Unknown: The Lost Pyramid (2023) User Reviews

An interesting watch, but

[thejdrage · 7/10 · 4 July 2023]

If you know anything about modern Egyptology, you know Dr. Zahi Hawass. He makes it hard to miss who he is. Is he arrogant? Absolutely!! And that's why so much has been getting done in the deserts. Dr. Hawass, and his signature hat, is an educator who is open to teaching whoever is passionate about learning, so you will see women of all colors in his pack - and he is always teaching

You will see all that in this documentary. But it isn't about him!!

It's about a find by one of his former students, Dr. Mostafa Waziri. He picked up all the arrogance but none of the compassion of Dr. Hawass.

Parts of the dig are obviously staged, but it is still a fun watch. Look beyond the bravado and arrogance and it's a good documentary on an exciting period of time in the Egyptian dessert. And you might learn something!!

A little Cheesy with the head archaeologists but good overall

[SOCOMBrae · 7/10 · 3 July 2023]

You can tell who paid for the documentary. A little Cheesy with the head archaeologists but good overall. They keep talking about how amazing they are and how they had a feeling that they're about to find some thing, little silly but it's fine. We got to see some cool tombs, opened and discovered, but you could tell those guys had huge egos like it was just all about them, and how awesome and special they are to find these tombs. And how it's all because of them that they were found. Yes I'm over exaggerating and repeating just like they did in the documentary. The video specifically not sure who edited it,. But it looks like they let the archaeologists be part of the editing process and that made it a little cheesy, but still enjoyable.

Overall, it's great getting to see pieces of history.

Not much about the actual pyramid

[gaugusteo · 6/10 · 3 July 2023]

The title is a bit misleading and was not really aspecting to spend time in following the whole excavation. Worth watching if you do not have much expectation based on the title. Very Americanized. I loved watching the Saqqara documentary. Intriguing the part in which some items are really discovered at the end of the documentary.

I hope that will be a sequel and some more items and history will be discovered/revealed. I admire the tenacity of all the archeologist that took part on the excavations and the perseverance of the people that helped.

I would have rather seen more of the actual discoveries.

Is it really a story of the lost pyramid??

[fnypfnnxw · 6/10 · 4 July 2023]

Not bad, but If you are expecting to see a documentary about the excavation, mysteries, and great discoveries, just skip about 45 minutes of the documentary.

The documentary should be focusing more on the excavation, challenges " the storm during the excavation" , and the cheerful moments. Etc. Let us be a part of the excavation rather than making this documentary " partially" about DR Hawas and Wazeery

Eventually, we did not know what is written on the papyrus, I had no closure for the most exciting part of this documentary.

There is another documentary about the discovery of a tomb of " Wahtee" it was more exciting and more interesting that this.

Good Watch could have been much better

[vinylrebellion · 6/10 · 6 November 2023]

To answer some other reviewers questions

1. Yes most of the finds are partly staged, ie they will find a peek hole into a tomb, and then cover it up , and ring the film crew. Im sort of okay with that, as it does give a feeling of discovery, which is partly true.

2. The arrogance of Hawas, and even his learned protégé , though i respect their expertise, their arrogance, and Egypt centric nationalism are more annoying than awe inspiring. Good that they have local Egyptologists but they dont have to exclusively block or insult foreigners, when the history of Egypt is a global treasure.

3. Nothing of the greatest finds was really gone into by the time it wrapped up. Thats because Netflix will for sure have a deal to unfold these in their next Egypt piece. But they should have named it differently and called the next one The Lost Pyramid

Besides that it was a good watch with some inspiring moments, but the previous Netflix Saqqara one was way better.

