Documentary based on the book by Erich von Däniken concerning the ancient mysteries of the world, such as the pyramids of Egypt and Mexico, ancient cave drawings, the monuments of Easter Island, etc., and the fact that these things and modern civilisation could have been influenced by extraterrestrial visitations hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of years ago.
Heinz-Detlev Bock
Narrator (voice)
Klaus Kindler
Narrator (voice)
Christian Marschall
Narrator (voice)
Erich von Däniken
Self
Aleksandr Kazantsev
Self
Wiatscheslav Saitsew
Self
Bruce Johansen
Narrator (English-language version)
Lee Pajan
Narrator (English-language version)
Jean Fontaine
Narrator (English-language version)
Documentary based on the book by Erich von Däniken concerning the ancient mysteries of the world, such as the pyramids of Egypt and Mexico, ancient cave drawings, the monuments of Easter Island, etc., and the fact that these things and modern civilisation could have been influenced by extraterrestrial visitations hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of years ago.
Now being a man of no religious faith at all, I was curious to see just how far this ultimate in conspiracy theories could be strung out by Harald Reinl and you know what, I think he makes a decent fist of asking some questions and suggesting some plausibly alternative answers to some long-held imponderables. Hollywood has long shown us bamboo scaffolding being use by willing (or not) labourers to build the pyramids at Giza or in Mexico, or to sculpt the effigies and tombs at the likes of (the original) Abu Simbel or at dozens of sites across Mesoamerica. Ok, so he does quote some highly spurious statistics and source a few Soviet-style scientific sceptics of all things deific, but a lot of the questions it raises about engineering, construction and man-hours do merit a bit of thought. Just how long did it take to build the tomb of Khufu at 2 tons per stone multiplied by one million stones that they had to raise up to four hundred feet off the sand? Why are all the stone heads on Easter Island so exact, and similar? Why was the obsession about the sun and the moon and stars so prevalent across the globe when contact between peoples was impossible? Could there really have been visitors from outer space who founded every religion on earth? Who gave us architecture or geometry or even fire and the wheel? Of course it’s all highly speculative stuff, this, and is very easy to cynically dismiss as nonsense, but looked at with an open-mind it is no less believable or unsubstantiated at times than claims that there is an an almighty deity out there somewhere taking credit for our glories whilst blaming humanity when it goes horribly wrong. Regardless of it’s flawed philosophy, it’s still a good excuse to go on a trawl to some amazing archeological locations across the world and admire some astonishing and enduring artistry that symbolises and chronicles much of the early evolution of the human race. The rest of it? Now where did I put the salt?
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