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The Mummy [Blu-ray]
(Terence Fisher, 1959)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Hammer Film Productions Video: Icon Home Entertainment
Disc: Region: 'B' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:27:59.750 Disc Size: 46,297,116,985 bytes Feature Size: 19,066,208,256 bytes Video Bitrate: 24.99 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: November 5th, 2012
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 / 1.37:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles: English (SDH), none
Extras: • Audio Commentary with Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby • Unwrapping The Mummy: The Making of a Hammer Classic (28:40) • The Hammer Rep Company (14:20) • The House of Horror: Memories of Bray (46:40) • Still Gallery (6:58) • The World of Hammer: Hammer Stars Peter Cushing (24:48)
• Original Promotion Reel (5:31) 2 DVDs available (1.33 and 1.66)
Bitrate:
Description: While on a dig in Egypt, British archaeologist John Banning (Peter Cushing) desecrates the tomb of Princess Ananka, awakening her mummified lover (Christopher Lee). With revenge on his mind, the mummy follows Banning and the rest of his group back to England, but becomes quite taken with Banning's wife (Yvonne Furneaux), who resembles the princess quite closely.*** One by one the archaeologists who discover the 4,000-year-old tomb of Princess Ananka are brutally murdered. Kharis (Lee), high priest in Egypt 40 centuries ago, has been brought to life by the power of the ancient gods and his sole purpose is to destroy those responsible for the desecration of the sacred tomb. But Isobel Banning (Furneaux), wife of one of the explorers (Cushing), resembles the beautiful princess, forcing the speechless and tormented monster to defy commands and abduct Isobel to an unknown fate... Starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in their iconic roles in the 3rd Hammer Horror film from 1959. The first ever HD release of Hammer’s classic film. THE MUMMY has been unavailable on any Region 2 home entertainment format since 2004. The previously available DVD was authored at the incorrect aspect ratio of 1.77:1 and widely criticised by fans. The Region 1 edition, still available as an import, is also presented incorrectly at 1.77:1. This new release on Blu-ray and DVD double play presents the film in its original UK theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1 for the first time, as well as featuring a host of brand new extras never seen before and in high definition. Containing 2 x DVD + 1 x Blu-ray.
The Film:
Baby-boomer horror film fans bear a particular affection for the
output of Britain's Hammer Studios, the family-owned facility renowned
through the '50s and '60s for delivering tidy-budgeted fear and fantasy
forays and reaping equally tidy box office returns. The company's
sanguinary takes on a pair of familiar fright figures, The Curse of
Frankenstein (1957) and
Horror of Dracula (1958), spurred franchises for the British
studio in the same manner as these iconic monsters had for Universal a
generation before. One of the most fetching of Fisher's early Hammer movies, the third in the trilogy which comprises The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula. Its qualities are almost entirely abstract and visual, with colour essential to its muted, subtle imagery. Christopher Lee looks tremendous in the title role, smashing his way through doorways and erupting from green, dream-like quagmires in really awe-inspiring fashion. Yvonne Furneaux plays one of Fisher's most crucial heroines, Isobel Banning, who has let her hair down (literally) and become sensual in order to free her husband (Cushing) from the curse he invokes by opening an Egyptian tomb. Excerpt from Timeout located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The Mummy gets an unusual option on Icon Home Entertainment's Blu-ray. You can see the film in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio (Warner's DVD was 1.78:1). But as some theatres were not prepared for widescreen - you can also see it in 1.37:1. I only see information gained/lost on the top and bottom of the frame. It is dual-layered with a middling bitrate for the 1.5 hour feature. It probably would have been a more robust transfer had they gone only with the 1.66:1. Strangely, both transfer are exactly the same in terms of running time, bitrate and file size. There is some inconsistency but colors are notable with some, brightness in the, fancy dress, flashbacks, eerie green lights in the tombs and Egyptian garb, and deep rich maroons in Mehemet Bey's fez. Generally the visuals are pleasing with a few scenes highlighting impressive depth. Everything looks authentic - but, obviously, not as dynamic as modern films would look in this format. This Blu-ray gave me a pleasurable 1080P presentation, but not one to write home about.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
More 1.66:1 Blu-ray Captures
Audio :Icon utilize a linear PCM mono track at 2304 kbps. It is clear, flat but has a bit of punch. Franz Reizenstein score adds to the atmosphere but is not particularly memorable. It works in the scope of the film and, presumably, benefits from the lossless. It sounds quite clean. There are optional English subtitles (see sample) and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.
Extras : Icon really add a lot in terms of supplements. They include an excellent, new, audio commentary with Marcus Hearn (author of The Hammer Vault) and Jonathan Rigby (author of Christopher Lee: The Authorized Screen History.) It is filled with both commentator's knowledge expanding on significant details of production and performances. Unwrapping The Mummy: The Making of a Hammer Classic runs shy of 1/2 and hour and is also new extending with more data beyond the commentary. The Hammer Rep Company runs 15-minutes with Rigby again detailing the group of character actors that worked in the Hammer system. The House of Horror: Memories of Bray is quite long at over 3/4 of an hour. Bray Studios is a film and television facility at Bray, near Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is where Hammer purchased properties on banks of the Thames utilizing them extensively for their films. There is also a Stills gallery, an oft-seen The World of Hammer: Hammer Stars Peter Cushing segment - narrated by Oliver Reed and running 25-minutes. There is a promotional reel and Icon add Terence Fisher's 1952 feature Stolen Face in 576i - that we have compared to other SD versions HERE. The package also contains a 2 DVD of the feature in 1.66 and 1.33.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze February 13th, 2014
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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.
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