The Mummy [Second Sight Limited Edition Region B Blu-ray]

Love the acting, love the storyline. Peter Cushing at his best.

Beautfully shot, very well acted especially by the two leads Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (even if he is quiet and bandaged for most of his screen time), Lee manages to stir up some chills and even some sympathy for the creepy title character.(SPOILERS):Archaleogists open up the sealed tomb of Princess Anaka, despite the warnings of Mehemet Bey not to 'disturb the ever-lasting peace' of the dead as he puts it later in the film. They ignore him and do it anyway, thus encouraging the wrath of Mehemet and especially Kharis aka the Mummy. Stephen Banning, the father of John Banning (Cushing) is the first victim, losing his sanity and being placed in a retirement home. He regains a bit of it 3 years later, warning John that the Mummy is coming to kill all of them for opening the tomb of the princess. But Banning Sr.'s fears turn out not to unfounded as Mehemet Bey has come to England and reads the Scroll of Life that unleashes Kharis and carries out the Egyptian's orders to destroy the archaleogists who dared entered the tomb of Kharis' beloved.John's father is the first victim, as Kharis breaks through the bars and crashes through the window of his padded cell and without mercy, strangles him. John's uncle goes next as the mummy rips apart the doors of John's house and likewise chokes the life out of him.John is to be the third and last victim, and the mummy very nearly succeeds in killing him but is stopped when John's wife Isobel enters and Kharis sees her as the image of his beloved Anaka. When Mehemet orders Kharis to kill her, Kharis rebels against his Egyptian benefector and instead kills him and carries Isobel off. He carries her deep into the swamp, but fortunately, John and the police arrive to save her. Surprisingly (or maybe not) Kharis lets her go when she tells him too. But Kharis himself is destroyed in the end with the Scroll of Life in his hand after being shot down, he slumps into the swamp.This is my favorite version of the Mummy and in my opinion is the best. The 1932 version was okay, but it's not the kind of movie I'd watch over and over again. And the Hammer version definitely beats the newer Brendan Fraser versions by a long shot....they may have better effects but were real short on the emotional depth.Again I say Cushing and Lee are brilliant as always....you can't help but feel sorry for the mummy when he sees Cushing's wife...even with the muddled bandages covered all over him you can see the pain and longing in his eyes. And I loved how Cushing was just bating Mehemet Bey when he was somewhat confronting him (both very subtle like at times and outright daring in others) about his beliefs in the Egyptian religions and his disdain for archaelogists who go out opening tombs of those who are long dead.You can't go wrong with Cushing and Lee or with director Terence Fisher who also directed them in The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula and The Gorgon. This is another winning combination and well worth viewing.

this was the first version of The Mummy legend that I ever saw, and until the last version with Brendan Fraser, it was the best. In fact, I would place it as a very close second. The newer version wins because of its outstanding special effects, but let's face it, it's really a spoof. Rather than an update of "The mummy", it's more like an update of "Abbot and Costello Meet the mummy".The hammer "Mummy" is basically serious. Of course the whole Mummy legend is based on the bizzare death of Lord Carnavon after the opening of the tomb of Pharoah Tutankahmen. (a mosquito bite bcame infected and killed him)It is well to remember that there are no big special effects in the Hammer film except for the mummy makeup and the simulated shotgun blasts that do not destroy Christopher Lee. The movie achieves true horror through the acting abilities of a truly outstanding cast of actors. Christopher Lee deserves special mention for his ability to express the complex feelings of Kharis even through heavy makeup.There are some comments that the Egyptian scenes are stagy and unreal. Have you ever taken a good look at the surviving relics of Egyptian civilization? To the modern eye, they do seem stagy and unreal. That is part of our fascination with ancient Egypt.This movie belongs in every collection of sixties melodrama as an example of what can be done with a simple plot, great actors, and a competent director.

This is the Hammer version of the story, with two major actors playing the lead roles.Not as exciting as the 1999 version (which is very much more of an action film than a Mummy movie), this does move the action to England, introducing some amusing locals.It loses nothing by this -- it is tense and scary.

The Mummy is a classic and a requirement in any true horror fans library. Old horror movies are such fun, in my opinion. They had to rely on mood and story to create a haunting ambiance as opposed to CGI and other modern gimmicks. Happy to now own a digital copy of this classic horror flick. 👻

These films made Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing international stars. The sixties films were still about story telling. But they added shock value and violent action to the color and staging , successfully updating the restrained chills of the forties. Hammer used a small stable of strong performers which ultimately set the tone for an entirely unique set of films. Rather than relying on heavy special effects, they used talent and solid direction and ingenuity. They ultimately created a universe all their own. And film history was made.

This is not a great movie, but it does pick up in the last third. There's a great, tense scene toward the end, between Peter Cushing's character and the mummy's master, that raises questions about the morality of England's appropriation of ancient Egyptian artifacts, as well as about whether or not one can judge a religion as "legitimate." I was a bit surprised to see these issues being raised in a movie from 1959, and the scene really helped humanize the movie's villain. I also enjoyed the twist involving Cushing's character's wife's resemblance to the ancient princess (though I'm a little embarrassed I didn't see it coming). Cushing is very sympathetic, as always, and I thought the role of ancient priest/mummy suited Christopher Lee well. His is a wonderfully physical mummy; some of the movie's best moments involved him crashing through doors and windows. And I liked the portrayal of the mummy as more tragic, victim of a doomed love, than evil or frightening.