Interesting But a Little Too Self-congratulatory

[brentsbulletinboard · 19 July 2023]

Uncovering lost antiquities is one of those topics that fascinates most of us, especially when they're documented as the discoveries are made. This is one of the goals behind the Netflix "Unknown" documentary film series in its chronicles of such events around the world. In the series' latest installment, filmmaker Max Salomon follows the efforts of Egyptologist Zahi Hawass and his colleagues as they seek to find the lost pyramid of Pharoah Huni, a little-known monarch of Egypt's Old Kingdom, in the necropolis of Saqqara. The structure, believed to be located in an area of the ancient city that hasn't been excavated (and thus suspected of not having been looted by grave robbers), fills the archaeological team with tremendous enthusiasm as to what they'll find. It's also an undertaking largely being conducted by native Egyptian investigators, a departure from previous excavations, which have been almost exclusively conducted by Westerners, a venture that's hoped will put these researchers on the map in their own right. And, with a scant nine-month digging window open to them, they need to work quickly before desert weather conditions make their efforts impossible until the following year. The film reveals some truly remarkable discoveries, too, some of the most significant finds in the history of Egyptology. However, despite the significance of these revelations, the picture also lays it on a little thick when it comes to what Hawass and company have found. The degree of self-aggrandizing self-congratulation truly becomes tiresome and repetitive, so much so that the unbridled boasting overshadows the most valuable aspects of the film. What's more, even though some genuinely remarkable artifact discoveries emerge from the excavators' work, digging on what's believed to be Huni's pyramid itself is left at a preliminary stage when the nine months come to an end, suggesting that continued efforts are needed during a subsequent digging season. This means that the chronicling of this venture, though laudable, could nevertheless be premature. In light of this, perhaps it might have been better to wait until the excavation is complete before releasing this offering, as waiting for later may have provided viewers with a fuller, more impressive, more definitive finished product. In short, this documentary feels more like a work in progress than a conclusive record, one that I would have rather watched when complete than in the preliminary stage in which it has been left.

You cannot mess up a pyramid documentary

[shambhavikngr · 6/10 · 8 April 2024]

Yes I know like everyone else I would also like to mention that Dr. Zahi Hawass is a bit egoistic , i first read about him in my English school textbook where he was mad at Carter for how he handled Tut's tomb lol . But I don't think it's right to discredit the great work other archeologists . Ig Dr Hawass's extreme patriotism makes him say wrong thing sometimes .

But anyways the documentary was actually really good to watch though it left us with even more questions about huni. I hope there research will be successful and we will get to see another documentary like this , following the life of huni and how the Pyramid got lost .

Great Documentary!

[amitgoddard · 8/10 · 6 July 2023]

I'd like to describe two aspects in my review.

1. Criticism 2. My Thoughts

1. Criticism - I think the biggest criticism surrounding the documentary is the fact that the title and the plot line do not sync. I beg to differ on this point, as I do not think that the title is deviating from the plot line but instead is heading towards it. That being said, I sympathize with a few critics, as we do not get to see the the lost pyramid in its entirety. And if we consider the worst case scenario, the pyramid could potentially not be the "Unknown Pyramid" as the excavation is still ongoing as we speak.

2. My Thoughts - I think this documentary is very informative. Got to know a lot about the Ancient Egyptian Culture, the process involved in archeology and excavation, and not to mention a ton of history associated with tombs, mummification, and the science involved in discovering something so fascinating. Personally, I was glued from the very start all the way to the end. I hardly blinked.

My only gripe is the fact that unfortunately we didn't get to see the whole excavation of the tomb itself. Not to mention that it is lengthy process. I do not understand though whether this was due to financial constraints on the movie makers, as their is no time stamp in the documentary that indicates the beginning of the excavation. (Time stamps in the documentary could have indicated the time involved in the making and I would therefore be able to make out whether this documentary as a project was even viable and whether or not they could've covered the entire process of excavating the Unknown Pryamid).

I would also like to compliment the fact that the movie makers didn't decide to use a separate narrator for this documentary and the narration was done by the archeologist himself. This syncs with the message in the documentary that Egyptian archeology is heading in a direction where they do not need any foreign help. I think it is a very good sign for their country in general that they mastered archeology and are up to modern standards.

