THE MUMMY (1959)
Second Sight Films Limited Edition Blu-ray
Label: Second Sight Films
Region Code: B
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration: 92 Minutes
Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1), 1080p HD Full Frame (1.37:1)
Director: Terence Fisher
Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, , George Pastell, Michael Ripper, Felix Aylmer, Joseph Whemple
Hammer's The Mummy (1959) was the third movie in a multi-picture deal with Universal that allowed the British film company to make adaptations of the classic Universal monster films. Set in 1895 the film opens with a team of British archaeologists; John Banning (Peter Cushing, Frankenstein Created Woman), his father Stephen (Felix Aylmer, Never Take Sweets from a Stranger) and his uncle Joseph (Raymond Huntley, Symptoms), whom have discovered the untouched 4000 year-old tomb of the Egyptian Princess Ananka (Yvonne Furneaux, Repulsion). A leg injury prevents John from being present alongside his father and uncle when they crack open the tomb, and as they are about to enter the interior of the tombs for the first time they are warned by a mysterious Fez-adorned Egyptian named Mehemet (George Pastell, Maniac) of the curse, that to disturb the tomb is to invite death upon themselves, to which they take no heed, naturally.
They enter the tomb and are in awe of the treasures they find within, and while Joseph leaves to inform his nephew of their good fortune Stephen remains alone inside the tomb with the sarcophagus of Ananka, and when Joseph returns he finds his brother mysteriously stricken ill, left in a weakened and catatonic state. They chalk it up to the stress of the exciting find and the team returns to England with their newfound pilfered Egyptian relics and treasures. We hop ahead three years in the timeline and see that the elderly Stephen is still in a semi-catatonic state and is a resident at nursing home for the mentally disordered. While his son is visiting him at the clinic the elderly man becomes briefly lucid, and sensing an impending danger he tells his son that when he was inside the tomb he had read from the Egyptian Scroll of Life and awakened a mummified guardian who attacked him. Hearing the wild story John gives the story little credence, crediting it to a misremembrance from an ill man. We know it to be true though, as we are treated to not only a flashback to the attack, but to lush recounting of the death of Ananka that is quite wonderfully realized. The set design and Egyptomania inspired art direction is pretty terrific, while not completely free of anachronism if you scrutinize it, it is something that I remember lighting up my brain with wonder as a kid watching it on good ol' WPIX, and it still holds up today - this has to be one of the most elaborate set spectacles ever seen in a Hammer film. In these flashbacks we see high priest Kharis (Christopher Lee, Count Dracula) as he attempts to resurrect the recently deceased princess, his secret love, and, and as punishment his tongue torn out (off camera natch) and is mummified and entombed in a secret cabinet within the tomb be to guard Ananka in the afterlife.
In the current day we then follow the drunken exploits of British wagon-carters Pat (Harold Goodwin, The Terror of the Tongs) and Mike (Denis Shaw, The Curse of the Werewolf) who have been hired by Mehemet to deliver the sarcophagus of Kharis to his new home in England; they're unaware what's in the crate but the louts are startled by the sound of breaking glass and screaming while passing the nursing home and end up losing the crate which falls into a swamp and is submerged in the brackish waters. Later that night Mehemet arrives at the swamp and reads from the Scroll of Life, summoning the mummified corpse of Kharis, who emerges from the swamp muddied and soggy but undeterred, commanded to kill the men who desecrated the tomb of Ananka by Mehemet. The bandage-wrapped juggernaut embarks on a kill-spree that claims the elder Johns father and uncle, with Kharis sidetracked from his revenge by John's wife Isobel (Furneax, again), who might be the reincarnated spirit of his great love Ananka.
Hammer's horror-under-wraps is a pretty elaborate and well-made bit of Egyptian exploitation, with Lee's well-over six foot frame beneath the stained bandages making for an imposing and surprisingly unstoppable juggernaut version of the Egyptian terror. The way he tears through iron bars and splinters wooden doors is pretty impressive. Lee not only has the menacing physicality to pull it off but manages to convey quite a bit of pathos using his only exposed body parts, his eyes, those smoldering mummy eyes, especially towards the end when he's engaging with his reincarnated lost-love. The film cherry picks elements from Universal 1930-1940's films, not all of which make sense (the delayed revenge makes no sense), but all of which look terrific onscreen, thanks to the fantastic set design by the Hammer artisans with gorgeous Egyptian tombs sets bathed in an eerie green light, as well as the more modern period detail in the Bannon home which was shot at the legendary Bray Studios.
