The Mummy (1969)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- The film is based upon the true story of the discovery, in 1881, of 40 Royal Mummies. When some archaeologists from the Antiquities Department in Cairo notice that several artefacts bearing royal names from the 21st dynasty keep appearing on the antique black market, an expedition is sent to Thebes, the capital of the Pharaonic Empire. They discovered that the Pharaoh's tomb has been plundered for millennia, its treasures regarded as a natural heritage and a private source of income for the Horabat mountain tribe and its secret kept for generations by the chief's descendants. When the archaeologists find the tombs, the two sons of the dead tribal chieftain are faced with a moral issue.
- Actors:
- Ahmed Marei, Ahmad Hegazi, Nadia Lutfi, Abdel Azim Abdel Haq, Mohamed Abdel Rahman, Abdelmonen Aboulfoutouh, Ahmad Anan, Shafik Nour El Din, Zouzou Hamdi El Hakim, Helmi Halali, Gaby Karraz, Mohamed Khairi, Ahmad Khalil, Antic Melkior, Mohamed Morshed, Mohamed Nabih
- Directors:
- Chadi Abdel Salam
- Producers:
- Roberto Rossellini
- Writers:
- Chadi Abdel Salam
- Aka:
- Al-mummia / The Night of Counting the Years
- Genres:
- Drama
- Countries:
- Egypt
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Reviews (1) of The Mummy
A Lost Classic Buried Alive - The Mummy review by griggs
The Night of Counting the Years really got under my skin—bleak, beautiful, and loaded with historical weight. The story follows a tribe torn between preserving and profiting from the past and the moral murk that comes with that dilemma. The pacing is slow and deliberate, the dialogue sparse, and the tone more austere than hypnotic—but that restraint really worked for me. It never over-explains or holds your hand but trusts you to sit with the dread and work it out for yourself, making it land all the harder.
You can feel producer Rossellini’s influence in the background—this is Egyptian neo-realism that knows the power of silence. Every frame carries a quiet intensity. It’s an absolute shame that The Night of Counting the Years was Shadi Abdel Salam’s only feature-length film. He spent years meticulously researching a follow-up about Queen Nefertiti, but it was never completed. It wasn’t for lack of vision—it was a case of perfectionism, purpose, and priorities.
The biggest shame now is the state of the film itself, especially the sound. The Night of Counting the Years aches for a proper restoration and absolutely deserves one.