The Mummy series

Montana Smith

Active member

AnnieJones

New member
Montana Smith said:
There's always the chance that the word was invented, or included without checking.
I can see where that's a possibility,but it seems in these scripts that there were too many words changed to something else.Are these fans interpretations of the script or the actual script?If these are pre-versions of the final script,it may have been edited more before it was used for the movie.

Both these scripts say this:


CURATOR

Who needs smart women? I put up with you because
your mother and father were our finest patrons,
Allah rest their souls. Now straighten up this mess!



CURATOR

Look at this! Sons of the Messiah! Give
me frogs, flies, locusts, Anything but this!
Compared to you, the other plagues were a joy!

This line on both(of the links you posted)is different compared to the line in the movie.It should have been,"Sons of the Pharaohs!"
It wouldn't make sense that he would say "Sons of the Messiah" one minute then say "Allah rest their souls" the next.

Also,if these are pre-versions of the final script that was used in the movie,it would seem that some of the words were changed to better fit the movie's situations.Such as "Messiah" to "Pharaohs" and "mess" to "meshifer." "Pharaohs" because he's the curator of a museum and "meshifer" because it's an Arabic word and fits with the conversation perfectly.

For example,she said,"Well,I am the only person within a thousand miles who knows how to properly code and catalog this library,that's why." Then to end the conversation,he said,"straighten up this meshifer (code)." It seems like it makes perfect sense.
 
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Montana Smith

Active member
AnnieJones said:
I can see where that's a possibility,but it seems in these scripts that there were too many words changed to something else.Are these fans interpretations of the script or the actual script?If these are pre-versions of the final script,it may have been edited more before it was used for the movie.

I couldn't work out whether they were official scripts or not. And I couldn't find one with the word "meshiver" in it.

AnnieJones said:
For example,she said,"Well,I am the only person within a thousand miles who knows how to properly code and catalog this library,that's why." Then to end the conversation,he said,"straighten up this meshifer (code)." It seems like it makes perfect sense.

It does make good sense, with her direct reference to "code". It plays as a pun on "mess", which is the word most people seem to use when (mis-?)quoting this scene. If it is a pun (meshiver sounding like an elongated mess, and also referring back to the library code), it's quite a lame line, considering Bey was enraged at the time. I see it like a scriptwriter's in-joke, which will fly over the heads of most viewers.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Attila the Professor said:
Ancient thread, mostly occupied by folks who are non-regulars, but couldn't the line be "straighten up this mess, Eva"?

I'll play.

Of interest: Why is a Turk potentially using Yiddish? I have to assume Dr. Terrence Bey is of Turkish origin because of the tarboosh and that Bey isn't a last name; it's an honorific ascribed to Turkish rulers and chieftains. Today it can be equated with "mister." Of course, he could also be an Antiochian Greek Christian who're native to Northern Syria and Southern Turkey around the southern province of Hatay, but that's an entirely different conversation.

To the question posed: The word you're looking for is mishegas which means craziness or insanity. None of the other explanations offered make much sense. You could also use meshuga, but that's a variant spelling, but closer to the possible mis-pronunciation.

Otherwise, if you don't own the blu-ray of this yet then go pick it up. The image and sound quality are topnotch. This is reference level quality; the kind of stuff you play to show your friends the potential of the medium. A nice steelbook of all three seperate releases came out a few years back that should be available for pocket change at your finer retail locations.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
This takes a nice detour in the middle comparing it to Raiders and reminding us how everything's derivative. (paging Stoo...)

 

Lance Quazar

Well-known member
I rewatched "The Mummy" earlier this year and....it doesn't really hold up. I enjoyed it when it came out, it is fairly fun. But I can scarcely recall a lead character who is such a complete and utter blank. I mean, the writers don't even attempt to give Rick even the barely whiff of a personality, a backstory, a personal goal, anything. He's just.....there.

Don't think I'll need to revisit this one, even in another twenty years.
 

Great Snakes!

Active member
So I recently went and re watched not just The Mummy from 1999 but also The Mummy Returns and Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For context I have seen The Mummy countless times and my last viewing has not changed my mind that I love this movie. Yeah the CGI does not hold up that well and the whole movie is schlock, but it is suppose to be a homage to the B movies and I have so much fun with it. Also the charm all of these actors have is near effortless and it sticks out more for me when compared to modern action adventure films like Jungle Cruise or Uncharted where the charm is just lacking.

However when it comes to the sequels I have only seen them once or twice. From what I heard the general consensus was that The Mummy Returns was liked on a similar level to the first one but Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was hated alot more.

The Mummy Returns has it's moments but it is way too overstuffed with convoluted plot points that recon some of the characters into near superheros which stunted their character development. It took away from the simplistic fun of the original. Also I found Rachel Weisz was a bit too stoic compared to the first film where she had more emotion and had a bit of child like wonder exploring the tombs. I will admit that Rick and Jonathan still have the same charm their characters had in the original and some of the actions scenes are really fun like the bus ride in London which has some great practical effects. And yes the CGI rock is so bad, but it also makes the inclusion so much funnier.

Honestly I found Tomb of the Dragon Emperor a much more enjoyable film with it's more back to basics plot which helped give time for character development for the cast. Also Maria Bello was not bad as Evelyn and I don't quite understand the hate. I found she had good chemistry with Fraser and was better then Weisz performance in the second film. I also found the action was still very fun and I like the setting now being in China instead of Egypt. I didn't even find Luke Ford that annoying in the film. It was also a nice surprise to see Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh as well.

Overall I just really enjoy the series as a very campy action adventure series. Honestly I would be interest in another film with Brendan Fraser. I think you would have to tone down the action scenes for him with all of his injuries but I think Universal studios and fans could be interested now with Fraser being an academy award winning actor but I guess we will have to wait and see.
 

British Raider

Well-known member
I did a rewatch of the Mummy and Returns a while back and found I still enjoyed the Mummy but Returns is a real stinker. Now I know why I never revisited it. I’ve still never seen Tomb of the Dragon Emperor so perhaps I’ll get round to it.
 

JasonMa

Active member
The Mummy is honestly a top tier action/adventure movie IMO. I don't even think its all that campy. Mummy Returns at least has the same cast who are all great, but the plot and writing are significantly weaker. I'll still watch it but its mainly to see favorite scenes rather than the full movie (my wife loves the line outside of the estate of Rick pointing at Ardeth, Alex, and Jonathan: "you, lighten up, you, big trouble, you, get in the car")

I've only seen Dragon Emperor all the way through once, but I've caught the beginning on TV a couple of times recently and I need to go back and watch it again.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
The first is a really fun film that's tight and focused. The second is decent, if a bit too over the top and CGI heavy in places. The third was pretty bad, although it starts off somewhat promising.

I always felt they missed a chance to do more with the characters. By the third film the whole mummy premise was wearing thin; they could have started having the O'Connell family branch out and go on other adventures. I know the franchise is called "The Mummy" but I think audiences would have accepted seeing something different, as there are only so many times you have mummies come back to life before it gets dull.
 
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