Rating  - Excellent documentaries, over-theatrical delivery
The programmes are a good guide to some relatively recent discoveries in Egypt, which tend not to get air time otherwise. The photography is excellent and the subject matter interesting and well chosen. The Tomb of the Sons of Ramesses II, the boat graves of Abydos, the "Golden Mummies" of the Ptolemaic period, the restoration of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple etc. I would easily have given the DVDs 5 stars, but the narrative by Peter Woodward is a too theatrical and exaggerated in places, and it becomes a little wearing after a while. It didn't need to be quite so hammed up in order to maintain interest - contrast it, for example, with the more "natural" account given by Dr Kent Weeks of his discovery and continuing excavation of the tomb of the sons of Ramessess II (KV5) which is fascinating without being exaggerated. However, this is a small criticism for an otherwise excellent production.
Rating - Next-best thing to being there!
Egypt Beyond the Pyramids takes you into a world of the past. From Queen Hatshepsut's Deir el Bahari and the Great Temple at Karnak to Sety I's temple at Abydos and Ramsses the Great's family mausoleum , this video will entrap you in awe at the both the structures and the people who built them.
In the first hour, the film offers a close look at Sety I's magnificent temple which contains a hieroglyphic list of all the kings of egypt till Sety I's reign. From there we explore Queen Hatshepsut temples and their reconstruction.
A visual treat awaits in the second hour with the exploration of the Ramesseum and KV5 - the private mausolem for the family of the Pharaoh in the Valley of Kings. Having over 60 chambers, the KV5 is one of the most magnificent sites shown in the film.
The next two hours give a in-depth look at the people who built it all - the common people. At the city of Mendes, old skeletal bodies are discovered while Deir el Medina shows an amazing sight of a craftsmen city.
The life of the common person - what food they ate, how they dressed, marriage and status of women - all is discussed in this segment.
Finally, the film delves into last important part of the lives of ancient Egyptians - death and beyond death. We get a look at the Book of the Dead and it's role in the soceity.
Most of the first two segments provide a visual feast capturing the magnificent structures. The next two segments don't measure up in terms of footage, but compensate with a look into the actual daily lives of the people.
Highly recommended if you are interested in the egyptian civilization apart from the Pyramids.
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