Despite mixed critical reviews, it was a commercial success and grossed over $416.4 million worldwide against a production budget of $80 million. The Mummy was theatrically released on May 7, 1999. Jerry Goldsmith provided the orchestral score. Industrial Light & Magic provided many of the visual effects, blending live-action footage and computer-generated imagery to create the titular monster. Filming took place in Morocco and the United Kingdom the crew endured dehydration, sandstorms and snakes shooting on location in the Sahara Desert. In 1997, Sommers successfully pitched his version of a more adventurous and romantic take on the source material. The film follows adventurer Rick O'Connell as he travels to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, with a librarian and her older brother, where they accidentally awaken Imhotep, a cursed high priest with supernatural powers.ĭevelopment took years, with multiple screenplays and directors attached. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. The Mummy is a 1999 American action-adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers.
