20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Mummy (1999)

20. The Opening Shot Has Surprisingly Little CGI

The Mummy revolutionised CGI since it was one of the earliest mainstream films to utilise certain digital effects, including motion capture, digital cutouts, procedural animation, and computer-generated prosthetics.

Even though multiple visual companies worked on The Mummy, the director, Stephen Sommers, made sure digital effects were only used when necessary. Although the opening shot of Ancient Egypt implements CGI, there's not as much as it appears. In fact, almost every structure in this sequence is a miniature.

Contrary to how they look, the temples, pillars, pyramids, Anubis statues, the palace, and the sphinx were sculpted and painted by members of ILM. Kim Smith and her team studied archaeological sites and pictures of Ancient Egyptian monuments to make the miniatures as authentic as possible. 

Sadly, the sequence was drenched in artificial lightning, giving the structures an unnatural look. For this reason, many viewers may not realise how much physical labour was put into this shot, since they have a glossy, computerised sheen in-shot.