The Awakening (1980 film)
| The Awakening | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Mike Newell |
| Produced by | Robert H. Solo |
| Screenplay by |
Clive Exton Chris Bryant Allan Scott |
| Based on |
The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker |
| Starring |
Charlton Heston Susannah York Jill Townsend Stephanie Zimbalist |
| Music by | Claude Bolling |
| Cinematography | Jack Cardiff |
| Edited by | Terry Rawlings |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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31 October 1980 (USA) |
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Running time
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101 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $8,415,112 |
The Awakening is a 1980 British horror film. It is the debut film of director Mike Newell, who had previously worked extensively in television. The Awakening is the third film version of Bram Stoker's 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars, following a 1970 television adaptation as The Curse of the Mummy, and the 1971 theatrical film, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (in which Ahmed Osman also appeared). The Awakening stars Charlton Heston, Susannah York, and Stephanie Zimbalist in an early acting role. It was released by Warner Bros.
Another adaptation of Stoker's novel was released directly to video in 1997, under the title Bram Stoker's The Mummy.
The film opens on an Egyptian archaeological dig in 1961. Three of the main characters are introduced: Matthew Corbeck (Heston), his wife Anne Corbeck (Jill Townsend), and Jane Turner (Susannah York). Matthew and Jane are discussing their efforts to uncover the tomb of an ancient Egyptian queen. Anne is distressed by the relationship between her husband and his assistant. It is later proved that her distress is justified.
Corbeck and Turner discover a long hidden tomb that bears an inscription: "Do Not Approach the Nameless One Lest Your Soul Be Withered." They continue on to discover the burial chamber of Queen Kara. As Corbeck prepares to breach the entrance, Anne begins a painful premature labour. Corbeck and Jane return to the camp and find Anne lying on the floor in a trance-like state. Corbeck takes her to the hospital and leaves her there so that he can return to the dig. Anne's pregnancy ends in stillbirth. As Corbeck and Turner open the mummy's sarcophagus, the stillborn infant is restored to life. Corbeck neglects his wife and daughter Margaret, and Anne takes the baby and leaves him.
Eighteen years later, Corbeck is a professor at a British university and married to Jane. Corbeck learns that traces of bacteria have been found on the mummy that threaten to destroy it. Corbeck tries to have the mummy brought back to England because he disagrees with the methods used by Egyptian professionals to preserve it. One of the specialists opposing Corbeck is killed in a freak accident, allowing Matthew to transport the mummy to England.
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