‘The Great Life of Ramses’ - Uncovering the Man Behind the Legend

In the annals of Egypt’s ancient past, few rulers stand taller than Ramses II. Yet the long memory of history has not always been kind to Ramses the Great. Inspired by a statue fragment of the ancient king known as the Young Memnon, depicting Ramses’s head and torso, English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote 'Ozymandias' in 1818, which would become his most famous work. What he saw in the statue reflected the popular perspective of Ramses II in much of the world since then: as debris in the desert, a relic of the past, little more than a cautionary tale against the arrogance and shortsightedness that the once-great pharaoh embodies.

This picture of Ramses is particularly emphasised in artwork across the ages, particularly those that attempt to recreate the religious account of the Exodus. The 1956 film 'The Ten Commandments' and the 2014 film  'Exodus: Gods and Kings' both depict Ramses II as the cruel pharaoh, a tyrant overseeing a hoard of slaves, who stands in opposition to the prophet Moses, while the animated feature 'The Prince of Egypt' (1988) portrays him as Moses' adoptive brother and the villain of the film.

Yet, ultimately, these depictions of Ramses II are fiction. What more, they are often completely ahistorical, showing events that could not have ever possibly happened during the reign of the pharaoh having been singled out as a symbol due to his fame and notoriety rather than his actions in life. When it comes to the archaeological record, Egyptology has a different story to tell. Just as the fragmented Young Memnon inspired this splintered narrative of Ramses II in the West, so too does the Statue of Ramses II - an 11-metre tall titan on a three-metre pedestal made from red granite that had been restored from six broken pieces, and now stands as the centrepiece at the entrance hall of the Grand Egyptian Museum - inspire another narrative around the globe.

Curtis Ryan Woodside is an independent filmmaker who has dedicated his craft to creating documentaries, with a heavy focus on Egyptology. His YouTube channel features most of his full films, available to watch for free, exploring topics from the secrets of Giza and tours of obscure tombs, to the influence of ancient Egyptians in far-off lands and the real story of Cleopatra (which he and Egyptologist Sofia Aziz created after dropping out of the production of the infamous Netflix documentary, when they realised its producers would not accept their calls for historical accuracy).

Driven by the misconceptions that often plague discussions around Ramses’ life, even amongst historians, Woodside was determined to tell the full story of the pharaoh with the help of famed Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass, who had previously appeared in Woodside’s features. Amongst his many achievements, Dr Hawass delved deep into the tomb of Ramses II during its excavation and preservation, and more recently curated a global exhibition entitled ‘Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs’. In 2006, while serving as the Egyptian government’s antiquities chief, Dr Hawass also oversaw the move of the red granite statue from Ramses Square, where it stood since the early 1950s, to Giza, where it would wait for the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

“We have to put the statue, then we can build the museum above the statue,” Hawass had said at the time. “Because the statue can not enter the museum. This is the largest statue inside the museum. It’s about 11 metres and a half… And this is a very important point that many people don’t know. Why move the statue when the museum will be built in five years? The statue has to be there now, and after that we build the museum.”

In a real sense, as the museum and its builders sought to tell the story of ancient Egyptian history in a new way, they have done so by quite literally embracing this greatest of pharaohs. So who better to help relay the facts of Ramses II’s life then one who has helped construct Egypt’s own narrative around him? Their goals aligned, Woodside and Dr Hawass sat down to go over the entire life of Ramses II to create a new, four-part documentary - practically a mini-series in length - titled ‘The Great Life of Ramses’.

With the documentary having just been released on YouTube, we spoke with Curtis Ryan Woodside and Dr Zahi Hawass for an exclusive CairoScene interview about the making of this epic four-hour feature…

How did you and Dr Zahi Hawass agree to work together on this project?

Curtis Ryan Woodside (CRW): Dr Hawass and I have worked on my projects together, not only films but also charity projects and live talks. In fact, in my very first Egyptology documentary, Dr Hawass is thanked as I didn't want to release it unless he was happy with it. Dr Hawass is an incredible man and very graciously took part in several other docs with me. October 2023, I had a meeting with Dr Hawass in his Cairo office where we decided to finally tell all of Ramses' story, we shot an interview in Cairo, and again in Italy in 2024, with Dr Hawass's book on Ramses being used for the majority of the research. I don't know why, but I think Dr Hawass believes in my work and he has always been very supportive.

