Tutankhamun (2016)

The remarkable story of the chance meeting that transformed penniless, ostracised archaeologist Howard Carter into a household name following his discovery of the tomb of the boy-king, Tutankhamun.

 

"Carter, do you see anything?"

"Yes, wonderful things."

 

 

Sam Neil digs his feet in and plays Lord Canarvon as I always imagined he would be in real life - a gregarious man with a fortune and a lust for adventure and purpose. This is a fun mini-series that put a smile on my face. I knew the myth and legend of the King Tut treasure from early in my life. It was one of those stories that my father had me look up when he bought us our first set of World Book Encyclopedia. (That was the Google of my day, kids)  I have posters from the show in Vancouver that I saw years ago that I had framed for my walls. I am a big fan of the story and it's a story as magnificent as the treasure itself. Sure this one is soaked in sentimentality and romance as two women try to capture a man who can't see beyond his own dream of finding something that no one had ever found before or since. The drama around the discovery and the complicated politics of Egypt and the Middle East after WWI was also a historic fact that collided head on with the World's fascination with what Carter had accomplished. I found that stuff to be very compelling.

 

 

 

I liked the time they spent on showing all the research Carter did before actually finding the tomb of King Tut. He was determined and driven and brilliant but not one blessed with social graces who was taught by some of the best archeologists of his time. He was the opposite of the more colorful English Lord who was his patron. With the pressure on both men to find 'something' in the dessert that was declared to be 'all dug up', something WAS found and that moment of discovery is trilling to see. It had been called the great archaeological find of all time and it's hard to argue with that description once you see and realize that it took a full TEN YEARS to categorize and photograph all the more than 3000 funeral pieces discovered in four small chambers, none more spectacular the golden mask of Tut itself, something Lord Canarvon never lived long enough to actually see having died three months after the tomb was opened for the first time. Many have claimed that he died as a result of a curse put on anyone who would enter the royal tomb. It made for great headline fodder in 1922 when the whole world became entranced by the Boy King. That media coverage worked both for and against Carter.

 

 

 

 

 

Only four episodes in this mini so not much of a commitment to see a really well done piece of history brought to life on screen.