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The Mummy

The Mummy

List Price: $19.97
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WHY IS THIS CLASSIC NOT YET ON DVD?
Review: THE MUMMY is hands down the greatest film Hammer ever produced, even surpassing HORROR OF DRACULA. The Egyptian sequence with its air of authenticity and dream-like horror, superb acting (especially by Peter Cushing and Lee, who marvelously conveys the stunted feelings of Karis via his eyes), memorable cinematography, intelligent dialogues, (this film has NO CAMP APPEAL! I HATE THE WORD CAMP!) exciting set pieces as the very physical Lee-mummy crashes through doors and strangle his victims, all converge to make a timeless classic. Oh yeah, this is also the best mummy movie ever made. As if there is a real competition. Ha ha.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: THE MUMMY
Review: There have been countless tellings of The Mummy, and this one, while not very original in it's plot, is one of the best. Lee portrays a wonderful mummy, with a hint of Lon Chaney and Arnold Vosloo. The bandages are pretty fake, but the mummy is very scary. Cushing delivers a fine performance as John Banning. My only problem is the story, which is a slightly altered version of Universal's THE MUMMY'S TOMB. The plot is a bit rushed and does not give adequete time to make any of the characters really stick in our minds( with the exception of Lee).Every main character's name was borrowed from the Universal movies. The flashbacks to Egypt are very good. The ending was an altered version of THE MUMMY'S GHOST. A more creative death for the mummy would've helped. The makeup and score were effective and chilling. Unlike many of Hammer's monster movies, there is no blood or gore in this one at all! That makes this enjoyable and a spooky, fun movie!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Neither the first nor the last, but one of the best.
Review: There have been quite a lot of mummy stories over the years, but this one manages to hold its own even when compared to the recent revival of the genre. There is hardly a part of this movie which has not been copied by others or done before. The tongue-cutting, the resemblance between a modern woman and an ancient Egyptian princess, the reading of the book of the dead are just a view examples, but still this movie stands out. This is for a large part due to the outstanding performance of Christopher Lee as the mummy. Despite being wrapped up in bandages Lee manages to give the cursed Egyptian priest a character of his own, that calls for pity even though his muderous habits are chilling. An excellent horror movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stylishly Directed Hokum is Pure Fun!
Review: This 1959 Hammer film version of the legendary mummy outdoes the murky, confused and slow-paced Universal original by a longshot. Granted, neither film is exactly high art, in fact they're both pure nonsense. But, nevertheless, this version, starring Peter Cushing as Professor Banning and Christopher Lee as the mummy, is superior in every way to the Universal version. Stylishly directed with superb atmosphere and music, it may not have all the thrills of the Brendan Fraser version, but it makes far more sense plot-wise than any other Mummy film. Peter Cushing does an excellent job as usual, always convincing, and Christopher Lee is terrific at conveying emotion with only his eyes (the rest wrapped in bandages). If you find yourself with an adversion to "old" films for some reason, it may not be your cup of tea. Otherwise, you'll no doubt enjoy this extremely fun and exciting film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfect Hammer
Review: This DVD has been anticipated for a long time by Hammer Horror fans like myself. Warner Bros. has the liscense, as well as the liscense for at least two other Hammer films that are greatly desired by Hammer fans: The Horror of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein.

The print Warner Bros. used for this DVD is simply beautiful. I've owned the VHS version of the film for years, but as soon as this widescreen DVD became available, I immediately went out and bought it. The sound and picture quality are wonderful, clear, and sharp. The colors are dazzling. I saw barely any wear on this forty-plus year old film. It is a perfect example of why Hammer films have held up all these year, and continue to entertain even now.

If you love Hammer Horror films, buy this movie. If you're a Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee fan, buy this movie. Show Warner Bros. you want them to release the other two movies by buying this film. I, like other Hammer fans, have written to them expressing my desire to see all the Hammer films they have liscense to released on DVD, but all the letter writing in the world won't do any good without sales. Do yourself a favor, and get it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hammer does the Mummy
Review: This is Hammer Studio's attempt at redoing the Mummy. The story has Kharis (Christopher Lee) as an Egyptian priest that is executed when he tries to revive his Queen Anaka. Centuries later a team of Egyptologist (Peter Cushing as John Banning) find the tomb of Anaka, Kharis is brought back to life and is driven to kill the ones that disturbed Anaka's tomb. Kharis recognizes Banning's wife as the exact look-alike of his long lost queen and his passion for her brings about his destruction for a second time.

The movie is well written, Lee is a superb as the mummy, Technicolor gives the film a warm feeling and there is plenty of action and adventure to keep the viewer's attention.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 3 1/2 stars. High class Hammer.
Review: This is high class Hammer. While not one of the great Hammer films, it is a good film that retains its strength after multiple viewings, and much better than the junk staring Brendan Fraser. This film is definitely NOT hokum, as one condescendingly good review says below. Fisher's version of The Mummy is exciting and dramatically solid, and is skillfully and artistically crafted. I still feel the Karloff film is the best version, but I can respect those who choose the Fisher film. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Mummy's Day
Review: This is probably the best Hammer movie ever made. The original Karloff version was too derivative of Dracula. Starting with the first, and the later versions, the mummy could hardly move. Christopher Lee, a mediocre actor, was truely an athletic one, and it was put to good use in this movie. Jack Asher's color cinematography bordered on the expressionistic. But it wasn't the black and white expressionism of German silent movies, or the classic Universal studios. This was the expressionism of German painters. However, I prefer the ending in the original version, where the heroine had to rescue herself, while the heroes looked on helplessly.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Mummy's Day
Review: This is probably the best Hammer movie ever made. The original Karloff version was too derivative of Dracula. Starting with the first, and the later versions, the mummy could hardly move. Christopher Lee, a mediocre actor, was truely an athletic one, and it was put to good use in this movie. Jack Asher's color cinematography bordered on the expressionistic. But it wasn't the black and white expressionism of German silent movies, or the classic Universal studios. This was the expressionism of German painters. However, I prefer the ending in the original version, where the heroine had to rescue herself, while the heroes looked on helplessly.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hammer at it's best!
Review: This is truly one of Hammer's best film.
Everything is there, all the right ingredients, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Terence Fisher etc...
From the opening credits through the end, the film is captivating, featuring some beautiful photography, excellent performance from all the actors, one of the best musical score , and flawless direction from the great Terence Fisher.
Christopher Lee's performance has to be pointed out, he gives quite a tour de force interpretation , and this with the handicap of being all wrapped in bandages, and being left to act with his eyes and body gestures alone.
We can see clearly the magic of Hammer films at work here, the little british company could do so much with so little, but every cent spent on the production was up there on the screen.
A truly great classic!!!


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