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The Mummy's Shroud [Blu-ray]
(John Gilling, 1967)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Hammer Film Productions Video: Studio Canal / Shout! Factory
Disc: Region: 'B' / 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:30:52.041 / 1:30:52.041 Disc Size: 38,653,437,610 bytes / 40,834,403,078 bytes Feature Size: 26,531,395,584 bytes / 26,501,713,920 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.85 Mbps / 34.85 Mbps Chapters: 12 / 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case / Standard Blu-ray case Release date: October 22nd, 2012 / January 14th, 2020
Video (both): Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1810 kbps
2.0 / 48 kHz / 1810 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /
1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles (both): English, none
Extras:
• The Beat Goes On: The
Making of The Mummy's Shroud (22:00) DVD included
• NEW
Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Bruce G.
Hallenbeck
Bitrates:
Description: The time is 1920; the place is Mezzera, Egypt,
an exotic land of mystery and ancient magic. A routine
expedition is about to turn into a violent, murderous
rampage that few will survive.
The Film: A murderous mummy is on the loose and it's got the Hammer Films stamp on it, but this tame terror flick never gets the bandages off when it comes to thrills, chills, and gore. A British archeological team consisting of Sir Basil Walden (Andre Morrell), Paul Preston (David Buck), a photographer (Tim Barrett), and psychic linguist Claire (Maggie Kimberley) discover the tomb of Kah-to-Bey, a young heir to Pharaoh who died trying to escape a rebellion. The boy was buried by a loyal slave named Prem, whose mummy stands in a Cairo museum. The expedition is joined by Preston's wealthy, press-hungry father Stanley (John Phillips), who insists they return to Cairo with the body despite warnings of a curse by the tomb's guardian. The curse soon proves to be true as the slave's mummy is reanimated by the guardian and begins murdering each of the explorers who entered the tomb. While Stanley Preston unsuccessfully tries to save his own skin, Paul and Claire find themselves in a showdown with the seemingly indestructible mummy -- until they discover that the strange writing on the boy Pharaoh's shroud may be the secret to their survival. Excerpt from MRQE located HERE
Heavily inspired by the real King Tut scenario,
The Mummy's Shroud
places its action in the early 1920s as an archaeological team searches
for the tomb of Pharaoh Kah-To-Bey, a mysterious boy leader whose
guardian, Prem, saved him during a violent revolution. "At this point I
think we need to remind ourselves we're living in the twentieth
century," goes one key line of dialogue as the interloping British team
ignores warnings from the locals, and each member is picked off one by
one as retribution by the freshly-awakened mummy of Prem inside (played
by Cushing's regular stuntman, Eddie Powell, who went to handle much of
the title role in 1979's
Alien). The local Muslim authorities prove unsympathetic to
their plight and forbid them to leave using such foolproof reasoning as
"Two of your colleagues have been murdered. I see no reason why there
should be a third."
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The Mummy's Shroud gets an reasonably strong transfer to Blu-ray from Studio Canal in Europe. It is dual-layered with a max'ed out strong bitrate for the 1.5 hour feature. Colors are brighter and truer than SD could relate and there is no noise in the darker sequences. The 1080P supports solid contrast exhibiting healthy, rich black levels and some minor depth in the 1.66:1 frame. It's pristinely clean showcasing some hi-def detail and there are no real damning flaws with the rendering. This Blu-ray probably looks very similar to the theatrical version of this Hammer effort.
Once again, very similar appearance, Shout! may have marginally superior black levels, but overall it is a wash - both in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, the same bitrate and a very pleasing image.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Studio Canal utilize a linear PCM mono track at 1152 kbps. It is clear and flat. Don Banks, less remarkable, score isn't overly impacting but is supported well via the lossless transfer. There are optional English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.
A slightly different audio representation with a DTS-HD Master track although also 24-bit. The score by Don Banks (The Reptile, The Evil of Frankenstein, Rasputin The Mad Monk) may have a shade more depth, but differences seem negligible. The Shout Factory Blu-ray has optional English subtitles and their disc is Region 'A'-locked.
Extras : Studio Canal include two new featurettes. The Beat Goes On: The Making of The Mummy's Shroud runs a full 22-minutes and gives some nice background on the production. There is also a brief bio-piece entitled Remembering David Buck where his career is reflected on for about 5-minutes by Maddy Smith. There are a heap (15-minutes worth) of Hammer Trailers for The Mummy's Shroud and other productions and a slideshow Gallery (with sound) showing posters, title cards and behind-the-scenes photos. The package also includes a DVD of the feature.
Shout! include a new audio commentary by Bruce G. Hallenbeck (author Hammer Fantasy & Sci fi: British Cult Cinema) who declares The Mummy's Shroud an underrated gems - 3rd in their series about rampaging Mummys. He can be a shade dry but is a wealth of information - he is well-prepared and delvers a revealing commentary filled with data points including the curse of Tutankhamun's tomb starting back in the 1922 archaeological find and finding inconsietencies in Leonard Maltin's review. The rest of the extras appear to be duplicated from the Studio Canal release; The 23-minute The Beat Goes On: The Making Of The Mummy’s Shroud with Denis Meikle, John J. Johnston and Jonathan Rigby discussing the film's history. Also here are the brief Remembering David Buck piece and a 24-minute World Of Hammer – Mummies, Werewolves, And The Living Dead episode plus a trailer and gallery.
Studio Canal - Region 'B'- Blu-ray
Shout! Factory - Region 'A'- Blu-ray
BOTTOM LINE:
Shout! take a leap forward with the inclusion of the valuable commentary. Hammer fans should, happily, pick this up... with confidence! Gary Tooze February 5th, 2014 January 9th, 2020
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD
Player APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V Gary W. Tooze
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