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 The Mummy
DVD Review by Yanman |
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"I may not be an explorer or an adventurer or a treasure seeker or a gun fighter Mr. O' Connell, but I am proud of what I am…" "And what is that?" "I am a librarian" In the monster movie genre there are some classics, Frankenstein, The Werewolf, Dracula, and of course The Mummy. All of these movies have been re-made numerous times throughout the years, with various degrees of success. In the case of The Mummy the 1999 recreation starts with the original 1932 Boris Karloff version in mind. The difference with this version is that it is more of a comedy/monster movie then a pure "scare a minute " horror movie. This big budget, PG-13, blockbuster is entertaining and scary enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. And with the extras available on this DVD version, you get a better than in the theater viewing because of the unique way they enhance this classic re-done. Forbidden love, it has sparked wars, ended marriages, instilled fear, and has been the theme for many many movies in the past. Our story opens in ancient Egypt, where Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) is in love with the Pharaoh's mistress Anck-Su-Namum (Patricia Veazquez). It appears that in earliest Egypt it was ok for a pharaoh to have a mistress, but a definite no-no for anyone else to touch her. Imhotep suffers the ultimate curse of the pharaoh and is "mummified" alive and buried in Hamunapta, the city of the dead. Where it is hoped that he will sleep eternally, because if he is liberated from his tomb he will unleash deadly plagues on all the land to revenge his death. Like all things ancient though, Hamunapta houses untold treasures, the kind of treasures that makes normally intelligent people forget their etiquette and ignore long since dead rulers curses. So when a ill-advised treasure seeker, Jonathan (John Hannah) steals a unlikely puzzle artifact from a skeptical warrior Rick O' Connell (Brendan Fraser) and shows it to his Egyptologist and librarian sister Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) the game is afoot. In their poking around with the supernatural that they do not fully understand they unleash a creature that has been feared for more than 3000 years. The question now is how do you kill the undead? The 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen (A pan&scan full screen version is also available) print is free from transfer flaws, but does contain a small number of compression artifacts. These are very small however, located only in scenes with complicated background images, and do not distract from the story or this otherwise stunning video. It is enough however to take this one down a peg on our rating system. The layer change at 89:56 is beautifully hidden during a "fade-to-black" at the end of a scene. Other DVD makers could definitely take a cue on layer change placement from this one. Although the 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound soundtrack does fill the room completely, it is the base management that really shines in this one. Get ready to wake the neighbors and to put the furniture back where it started, because the bass here will rumble to the core. There are a large number of extras here, enough to entertain for many hours. The feature length commentary with the director and editor is particularly worth mentioning due to its humor and insight. Add to this the making of featurette, visual effects formation, deleted scenes, and a host of special DVD-ROM features. See the side bar to the right for a complete list. So if you're not afraid of a little curse, then get off your camel, be careful to avoid the scarabs, protect yourself from the sand, and get ready for a blockbuster action-adventure, because with The Mummy everything old is alive again.
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The Mummy Entertaining and scary enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. Staring: Brendan Fraser Directed By: Stephen Sommers Running time: 125 Bonus Materials
DVD-ROM features
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