Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs

I'm usually bored by this kind of movie aimed at a science center crowd, but this one had me taking it all in.

Visually stunning but full of substance too. Great use of IMAX in the desert and tombs. Weaves stories of discoveries old and new together with amazing shots, and scientific information.

Makes complicated science easy to understand, and thrills with the story of the Rasul brothers. I would like to learn more about the DNA experiments and how they can help today.

Great timing with the King Tut exhibit in Philadelphia. Looking forward to any follow-ups on the subject.

I do not have 3-D yet, so I had to settle for Blu-ray.

As I have implied this is a quickie overview of Egypt. It is claimed the same as the astonishing graphics. And they do a decent job of showing Egypt from different views at various times of day under different lighting. While you are enjoying the way that it looks this condensed version of history borrows from much longer programs and introduces us to major people that are still involved in Egyptology in the history of people that participated in Egyptology. The only thing that it lacks is a reading reference.

The disc does have however the standard DVD extras such as "Meet the Mummies" and a 22 minute "making of" Featurette. There was a quiz, but I did not take it.

Even if you already know the contents of the disk and even if you seem the longer programs this disc is still worth having for quick synopsis is worth re-watching periodically. I kept trying to figure out where the music came from it sounded like things from 10 Commandments Lawrence of Arabia and other various pictures. It turns out that it was originally written for this presentation.

It's an IMAX forty minute short meant for the museum science theaters. Visually, it has some of the epic grand vistas with recreations. It examines the art of mummification and the Egyptian afterlife. I don't care about the modern day mummification scientific experiment. It's not visually interesting and the results could be explained easily. It doesn't actually need those scenes. I'm more intrigued with Egypt locations even if they're recreations. I wouldn't mind if this could show the mummification process in more detail although the medical TV show aspect may be off-putting for little kids in museums. It's a good science short. The IMAX could be used to greater effect.

Mummies: Secret of the Pharaohs is an exceptional Imax film. The cinematography is beautiful (Egypt in Imax, need I write more?!), the recreations convincing, and most importantly, the film is engrossing. Intertwining three separate but related stories, Mummies: SotP, explores the far and near past in a fresh fashion all the while keeping an eye on their payoff - these separate pasts' unexpected role in advancing our future (no revelations will be made here. It's worth it to see the film!)

Films should be entertaining, that is a given. When they are educational as well...well you just can't help but leave the theater thinking that your dollar went far further than you've come to expect, and that, in my book, is always a reason to recommend a film!

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.