Mystery of the Nile

A ragtag group of modern day explorers set off to be the 'first' to navigate the Blue Nile from Lake Tana in Ethiopia to the Mediterranean Sea.

Let's be clear. Any claim of firsts rings hollow. It's silly to say it out loud in the first place. It does not detract from how beautiful these places look. I can even accept the narration as long as I ignore the ridiculous claims of hardship and being great explorers. It's not true. At best, this is a simple travel show. If they treated it as such, this would be more satisfying. Also at 48 minutes, it feels like a highlight reel. The individual members get an introduction but non of them get much screen time. I do wish to have seen it on the big screen. It simply looks beautifully epic.

This movie is a marketing video for the expedition leader and a few others, who is immensely self-centered and on top factually wrong on several occasions. The expedition leader claims to be one of "few outsiders" to have ever visited the pyramids in Sudan (yes, not the ones in Egypt), but those pyramids are available for any tourist to visit – and besides "outsider" sounds quite imperialistic for a movie made in 2005. There are researchers, geologists and historians born, living and working in Sudan as well.

The only reason to watch this would be to see some of the footage, which is at times quite good. Especially the flyovers. Be sure to turn off the volume first though so you don't have to hear the narrative (marketing).

Don't waste your time - don't watch this.

This was one of the last great adventures left on the planet! The scenery is absolutely beautiful, and I imagine would be even more beautiful watching the film in Imax. Pasquale Scaturro is a modern day Henry Morton Stanley, and is a wonderful all around person. There doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of river expeditions like this film follows left any more, as our planet is constantly being explored,

The only thing that could make this film better would be if it was remastered in 4K UHD. I have also purchased the soundtrack to this documentary as well - it is phenomenal! There is also a Spanish import of the soundtrack available on Apple Music for subscribers.

This IMAX short film tells the story of following the Blue Nile from Ethiopia to Egypt. It is also the story of past civilizations and how they prospered or suffered because of nature and their own short-sightedness or desperation. Along the way the members of the expedition see kindness and joy in places of conflict like The Sudan. Fear , danger and menace are everywhere from crocodiles to murderous bandits. The team consisting of several men and two women are geologists, archaeologists, reporters and adventurers. A cancer survivor and a "city guy" are part of the group. They face grueling challenges and flirt with danger, disease and death. Through it all they maintain a positive attitude and a real empathy for the people of the Nile and the past civilizations that both cared for and exploited the resources of this river. This is a fantastic, exciting and visually stunning film. It is full of hope and foreboding. It is amazing and inspiring.

Mystery of the Nile is a great movie, great scenery and beautiful photography. Almost to good to be true...

They claim to be a documentary about a real expedition down the Nile. This is not the case. It is a fake, fictional documentary made by actors and mostly shot in a studio. Saskia Lange for instance is no Spanish journalist, but a minor German actress. That's why you only see 5 or so out of 114 expedition days: there has not been an actual expedition! The 'storm on Lake Nasser' scene is a give-away, made in a studio swimming pool. All local scenes are shot in safe, easy to reach tourist spots.

I really dislike the fact that they pretend to be real. It borders a swindle. 5 points for the pretty pictures.