Cushing is in fine form, while he is waylaid early on with a gimpy leg, perhaps a reference to the foot-dragging mummy from the Universal films, he gets plenty of action with terrific physicality battling mummy later-on, and there's a particaurly engaging exchange of dialogue between himself and Mehemet, a tense exchange, and not one that paints Cushing's character in a good light, but it's reigned in in a very British sort of way, with Cushing insulting the Egyptian's religion and he in turn accusing the Brit of being a thief, true enough. It's a terrific watch that I thought held up quiye well, and it gets bonus Hammer points for featuring Hammer regular Michael Ripper (The Plague of the Zombies) as a drunken poacher who encounters the mummy in the forest!
Audio/Video: The Mummy (1959) arrives on region-B locked Blu-ray from Second Sight Films in 1080p HD presented in original UK theatrical aspect ratio 1.66:1 plus an alternative full frame1.37:1 presentation. It's a fine-looking presentation with great looking colors-well-managed film grain and deep blacks, looking organic and free of untoward digital manipulation. The colors look great, the eerie green light associated with the tomb and the mummy shine, as does the red of Mehemet's fez, and the lavender hues of Isobel's dress are nicely saturated. The tight-knit film grain also showcases pleasing fine detail in the textures of clothing and the mud-caked wraps of the mummy.
The 1.37:1 framing shows more image on the top and bottom, though I preferred the 1.66:1 UK framing. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English PCM dual-mono, its vintage sounding but free of hiss or distortion with the score from Franz Reizenstein (Circus of Horrors) comes through true with some nice depth.
Extras include a mix of old and new, beginning with a a brand new Audio commentary by film academic Kelly Robinson who argues that while the mummy lives in the shadow of its more wildly popular Universal monster brethren its a character with a richly detailed past that should not be ignored. Other cool bonus junk start comes by way of a terrific Archival Audio Commentary by Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby, a team-up of two more Hammer knowledgeable experts you simply will not find.When I pick up a new Hammer release they're the first names I look for on the extras, and they do not disappoint here. Additionally we get over two hours of featurettes that unwrap the mysteries of this film; we have the 11-min An Appreciation of The Mummy by David Huckvale; who shows up again in the 10-min The Music of The Mummy. The 30-min Unwrapping The Mummy is a terrific look at the making of the film through the eyes of historians and the cast and crew who worked it, followed by a wonderful 49-min The House of Horror: Memories of Bray that details the history of Hammer's legendary Bray Studios, with plenty of great archival images of it through the years, detailing the tight-knit, well-oiled work style of the employees, the way certain sets were endlessly repressed in many Hammer films thanks to the ingenious works of the set designers and craft people. Disc extras are buttoned up with the 15-min The Hammer Rep Company that digs into the repertoire cast that appeared again and again in Hammer movies, plus a 6-min silent Original Promo Reel and a 7-min Still Gallery.
The single-disc limited edition release arrives in an oversized charcoal keepcase with a single sided sleeve of artwork with a striking new illustration by artist Graham Humphreys that is terrific. This limited edition release comes housed in gorgeous rigid slip box with the same artwork on a dark midnight blue background with a yellow title logo on the spine that sits quite handsomely next to the Second Sight release of Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. Inside there's a selection of 5 Collectors' Art Cards
featuring three images from the film, a vintage poster artwork and the new Humphreys illustration. On top of all that we get a 48-page illustrated full-color Soft Cover Book with fantastic new essays by Kat Ellinger, Lindsay Hallam and Kevin Lyons.
Special Features
- Main feature presented in original UK theatrical aspect ratio 1.66:1 and alternative full frame1.37:1
- NEW! Audio commentary by film academic Kelly Robinson
- Archive audio commentary by Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby
- An Appreciation of The Mummy by David Huckvale (11 min)
- The Music of The Mummy (10 min)
- Unwrapping The Mummy (30 min)
- The House of Horror: Memories of Bray 49 min)
- The Hammer Rep Company (15 min)
- Original Promo Reel (6 min)
- Still Gallery (7 min)
Limited Edition Contents:
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Graham Humphreys
- Soft cover book with new essays by Kat Ellinger, Lindsay Hallam and Kevin Lyons plus production stills
- 5 collectors' art cards
The Mummy (1959) is a very handsomely directed film, helmed by Hammer elite Terrence Fisher (The Gorgon), with a Hammer all-star cast, it's just a wonderfully produced adaptation with a distinct Hammer flavor. This is a terrific limited edition set from Second Sight, the attractive presentation, excellent slate of deep-diving extras, and highly collectible packing should put on the radar of any serious Hammer horror aficionado.
Screenshot from the Second Sight Blu-ray:
