Taglines: They thought they had buried her forever!
The Awakening movie storyline. An American archaeologist is in Egypt with his pregnant wife, searching for the tomb of a long-lost Egyptian queen. At the same moment he discovers the tomb and opens it’s accursed seal, his wife gives birth to his daughter. Years later it transpires that the malevolent spirit of the Egyptian queen left the tomb just as he was entering, and possessed his baby girl. As the truth becomes clear, the archaeologist realizes that he must destroy his daughter in a ceremonial ritual, before she uses her awesome powers to threaten the safety of mankind.
The Awakening is a 1980 British horror film directed by Mike Newell and starring Charlton Heston, Susannah York, and Stephanie Zimbalist. It is the theatrical debut film of Newell. The Awakening is the third film version of Bram Stoker’s 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars, following 1970 television adaptation as The Curse of the Mummy for the TV series Mystery and Imagination, and the 1971 theatrical film by Hammer, Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (in which Ahmed Osman also appeared). 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.
About the Story
The film opens on an Egyptian archaeological dig in 1961.[3] 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.”[4] 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.[5][6] 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.
Margaret (Stephanie Zimbalist), now eighteen (the age of Queen Kara when she died), goes to England to meet her father against her mother’s wishes. Corbeck and Jane tell Margaret all about Kara, the violent murders she committed, and the myth that she could reincarnate herself.
The Awakening (1980)
Directed by: Mike Newell
Starring: Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist, Nadim Sawalha, Ian McDiarmid, Ahmed Osman, Miriam Margolyes, Patrick Drury, Michael Mellinger
Screenplay by: Chris Bryant, Allan Scott, Clive Exton
Production Design by: Michael Stringer
Cinematography by: Jack Cardiff
Film Editing by: Terry Rawlings
Costume Design by: Phyllis Dalton
Art Direction by: Lionel Couch, Salah Marei
Music by: Claude Bolling
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: October 31, 1980
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