Ultimately Shallow

[souplahoopla · 4/10 · 7 July 2023]

I absolutely love anything to do with ancient Egypt. Anytime a new documentary comes out I'm on it like a fly on $hit. So as soon as this came out I settled down for an hour and a half of informative archaeology.

That is not what I got.

Now, I will preface this review with the fact I'm not a great fan of Hawass. His ego and inability to work with international archaeology teams is pretty well known. But he is an expert, so I didn't go into this expecting to get particularly annoyed at all.

So it starts off okay, he's looking for a lost pyramid and his colleague/student is doing a dig in another location. All good. Now I wont go into the whole synopsis of this film, I'll just convey what I took away from it.

This lost pyramid, is supposed to belong to a Pharoah called Huni. Perhaps we will learn a bit about him or that time period? Maybe we will learn how this period fits into global civilisations? I hope we get a bit of context as to why his pyramid is missing?! No, you get nothing. Because this search for a pyramid has absolutely nothing to do with the find, and everything to do with Hawass. As far as this documentary is concerned, this is more about having Egyptians make a 'great' find under his tutelage than anything else.

And there is nothing wrong with having pride in your nations history and wanting to make your own discoveries, of course. But you don't shrug other experts off because they happened to come from overseas.

So there is a fair amount of time spent on the 'evil' foreigner that arranged digs and 'stole' all these artifacts. He seems to conveniently forget that the 'evil' foreigners were the ones funding these incredibly expensive digs, and the terms with the Egyptian government at the time was that any spoils would be shared between them as reimbursement. But lets just ignore that, shall we?

So, he ends up with 2, rather extraordinary finds, unrelated to the main dig. Pin that in your mind.

His colleague has a far more interesting dig, unearthing a tomb with amazing artifacts - one unlike any other. Now pin that also.

Now, you would be correct in assuming these amazing artifacts, their discovery, their conservation, their meaning and significance, would take up the main bulk of this documentary right? Nope. You get a couple of scenes of onsite, and lab, conservation, and that is it. Literally, you barely see anything. I was wondering if we would actually see anything at all! You do get a small glimpse at the end, in the form of the previous 'Egyptians made a find' motif. Some of the discoveries you only see when they pull them out of the sand, and never again!

I came away from this feeling like it was a big missed opportunity. That somewhere, down the line, it stopped being a documentary about a missing pyramid and tombs, and morphed into a ego driven vanity project...and that's a shame. Because the finds were truly fascinating. I would have much rather had learned about the finds then listen to Hawass and his protégé wax lyrical about how amazing they are.

Beautifully filmed with incredible discoveries

[gilliandawe91 · 9/10 · 3 July 2023]

Loved every second of it. I have always been fascinated by Egyptology, and especially anything involving Dr. Zahi Hawass. His fight to bring the glory of Egypt back to the Egyptian people is so honourable and you truly sense the pride everyone involved has for their country and their history.

This finds here are nothing short of astonishing, many things I have never ever seen before in any other documentary. I don't want to overhype but truly wild.

On top of all of that, the cinematography was absolutely stunning. Whether in the tombs themselves in those tight, tiny corners or overlooking the incredible Egyptian landscapes at sunset, the DOP's on this shoot did an amazing job in some very difficult circumstances.

If you're into Egyptology at all, highly recommend!

Weak Sause

[MajBlade2 · 4/10 · 20 July 2023]

I have more questions then answers about this whole story after watching How and why did the pyramid get lost?

Who was Huni and why was he important?

Why are these finds important other then to stroke the ego of the main guy?

There was a lot of info squished into the documentary that should have been explained better.

Also it turned me off right at start when he complained about "foreigners" if it wasn't for these foreigners there would be no Egyptologist or frankly many digs as they finance most of them There are more then a few scenes where its all about him and his legacy then about what they found.

Would never watch a documentary featuring this guy again.

Amazing Egyptian Perspective! Truth.

