The Mummy – Deluxe Edition BluRay
Blu Ray Title: The Mummy – Deluxe Edition Rated: PG-13 Screen format: 1080P High Definition 2.35:1 Studio: Universal Studios First theatrical release: 7 May, 1999 Previously released on DVD/BluRay: Multiple, including a 2001 Ultimate Edition and a 2006 HDDVD Director: Stephen Sommers Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Johnathan Hyde, Kevin J. O’Connor, Oded Fehr Sound Formats: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Length: 2 hours 5 minutes Subtitles: English, Spanish & French |
Plot: 4/5
For a summer popcorn movie, The Mummy is more complex and likeable than it has any right to be. Ancient lovers Imhotep (Vosloo) and Anck Su Namun (Patricia Velasquez) are discovered by her husband, King Seti I (Aharon Ipale) and condemned, she to death and he to an inhuman mummification curse, one which makes him undead and immortal. Before he is entombed, he vows to return and resurrect his fallen love, and then he is buried for over 3000 years, resting in Hamunaptra, the city of the dead, the whereabouts of which are lost to most of humanity and guarded by a secret cult of Magi, led by a mysterious warrior (Fehr).
In 1922, a legionnaire squadron led by American Rick O’Connel (Fraser) rediscovers the location of Hamunaptra, and only Rick and a coward in his unit named Beni (O’Connor) survive. 3 years later Rick is rescued by an English librarian, Evelyn (Weisz) and her brother Johnathan (Hannah), who seek him out after Evie discovers that an item Jonathan has stolen from Rick is an artifact that may lead them to mythical treasure in the city of the dead.
The trio soon discovers that theirs is not the only expedition to Hamunaptra, a crew of Americans is also bound for that destination, led by Beni. Both camps begin to explore the crypts and tombs, and Imhotep is released by the Americans. Imhotep begins to hunt down those who have freed him as their life essences will help rejuvenate him, and he also targets Evie as a conduit to resurrecting Anck Su Namun. The remainder of the film is a roller coaster ride of saving Evie, avoiding the wrath of the Mummy, and in sending him to a permanent grave.
There is a reason that this film has spawned a sequel (soon to be two) and a side story (The Scorpion King, which is rumored to soon have its own sequel), and that is the intricate storytelling capabilities and eye for detail in its director, Stephen Sommers. What The Mummy also has that so many other early summer ‘event’ pictures miss out on is Fraser’s sly sense of humor and the chemistry he shares with Weisz. Comparisons with the Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone films are inevitable and certainly they do share some heritage, but it would be a mistake to not note that this is a re-imagining of one of Universal’s crown jewels, 1932’s original version by the same name. It is in this reverence to the past, taking pains to give homage to other influences (particularly Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad battles), that shine through and not any mere copycatting. The Mummy is a simple but fun flick that has a higher level of smarts and charm than most similar summer films, and it’s hard to argue against that!
Sound Quality: 4.5/5
The Mummy is presented solely in DTS-HD Master Audio in English (the Spanish and French tracks are DTS 5.1 surround), a first for this film as it was only available in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 on HD-DVD. No other options are available so be sure to have a system that is up to the task of handling this much data! Truthfully I have not taken the time to compare the two nor do I intend to, but I will say that this is the best I can recall this film ever sounding, especially on the bottom end.
The mix is _terrifically_ bass heavy, with quite pleasing low frequency effects punctuating horse hooves, gunfire, the undead legions, the creaking and cracking of the environments that are destroyed, and especially the angry attacks that Imhotep launches. Surround wise there is also quite a bit going on, with data swirling around the viewer in dramatic fashion. Musically, the score has grown on me significantly since first seeing this film in 1999, tho I originally found it a bit derivative of similar action/adventure fare. Today however Jerry Goldsmith’s efforts seem quite natural and perfectly suited to the on screen action, with a nice Egyptian/Arabian flair and punchy orchestral tones movements that are punctuated by deep timpani beats.
