Reviewed by George Ivanoff

Egypt: New Discoveries, Ancient Mysteries is a series presented in a 5-disc box set, exploring the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. Comprising ten episodes (varying in length from 28 to 50-minutes), additional interviews and extras, this is marathon viewing. Although it does contain fascinating information and some interesting perspectives, I'm not 100% sure it's worth the investment of time.

The series is presented by Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. He is obviously very passionate about Egyptology; a passion that manifests itself as an over-the-top enthusiasm that borders on the comical. If he had just stuck to his little introductions at the beginning of each episode, it would have been a quirky and perhaps endearing element to the series. But Hawass's repeated appearances begin to wear thin after a few episodes.

Hawass aside, there’s a lot of interesting information presented in this series. Yes, some of it is the standard stuff you’ll find in most ancient Egypt docos—there is the obligatory episode on King Tut, for instance. But there is also a reasonable amount information that hasn’t been done to death, and a number of episodes take an unusual approach, making them stand out from the plethora of other documentaries. Of particular interest is the episode about the Cairo Museum.

One of the shortcomings of this series is its repetitiveness. You would expect a little recapping every now and then over the course of ten episodes, but sometimes the same information is featured several times over throughout the series. The repeated use of certain footage and computer graphics is also a little frustrating.

Another problem with this series lies in its presentation. Everything is portrayed in a rather over-the-top, melodramatic way—from the music to the direction to the editing. Then there is the often poor quality of the material, with a significant motion blur in certain footage and the volume can vary considerably from interview to interview.

While this is not a startling series, there are some real highlights within. The dedicated aficionado of Egyptology will probably be happy to have this DVD set on their shelves. But the casual viewer may find it a little hard going. It’s the sort of series that is probably best watched every now and then, an episode at a time, broken up with other viewing; rather than in one marathon sitting.

Egypt: New Discoveries, Ancient Mysteries
(2008)

Available through Ovation.