[pictorme · 10/10 · 5 July 2023]

To watch this and see this through the Egyptian eye and their history of knowledge is extraordinary. This is their history and I want to hear their knowledge of their history.

Thank you for the details of each object and what that object might represent in the historical period.

To understand Egypt outside of the Egyptian. And go beyond. That is an understanding of the Egyptian empire.

It is amazing to see these artifacts and historical objects to be honored so politely. Not to be used as an object but as a memorial. I have watched a lot of documentaries but never have seen such a respectful show Thank you! This documentary is extraordinary..

I thought this was supposed to be about historical egypt

[greysky72 · 4/10 · 19 July 2023]

This isn't about Egypt and her historical mysteries. It's about her extremely egotistical head of antiquities Dr Zahi Hawass. He's absolutely insufferable. I understand having pride in your nations history however his way of going about it is more about him and his love for himself than the good of Egyptian archaeology. He is the extreme opposite of early archaeology, the era of foreign excavators. He hogs everything for himself and refuses to work with others. He needs to find a middle ground and stop making it the Hawass show. Egypt deserves better than him. The world deserves better.

Besides Hawaas and the obviously staged aspects of the show it does let you glimpse into the beauty that is and was Egypt. For that it gets 4 stars.

Facts

[abdelrahima · 10/10 · 3 July 2023]

At least this time, Netflix tired itself out to bring a specialized person to talk about Egyptology and the ancient Egyptian civilization, and not some uneducated and racist people who base their words on the words of their grandmothers, He talked about facts and things that actually happened with all the evidence and mental proofs and the truth, and not just the imagination of a writer who is not qualified to write, not even stories for children. We must teach our children about our civilization and our history, and not steal the world's civilizations and attribute them to us so that we feel a little of appreciation and respect.

Not much on history

[Lilith_i · 4/10 · 7 July 2023]

More so in story, and very dramatically "acted." They should really make a documentary on the lives of these egyptologists, but not call this a documentary on the lost pyramid and then just ramble on and on about the people that work these sites.

Let me clear this up, if you had made a documentary on their lives and the ways egyptologist work, and how difficult it has been to get a foot hold in a foreign space of study, fine, set the documentary as that.

If you're going to market this as the history of Huni and his lost pyramid talk about that.

Doing both made it slow on history, and not interesting on the story of their work. Besides that, the "speeches" they make with each artifact, what for? "I felt like I was thousands year ago..." (or something like that) Well, I bet, it is a tomb, from a thousand years ago, not a coffee shop.

Very powerful and well documented

[rwqypksnv · 10/10 · 6 July 2023]

Have a lot of evidence and well ordered information and it explains the methodology of discovering a new monuments and how they deal with it from opening the tomb and during they get it out and how they restore it again, they also make a real buildup for the time of the monuments and what is the procedures to translate and understand the pharaonic texts to know more about this great civilization.

The explorers in the movie sounded really experienced and seemed very familiar with the work, very knowledgeable and passionate about their work It also didn't ignore to show us how beautiful is egypt and how nice is the Egyptian people.

Zahi Loves himself so much

[farshidkarimi · 1/10 · 22 July 2023]

When I first heard about this documentary, I was on cloud nine because I thought I was going to watch a documentary revealing some mysteries surrounding the "Lost Pyramid". But, very soon (a few minutes into the documentary), I was utterly disappointed. I think this movie has been ordered by Zahi to put his egoism and his deep obsession to look like Indiana Jones on display to self-glorify.

It is sad to see that precious antiquities were mishandled by some so-called archaeologists, who were highly focused on self-congratulation than taking care of the precious objects.

I think these guys need to be trained and taught about digging by "foreigners", so that they would be humble and savvy for future exploration of tombs and burial chambers.

More from Indiana Hawass

[woodfordplancomments · 8/10 · 5 July 2023]

It is odd that Zahi Hawass decries the looting colonial archaeologists of Egypts recent past while styling himself on Indiana Jones, opossibly the worst example fo the kind. It's never easy watching his self-publicising style but there is no doubt of the passion he feels for his country's past or of the value (as portrayed in this film) of the Egyptians themseves taking the lead in excavating their past.

