Product Details

• Actors: James Cameron
• Directors: Simcha Jacobovici
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: October 31, 2006
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000HOJR8A
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,408 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "The Exodus Decoded (History Channel)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Complex yet utterly compelling, The Exodus Decoded is presented by movie director James Cameron (Titanic) but is the passion of Jewish-Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici. Jacobovici has extensively researched evidence that the Biblical account of the Exodus was real, and concludes that it actually took place in 1500 BCE (during the reign of pharaoh Ahmos I), historically known as the Hyksos Expulsion. The Hyksos people were a Semitic race about whom little is known. But their departure from Egypt, following a long enslavement, along with early writings and other physical evidence, make a strong case that they are the Hebrews of lore. Jacobovici suggests the Exodus is also connected to the catastrophic eruption of the Santorini volcano, which ended the Minoan civilization and triggered a limnic eruption (a surge of carbon dioxide) in the Nile river delta. The latter would have killed the river's fish but likely chased out all the frogs, a phenomenon that could have been considered one of the famous plagues in the Exodus story. (Jacobovici makes a case for the other so-called plagues also being a consequence of the eruption.) Whatever one's opinion of The Exodus Decoded as a historical documentary, it is engrossing viewing, shot in some truly exotic locations, often under the highly suspicious eye of Egyptian authorities. Several moments--such as the revelation of a Hyksos slave's rock carving, pleading with God to be rescued--are astonishing. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

At the very heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam lies the story of the Exodus, an epic tale of plagues, miracles and revelations. But the truth behind these events has been obscured by faith and time--until now. After six years of unprecedented research, host Simcha Jacobovici and a team of renowned archeologists, Egyptologists, geologists, and theologians shed revelatory new light on the Exodus and the era's ruling Egyptian Dynasty. Their new theory pushes events hundreds of years earlier than previously thought, allowing age-old stories to sparkle with new perspectives and startling historical import. Using elaborate, state-of-the-art CGI, THE EXODUS DECODED offers a stunning virtual account of stories like the birth of Moses, the ten plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea, revealing once and for all the difference between acts of Nature and the hand of God. Also included is a bonus disc that examines two pivotal figures of the Exodus--Moses and Ramses the Great--as well as the Ark of the Covenant. DVD Features: History in the Making Featurette; 3 Bonus Programs; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic and Engaging, September 5, 2006

By	L. Reynolds "liquidc2" (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

From minute one the host of this fantastic program engages your mind. The views are cold and hard edged in that they did not bother to remain politically correct. Instead they give an awaking view of the events of the Exodus historically, biblically, scientifically and archeologically. Anyone, Christian or not, could appreciate the lengths to which these brave individuals go by traveling to hostile territory to put to film evidence of this highly debated event of the Exodus.

Tensions build as the Egyptian government's armed presence on site tries to deter the explorers from filming archeological evidence that could very well prove the stories true. After all if a mighty empire such as the one of the Egyptians was placed in such peril by a group of slaves, it is no wonder they try to keep the truth permanently buried in the sands of the desert.

A must see. Intriguing!

30 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have an open mind..., October 15, 2006

By	C. Hopkins (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You can listen, watch and process the information presented. While the controversy surrounding the Exodus has existed for thousands of years, there are indeed facts associated with it.

The Producer, James Cameron, and the host, Simcha Jacobovici, an Emmy Award winning filmmaker, pull together and weave a compelling narrative that is historically, scientifically and Biblically engaging. The science is solid and accurate. The comparisons between the Bible's account and the review of facts that are pulled together, provide a fresh perspective that is well thought out and appears to be a valid rewrite of the "scientific" and "historical" record.

This film does NOT attempt to remove God from the story, only that God could have utilized the Earth and its natural forces to affect the outcome of a people and this time in history.

Highly recommended if you are open to a means of defining a Biblical account using science to show what could have really happened, via God's hand (or not).

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should have given credit to Velikovsky, July 23, 2007

By	Science-minded (USA) - See all my reviews

I think that this documentary is correct in that the Ipuwer papyrus and inscription of El Arish are related to events in the Book of Exodus. However, the documentary should have given credit to Immanuel Velikovsky (1895-1979) who was the first to propose that these Egyptian texts contain historical memories of events in the Book of Exodus. Velikovsky discussed these texts in his 1950 'Worlds in Collision' and in his 1952 'Ages in Chaos'. Also, although the Ipuwer-Exodus parallels are indeed striking, the papyrus does not mention a hail of mingled fire and ice as claimed in the documentary.

The documentary's idea that the Israelites were Hyksos is not realistic. The Hebrews would not have made up the idea that they were slaves, especially if they had been Hyksos rulers of Egypt who were expelled during a civil war. However, Velikovsky's main ideas on the Exodus and on the identity of the Hyksos in 'Ages in Chaos' really make sense.

The claim in the documentary that Ahmose was the pharaoh of the Exodus is probably wrong, for Ahmose probably lived centuries after the Exodus. Based on books by Velikovsky it appears that some pharaohs, including Ahmose, have been dated centuries too early in the conventional chronology of ancient Egypt. If their dates are moved forward to correct this, Egyptian history fits more convincingly with the histories of neighboring countries. The respective histories then shed light on each other. Unfortunately, many archaeologists today probably know little or nothing of the real content of Velikovsky's works because Velikovsky has been widely misrepresented for decades.

The documentary does well in showing how earthquakes and volcanism might explain extraordinary events in the Book of Exodus. Interested readers would also enjoy books by Velikovsky or 'Unwrapping the Pharaohs' by John Ashton and David Down.