This is a well made TV 'documentary'. However I found the entire production was trying too hard to sensationalize King Tut's supposed historical 'mystery'. Particularly with the protagonist walking around and acting as if he is the only authority in the entire world to determine the right answers simply by asking a bunch of 'experts', all from England, to conduct some rather fancy computer assisted testings, and it nearly completely avoided seeking any opinions from the Egyptian side. These people acted as if they 'owned' the entire King Tut's theories without further consultation or explanation from any Egyptian historians or archeologists. It definitely made this film feels more or less like mainly for some armchair history buffs instead of serious scientific/historic film.
3 Reviews
Beyond the Valley of the Kings
Galina_movie_fan22 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Ultimate Tut, a special two-part documentary in the popular educational PBS series Secrets of the Dead, is an exciting account of historical-scientific investigation that might have brought us closer to the solving of one of the most fascinating ancient mystery - the short life and death of the Egyptian boy-pharaoh Tutankhamen (Tut) of the 18th dynasty. Tut has become the most recognizable figure of the ancient Egypt after his intact tomb with the priceless golden treasures, Tut's mummy, and the strikingly beautiful golden mask of the young ruler were discovered in 1922 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings by the archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter.
The two hours long documentary is made as the investigation undertaken by Egyptologist Chris Naunton who has been haunted by the obvious differences in the way the 18-years-old King of Egypt was prepared and sent to the eternal life comparing to the rest of the pharaohs whose tombs were also discovered in the Valley of the Kings. Why Tut's was the only tomb that has survived the millenniums with almost all its treasures in place and never been raided by the grave-robbers? Why was the young king buried in a hurry and interred in the tomb that was not prepared properly? Why his body was brutally deformed and the crucial inner parts were missing? Why was embalming of his body performed in the manner that was not appropriate for such important person? Why were the name of Tutankhamen as well as the names of his father, Akhenaten (formerly Amenhotep IV) and his successor, Ay, missing from the list of all pharaohs, Abydos King List? Finding the answer to one of these questions would immediately bring Naunton to the next, and would take him further on the exciting journey all over the world, from Cairo and Luxor to Liverpool University in England, to Getty Center, Los Angeles, California, USA, and back to Egypt. He enlisted the help of the lead scientists, forensics specialists, doctors, historians, archaeologists, geologists and art historians to find the answers and their scientific proof. Two hours long investigation into the mystery that goes back 3000 years turned to be one of the most gripping, compelling, and fascinating documentary thriller I've ever seen. It is entertaining, educational, and is highly recommended to these who love to follow the mysteries of the past and who appreciates excellent documentaries.
The two hours long documentary is made as the investigation undertaken by Egyptologist Chris Naunton who has been haunted by the obvious differences in the way the 18-years-old King of Egypt was prepared and sent to the eternal life comparing to the rest of the pharaohs whose tombs were also discovered in the Valley of the Kings. Why Tut's was the only tomb that has survived the millenniums with almost all its treasures in place and never been raided by the grave-robbers? Why was the young king buried in a hurry and interred in the tomb that was not prepared properly? Why his body was brutally deformed and the crucial inner parts were missing? Why was embalming of his body performed in the manner that was not appropriate for such important person? Why were the name of Tutankhamen as well as the names of his father, Akhenaten (formerly Amenhotep IV) and his successor, Ay, missing from the list of all pharaohs, Abydos King List? Finding the answer to one of these questions would immediately bring Naunton to the next, and would take him further on the exciting journey all over the world, from Cairo and Luxor to Liverpool University in England, to Getty Center, Los Angeles, California, USA, and back to Egypt. He enlisted the help of the lead scientists, forensics specialists, doctors, historians, archaeologists, geologists and art historians to find the answers and their scientific proof. Two hours long investigation into the mystery that goes back 3000 years turned to be one of the most gripping, compelling, and fascinating documentary thriller I've ever seen. It is entertaining, educational, and is highly recommended to these who love to follow the mysteries of the past and who appreciates excellent documentaries.
Very good but not great.
planktonrules24 June 2017
This is an unusual episode of "Secrets of the Dead" because it's double the normal length. It's all about a new re-interpretation of ancient Egypt's King Tut, the boy king who died young and who was practically forgotten up until his crypt was discovered in the 1920s. Questions they ask was how did he die, why was his mummification done so poorly (after all, he SHOULD have been embalmed like a king but in some ways he was not), why was the mummy so black, what about decomposition of the tomb as well as why the tomb wasn't robbed.
My biggest problem with this interesting show is that they rarely equivocated and they often kept their theories rather limited. Often, the folks were making educated guesses but you do NOT hear them say 'perhaps' or other words...words that would have made them sound more scientific and less biased. Another problem is that I am not an expert on Egyptology but know enough that an OBVIOUS possible answer to his death, his crappy mummification and all...his father, Akhenaten was truly hated. He introduced Sun worship instead of the traditional pantheon of gods. This WOULD explain why they didn't find Tut's heart--perhaps it was deliberately destroyed so that he couldn't be resurrected into the afterlife. After all, since his father showed contempt for Osiris (the god of the dead who weighs the hearts of people to determine if they should be granted eternal life), what better revenge than to ensure his son would never be resurrected? And, hatred of the pair would help explain why the grave was so crappy (by comparison to other kings) and the mummification so lousy. How come a history teacher thought of all this but none of this line of reasoning was addressed at all? I'm not THAT smart!
My biggest problem with this interesting show is that they rarely equivocated and they often kept their theories rather limited. Often, the folks were making educated guesses but you do NOT hear them say 'perhaps' or other words...words that would have made them sound more scientific and less biased. Another problem is that I am not an expert on Egyptology but know enough that an OBVIOUS possible answer to his death, his crappy mummification and all...his father, Akhenaten was truly hated. He introduced Sun worship instead of the traditional pantheon of gods. This WOULD explain why they didn't find Tut's heart--perhaps it was deliberately destroyed so that he couldn't be resurrected into the afterlife. After all, since his father showed contempt for Osiris (the god of the dead who weighs the hearts of people to determine if they should be granted eternal life), what better revenge than to ensure his son would never be resurrected? And, hatred of the pair would help explain why the grave was so crappy (by comparison to other kings) and the mummification so lousy. How come a history teacher thought of all this but none of this line of reasoning was addressed at all? I'm not THAT smart!
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