The Mummy: Ultimate Edition
July 2001 Reviewed by: Roger Kanno Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

The Mummy was, somewhat surprisingly, one of the top-grossing films of 1999. Although it is a big-budget feature with special effects galore, it is definitely a B movie that relies more on thrills and chills and lowbrow humor than anything else. The film does not take itself too seriously, but the self-deprecating sense of humor is used a bit too liberally on occasion.

The plot revolves around a mummy who comes to life as part of a curse when its remains are unearthed. In this film, the mummy does not come back to life as a bandage-wrapped monster; he morphs into the form of a man with super powers that will enable him to take over the world. It is then up to O’Connell (Brendan Fraser), who is sort of a goofy Indiana Jones, and the heroine Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) to save the world. They are joined by the leader of a desert clan (Oded Fehr) who is sworn to guard the secret of the mummy and keep the world safe from it at all costs. The mummy, Imhotep, played by Arnold Vosloo, spends much of his screen time in the form of a human without the aid of any CGI special effects to alter his appearance. Surprisingly this works, and the suspense and terror are not compromised by Imhotep’s less-threatening human form.

The plot is a bit thin, and character development is basically nonexistent in this film, but there is plenty of excitement to keep the action moving along at a frenetic pace. What the film lacks in artistry, it makes up for with inventive special effects and exciting stunts. Some of the performances are not bad either. Fraser is likable as the roguish O’Connell, Rachel Weisz provides some romantic tension between herself and Fraser, and Oded Fehr is stoic yet charismatic as the Medjai leader .

The picture quality of The Mummy is very good, but it’s not up to the standards of the best DVDs. The many CGI effects shots have an understandably artificial look with lighting effects that do not seem quite right, and even brightly lit outdoor scenes exhibit slightly excessive contrast. However, there is a lot of information in the picture, and dark scenes have excellent shadow detail even though the colors seem a little over saturated.

The audio quality of this disc is truly outstanding. The standard edition of The Mummy released on DVD in 1999 featured only a Dolby Digital soundtrack that was a knockout, but the DTS track included on the Ultimate Edition takes the auditory experience a step further. With DTS, everything is just a little more defined with greater depth and detail. For instance, in chapter 5 when the group sets out across the desert on camel back, the music score is sweeping but begins very simply with several percussion instruments. The DTS version reproduces the tambourine more smoothly and the bongo images more precisely, and they originate from further back in the soundstage. The soundtrack’s only flaw (in both DTS and Dolby Digital) is the dialogue. It is rather flat and does not take on the characteristics of the surroundings. Voices sound nearly the same whether the setting is inside a library, outdoors, or inside a cavernous Egyptian tomb.

The Mummy: Ultimate Edition is a two-disc set with one disc containing an anamorphic widescreen version of the film and the other a full-frame, pan-and-scan version. The various extras are spread over the two discs and are too numerous to mention. Some of them seem superfluous like "Egyptology 101" and "Pharaoh Lineage," which provide some background on the history of Egypt. There are the customary trailers, several production features, cast and crew biographies, deleted scenes, and DVD-ROM features that mostly duplicate the extras that are accessible without the computer interface. There are also some extras of note such as three separate audio commentary tracks by the filmmakers and actors and a special-effects feature narrated by visual-effects supervisor John Berton that illustrates five separate effects shots in various stages of completion.

Ultimately, The Mummy is a frivolous film that will provide some thrills and light entertainment to pass the time. And as such, it does not benefit much from the many, mostly superficial extras provided on this Ultimate Edition DVD. However, the soundtrack, especially when experienced in DTS, is of reference quality. The wonderfully recorded music score heightens the action and is a nearly perfect example of how music can and should be an integral part of a movie soundtrack.

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