Overall, audibly it doesn’t quite reach perfection, but it’s damn close. The opening sequence of Seti arriving through a crowded pyramid square on a horse drawn chariot is the perfect example of what the film has to offer: combining the score, environmental cues, foley effects, and the underlying rumble of the main action along with voiceover dialogue all driven at the viewer at once. And there are many such sequences throughout the film, all unrelenting at hammering everything on viewers at once. It can be a bit _too_ much at times, if that is even possible in this genre. It’s this lack of subtlety in even the least bombastic periods that keeps it from the very top rung.
Visual Quality: 4.5/5
Because I got The Mummy a bit after most on-line reviewers I missed out on the minor controversy regarding whether this is a newer, different transfer than the one used on the HD-DVD. Again, I have not personally done an A/B comparison between the two, and I really don’t feel it’s important to do so. Most HDDVD owners will decide to ‘crossgrade’ or not more based on the likelihood that they will ever dig those disks out again now that the format war is over rather than whether there is an incremental improvement in the video or not.
So here is what I DO know. This transfer looks great. It is super saturated, with no notable print damage or pops/specks, very little edge enhancement that I can see, and has enough grain in it to satisfy the purists who love seeing the native elements and not too much to alarm the newbies to HD video who get freaked out at the first sign of grain. Black levels are likewise deep where they need to be and the CGI elements do not nearly look as hokey as I remember them looking on previous home viewings.
The opening scene is again my primary example of this, the composite elements come together quite convincingly, with terrific color. Two other scenes are worth noting as well. First the battle between the locals and Rick’s legionnaire unit are stunning in their depth and reminded me wholeheartedly of, believe it or not, Lawrence of Arabia! Secondly, the scenes where Imhotep’s partly restored body attack Rick as Rick launches a return volley of pistol fire through the mummy is just jaw dropping.
This is a fantastic first effort from Uni, again I can’t quite see it as perfection but it’s awful close and it looks better than any version I’ve seen of the film, even in the theaters.
Extra Features: 4/5
There are few films that have made it to as many different editions on DVD (and even HD-DVD!) than The Mummy and there are legions of extras that are available across those versions. This “Deluxe” edition has a fair sampling from those and also a few new treats. Leading off, this edition features Universal’s “U-Control” scheme, which I personally reviled on almost all implementations when it was exclusive to HD-DVD. This version is not as bad as most of those, however it is not flawless. On this disk, a user can select the Picture in Picture feature to launch whenever a behind the scenes segment is available to accompany the on screen action, in essence it is a ‘fire and forget’ implementation. This technique is similar to watching a director’s commentary, you have to watch the whole film through to get all of the segments and you cannot just skip to the good parts, but at least you don’t have to click like a rat in a science project just to get them to show each time. In essence it’s not as bad as it used to be but it’s still not a whole lot of fun unless you have another 2 hours and 5 minutes to burn. Of course if you want to repeat the pavlovian experiment you CAN set it up so that you have to click a button when the little bug appears on screen.
Speaking of commentaries, theres two regular ones of those as well, one with Sommers and another with Fraser. The only other new feature is a ‘sneak peak’ of the new Mummy Sequel, “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”. Repeat extras from past efforts include detailed breakdowns of three separate effects sequences, a storyboard versus final filmed element comparison, a photo montage, and a reel full of (wisely) deleted scenes.
The bulk of the extras on board are found in three featurettes. The one I recommend most is “Building a better Mummy” which is the traditional “Behind the scenes look” but it is unique in that it reveals the passion, intelligence, and humor that Sommers and Fraser shared in this project. Their enthusiasm is infectious, and I found that once they explained some of the angles that they were aiming for I had a deeper appreciation for the film as a whole. Rounding out the featurettes are “Unravelling the legacy of the Mummy” and “An Army to rule the world”.
Overall: 4/5 (not an average) - Recommended
As a first foray into the world of BluRay, Universal has found at least one solid entry in The Mummy. The film is coming up on its tenth anniversary but it’s well liked by those who love the typical over the top event pictures, but also has a bit more to chew on plot wise than these stories usually do, has a cast that work together well, and has some stunning cinematography, slick CGI and the kind of sonic presence that sells disks. And while this is great first effort with room to grow, I’m hopeful that shows that Uni has its sight set in bringing the best it has to offer on each release to this format, and I couldn’t be more excited by that prospect.