You've been in over 300 documentaries. What do you think the benefit of creating documentaries on ancient Egypt is, and what do you enjoy most about making these films?

Dr. Zahi Hawass (ZH): I believe that TV documentaries are very good for Egypt because they promote tourism, raise awareness of Egyptian archaeology, and help people understand how important it is to preserve our past. I enjoy showing people my passion for archaeology and the feeling that my words about my discovery enter people's hearts worldwide. I can see how people welcome me in every city I visit.

How are Curtis's documentaries different from others that you've worked on before? How different is it to work on an independently produced feature like this?

ZH: I think that Curtis's documentaries are accurate and excellent. I can see that from the film about Cleopatra that he made; it became more welcomed by people than the Netflix film about Cleopatra.

What were the greatest challenges behind the filming of this project?

CRW: There is so much imagery of Ramses II and his time, however there are many events that are only written about in ancient texts, with almost no visuals to reflect it. Thus telling Ramses' story without "cheating" by showing a wall scene from ancient Egypt that slightly matches the narration was very challenging. However if you look hard enough you can find corresponding visuals that date from Ramses reign, which requires a bit of imagination to put into a story format, but I think I did. We only wanted to show real visuals from the time of Ramses!

Filming in Egypt is quite a task, as when I do film, I'm filming for multiple documentaries at once. Coming back to review the footage I want to use for Ramses was overwhelming. Logistically it is always a nightmare to arrange all the site visits and the schedule. My tour operator always thinks I've gone insane when they see my itinerary. I recall we visited something like 20 tombs in one day!

I noticed that throughout the documentary you went to a lot of beautiful archaeological sites. Are these accessible by tourists, or were you able to have special access through the production of the documentary?

CRW: There are certainly many sites that are open to the public, but we were lucky to get to go to some places that are either closed or not accessible for tourists, I am just lucky enough to be able to see and then show some of the incredible places to the audience.

Dr. Hawass, throughout your career, you've written novels and even an opera set in ancient Egyptian history. What are your feelings on how ancient Egyptian history should, or needs to be, depicted outside of purely educational or touristic contexts?

ZH: I do believe that Egyptian history, if it is written well, can capture the hearts of people. For example, I wrote ‘Mountain of the Pharaohs: History of the Pyramid Builders’. It is storytelling based on evidence, but we need to create more documentaries, as Curtis does, to help people understand and stop talking about lost civilizations and other theories.

With such a long and accomplished life, and many different sources of testimony and information regarding his rule, some of which may be contradictory, did you have to make any difficult decisions choosing which of the documented facts about Ramses II's life to depict?

CRW: When writing the film I always referred back to the ancient sources. For example with the battle of Kadesh, most modern scholars say Ramses lost that. But as I say in the film "in my opinion" he won, and I go on to show the ancient letters from the Hittites which could suggest Ramses won, or at least had the upper hand. When you correlate many sources, you get a clearer image of what Ramses reign actually was like. Which is why we made this film, to really show the REAL story of Ramses life.

Your friend the late Omar Sherif has said that you are the best actor he's known, if you hadn't been an Egyptologist, what career would you have chosen?

ZH: The career I would choose if I went back would be an archaeologist because, in this career, I am a lawyer defending Egypt's monuments. I am a policeman guarding our monuments and an ambassador for tourism and culture. I even see myself as an actor, but there is no script for me because my heart is the script for the film.

In spite of all the mysteries and misunderstandings around him, Ramses the Great is undeniably among the most famous figures in ancient Egyptian history. If you had the chance to elevate another, more obscure individual from Pharaonic times to his level of fame and renown, who would you choose?

CRW: There are so many! The first that comes to mind is Sobekneferu, the 12th Dynasty female pharaoh, which I did highlight in the documentary ‘The Crocodile Princess’.

ZH: I chose Khufu because he built a unique pyramid. People still talk about him today, and he is considered the best of the Fourth Dynasty, which moved 6 million stones to build the pyramids. This is Egypt's golden age, and we are still making discoveries. I believe 2025 will be the Khufu year because of all that will be published and announced about him.