Movie review - "Mummies: Tales from the Egyptian Crypt" disc one

Movie review number 41

PLOT

This is a two disc DVD set I bought at the British Museum in London after seeing their Mummies expedition back in March.  It's narrated by actor Frank Langella.  The first disc is all about the Pyramids and the Sphinx and discusses how mummies came to exist as originally bodies were simply buried in the sand and it was the natural drying from the environment that preserved them so well.  It goes on to tell of how the embalming system was created, and incorporated into the religious thinking and how tombs were initially created as "bench like" buildings.  One of the pharoahs had the bench like tombs built one on top of the other, resulting in the stepped pyramid (the first pyramid built in Egypt) which then were later recreated into the smooth sided pyramids of Giza for other pharoahs.

The second part of disc one talked about the Sphinx, and how it the head was based on one of the pharoahs and still had some of the paint and glazes showing.  Unfortunately, the directors of this part decided to over-use the echo chamber on some of the period quotations which is just downright annoying - for those who are in use of hearing aids this could actually prevent hearing the words spoken.

Otherwise, this was a very interesting dvd - I'll review the second disc later!

RECOMMENDED

For those interested in ancient history/archaeology, this would be an interesting purchase to make.

SCORE
Disc one, six out of ten.  The echo drags it down from an eight!!

SCOOBY SNACKS
Dates and figs and a milkshake (flavour, viewers choice!)

Movie review - "Claude Monet a Giverny/La Maison d'Alice"

Movie review number 27

PLOT
This DVD is the other one I got at the Monet museum in Paris last May.  It's narrated in French but you can have English subtitles if you want (which I did!)  This documentary tells the story of Monet's move to Giverny with his second wife, Alice (they weren't married at the time) plus his two sons and her six children! It is narrated by means of Alice's letters which were written almost as a story, telling day to day events of work and gardening and holidays.  It tells of their finding of the house in Giverny and the development of the garden, lake and water lilies.  This movie makes a very interesting insight into the family life of Monet and his children from the 1880s up until 1914, just after Alice's death and introduces at the end of the DVD the waterlily tableau's that are now housed at the Orangerie in the Tuilleries in Paris.
It would make more sense to watch this one first, and follow it with the previously reviewed "Les Nympheas: le grand Reve de Monet" (the water lilies: Monet's greatest dream)

RECOMMENDED

This is a lovely DVD, but if you're not so good with spoken French you need to pay attention to read the subtitles... being in white typeface, it's not always easy to read depending on the background!!

SCORE

7.5 out of 10

SCOOBY SNACKS

Camembert and goat's cheese on toasted baguette!!

Movie Review - "Nympheas - Le Grand Reve de Monet"

Movie review number 25

PLOT

This is a documentary DVD that I purchased at the Musee Marmottan Monet in Paris during my trip in May 2014.  It is a French production but with the voice-over in English as well as French.  It explains the process of the production of the Water Lily series of paintings done by Monet in his house at Giverny from 1899 to 1927.  It explains the interesting friendship between M. Clemenceau, politician, and Monet, and how Clemenceau helped find museum space for several enormous murals of waterlilies - now being at the Orangerie Museum in the Tuileries in Paris - which are floor to ceiling paintings with no horizon on them!!  Apparently when viewing them, it's almost like you're IN the waterlily pond swimming around!!  The DVD mainly concentrates on Monet's later life, in his 70s.

RECOMMENDED
It's a very interesting DVD and definitely worth watching for the art history!

SCORE

Beanie gives this 7 squeaks out of 10.  The music background is slightly annoying!

SCOOBY SNACKS
Salade Nicoise