Product Description

Shot in over 60 locations in the province of FARS and 5 years in the making, IRAN, The Forgotten Glory is the first independent documentary film series taking the audience on a journey into the depths of ancient Persian civilization, capturing the majesty and the splendor of the Achaemenid and Sassanid empires and their influence on world history, religion, art and culture by revealing the ancient tales hidden in the ruins and reliefs which exist today as a testament to their legacy. Part I Birth of a Nation 52 min This episode narrates the emergence of civilization in the Iranian plateau and the rise of the great Achaemenid Empire whose territory extended from India to the boarders of Europe. Through visiting ancient locations in the province of Fars, such as Pasargadae, Persepolis and Naqsh-i-Rostam (Valley of the Kings), and illustrating the life and deeds of Cyrus-the-Great, Darius and Xerxes, this episode recounts the birth of a nation, the rise of religion, culture, art and the impact of Zoroastrianism within the first great Persian empire and its eventual fall led by Alexander of Macedonia... Part II Renaissance of Glory 43 min Following Alexander s attack, this episode narrates the establishment of the Seleucid and Parthian dynasty over the Iranian plateau followed by the rise of Ardeshir Papakan, a Persian man who rebelled against the Parthians in the name of god and defeated the last Parthian king Artabanus V and established the Sassanid dynasty in 226 A.D. Through visiting the remains of this great empire in Firuzabad, Bishapur and Darab, and demonstrating the life and deeds of Ardeshir, Shapur and Khosro Anushirvan, this episode reveals the cultural, historical and religious context of Iran prior to Islam, and the fall of the Sassanid empire led by the invasion of nomadic Arab tribes and the arrival of Islam...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50878 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-03-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 95 minutes

Review
An Awe-inspiring Journey to the Majesty and Splendor of Ancient Persia --Payvand News

About the Director
Iranian born film director Makan karandish migrated to the United States in 1994, his debut film Don't Dance With Fire won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary Film in Miami Film Festival 2002. His filmography includes films such as Black and White, Color, Edge of Perception and Entropy. In 2003 he migrated back to Iran to begin work on the 2 episode historical documentary project IRAN the Forgotten Glory which premiered in the Bogota Film Festival in Oct. 2008.

Customer Reviews

Pre-Islamic Persia
There are so few DVDs about the pre-Islamic history of IRAN! Alas!
Being so the situation, you'll love these two short documentaries, lovely made, no question at all!

If you love the PRE-ISLAMIC PERSIAN history and art, as I do, you will love this DVD set! It was very expensive when I bought it here in AMAZON. It cost, a month ago, almost US$ 50 dollars! Now, the price has been reduced. Absolutely worth having for a student of history or archaeology of the Ancient Near and Middle East, or for any fan of history.

There are subtiles in Spanish only, and the voice of the narrators can be heard in English,Spanish and Persian.
The voice in Spanish was not very pleasant. But the English narrator's voice is very pleasant.
The music of the background is mostly Persian. Just beautiful!

The explanations about Cyrus and the whole of the Achaemenidae is short but quite nice.
And the short passages about Zarathustra and his religion and symbols are just wonderful.

I really love Persia. It was a tragedy for them to have been mixed with a foreign culture and a religion so different from the sweet and gentle teachings of Zarathushtra or even sweeter, the (for some people)"strange" teachings of Mani.
Persia has been the source and HOME of those two Men of Light: Zaradash (or Zardush) and Mani, who were the founders of two world religions: Zarathushtranism and Manichaeism, and they were (in their original form) the most gentle systems of religious ideas that have ever existed.

The only way to learn about a thing or a fact in this life is going directly to the SOURCE and experience it by yourself. There is no more important authority than our own soul and our own judgement.
Few people dare to dig deep enough into the past of these two great men!

Like the shiny stars in the sky, Ancient Persia is gone forever, but its light still shines even now, in our dark times......

Good.
This documentary is well presented and tells the history of Iran in an easy to follow way. I recommend this documentary to those who are interested in classical studies, particularly Greek as this documentary touches on the Persian culture parodying that of the Greeks.

There are many documentaries that articulate Greek culture and have underpinnings of them being the superior culture while subtly putting down the Persians. This documentary offers an insight into the other side.

bj