The Movie

If you've ever had the inclination to learn more about ancient tombs in Egypt, but don't want to sit through hours upon hours of boring statistics read by brainiac archaeologists, then Egypt Eternal - Quest For Lost Tombs might just be what you've been looking for. However, if you are extremely interested in learning everything there is to know about ancient Egyptian tombs, than this DVD is certainly not for you. Because while this National Geographic special tries its darndest to please the average Joe, it can't satisfy those with stronger appetites.

For the uninitiated, Lost Tombs gives a whirlwind tour of the greatest and most significant archeological finds in Egypt's history. The information is gripping and fast paced, making you feel like you've just taken a crash course in Egyptian Tombs for Dummies. However, it's the fast pacing and quick editing that ultimately makes Lost Tombs fall short of being called truly intriguing.

The special begins with a quick recap of the Egyptian civilization, and then quickly gets into the good stuff; namely, the tombs. We learn about ancient, and modern day pillaging, which when you learn about it, makes you really quite sick to your stomach. The fact that thieves all throughout history have made a living out of raiding these important historical treasures is a travesty against worldwide culture. We learn about special, significant tombs, and we learn about an ancient cult that believed cats were the greatest things since goat's milk. We follow various archeologists as we uncover ancient sand covered cemeteries, and a tomb that houses Ramses The Great.

All in all Lost Tombs is a fascinating special to watch. The information is plentiful, if a little hurried, and the visuals are striking. But afterwards I wanted more. At a run time of 60 minutes, I didn't get enough indebt information to make me satisfied. I wanted to learn more about the history of certain tombs, and I felt the jumpy back-and-forth editing created a hasty learning experience.

If you want to take a crash course in Egyptian tombs, this is the DVD for you. If you want to get an indebt lesson in ancient tombs, then you might want to look elsewhere.


The DVD

Video: Lost Tombs is presented in 4:3 full screen. The picture is not what I was hoping for in a National Geographic release. For starters the DVD looked grainy. Also, there were several instances where pixelation was visible, but it was the graininess that really took away from the viewing experience. Colors looked a little muddy, but that probably had a lot to do with the severe graininess found on the video transfer. Lines, spots, and tiny blemishes were also apparent.

So this is far from what you'd call a stellar video transfer, but I really wasn't expecting too much for a release of this kind.

Audio: The audio is brought to you via a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track. Like the video transfer, the audio is nothing to write home about. You can hear the dialogue, and music throughout the presentation, but that's about all there is to say. It serves its purpose, and nothing more.

Extras: The only special feature found on this DVD is an Ancient Egypt Quiz. After watching the special I still had a problem passing it. It was a good quiz, but I wish that more questions had been included.


Final Thoughts:

Egypt Eternal - The Quest For Lost Tombs is an interesting special that tries very hard to cram a lot of information in a relatively short amount of time. If it had been an hour longer, it could have been truly memorable. But as it stands, it's an informative DVD for those who know nothing about Egyptian tombs. So if you're remotely interested in this type of special, you could do worse to check it out. Rent It