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DVD Description
A captivating look at one of the oldest religious documents in the world. Lost for millennia, The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a fascinating piece of history that dates back over 4,000 years. It reveals the reason why the Egyptians built the pyramids and is the likely source of the Ten Commandments.
HISTORY™ follows the ancient scroll from its creation in approximately 1800 BC to its rediscovery in 1887 AD.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead weaves together two stories through recreations, expert interviews and computer-generated graphics – that of a temple scribe in ancient Egypt, who saves for months to buy his Book of the Dead, and that of a roguish 19th Century museum curator named Earnest Wallis Budge, who discovers the same book and purchases it for the British Museum in London.
From the age of papyrus to the age of silicon, The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a captivating look at one of the oldest religious documents in the world.
• This programme brings history to life with its engaging mix of documentary and recreation.
HISTORY™ follows the ancient scroll from its creation in approximately 1800 BC to its rediscovery in 1887 AD.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead weaves together two stories through recreations, expert interviews and computer-generated graphics – that of a temple scribe in ancient Egypt, who saves for months to buy his Book of the Dead, and that of a roguish 19th Century museum curator named Earnest Wallis Budge, who discovers the same book and purchases it for the British Museum in London.
From the age of papyrus to the age of silicon, The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a captivating look at one of the oldest religious documents in the world.
• This programme brings history to life with its engaging mix of documentary and recreation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
I was expecting to see a lot of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, but instead I saw a 60 minute docudrama that had so many breaks I lost count. After each break one was subjected to a lot of retracing of the previous "episode", thereby stretching this tedious "mock"udrama to 90 minutes. I would expect an 8 year old to want more documentary and less badly acted drama. The Egyptian director of Antiquities seems to get his two cents worth on just about every Ancient Egyptian documentary these days. He is about as genuine as a three dollar note, playing down the fact that there was, and still is a huge desecration of ancient burial sites (and even more modern Jewish synagogues and Coptic Churches for that matter)going on in Egypt still and lamenting how antiquities were "stolen". There was and is a lot of palms being greased so his protests are a bit "precious". Don't but this DVD. I have quite a few History Channel DVDs that are very good. This one is less than very bad!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
I bought this DVD because of an upcoming visit to the British Museum, which currently has a fantastic exhibition on the Book of Dead.
The documentary was produced by the history channel and although I found it a good overall introduction it was very repetitive. It seems that this was initially produced for TV and the re-caps after each commercial break were not cut out/edited. As a consequence the documentary is at times quite slow. On the plus side I found it was complementary to the British Museum exhibit in that it focuses on the (controversial) history of the book's discovery and journey to the British Museum under the then Keeper of the Egyptian Section, E.A. Wallis Budge. There are many different versions of the Book of the Death. The British Museum holds the Book of Ani, considered the most complete version-which Budge chopped up into segments.
Content wise, the documentary provides a good introduction,to Ani's Book of Death. It explains the purpose of the book with acted out scenes or helpful animations, which also gives the audience a feel for the historic person, Ani himself and the context under which the book was created. However, the documentary omits what I found important details, such as the "ba-spirit" that certainly would have helped to understand the whole point of mummification a bit better. (The ba spirit was a human headed bird which represented the soul or spirit of the deceased.It would roam around freely during the day but then always had to return back to the mummy/the preserved body which constitutes its "home".)
On the whole, I would think a solid introduction for the entire family. If you like a more "in-depth" introduction look somewhere else.
The documentary was produced by the history channel and although I found it a good overall introduction it was very repetitive. It seems that this was initially produced for TV and the re-caps after each commercial break were not cut out/edited. As a consequence the documentary is at times quite slow. On the plus side I found it was complementary to the British Museum exhibit in that it focuses on the (controversial) history of the book's discovery and journey to the British Museum under the then Keeper of the Egyptian Section, E.A. Wallis Budge. There are many different versions of the Book of the Death. The British Museum holds the Book of Ani, considered the most complete version-which Budge chopped up into segments.
Content wise, the documentary provides a good introduction,to Ani's Book of Death. It explains the purpose of the book with acted out scenes or helpful animations, which also gives the audience a feel for the historic person, Ani himself and the context under which the book was created. However, the documentary omits what I found important details, such as the "ba-spirit" that certainly would have helped to understand the whole point of mummification a bit better. (The ba spirit was a human headed bird which represented the soul or spirit of the deceased.It would roam around freely during the day but then always had to return back to the mummy/the preserved body which constitutes its "home".)
On the whole, I would think a solid introduction for the entire family. If you like a more "in-depth" introduction look somewhere else.
My favourite hobby and had been for fifty years but this book has new light on a subject I thought I knew by heart. Any more books on this subject will be welcome
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