BLU-RAY REVIEW: PAUL NASCHY’S THE MUMMY’S REVENGE
by Elena Anele (*)
Ronin Flix is distributing, and Scorpion is releasing this new edition of this Paul Naschy’s film: THE MUMMY’S REVENGE from 1975.
The movie is presented packaged in one single disc with a slipcover in original pressing containing and inner print with a Mirek Lipinski – greatest Paul Naschy expert- text. It is a region free Blu-ray, so it can be played by all players around the world.
The movie was directed by Carlos Aured – if you want to know more about him listen to our tribute podcast with Aured expert and friend Miguel Angel Plana (https://horrorrisesfromspain.wordpress.com/2019/07/28/carlos-aured-nostalgia-y-pasion/)- but written by Jacinto Molina. Main stars we can find in the film are Jack Taylor (http://spanishfear.com/qa-jack-taylor/), Paul Naschy – of course, in this case playing 3 different roles including Egyptian pharaoh, mummy and Ancient Egypt expert – and Helga Line.
It shares the starting point of many of most popular Mummies movies including Hammer and Universal classics in which some archeologists find a secret room with the Sarcophagus of a pharaoh and as in every single case the dead body is accompanied by a curse.
It is on MPEG-4 AVC aspect ratio 2.35:1- original 2.39:1- and resolution 1080p so first thing you notice while playing is the amazing quality of the image, a pro and a con at the same time. Let me explain, on one hand it is great to enjoy this cult classic in HD, normally what we find in this fantaterror releases is poor quality videos full of noise that look like bootlegs. This is not the case, this really looks as a 21st century production. On the other hand, some failures are easier to see, as for example some wigs, some ropes falling down a tree in flames in the final scenes, etc. This happened to me also the first time I saw Tod Browning’s Dracula on Blu-ray where all tricks and make-up are revealed, so in a way part of the magic vanished.
As a novelty the edition of the movie includes a deleted scene never seen before. I knew some frames cut by the Spanish censorship were included but I thought there would be more than just one. Anyways, fantastic stuff. This is a scene in which the mummy is about to kill a just -married couple before making love for the first time- during Franco dictatorship virginity was compulsory till you tie the knot. I imagine this was forbidden as the victim-to-be was pure and a model for society and the rest were black sheep in sin.
I was very surprised to see that apart from having English audio track, it also can be watched in its Spanish original audio – dubbed as it happened with all these movies in the 70s- with English subtitles, so I cannot understand why Ronin Flix made it so difficult for Europeans to grab their copies. Shipping outside US was really expensive and even heard some Spaniards were paying over 50€ for just one copy of the film. I got mine thanks to two great friends and fellow Naschy fans from Texas, who heard it was not in collection. I must confess that in few occasions we are sent Blu-ray or DVDs discs to review even though we are a site dedicated to Spanish Horror.
In conclusion, it is an amazing edition that also includes audio-commentaries on the film and original trailers. Suitable for collectors- who are tired of poor quality products- and ordinary classic horror fans who want to enjoy or even discover new flicks in their deserve quality.
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Elena Anele is the woman in charge of SPANISHFEAR.COM, Horror Rises from Spain / El podcast surge de la tumba and Un Fan de Paul Naschy . A literature and cinema researcher, finishing her postgraduate studies with a thesis about the mystic filmmaker José Val del Omar. She has published in different media and books as Fangoria or Hidden Horror. She has also been in charge of several translations including Javier Trujillo’s complete works, La Mano Film Fest, The Man who Saw Frankenstein Cry and many more.
Playback
Region free
