100 movies: The Mummy

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100 movies of 2012
Every year I set myself a target, usually of about 100, of films to watch. These are new films. Not new, new films. But films that are new to me. Any time I’ve seen a new one, I post a bit of a brain dump of my thoughts on the film here. Enjoy!

The MummyThe Mummy (28/08/12)

In 1921 a field expedition in Egypt discovers the mummy of ancient Egyptian prince Im-Ho-Tep, who was condemned and buried alive for sacrilege.

Now this is a bit better. It’s only days after I saw my last classic movie monster film – Dracula, and was left a little bit disappointed with it. The Mummy felt like a much better film.

It’s a story that’s only familiar for me because of the more recent Stephen Sommers helmed The Mummy. (Though, I’m shocked to now discover that that film is well over 10 years old. Bloody hell!) It was interesting to see how many details from this 1932 version of The Mummy were in the 1999 version.

The Mummy, much like Frankenstein and Dracula, is a somewhat misunderstood fella. He only wants his girl back! Though, he’s willing to murder some folks on the way in order for that to happen. Love’s never easy, eh? Boris Karloff’s Imhotep isn’t so much the lumbering mummy I was expecting. Aside from being a bit wrinkly and slightly homicidal, he’s the perfect gentleman. Oh and also

The make-up and effects are surprisingly good. Through watching all of these three monster movie films it’s really made me appreciate how much harder film making was back then. Everything from actually having to be on location instead of green screening stuff in. To the make-up and transitioning effects – so much time and creativity had to have gone into it.

Alongside Frankenstein, The Mummy would be a must-see for film fans in my eyes. It’s a great classic horror film.
Rating: 4/5

Read on to see all the films watched this year…

67 Films so far this year

  1. The Tourist 1/5 (02/01/12)
  2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 5/5 (03/01/12)
  3. World’s Greatest Dad 2/5 (14/01/12)
  4. Haywire 3/5 (19/01/12)
  5. Dead Snow 3/5 (20/01/12)
  6. The Artist 5/5 (21/01/12)
  7. Priest 2/5 (05/02/12)
  8. The Muppets 5/5 (15/02/12)
  9. Faster 4/5 (19/02/12)
  10. Chronicle 4/5 (22/02/12)
  11. Safe House 4/5 (24/02/12)
  12. Reservoir Dogs 4/5 (25/02/12)
  13. This Means War 4/5 (02/03/12)
  14. The Royal Tenenbaums 3/5 (03/03/12)
  15. Reign of Fire 3/5 (04/03/12)
  16. Dear John 2/5 (04/03/12)
  17. Road to Perdition 5/5 (05/03/12)
  18. The Three Musketeers 3/5 (06/03/12)
  19. The Eagle 2/5 (10/03/12)
  20. Everybody’s Fine 2/5 (14/03/12)
  21. Frankenstein 4/5 (15/03/12)
  22. Love and Other Drugs 2/5 (15/03/12)
  23. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger 2/5 (17/03/12)
  24. The Big Lebowski 5/5 (18/03/12)
  25. The Hunger Games 3/5 (23/03/12)
  26. Headhunters 4/5 (07/04/12)
  27. Super 1/5 (07/04/12)
  28. The Cabin in the Woods 5/5 (13/04/12)
  29. Watchmen 4/5 (14/04/12)
  30. The Hurt Locker 3/5 (21/04/12)
  31. Avengers Assemble 5/5 (26/04/12)
  32. 22 Bullets 2/5 (28/04/12)
  33. Bad Teacher 1/5 (29/04/12)
  34. Red Riding Hood 1/5 (04/05/12)
  35. A Perfect Getaway 4/5 (05/05/12)
  36. Ca$h 1/5 (13/05/12)
  37. Kung Fu Panda 2 3/5 (14/05/12)
  38. Everything Must Go 2/5 (24/05/12)
  39. New York, I Love You 2/5 (25/05/12)
  40. Beginners 4/5 (26/05/12)
  41. Prometheus 4/5 (03/06/12)
  42. The Tree of Life 2/5 (04/06/12)
  43. The Lovely Bones 3/5 (05/06/12)
  44. Snow White and the Huntsman 3/5 (06/06/12)
  45. The Devil’s Backbone 4/5 (07/06/12)
  46. Britain in a Day 5/5 (11/06/12)
  47. The French Connection 4/5 (15/06/12)
  48. Insomnia 3/5 (16/06/12)
  49. Rebel Without a Cause 4/5 (22/06/12)
  50. A Lonely Place to Die 3/5 (26/06/12)
  51. Killer Joe 3/5 (29/06/12)
  52. The Amazing Spider-Man 4/5 (03/07/12)
  53. Raising Arizona 4/5 (04/07/12)
  54. Horrible Bosses 4/5 (06/07/12)
  55. Broadcast News 3/5 (07/07/12)
  56. We Need to Talk About Kevin 4/5 (07/07/12)
  57. Miller’s Crossing 4/5 (18/07/12)
  58. The Dark Knight Rises 5/5 (20/07/12)
  59. 21 Jump Street 5/5 (29/07/12)
  60. The Mystery Team 3/5 (07/08/12)
  61. The Help 4/5 (11/08/12)
  62. The Bourne Legacy 3/5 (13/08/12)
  63. The Expendables 2 4/5 (17/08/12)
  64. Brave 5/5 (19/08/12)
  65. Dracula 3/5 (19/08/12)
  66. The Woman in Black 3/5 (24/08/12)
  67. The Mummy 4/5 (28/08/12)

15 Comments

    • I love Stephen Sommers Mummy and Mummy Returns. All down to Rachel Weisz and Brendan Frasier. I was very amazed at how much of the original was in the new ones.

  1. I think every one expects a lumbering bloke in bandages when they first see this, probably due to all the remakes and the sequels, but ol’ β€˜tep is unwrapped pretty quickly, and your right, for a 3000 year old homicidal maniac he is pretty gentlemanly!

  2. You’ve been on a real classic monster movie kick lately, haven’t you? Glad to hear you liked this one. I need to check out some of the old Universal monsters myself one of these days.

    • Yep! I’ve had them all recorded, just waiting to be seen. The fact that they’re all just over an hour each has made them easy to watch too!

  3. I have never seen this version but I quite enjoyed the Brendan Fraser version, too bad the sequels were rubbish.

  4. I didn’t even know there was an “original” Mummy! And you are right about movie-making being much harder back then! Whenever I see old architecture, I’m always amazed that people built them with their hands, stone and metal tools, and pulley systems! PS Are the revolving photos in your header yours?

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