The Mummy (1999)

In My Humble 
Opinion... Tep!

The Mummy (1999)
USA 1999
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Universal UK Blu Ray

I remember when this version of The Mummy first came out in cinemas. I was worried about it because I love the Universal monster movies of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and I was concerned that Stephen Sommers, who was said to be making more of an action adventure film, would be doing the concept a disservice. Then I went to the cinema and saw the finished product for myself and, wow, I absolutely adored this right from the start. I remember The Matrix was released in the UK about a week later and I remember hating that one and thinking, why didn’t I just go see The Mummy again rather than pay out for that. I did see this film a few more times at the cinema though and, even though it has several mistakes (which the director gleefully points out in his informative old US DVD commentary... I’m assuming this is the same one ported over for this Blu Ray) it’s still an absolute masterpiece.

So, the film is a strange tonal hybrid in that, yes, there are certain scenes, mostly in the first half, where Sommers is definitely playing with the film in terms of the horror genre and, although there are a few great fight sequences in the first hour, he really does push the creepiness of the concept a lot more than, I think, people realise once they get caught up in the next hour. So, for example, the sequences where The Mummy is first brought back to life and runs around in the tomb as panicked archeologists and treasure hunters try to escape him are the film very much going into good old fashioned horror mode. There’s even a creepy prelude culminating in a jump scare in an early scene which takes place in a library and sets up one of the characters.  

But there’s more to this as the film is injected with a good dose of old 1930s-50s adventure movie serial components, pushing the Indiana Jones aspects of the film and ratcheting up the action and nostalgia stakes that come with that territory. And it’s done with a huge dose of humour which, yeah, could have gone terribly wrong for the movie but, because the script on this one is so good and, because the various actors are so brilliant in this, Sommers manages to pull it off with ease and, in doing so, he created a lasting classic which still endures and holds up now. 

As for those actors.. we have Brendan Fraser who is, frankly, brilliant in the role of adventurer Rick O Connell, playing him with a lot of humour and confidence. We have Rachel Weisz as librarian Evie, who is a kind of feminist version of a 1920s heroine and gives as good as she gets and, indeed, even has a penchant for inflicting eye injuries on her foes (in at least two scenes). We also have John Hannah playing her kid brother Jonathan, who is used as comic relief and is a nice contrast to Fraser’s leading man, the two playing off one another nicely. 

Arnold Vosloo as title character Imhotep is absurdly good in this role and almost a likeable and sympathetic character, if he wasn’t so determined to kill everybody in horrible ways. Kevin J. O'Connor as the weaselly Beni (who had the best line in Sommer’s earlier movie Deep Rising and steals many of the greatest scenes here) is probably the absolute greatest thing about this movie, playing a character so disloyal he ends up helping Imhotep in order to both stay alive and make off with a load of treasure but who, to paraphrase the words of lead character Rick O Connel, gets what’s coming to him. 

Lastly, there’s Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay and the gorgeous Patricia Velasquez as Princess Anck Su Namun. Both of these characters and their respective actors would get much bigger roles in the first direct sequel, The Mummy Returns. 

As for the direction, editing, cinematography etc... this is also a technical masterpiece... despite the mistakes which have either been edited around or, in some cut sequences, actually created by the editing with shots that either don’t quite match or defy logic if you happen to latch onto them (again, Sommer’s commentary is really worth listening to, if it’s the same one that he did for the initial DVD release). 

For instance, when everyone is running around and trying to escape the mummy’s tomb when he is first revived, one of the characters loses his glasses. What happens next is that when the camera is a point of view from that character or from just behind the character looking away from him, he blurs the focus to imply a POV shot. But here’s the thing, the camera then pans around to this character and the shot changes into sharp focus... within that same uninterrupted shot (and he does this a couple of times in this sequence). So, yeah, that’s the first time I’ve caught a director literally implying a change of POV within the same shot... brilliant stuff. 

He also uses the camera and editing to give us some nice transitions. Such as a moment where Evie and Jonathan are looking at the map. We then cut to a close up of the map before cutting away to Jonathan and Evie and a third character talking about the map in a different location. It’s not a new way of doing things but it’s a nice bit of visual shorthand and it works very well. 

As do some of the visual wipes used in the film. For instance, when Fraser jumps diagonally down into a chamber entrance in the ground, into a tomb in the city of Hamunaptra, a visual wipe follows him diagonally down, revealing him and Weisz already in the tomb. Nice stuff. 

Another thing the director does which really helps lift the film where others trying to capture the same magic have failed, is that he lets the audience in on the joke. For instance, the sudden appearance of wind and atmosphere going nuts when anyone says anything dark and filled with foreboding is certainly a genre cliché and here Sommers does it at least three times. But, here’s the rub, he does it so unsubtly and so self consciously, that the audience realises right off the bat that he’s doing it tongue in cheek. It’s like he’s winking at the audience and saying, it’s okay to not take this seriously... we certainly aren’t. And to spell that out even further, there’s even a scene where it happens yet again and Brendan Fraser says... “That happens a lot around here!” It’s a nice touch and makes all the difference to the way the film is received... the audience are invited to laugh along at the absurdities and genre clichés right along with the actors on screen, elevating the experience accordingly. 

Another great thing about this movie... Jerry Goldsmith. I was at one of many of his concerts I attended over the years and, in at least one of them, he played a suite of music from The Mummy. He told the audience he was really struggling with it and didn’t think much of the movie until he at last found a way to have fun with it. When the sequel came up, he turned it down citing scheduling conflicts and, while Alan Silvestri provides a great score for the sequel, it means the franchise suffers from the same lack of musical continuity that modern Marvel and DC movies have... which is a shame. Even so, Goldsmith’s score for The Mummy is outstanding and, for my money, in the top twenty scores of his long career. The camel race is especially beautiful, as is the heavy percussion which comes in right at the end and the shot transitions to everybody setting up camp in Hamunaptra. It’s easily one of the greatest scores he did around this time and the modern, expanded version of the CD with the entire score on it means I no longer have to leave the old US DVD on the languages menu if I want to hear it in total... as the full score playing from start to end was an easter egg on that disc if you stay in that menu. 

Oh, and about the old DVD... for the British readers here. The Mummy was uncut at our cinemas but had some cuts made for the UK home viewing versions at the time. For instance, the extended hanging scene from near the start of the movie, which in real life caused Brendan Fraser to pass out, was heavily truncated on the UK home video releases. Which is why I would only touch the American release of this movie back in the day. I’m pleased to report that the UK Blu Ray (which is now in a single clasp case with the two direct sequels), has had those cuts waived, so it can be watched properly again in this country now. 

And that’s me about done on this one. Rewatching it now was a real trip and the film holds up very well. I’m looking forward to revisiting the sequels very soon... well, the first sequel at any rate. I’m hoping that the third movie will maybe have grown on me over time. I’ll report back here on those soon.