| Egypt On Screen Reviews of Television and Movies about Egypt |
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| Tour Egypt Magazine |
IN THE CINEMA
Some have asked, ‘Didn’t you miss reviewing Tomb Raider?’ Answer: No. Didn’t miss it, just took a pass on the experience. This video game-come-to-live-action, starring Angelina Jolie, explores cartoon action, not tombs. If it weren’t for the high-camp, ultra violence, it’d be strictly for the kiddies.
The Mummy Returns is still returning millions of dollars worldwide. The film is still in the top ten in Japan, Hong Kong, Sweden and South Africa and, having swept through the United States and Europe, profits of the action-adventure with the Egyptian motif, are expected to top $300 million dollars.
ON TV
But, don’t despair, there is plenty coming to the small screen in August. And, the anthropologists are the feature attraction, beginning with documentary, premiering on the BBC and The Learning Channel, Ancient Apocalypse: Death on the Nile. Ancient Apocalypse returns us to the golden era of pyramid building, 2200 BCE. Geologist and archeologist, Dr. Fekri Hassan, a specialist in demographic and ecological archaeology, who has studied the time period for some thirty years, attempts to reconstruct the physical record and the historical data in order to shed light on the shift away from the monumental building projects of the Old Kingdom.
The documentary follows Fekri from the Giza plain, to the southern deserts of Egypt and onto the frozen landscape of Iceland, as he puts together an intriguing theory about the weather patterns that may have impacted the rhythm of the Nile and the civilization that depended upon it.
The Learning Channel, then pulls off the wraps and gives us, Mummies Revealed, an exploration of the techniques and rituals of mummification throughout the ages. The one hour program, covers the rituals 5,000 year-old process as it was practiced in ancient Egypt, across Europe and Asia, to the New World.
On the History Channel, there’s still time to catch Napoleon Takes Egypt, the program that recalls the arrival of Napoleon and his fleet of 400 ships and over 34,000 men. Napoleon came to invade Egypt, but brought 150 scholars and experts in all fields of science and art. Their job--to extend the frontiers of Western knowledge.
Napoleon, of course, wasn’t the last westerner to invade Egypt, Great Blunders in History: Suez Crisis, chronicles the Suez Canal conflict. The canal, opened in 1869 with the French and British governments as major shareholders, linked the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. In 1956, Great Britain and France invaded Egypt with the goal of taking back the canal, which had been nationalized by Egypt's President Gamal Abdel Nasser. When the UN demanded a cease-fire, supported by the U.S. and Soviet Union, they pulled out. But the catastrophic blunder discredited Britain and France and ruined the career of British Prime Minister Anthony Eden.
Next Mr. Spock, er, Leonard Nimoy, hosts this vintage program that specialized in unusual theories and explanations of the world’s mysteries. This time, the theorists go In Search of.. Pyramid Secrets.
And, another of History’s Mysteries, is the Secret Brotherhood of Freemasons. Ever wonder about the true nature of the secret and mystical organization known as freemasons? This documentary promises to show heretofore secret ceremonies that purportedly date back to ancient Egypt.
Due to the civil war in the Sudan, the pyramid and temple sites of the Nubian Pharaohs are rarely seen by the public, so the Travel Channel, offers us a rare chance to Journey to the Ends of the Earth, in search of some answers to the Mystery of the African Pharaohs.
Then, we explore the Mystery of the Sphinx . The Great Sphinx of Egypt has mystified people for centuries. This isn’t an archaeologist’s view to the origins of the enigmatic monument, but a presentation of new theory of the age of the Sphinx, and of the manner in which it was built.
Next, the Curse of the Egyptian Mummies is visited upon us, again. Yes, it’s that 20th century phenomenon--Tutmania. The program investigates the legend of King Tutankhamun's curse. When Lord Carnarvon, the patron of the archaeologist who uncovered Tut's tomb, died seven weeks later, rumors spread about a curse that strikes those who raid the boy king's treasures.
And, don’t miss the World's Best: Ancient Sites. Journey through time to revel in the wonder of the ancients. Travel from the Incan citadel of Maccu Picchu to Angkor Wat, from the stone statues of Easter Island to the Great Wall of China, from Stonehenge to the Great Pyramid of Egypt.
Certain of the PBS stations are still showing the ambitious documentaries, Islam: Empire of Faith and The Messenger; the Awakening; the Ottomans. The programs delve into the life and influence of the seventh-century prophet Muhammad as he founds the religion of the Muslims.
The SCI-FI Channel reels out, Stargate. This film, starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, uses Egypt as the launching pad, into an alien world. FOR THE CHILDREN The Animal Planet, follows The Crocodile Hunter's Croc Files as the intrepid host examines "A Grain of Sand'', a daring, close-up look at desert animals. See your local theater, television, cable or satellite directories for screening dates and times.
Types of Travel to Egypt by Jimmy Dunn Prior Issues July 1st, 2001 |
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