7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In the 1890s a team of British archaeologists discover the untouched tomb of Princess Ananka but accidentally bring the mummified body of her High Priest back to life. Three years later back in England a follower of the same Egyptian religion unleashes the mummy to exact grisly revenge on the despoilers of the sacred past.
Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, Eddie Byrne, Felix AylmerHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.75:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono (Spain)
English SDH, French, Japanese, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The sole non-sequel in Warner Home Video's first volume of Hammer Horror Films is the British studio's 1959 version of The Mummy, the first of its official remakes of a property licensed from Universal, which was so impressed with the success of Horror of Dracula the previous year that it invited Hammer to rifle its library of horror classics for story ideas. Dracula's writer, Jimmy Sangster, drew from several films in Universal's vault, but notably missing from the list was the 1932 Boris Karloff original that first presented the eerie figure of a 3000-year-old Egyptian corpse restored to life. Karloff's Imhotep managed to pass for human, but Sangster preferred the bandage-wrapped monster who haunted later Universal films like The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb. Plot elements from both films, as well as The Mummy's Ghost, found their way into Sangster's script. Made by the same creative team responsible for Horror of Dracula and anchored by the stars of that film, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, The Mummy is a high water mark in Hammer's history and, for many viewers, one of the most memorable of all mummy movies. Unlike the jokey 1999 reboot by Stephen Sommers, Hammer's version took both its monster and its hero seriously and maintained a consistent tone throughout. Hammer's cinematographer, Jack Asher, used boldly stylized color to create a distinctive style that is now permanently associated with Hammer Films and was as much a part of the fun for audiences as Lee's fierce gaze peering out from beneath his rotting ancient wrap. Unlike Sommers forty years later, director Terence Fisher could not rely on CGI to create his monster's violence; he had to use practical effects, and they are so realistic that Christopher Lee sustained multiple injuries during the making of the film, some of which reportedly troubled him for the rest of his life.
While the other three titles in Warner Home Video's first volume of Hammer Horror Films were shot by Arthur Grant, and share the same darkly lit style, The Mummy was photographed by cinematographer Jack Asher, who was also responsible for such early Hammer hits as The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula. Except for nighttime exteriors, Asher preferred brighter lighting, and his use of vivid, often fluorescent washes of color (typically greens or reds), without any concern for the light's source, are a classic element of the style associated with Hammer horror. A good example can be seen when Stephen Banning and Joseph Whemple first enter the chamber containing Princess Ananka's sarcophagus. The cavern, which has just been opened for the first time in centuries, is thoroughly illuminated with a green glow that seems to emanate from nowhere. Scanned at 2k from an IP for this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, The Mummy has a noticeably softer and less detailed image than the three other Hammer films in this first volume from Warner, although it is hard to say whether that is a function of the original photography, the source material, the transfer or a combination of factors. (I suspect the source material is the limiting factor here.) Also, The Mummy is framed at 1.67:1, which would have been the aspect ratio used on European screens, rather than the 1.78:1 that is Warner's standard treatment for films released in the U.S. at 1.85:1. Despite the softer image, however, a significant amount of detail is still present, enough to allow appreciation of the fine points (and limitations) of the costumes, makeup and set design. The colors are excellent, both in the present-day sequences in England and Egypt and in the flashbacks to ancient times, which are more exaggerated and cartoonish. Blacks are solid and deep, and contrast is appropriate. A fine grain pattern is visible throughout. As is the case with all of the films in its first Hammer collection, Warner has mastered The Mummy with a higher bitrate than it has typically achieved in previous catalog releases, in this case an average of 29.84 Mbps. At the very least, there does not appear to have been any filtering of detail to facilitate compression, and the compression has been carefully performed.
The Mummy's original mono track has been encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA 1.0, and the source material is in fine shape, with no pops, distortions or distracting background hiss. Dialogue is always clear, as are the sound effects. German-born composer Franz Reizenstein (Circus of Horrors) provided the classical score.
Other than a trailer (480i; 1.67:1, enhanced; 2:26), the disc has no extras. Warner's 2003 DVD was similarly featureless.
Unlike its Frankenstein and Dracula films, Hammer's The Mummy had no sequels. Hammer made three more "mummy" films from unrelated sources, but, despite its success, The Mummy remained an only child. There is a Region B-locked U.K. edition by Lionsgate that contains substantial extras, but for those without region-free capability, or who are not interested in extras, Warner's new release is a quality Blu-ray, and the film itself is a classic. Recommended.
1970
1969
1968
Dracula / Warner Archive Collection
1958
1970
1972
The Devil's Bride
1968
Warner Archive Collection
1957
1974
The Fall of the House of Usher
1960
1971
1966
1944
1940
Collector's Edition
1960
Collector's Edition
1964
1976
The Mask of Satan / La maschera del demonio | The Mario Bava Collection
1960
1971
Collector's Edition
1963