Two projects are followed each delivering differently for their lead archaeologists and the different reactions of Waziri and Hawass paint an interesting contrast.

Perhaps more problematic for those that believe in archaeology as a unifying discipline, is the political dimension and the way in which the film looks more like a quest for artefacts and glory than for answers in spite of this being a criticism that these current excavators level at their predecessors.

There is a film to be made about the changes in scholarship as peoples explore their own heritage, but this isn't it. There is also a film to be made about the challenges of the archaeology of early dynastic Egypt and this isn't that either.

It looks beautiful though.

The ancient Egyptians deserve better

[jaynefletchertomlinson · 5/10 · 13 July 2023]

I was looking forward to this as undoubtedly there is still so much to learn about the ancient Egyptians and so many more discoveries to make. However, the title was misleading as the finds made during this film shed little light on Hani and no background information or history of him was explored. Instead, despite the lead archaeologists pontificating that things had "moved on" from Indiana Jones - that this was a modern dig , we were presented with scenes straight out of...Indiana Jones! I watched with my mouth open at the unprofessional way they hacked into mounds, chambers and sarcophagi. Cringed at the lack of scientific method or care. It was clear, despite the pompous protestations of the egotistical lead that this was a dig for "Egyptians " that it was really a hunt for a Tutankhamen-like find to bolster his own fame. In the course of the search, some wonderful finds were made, but little explanation was given about them. The papyrus discovery was major but little time was spent on it - I could easily have forgone the shots of the cigar smoking and backslapping scenes to give more time to substance. How were these finds being recorded? Preservation? Why were some mummies left - even though we could still glean knowledge from them? Simple...not 'important ' enough. Constantly we are informed that such work should be carried out by Egyptian archaeologists and clearly these men have a few chips on their shoulders regarding foreign teams. However, judging by this film I was left feeling that the people and artifacts still buried in the sands of Egypt deserve better. They deserve the attention of real experts and archaeologists who are primarily interested in them and not just the glory. At the moment the experts are not Egyptian and if egos could be put to one side, joint excavations would be the best way forward.

Wonderful Documentary on Search For The Lost Pyramid of Huni

[PalmBeachG · 10/10 · 4 July 2023]

Surprised on the low ratings on reviews. The best quote from Dr. Zahi Hawass is "If you don't have a dream, you won't reach your destination". In the search for the Lost Pyramid of Huni, two beautiful discoveries have been made and featured in this documentary, a beautiful important female mummy from the Old Kingdom a thousand years before King Tut, will all her jewels and a golden cane, and also a different discovery nearby - a 52-foot-long papyrus containing sections from the Book of the Dead. So exciting and the passion of the Egyptian archaeologists really translate in the documentary. Perhaps my view is different growing up in Chicago the Field Museum was always a part of every child living in the city and the suburbs and the mummy section was always scary as a child but at the same time so intriguing you just couldn't miss it. Also saw both exhibits of King Tut while there and they were so amazing how could you not fall in love with this show that the work carries on by both Dr. Zahi Hawass and Dr. Mostafa Waziri for all of humanity.

Contrived and Staged

[teagueandrew · 4/10 · 3 July 2023]

If you are searching for an organic well formed documentary on archeological digs in Egypt, this isn't it.

One scene to the next feels scripted and contrived to the point that they seem to have let the cameras down newly found shafts and into buriel chambers before the experts to allow a shot of them entering the 'lost' tomb etc.

It's the sort of thing that may have floated a viewer's boat Inthe 1970s but feels staged and ridiculous in the modern televisual era.

As stated by other reviewers, it feels like a promotional piece for some egos. Lots of backslapping and hyperbole.

