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Stars:
Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, Maria Rohm, Howard Marion Crawford, Richard Greene,
Shirley Eaton, and Maria Perschy
Writer:
Peter Welbeck
Director:
Jess Franco
Feature
length: 94 minutes/94 minutes
Extras:
The Rise Of Fu Manchu Featurette, Trailers, Poster and Still Gallery, The Facts
Of Dr. Fu Manchu, Talent Bios/The Fall Of Fu Manchu Featurette, Theatrical
Trailer And Still Gallery,
Languages:
English Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Keep Cases
Chapter
Stops: 25/23
Sound:
Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1968/1969/DVD Release: 2003
Home
Video Distributor: Blue Underground
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
The
Hammer Studios through Warner Brothers produced the first three “Fu Manchu”
feature films to star Christopher Lee as the diabolical Asian mastermind out to
control the world. Beginning with “The Face Of Fu Manchu” in 1965 and
continuing through “The Brides Of Fu Manchu” (1966) and “The Vengeance Of
Fu Manchu (1967), but with the budgets considerably smaller than the “Bond”
films, the series paled in relation to the box office of Ian Fleming’s
creation for which the character of “Dr. No” was inspired by Sax Rohmer’s
“Fu Manchu” novels. Producer Harry Alan Towers would produce the next two
films in the series without Warner Brothers and they were “The Blood Of Fu
Manchu” (1968), which was released in America as “Kiss And Kill” and the
final film to be produced with Lee in the role “The Castle Of Fu Manchu”
(1969). Despite the fact that the rights for the novels were secured for the
film productions, the screenplays veered completely away from the imaginative
storytelling found in the pulp stories, which only frustrated fans of the books
and Actor Christopher Lee.
Approaching
the final two Fu Manchu films without any familiarity with the books or previous
films left me at somewhat of a disadvantage. Warner Home Video has not released
the first three films on DVD and I barely remember watching them on TV as a kid
so when “The Blood Of Fu Manchu” opened I felt excited at first to see
Christopher Lee, who gives incredible presence in every scene he appears in, but
after awhile I found myself laughing at the over-the-top coldness of the
character’s duplicitous nature and kept thinking about Michael Myers
characterization of “Dr. Evil” from the “Austin Powers” spy spoofs. A
thought made even harder to dismiss by the American theatrical trailer dubbed
“Kiss And Kill” (2:59), which refers to the Fu Manchu character as “Mr.
Evil.” (Close enough as far as I’m concerned.)
In
“The Blood Of Fu Manchu,” the mad Doctor attempts to kill off his nemesis
Nayland Smith (Richard Green) with ten mind controlled women with a poisonous
kiss of death that begins with the onset of blindness upon the victim. From this
point on the film loses itself with too much various side characters like a
Mexican bandit and ultimately I found myself only enjoying the scenes with Lee
in it and dismissing the rest. The plot of “The Castle Of Fu Manchu” has the
diabolical super-villain blackmailing the world with a chemical weapon that can
turn the oceans into ice.
This
aside, the restoration performed by Blue Underground’s DVD guru William Lustig
is quite remarkable. The two Fu Manchu films were released separately and are
also available as a part of the limited edition “Christopher Lee Collection:
Four DVD Box Set” that includes “Circus Of Fear” and the exclusive DVD
release of “The Bloody Judge” with bonus features that include deleted and
alternate scenes, trailers, a TV spot, interviews, and more. The box set is
numbered at only 7500 sets.
The
picture quality on “The Blood Of Fu Manchu” is more consistently solid than
on “The Castle Of Fu Manchu.” Both have some stock footage shots that are
understandably grainy and both have some slight imperfections, but when they are
clear, which is most of the time, the films look vibrant with luscious reds and
yellows and solid blacks. Clear English Two-Channel Monaural Soundtracks are
provided on both discs and both discs feature liner notes by “Video
Watchdog” Editor and Co-Publisher Tim Lucas. They are actually part of one
long essay that concludes with the insert inside “The Bloody Judge” DVD,
which as I have noted above is only available in the limited edition box set.
Each
disc includes new interviews with Director Jesse Franco, Producer Harry Alan
Towers, and Stars Christopher Lee and Tsai Chin. Actress Shirley Eaton
participates as well in “The Rise Of Fu Manchu” interview featurette (15:03)
while Director Jesse Franco dominates “The Fall Of Fu Manchu” featurette
(14:00). “The Blood Of Fu Manchu” also includes the international theatrical
trailer (2:59) as well as the American one noted above while “The Castle Of Fu
Manchu” includes the theatrical trailer (2:59). Both discs also feature
extensive onscreen notes on the Fu Manchu character, books, and films as well as
talent bios for Director Jesse Franco and Star Christopher Lee.
The
film geek in me wishes those who own the rights to the Bond franchise and the Fu
Manchu books might consider a film pitting the world’s best known British
Secret Agent against the world’s best known Asian super-villain.
The
interactive menus on both discs are very well rendered and easy to navigate. I
wanted to review “Circus Of Fear” and “The Bloody Judge” on time for
Halloween, but unfortunately I never got the chance to do so on time with so
many horror films released on DVD this year. However you can purchase those
films along with both “Fu Manchu” films within “The Christopher Lee
Collection: Four Disc Box Set” or you can purchase “The Blood Of Fu
Manchu” and “The Castle Of Fu Manchu” as well as “Circus Of Fear”
separately. All are available on DVD-Video at retailers on and offline now from
Blue Underground.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved
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