjoyed. The acting, sets and explanations were excellent...

This three disc box set is wonderful viewing for anyone interested in Egyptology, especially the Tutankhamun discovery. It focuses on three key figures in the development of Egyptology in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and an investigation into the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza.The first two episodes focus on the most famous archaeologist of them all - Howard Carter. Impressive portrayals of Carter by Stuart Graham and Lord Carnarvon by Julian Wadham are supplemented by well recreated and atmospheric sets and costumes - you feel is if you are exploring the tombs in the dazzling heat of the Nile Valley with the explorers! It is exhilarating when Carnarvon asks "Can you see anything?", Carter replies with the memorable words: "Yes, wonderful things!".The political problems with the French bureaucrats are documented impressively - it is intriguing to see the battle of the French and British Empires play out in the sands of Egypt. Interesting asides including Carter's affair with Carnarvon's daughter, the curse of Tutankhamun and the ultimate death of Carnarvon himself, the relatively futile attempts by Carter and Carnarvon to organise media and tourist access and the lack of recognition by British authorities for Carter's achievements all help to bring this section to life.Episodes three and four showcase the unlikely story of the unheralded Italian-born Giovanni Belzoni - a former circus entertainer and strongman who somehow became an antiquities collector for the British in Egypt. Energetically portrayed by Matthew Kelly, Belzoni comes to life as a larger than life figure who defied the odds at every turn to write a place in history. Kelly is well supported by the sultry Lynsey Baxter as his faithful and inspiring wife.These episodes show how Belzoni removed a seven ton bust of Ramesses II, cleared sand from the entrance of the long-lost Abu Simbel temple, discovered and documented the tomb of Seti I (indeed, was the pioneer of The Valley of the Kings exploration), and was the first person to enter into the second pyramid of Giza. At every turn, subterfuge and danger are present in the form of the menacing French who try to beat Belzoni to the best artifacts. Also, ill-health is also an ever-present danger on the banks of the Nile.The final two episodes follow Frenchman Jean-Francois Champollion in his race to decipher hieroglyphics. Champollion is impressively portrayed by Elliot Cowan who goes through a full range of emotions and problems as a result of his life-long fascination with historic languages and the beginnings of creation. The battles Champollion faced with the Catholic church and the French monarchy are well documented, and the importance and mystique of the Rosetta Stone is detailed.An extra documentary charts the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza from the perspective of a construction worker. This gives more reality and emotion to the long process of the Pyramid's construction, and accurately shows the sacrifices thousands of people made. The latest computer technology reveals the techniques and processes used to build the Great Pyramid, and also offers potential reasons as to why it was built and what it's function was.Overall, a very impressive box set from the BBC. One weakness was it's lack of a detailed examination of the artifacts discovered by Carter and Belzoni, but these can be found elsewhere. A must-have for any armchair Egyptologist.

I missed this series when it was first broadcast in 2005 and only caught up with it last year when it was repeated on PBS America. I was sufficiently impressed to order a copy from Amazon prior to a holiday to Egypt at the very end of last year.There are a number of criticisms which you could justifiably make. For example, the acting is sometimes on the ripe side: in a scene depicting Ramses II and his gods, the actor concerned looks like he’s taken his inspiration from some of his character’s larger than life monuments. Or you could query the casting of Matthew Kelly, with his distractingly bright blue eyes, as the explorer Belzoni, a portrait of whom is shown on the end credits with the brown eyes you’d more likely expect of an Italian.However, none of the above detracts from the wonderful evocation of the discovery of the lost temples and tombs in the hundred or so years from the second decade of the 19th century to the third decade of the 20th. I would particularly single out the episodes dealing with the discovery of Tutankamun’s tomb by Howard Carter in 1922, infinitely better than the anachronistic PC version from 2016 starring Max Irons, which had one eye fixed firmly on the American market.At a time when foreign travel is severely restricted, these stories should go a long way to make up for the inability to visit the treasures of Egypt yourself.Definitely 5*

This is a very good series of dramatised documentaries and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Obviously, being dramatized events of so long ago, inaccuracies are present, but overall still extremely enjoyable to watch.They cover three of the most well known discoveries & men of their time – Howard Carter & Lord Carnarvon (Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb); Giovanni Belzoni (Matthew Kelly!) who “acquired” *ah-hem* artifacts for Britain; Champollion working out the secret behind ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.There’s also a bonus documentary about the Great Pyramid, how it was built etc. . . Which was also enjoyable and an unexpected extra.The BBC did a fantastic job on these DVDs and they are great for people starting out on their Ancient Egypt journey.Great value and entertainment. Highly recommended.

This is a fictional rendering of the life and work of the three most important discoverers of ancient Egypt. It is a comprehensive work, at least as much as can fit into three DVDs packed with action. The idea of a fictional narration instead of a pure documentary is a good one in this case, as it helps bring the characters to life. The three stories of research and discovery are interlaced with the personal lives of the three men, their strengths and weaknesses, and it all makes for an entertaining as well as instructive narration.I am not sure why the authors chose this particular order of the episodes, in that Belzoni should come first, as his discoveries preceded the work of the two others. Carter's episodes should be the last: not only did he work a century after Belzoni and Champollion, but his subject, Tutankhamun, lived a thousand years after Ramsess and the inventors of the hieroglyphs. The viewer might want to watch episodes 3 and 4 first, then 5 and 6, and finally 1 and 2.Acting is not going to win any Oscars but that's not why one buys this set. The third "bonus" DVD on the pyramids is the worst of the three. The CGI are rather poor (more like 1990s than 2010) and the narrator's voice tries to be solemn but is just boring.

I have a particular interest in Egypt's well documented history, having lived there for a few years as a child, and much enjoyed this series which brought to life a number of important discoveries and revelations. I suspect more than a little liberty has been taken in the making but if this has the effect of making someone totally new to Egypt's amazing past want to know more (from other sources), the the objective has been achieved.