MOVIE COMPANY: Universal Pictures
DVD reviewed by Dennis A. Amith
CAST: Starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Jonathan Hyde, Kevin J. Connor
DIRECTED BY: Directed by Stephen Sommers
PRODUCED BY: James Jacks, Sean Daniel
RATING: Rated PG-13
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120616
TYPE OF MOVIE: Adventure, Action, Thriller, Horror
A full-scale re-imagining of Universal Pictures’ seminal 1932 film, The Mummy is a rousing, suspenseful and horrifying epic about an expedition of treasure-seeking explorers in the Sahara Desert in 1925. Stumbling upon an ancient tomb, the hunters unwittingly set loose a 3,000-year-old legacy of terror, which is embodied in the vengeful reincarnation of an Egyptian priest who had been sentenced to an eternity as one of the living dead.
An Alphaville production, The Mummy stars Brendan Fraser (George of The Jungle), Rachel Weisz (Swept From The Sea) and John Hannah (Sliding Doors). The film was written and directed by Stephen Sommers (Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, The Adventures of Huck Finn) and produced by James Jacks and Sean Daniel (Tombstone, Michael, Dazed & Confused). Industrial Light & Magic will produce the ground-breaking visual effects necessary to bring the awe-inspiring and terrifying world of The Mummy to life on the screen.
DVD EXTRAS:
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Commentary by writer/director Stephen Sommers (I) and editor Bob Ducsay
• Musical score by Jerry Goldsmith on alternate audio track (as a hidden feature)
• Production notes
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• “Building a Better Mummy, an original 40-minute documentary featuring writer/director Stepen Sommers (I), visual effects supervisor John Berton, and the crew of “Industrial Light & Magic” as well as an in-depth look into the creative and technical processes behind the heart-stopping special effects
• “Egyptology 101”, a collection of facts about ancient Egypt and Egyptian mythology
• Deleted scenes
• Widescreen anamorphic format
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S):
Hidden trailers:
Enter Brendan Fraser’s biography to view a trailer from Gods And Monsters. Enter Arnold Vosloo’s biography to view a trailer from Darkman 2.
Complete music soundtrack:
Select the “Language” option at the main menu. The Dolby Digital music soundtrack will start after the animation completes
DVD REVIEW:
“The Mummy” is one of those movies that either you love it or hate it, or best yet…call it average. Everyone has their own opinion on it.
The DVD reviews you may have read will be different. Some calling this a bad adaptation of the original movie, some calling it a rip off of other movies such as “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and some who don’t like Brendan Fraser as an action star.
I’m a fan of the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” series and Harrison Ford did a wonderful job with that movie. He’s a talented actor and I don’t think of this movie to be a rip off, although movie enthusiasts know which scenes have been taken from what.
I saw it as an entertaining movie and I liked the story. I never really paid attention to Brendan Fraser since “Encino Man” and what do you know, this movie is actually pretty good.
But this review comes down to what the DVD is all about. This collector’s edition DVD is very well done. So, you have your own personal review of the movie, now what about the DVD…it’s loaded. I mean fully loaded with extras that will definitely put a smile to your face. The deleted scenes, the anamorphic format, good 5.1 sound and the color is nicely done and of course that 40-minute documentary and more.
This collector’s edition to me is very good! Those who will nitpick the movie relating to other movies and the actors will not like it at all. Give it a try and check out the DVD. You can find it for sale these days at Blockbuster! If so, then it’s one of the best bargains you will find! DVD – highly recommended!
THE MOVIE:Â A-
THE DVD EXTRAS:Â A+
THE DVD OVERALL:Â A