Tutankhamun

An amazing , timely and thrilling story very well set in Egypt , though actually filmed in South Africa . On the whole this colorful series results to be a pretty good yarn. The essential story of the chance meeting that transformed ostracised archaeologist Howard Carter (Max Irons) into a household name following his discovery of the tomb of the boy-king, Tutankhamun , in the so-called Valley of the Kings . As penniless Carter is hired by British sponsor aristocrat , Lord Carnarvon (Sam Neill) , to do just that. But the hard walk to the surprising discovery is full of troublesome obstacles , such as : WWI outbreak , fake news , Arab uprising against the British rule fighting for complete independence, new Egyptian laws that abolished their right to a finder's fee , bankrupts and anything else . Along the way , backer Carnarvon's charming rebellious daughter, Evelyn (Amy Wren) befriends and seduces somewhat ingenuous Howard . Finally , Carter achieves his greatest dream. The past isn't a game !.

Decent and breathtaking series about Egypt , ancient discoveries , mysterious tombs , Pharaons and anything else . It results to be a workmanlike and sometimes moving flick that just lacks the surges of real excitement that might have turned into an adventure classy . An amazing , timely and thrilling story very well set in Egypt , at the mythological Valley of Kings . On the whole this TV series shot in the South African outdoors turn out to be a frankly good tale formed by 4 episodes . Filmed on location in South Africa desert , Egypt-alike , as the natural backdrop is riveting and look mighty hot and to add refreshing touches of romance to those parched desert sands . Main and support cast are pretty fine . Max Irons gives an adequate acting as the young , stubborn , good-natured archaeologist Howard Carter whose main obsession is to find the legendary tomb of the boy-king , while veteran Sam Neill is top-notch as the wealthy sponsoring patron . Along with Howard Carter's lovers , Amy Wren as Evelyn and Catherine Steadman as Maggie ; eventually Jonathan Aris plays alrightly his helper Herbert Winlock . The series was professionally directed by Peter Webber (Hannibal , The girl with a pearl earring , Emperor). This true life story was one worthy of television treatment .

The series based on actual events , these are the following ones : Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb that was unusually small considering his status. His death may have occurred unexpectedly, before the completion of a grander royal tomb, causing his mummy to be buried in a tomb intended for someone else . This would preserve the observance of the customary 70 days between death and burial. His tomb was robbed at least twice in antiquity, but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb after the intrusions, these robberies likely took place within several months at most of the initial burial. The location of the tomb was lost because it had come to be buried by debris from subsequent tombs, and workers' houses were built over the tomb entrance. In 1907, Howard Carter was invited by William Garstin and Gaston Maspero to excavate for George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon in the Valley. The Earl of Carnarvon and Carter had hoped this would lead to their gaining the concession when Davis gave it up but had to be satisfied with excavations in different parts of the Theban Necropolis for seven more years. After a systematic search, beginning in 1915, Carter discovered the actual tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) in November 1922 . By February 1923 the antechamber had been cleared of everything but two sentinel statues. A day and time were selected to unseal the tomb with about twenty appointed witnesses that included Lord Carnarvon, several Egyptian officials, museum representatives and the staff of the Government Press Bureau. On 17 February 1923 at just after two o'clock, the seal was broken . The discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun's nearly intact tomb, in excavations funded by Lord Carnarvon, received worldwide press coverage . With over 5,000 artifacts, it sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's mask, now in the Egyptian Museum, remains a popular symbol. The deaths of a few involved in the discovery of Tutankhamun's mummy have been popularly attributed to the curse of the pharaohs. He has, since the discovery of his intact tomb, been referred to colloquially as "King Tut". Some of his treasure has traveled worldwide with unprecedented response. The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities allowed tours beginning in 1961 and all around the world. This exhibit featured Tutankhamun's predecessors from the 18th Dynasty , including Hatshepsut and Akhenaten , but did not include the golden death mask. The artifacts were returned to Egypt with future plans to display them at the Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo. The new museum will mark the first time that the full Tutankhamun collection, gathered from all of Egypt's museums and storerooms, is under one roof.

There are a lot of bad reviews for this programme and I feel I have to say something. I actually joined IMDb to post this review. It is a TV dramatisation, not a reenactment. Not every detail will be accurate, because they want to make it accessible to the main stream public who are not experts in the story and who want to be entertained as much as educated. I'm not an expert, just an ordinary member of the public, and perhaps if I was an Egyptologist I would be disappointed by this version of the Howard Carter story, but as an ordinary member of the public, I absolutely love it! It is atmospheric, beautiful, intriguing, and gripping. I love the actors, I love the scenery I love the costumes and of course the storyline. Who wouldn't love a story set in a vibrant and colourful part of the world, at an exciting time period, about a treasure hunt? And it makes me want to find out more and educate myself about the real story, which surely should be the aim of any good drama about a real historical event.

I would like to address the review by "lukemanning from London" who probably thinks every American accent is a valley girl accent. As a Canadian, our accent is very close to the American accent, so I feel pretty qualified to say that Catherine Steadman's American accent was very good, I didn't realize she wasn't American. Very good for a modern American accent that is, I wouldn't know whether this was accurate for early 20th-century America.

I am originally Egyptian (Egyptian who grew up in Canada) and I have been looking into the actors of the Egyptian characters in Tutankhamun and I have been quite disappointed. Only one of them (Selim) seems to have Egyptian origins, but even he is actually ethnically mixed and doesn't look completely Egyptian, and his Arabic accent wasn't great. The rest didn't seem to be Egyptian. Egyptian cinema is booming, there is no shortage of Egyptian actors, and all Egyptians learn English in school, so there really is no reason why they couldn't have used Egyptian actors rather than British actors who look like they could pass for Egyptians. The Egyptian economy definitely needs all the help it can get right now, so it feels a little bit of an affront that they would make a movie set in Egypt and benefit off Egyptian history, and yet choose the filming and the Egyptian characters to have nothing at all to do with Egypt, thereby avoiding benefiting Egypt in any way.

I am enjoying the show and find it entertaining, but I am disappointed with how it was not Egyptian in any way. I hope that this show at least makes people more interested in visiting Egypt and brings back some of the tourism that has died in the last few years.

Loved the show, I've been to the valley of the kings and I remember travelling up the road to get there and you pass carters house. Didn't enter Tut's tomb because it cost extra, but there are so many great tombs to see. Anyway all the stuff is in the Egyptian museum in Cairo which I did see

It is strange to expect historical accuracy from an artistic serie. And it is, in same measure, bizarre to blame a romance slice in that serie. Because the purpose is well known, because the target must be large. I love this serie because it gives me one of the most fascinating stories of my childhood. For the performance of Max Irons, growing up role by role. For costumes and atmosphere and all "the spices"- from tension to love, from ambition to political context. In same measure, it is a real joy to see Sam Neill doing what you expect to do . A beautiful historical serie. And inspired expression of huge ambition to recreate a world in its essence defining it.