Mystery Of The Sphinx (Speculation)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: D Program: B-
Back in
1993, Charlton Heston hosted the speculative Mystery Of The Sphinx, which asks about how The Sphinx was built, how
the 200-ton blocks that built it might have been moved, how much is it human
and how much lion, what face was on it, was it eroded by wind or water (despite
that it is in a desert where it never rains), how does Atlantis come into play
here, how is it over twice as old as Egyptologists first thought, and what
about that face on mars that seems to mirror it?
Much of
this has been sadly highjacked by bad speculation shows and very bad
exploitation shows, films and tabloids.
However, this coverage is smarter and is far more archeologically-heavy
than you’d expect. Part of the
trivialization of the more outrageous possibilities have been purposely
exaggerated, because quite bluntly, they would be considered too subversive,
especially in a dogmatic society and even more especially with the extremely
paranoid and terroristic Religious Right.
Heston’s presence is interesting on so many levels, that could be a
separate essay.
One fun
thing about this is when it is not too scientific, the science and mathematical
figures and charts included are very entertaining and even an unintended
hoot. Some of the theories are somewhere
between Sun Schick exploitation films of 1970s and Leonard Nimoy’s TV
speculation classic In Search Of…,
but I would add that this program is more well-rounded than either. It is more serious than the former, and has
more time to develop various theses than the latter. With footage never seen until the video
release, Mystery Of The Sphinx is
worth seeing, despite being over a decade old.
The full
frame image varies in picture quality, in part because of the mix of film and
various analog NTSC video sources, even among what was taped for the show at
the time, so expect something with Documentary choppiness. The Dolby Digital 5.1 remix is not bad in
spreading the original mono all over the room so we can get even more involved
in what is being said and presented.
There are no extras.
No matter
what you may think, the evidence of unusual possibilities is hard to dispute,
though no debate is present on every point.
If nothing else, Mystery Of The
Sphinx is an ambitious program that goes to many experts who are generous
with their ideas and is one of the better such programs ever produced. Someone ought to revisit it sometime,
especially the mars ideas, as many images have been taken of the planet
since. You can order this and other
great DVD titles from www.goldhil.com exclusively
and directly. They have a knack for
interesting product, much of which is reviewed elsewhere on this site.
- Nicholas Sheffo