At the start, one of the experts begrudgingly proclaims that all the major finds have been made by foreigners. Well without them you wouldn't have a tourist industry and based on the shabby way teams of diggers are smashing their way through historic sites in this documentary, I can see why organised 'foreigners' have had so much success.

The contrivance starts to become jarring after about 20 mins. Might do well on some inflight selection on Emirates or something but I wouldn't go out of your way to watch it. Better archeological material in you tube.

Extraordinary Journey to Discover and Respect Egyptian Treasures from Egyptian Archaelogists

[elisedurkee · 10/10 · 7 July 2023]

This is a fascinating journey of a proud Egyptian,Zahi Hawass searching for the missing Lost Pyramid. The documentary sheds light on the perseverance of Egyptians to treat these sacred sites with respect from the excavators, to the sketch artists, to the Egyptian curators who unravel ancient papyrus . I enjoyed witnessing the comraderies of singing workers in the desert sun, the careful brush strokes of discovering ancient sculptures. The enthusiasm of discoveries and the greater purpose the crew.

This documentary tells the story of meticulous reverence of precious stones, sculptures, jewels and mummies found in search of a greater treasure - learn more about the past. The camera takes you into the tomb, shows the cracking of the mortar around the sealed sarcophagus, shows the brushes pushing away dirt, the dusty air in the shaft of the pyramid and explains the difference between a good mummy and a well preserved mummy. It admits that even some discoveries of objects still puzzle archeologists.

There is a clear theme of the importance of Egyptians workers, Egyptian archeologists and Egyptologists for Egypt. While the story of King Tutankhamun are infamous, but it is clear that it was a British financier and British archeologist. This documentary sheds light on the importance of Egyptians discovering their own history. It is a powerful story of deep respect and inspiration on the value of history.

It demonstrates the power of live-long friendships, perseverance, cooperation and hard work in difficult conditions to unravel the history of an ancient civilization. A positive story of hope of human spirit that transcends generations. When Zahi Hawass,states that he is most proud of training Egyptian archaeologists to carry on the work, it resonated the power of the human spirit.

Long on Affectation, Short on Substance

[charles-limcw · 5/10 · 4 July 2023]

Unfortunately this 'documentary' suffers the same fate as many Netflix funded so-called 'documentaries'.

The actual real content relating to the title is scant, and superfluous fillers are aplenty.

Relatively little substance is said of the "lost pyramid" and the pharaoh Huni linked to this pyramid.

A lot is made of unimportant visuals and scenes and people related to the 'project' including some really tenuous ones. I won't be surprised if it included interviews of Dr Hawass tea lady or driver - thankfully at least that didn't happen.

Compared to the many solid documentaries made of Egyptian pharaonic history, this one is empty and light as a helium party balloon that has no pop.

A confident Egyptology scientist

[mohamedatefemam-72722 · 10/10 · 6 July 2023]

Great start for well documented information. We need more of these specially with informed scientists in it.

It is a documentary. If you like documentaries and facts, that's what you are looking for. If you are looking for fake dramas, then look somewhere else.

I like how informative the presenter and the authenticity they try to add in every scene. However, we need more CGI and animations in future documentaries to reflect what the scientists are explianing.

Finally, a good attempt for Netflix to add such an informative documentary in their library. At least this is what i am looking for with the monthly subscription.

Less talking, more documentary

[Rox91 · 1/10 · 5 July 2023]

They talk more about themselves (the archeologists) than the actual discovery. Overdramatic, cringy and a waste of time. A Discovery old fashioned doc has a lot more to offer than this.

They talk more about themselves (the archeologists) than the actual discovery. Overdramatic, cringy and a waste of time. A Discovery old fashioned doc has a lot more to offer than this.

They talk more about themselves (the archeologists) than the actual discovery. Overdramatic, cringy and a waste of time. A Discovery old fashioned doc has a lot more to offer than this.

They talk more about themselves (the archeologists) than the actual discovery. Overdramatic, cringy and a waste of time. A Discovery old fashioned doc has a lot more to offer than this.