Films about or with museums

There was an idea floating around to watch some films that were about museums or had museums in them as a central part of the action. It might be helpful to extend this to archaeology as well! Anyway I am trying to put together an informal list so if anyone has any ideas or favourites please list them here! If you want to put a review as well that could be helpful. Ones I can think from the top of my head include:

The Da Vinci Code - one word review = abysmal
Night at the Museum
Indiana Jones trilogy
The Mummy Parts 1 & 2

Of course there is Friends with Ross working in the museum as well so maybe we need to extend it to TV as well as film?

Comments

The Attic said…
Ta da!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_featuring_museums
Unknown said…
But I can't believe the list doesn't include 'One of our dinosaurs is missing'!
Ceri said…
Well Mary my knowledge of museum related films is admittedly small :( however... it was even harder trying to find a joke about a museum! I am still looking...
The Attic said…
Ah! Yes! Thanks Mary - that was hovering in the back of my mind, but I just couldn't think what it was called!

Of course there's also The Mask of Fu Manchu - the 1932 version with Boris Karloff in the lead role - which features museums and archaeologists.

http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=154628

Dreadfully un-PC, hideously racist (there's a scene which perfectly encapsulates the 'Yellow Peril'; the contemporary fear, whipped up by populist politicians and the tabloid press, that hoards of 'orientals' were on the cusp of destroying western civilisation (hmmm- sounds familiar) - where Fu's daughter addresses an audience of racially stereotyped Chinese, Indians and Arabs, and outlines her father's plans for world domination).

I have to confess I watched it over Christmas when they showed it on TCM - my defence? It was research!
The Attic said…
Actually, it seems, museums feature in most Fu Manchu films.
The Attic said…
Oh and my friend Daniel reckons there's an old black & white film called The Titchfield Thunderbolt, in which a bunch of villagers steal a steam engine from a museum when the last train on their local line breaks down.
Kouros said…
who can give me a copy of Night in the Museum?
I like to watch it at home;-)
Kouros said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kouros said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Attic said…
It's only just come out in cinemas Kouros. I think you'll have to wait at least six months for it to be released on DVD...unless you can get hold of a pirated copy (not that I'm condoning that sort of thing - obviously).
Anonymous said…
I went to see a short French film from the sixties at the NFT last week, called La Jetee. Told almost entirely in still photographs it investigated the idea of memory through a science fiction narrative about Paris after World War Three. A museum featured heavily in one important segment. It really was a very interesting film and id recommend it over Night at the Museum or some other blockbuster anyday. Also, Anjelica Huston plays an archaeologist in The Royal Tenenbaums.

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