The
Blood Of Fu Manchu (1968)/The Castle Of Fu Manchu
(1969/Blue Underground Blu-ray Double Feature)
Picture:
C/B- Sound: B- Extras: B Films: C/C+
Taking
over another iconic role from Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee stars
here in his last two films as the classic Fu Manchu character, films
six and seven in the series. Directed by exploitation master Jess
Franco (Vampyros Lesbos), these adult-themed Fu Manchu films
are dark and dastardly with plenty of skin and violence to interest
horror genre fans and especially fans of Jess Franco films (of which
there are many). While this release doesn't particularly have a
stellar video image, the disc does have a nice sound mix and some
cool extras that redeem the release overall in this reviewer's eyes.
The
films featured here are The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) and The
Castle of Fu Manchu (1969). In Blood, Fu Manchu (Lee) is
hidden with his evil daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) in a lost city. he
has found in the exotic jungles of South America. He discovers a
poison deadly for men that can be transferred through kissing. Soon,
he abducts ten women to infect them with the poison in a genius
attempt to destroy his enemies. However, one of his schemes doesn't
quite go the way he plans, when he sends one woman to London to kiss
his greatest enemy, the Scotland Yard agent Nayland Smith (Richard
Greene). Nayland is blinded by the poison and his friend Dr. Petrie
(Howard Marion-Crawford) travels with him to Fu Manchu's lost city so
they can conjure up an antidote. There they discover that Fu Manchu
is up to his usual scheme of world domination with little time to
stop him.
In
Castle, Fu Manchu (Lee) has a new plan for world domination -
this time it's to freeze over the Earth's oceans with his diabolical
new device, leaving mankind desperate and in need of him more than
ever. However, Fu Manchu's plans are far from executed when his
arch-nemesis, Interpol's very British Dr. Nayland Smith (Greene),
returns once again to stop him.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with 1.85:1 widescreen presentations, these
transfers (as reported on other sites) aren't too fantastic with
these HD masters allegedly coming from standard definition sources,
then upgraded to HD. Some definition and detail is lost in darker
scenes, with skin tones not too intricate and about the level of a
DVD. The sound mix, however, is fine with new DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless tracks that do the films service on Blu-ray
disc. If only they could have spent some more time on these
transfers and taken them from the original negatives, though who
knows if those original prints are in good enough condition over time
for such an update.
Special
Features include...
The
Rise of Fu Manchu: Interviews with Jess Franco, Producer Harry Alan
Towers, and Stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, and Shirley Eaton
The
Fall of Fu Manchu: Interviews with Jess Franco, Producer Harry Alan
Towers, and Stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, and Shirley Eaton
Theatrical
Trailers
Posters
and Still Galleries
While
not as strong as other films in Franco's filmography, these Fu Manchu
films feature great performances by Christopher Lee and are nice to
have on disc for that reason alone. One has to wonder if the
character will ever make a comeback but probably won't due to the
racial controversy surrounding him.
For
more Fu Manchu, start with the 1932 Karloff film
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14608/Hollywood+Legends+Of+Horror+Collection+(1932
And
the fourth & fifth Lee films, Face and Vengeance...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12648/Contracted+(2013/MPI/IFC+Midnight+DVD)/Cyberg
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
