The Mummy Returns

CD Fleischer

CD Fleischer

Joined
Oct 12, 1998
Messages
2,036
Have you seen the trailer for The Mummy Returns? Are the swords that Oded Fehr and his mean wield (they curve forward like a khukuri but stay the same width and then come back to a sharp point) actual swords from ancient Egypt or any other time period?

I am skeptical about them and the crescent shaped blades that everyone seems to brandish.

Especially since the two women in masks seem to be fighting with Sais...

Thanks

Clay

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Clay Fleischer
clay_fleischer@yahoo.com
AKTI Member A000847
 
Clay,
I can't really answer your question specifically, but if the sequel is anything like the original then they are not going to waste a lot of their time on historical accuracy. I enjoyed the first one after I convinced myself to stop tearing it apart, and just enjoy it as a big, expensive, live action comic book. When he jumped off the boat in the first one and used his canvas weapon roll (with at least 30lbs of weapons in it) as a float to swim the Nile, I knew that suspension of disbelief was going to have to go farther than the supernatural aspects. It was pretty interesting once I stopped thinking.
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Paul
 
Thanks for the reality check, Paul.
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I liked the first one, but I noticed those revolvers must have actually been covert belt-fed weapons.

Still curious as to whether those swords existed in history at some time somwhere on this earth (I mean before now
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Clay Fleischer
clay_fleischer@yahoo.com
AKTI Member A000847
 
Yes, they did exist! There is/was an example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. It is a bronze sword, ancient Babylonian.
Ergonomic handle, straight ricasso/first portion of the blade, a downward belly/dip in the blade, then a rather blunt point.
The book Weapons (Diagram Group, St. Martins Press,1980/1990) has an excellent sketch of the sword and dozens of others; I recommend it highly. The book traces the development of weapons in a timeline, from clubs to A-Bombs, using historical examples of each for illustrations and usage diagrams.
The swords/knives they list as ancient Egyptian are bronze or flint, usually in a stout teardrop or leaf-type blade shape.

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Condition Yellow: for a longer, happier life.
 
Paul -- Yes, that is the sword I mean.

mwinter -- I have that book and know exactly which sword you mean (will post again with the page number when get home) but I don't think that is the same sword (See the pic Paul posted). I believe the one you are showing is a relative of the khopesh sword.

Thanks, guys!


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Clay Fleischer
clay_fleischer@yahoo.com
AKTI Member A000847
 
"When he jumped off the boat in the first one and used his canvas weapon roll (with at least 30lbs of weapons in it) as a float to swim the Nile, I knew that suspension of disbelief was going to have to go farther than the supernatural aspects."

Yeah, even Brendan Fraiser himself commented on that (in the Ultimate Edition DVD). The Mummy is one of those movies that's great as a fun movie; not so much an animated documentary on aincent egypt
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As far as those swords go (and any others from those movies), I'm trying to get the attention of Factory X, who also made Blade's sword and Maximus' sword. I'm particularly interested in the sword Rick O'Connell used at the end of The Mummy, and the Scorpion King's sword.
 
The sword in the picture does exist. It is called a Yatagan (developed around Afganistan and Turkey).

The pattern made a big impression on the Western powers during the 19th century and was adopted by all of them. France was the first to make develop the pattern into their model 1842 bayonet, but, the U.K., U.S., Germany, Austria, and Spain (not to mention all of the countries then included within their spheres of influence) quickly adopted it in a series of bayonets, and sidearms.

The advantage of the design was that it served as a compromise between those factions that favored the point and those that favored the cut. The long recurved blade provided plenty of cutting surface, yet the point returns to the center and is available for trusting attacks.

N2S

[This message has been edited by not2sharp (edited 05-04-2001).]
 
Yatagan was the first thing to come to my mind, but all of the pictures of yatagans I could find had straight blades. At least straighter than the sword in the movie picture. Some yatagans have recurved blades then?

Paul
 
View


These are some very fine examples of traditional yatagans.

View


During the 19th century the western powers adopted the blade shape for their bayonets. The examples shown above are English.

The yatagan in the movie Pic. appears to be a little exaggerated. We all know that Hollywood would never do this.
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[This message has been edited by not2sharp (edited 05-05-2001).]
 
Thanks, not2sharp, for both the info and the pix (my google search on yagatans yielded little).

I imagine Hollywood wanted the blades to look as exotic as possible.

Anyone seen the movie yet? Our paper gave it 1.5 stars. I will go anyway, as there is nothing else that great playing and I got a free ticket in my Mummy DVD.

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Clay Fleischer
clay_fleischer@yahoo.com
AKTI Member A000847
 
I just saw it. There is more depth to the storyline from the first movie that is introduced here.

The action is faster paced with more special effects and less humor. There was also good practice of cover fire and other tactics.

The Yatagan-esque sword is really emphasized as Oded Fehr has a bigger role as leader of the Maji. The soldiers of Anubis require decapitation to be stopped and there are some sword throwing decapitations.

The only quirk is that Patricia Velasquez and Rachel Weisz fight with Indo-Asian Sais/Tjabang. However, there's about 2 other sub plots in the flick. I liked it.
 
I may be wrong, but I heard that custom knife maker Chuck Stapel, from LA, CA was involved in making the swords in the movie.
 
I liked Maximus´ sword, but I really loved the wicked-looking bleade of Comodo.

One wonders, was The Mummy really supposed to be scary or something??

Probably my favotite line:
"so what´s the plan?"
"save the girl, kill the bad guy, save the world"

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The Truth is out there. Go out once in a while and look for it.
 
Very weird! I am in the process of making a sword that's blade looks sort of similar this style; especially some in not2sharps first picture.

Mine has a slightly bigger belly and exaggerated recurve. Pretty strange that I just got through with the finished design and I see this thread. If I had a better knowledge of sword history, at least I would have been able to say which style influenced it!

My scanner is out of commission but I have one early sketch that shows basically what it's going to look like (don't laugh- it's a rough draft):

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(nice thread, BTW)


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John Gonzalez
Exclusive Dealer
Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works




[This message has been edited by Kumdo (edited 05-08-2001).]
 
John,

It is pretty hard to come up with a really revolutionary knife design. For the most part if you show us a design we will probably be able to show you something like it that has been done already.

That doesn't take anything away from your knife. I would like to see a picture when you're done.

N2S
 
Coming up with an original design wasn't a concern. I had/have specific aesthetic and usability concerns that I wanted to address. As far as this design goes, about all I could say concerning its influences was that there are some "middle eastern" looking elements. Pretty sad, but never claimed to be knowledgeable about sword history. Never will.

I'll post pictures when it's finished, though that will probably be at least 3 months away.

Keep on cuttin'....
 
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