Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs" is an IMAX documentary from 2007, so this one has its 10th anniversary this year. For director Melton and writer Cecil, it is probably among the most known efforts from their career. At under 40 minutes (and that includes credits already), it is definitely one of the shortest IMAX works. But in this case, it is a good thing because I somehow did not feel this one at all. From a scientific perspective, it seemed almost pointless to me and this is also shown by the presence of the Simon Cowell of Egyptian archaeology Zahi Hawass. But he is by far not the biggest problem here. It's a combination of several actually. Narrator Christopher Lee that I otherwise like seems monotonous and lackluster. The reenactments were not convincing either, neither thematically nor visually. Of course, we don't have video or audio footage from the days of the pharaohs, but I still expect something better than displayed in here. As a whole, this one is not for the distinguished mind and it is certainly among my least favorite IMAX documentaries. And this means something as I have seen more than just a few. Thumbs down. Don't watch.

Michael_Elliott Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (2007) *** (out of 4) Christopher Lee narrates this documentary, which was originally shown in IMAX theaters. I had to watch it at home but I can imagine how great some of the images must have looked on such a large format. With that said, the story being told here was rather interesting as the documentary takes a look at ancient Egyptian history and the various import discoveries throughout the years. These discovers are of course traced back to tomb robbing, which was a major source of money back in the day. The main focus is on the biggest discovery, which led to various founders of Egypt being discovered.The other focus of this documentary is on getting DNA from mummies in hopes that one day we can tell what people died of. For the most part I found this to be an entertaining documentary. I watched it with my six-year-old son who loves this subject and he was slightly entertained by it, although he wasn't overly interested in the DNA stuff. There are some nice images of various mummies that have been discovered over the years as well as some nice information of their discovery. Lee certainly does a very good job with the narration with that terrific voice of his.

eloise-napier This is a very enjoyable film and an experience which kids, in particular, will find captivating. It successfully gets across the sheer magnificence and sophistication of Ancient Egyptian society; the level of detail is extraordinary and the historical accuracy spot on - a feat which many films sadly fail to achieve. This is thoroughly worth watching, both intellectually and aesthetically. With the upswing of interest in all things Egyptian at the moment, the timing could not be more perfect. If you can get hold of the DVD, The Making of the Mummies, so much the better because it highlights what a feat it was to create this movie, with hundreds and hundreds of extras involved, incredibly harsh weather conditions in the desert and extremely complicated sets to create.

gzamikes This feels like a history channel special. There were a few neat IMAX camera shots but not really enough to take advantage of the overly large screen.There's some basic information about who the mummies most likely were, a view in on an experiment where some scientists make a modern mummy in order to try and figure out where to withdraw DNA from old mummies and some stuff on tomb robbers.That's basically it. I'd advise seeing it if you're obsessed with mummies but otherwise there isn't too much you can get out of this movie.