Product Details

• Actors: Stacy Keach
• Directors: Gail Willumsen
• Writers: Gail Willumsen
• Producers: Gail Willumsen, Jill Shinefield
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: May 2, 2006
• Run Time: 56 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001WTWQ0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,338 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "NOVA: The Mummy Who Would Be King" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

It is a tantalizing idea: a shriveled mummy that has lain neglected on a dusty museum shelf at Niagara Falls could be the remnants of a long-lost Egyptian pharaoh. While a trail of clues hints at how the looted mummy made its way to North America a century and a half ago, archaeologists go to Emory University to employ the latest imaging and DNA techniques in hopes of confirming the body’s hidden identity. Their results provide compelling evidence that the mummy may indeed be that of Ramesses I, founder of ancient Egypt’s most illustrious dynasty. This amazing story of historical intrigue and forensic science concludes as the mummy takes its rightful place alongside royal relatives in an Egyptian museum, a fitting solution to a 3,000 year-old puzzle.

Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.

On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Letterboxed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Any fan of ancient Egypt should enjoy this informative documentary., January 17, 2012

By 

Tycereom - See all my reviews

This review is from: NOVA: The Mummy Who Would Be King (DVD)

"The Mummy Who Would Be King" is a great Nova documentary about a mummy in a small Niagara Falls museum that some suspect to be a major Egyptian Pharaoh. The documentary talks about the Egyptian Pharaohs and where they were buried, how some of the them are now missing, how one of them might have ended up at Niagara Falls, and the conclusion reached by the experts. Any fan of ancient Egypt should enjoy this informative documentary.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Story, March 1, 2011

By 

Penfield, NY - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NOVA: The Mummy Who Would Be King (DVD)

Another great NOVA presentation. I've seen this a number of times (on TV and DVD) and, still, I'm not tired of it. I always wonder why NOVA has such good productions and I think I know why: it's because they present and EXPLAIN a lot of information in detail - they're complex which makes it interesting - and they complement the complexity by presenting the information as a story (it's not just facts presented - anybody can throw out facts). The discovery of this mummy is told from beginning to end in detail by a number of egyptologists - the narrator is just there to tie things together. This is a well-facused documentary on a particular pharaoh told in great detail as a story.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mummies and Detective Work, January 31, 2007

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NOVA: The Mummy Who Would Be King (DVD)

If you love "The New Detectives," "Forensic Files," and all those other shows where they use biological, technological, and molecular evidence to solve crimes, then you will love this. From crossed arms, to the placement of genitalia, to a diary, Egyptologists determine that a mummy that wound up near Niagara Falls was a pharaoh.

It's easy to assume that all ancient artifacts move from excavation site to well-maintained museum. This documentary, however, shows that certain artifacts have fascinating modern stories to tell. The work says old museums were freak shows. Earlier audiences wanted to see two-headed calves more than Egyptian mummies. I am actually surprised that the mummy survived its first decades in North America after so much mishandling. This work implies that a pharaoh's mummy is important, but an Egyptian nobleman's mummy is useless. I'd think any 3000 year-old relic would be important.

My alma mater (Brown University) is the only American school with an Egyptology undergraduate major. One of the requirements for the degree is to study some German. This documentary helps explain why. The bust of Nefertiti rests in Berlin and many Germans are excited Egyptologists. Here's this symbol that I associate with African-American feminists being embraced by the Claudia Schiffers and Helmut Kohls of the world.

There is one scene where actors pretend to be Egyptian undertakers. However, I wouldn't say this documentary had a ton of cheesy reenactments. Well, of the old kind. When the documentary says, "Person A contacted Person B," they film the real Person A pretending to contact the real Person B: a bit cheesy, but easy on the eyes.

The work shows that Egyptologists are diverse in terms of gender, race, nationality, and linguistic background. Still, the ending is an essentialist letdown in that when an Egyptian official says, "I can smell a pharaoh!" and that concludes the controversy.