The Revelation of the Pyramids   Narrator: Brian Cox Optimum Home Entertainment RRP: £17.99 OPTBD2016 Certificate: E Available 22 August 2011

For centuries the Great Pyramids have fascinated mankind and each year brings a batch of new theories from the plausible to the absolutely bizarre. Now this film claims that the truth has finally been uncovered. After nearly forty years of study and research, the producers of this documentary claim that they have at last managed first to understand and then to prove what lies behind one of the greatest archaeological mysteries...

WARNING - CONTAINS SPOILERS!

The Revelation of the Pyramids claims to have finally solved the mysteries of the Great Pyramids. Basically, and this will only spoil things for you if you want to discover the mystery (?) for yourself, the pyramids are a message from the past to (wait for it...) us. Yes, apparently an ancient civilisation (and not the Egyptians, it would appear) suffered a fate similar to one we may soon face, as the Earth's temperature became too hot to allow their kind to survive. So they built the pyramids and put together a message so that some future civilisation would be able to decode their warning before it was too late.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Jacques Grimault, and the first section works rather well. Patrice Pooyard, the director of the film guides us through the world's oldest and most beautiful sites and asks various experts why and how the pyramids were built. But that's just the start of the story. We then move on to, what is quite frankly, a rather ludicrous speculation on the 'real' architects of the pyramids and what their purpose was.

Apparently, after six years of investigation and aided by his anonymous informants and technical specialists, the result will shake the world history to its very core, and revolutionise Egyptology entirely. Well, no not really. You see the director employs quite a clever trick to ensure you never really question the 'facts' as presented. Firstly we get real experts opinions on whether it was possible to build the pyramids, then we move onto one mysterious person's research and that is the basis for the claims that are presented. At no point are other experts brought in and asked their opinions on the claims. This is probably because they'd all laugh and state that it was a load of nonsense.

The majority of this documentary, the build up to the "shocking revelation", appears to be well researched and we have experts giving their opinions. However, the build up to the sensationalist nonsense is badly presented (but not if you're gullible). For starters the documentary bases the entire argument on the back of the aforementioned lone anonymous scientist who wants to distance him/her self from their findings. But as the theories here are based on a book then surely this anonymous scientist is already known? And why would they want to keep their identity hidden if their science is as solid as it appears here?

So here's the main theory, kind of. The pyramids were built by an advanced civilisation which were wiped out by the change in the Earth's condition. They saw this coming and built the pyramids to withstand this climate change and leave behind a warning to future civilisations that this temperature change occurs in cycles. Maybe some of them even tried to survive inside the pyramids. Eventually they were wiped out and later the Egyptians found the pyramids and used them to bury their kings. And then they invented ice cream and the world rejoiced.

For the clever way it builds its central argument, this is an enjoyable documentary. And, as a master class in how to deceive the gullible, this is worth watching. However, as a factual documentary this is ludicrous.

5

Darren Rea