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The Blood of Fu Manchu/The Castle of Fu Manchu - Blu-ray Review

2 beersThere are few things sillier than Christopher Lee’s stoic turn as Fu Manchu.  For five films in four brief years, Sax Rohmer’s titular character would be solely Lee’s to morph into.  To his credit, Lee did exactly that.  To put it mildly, he simply disappears into the role.  Whether it be his stature or the makeup or the way he articulates the dialogue, Lee simply makes the role his. 

Producer Harry Alan Towers was apparently on a mission to make Lee THE definitive version of the dastardly villain.  Political correctness wasn’t even a thought at the time.  It damn near worked as Lee tirelessly appeared in The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967), and the two films contained on Blue Underground’s new twofer release of The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969).  To say that the tank was on empty by the year of 1968 is an understatement.

It wouldn’t be until 1980 that the world saw another cinematic version of the character with Peter Sellers in the role.  Thankfully, we have these titles to revisit time and time again and recall the diabolical plans of the malevolent Fu Manchu and his evil plans at world domination, but alas they can’t all be gold medal winners.

Directed by Jesús Franco, the two films in this collection detail Fu Manchu’s latest plans to corrupt the world.  One involves a poisoned kiss he gets a group of kidnapped (and chained) women to deliver to the world’s leaders.  In another, he plots to freeze the world’s oceans.  His diabolical plans to take over the world in each of these two tales is supported by his daughter, Lin Tang (You Only Live Twice’s Tsai Chin), and his army of red-hatted minions. 

With enough flesh on display for any fantasy, the good guys - Nayland Smith (Richard Greene) and Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford) – do their best to bring about Fu Manchu’s ruin.  They team up with other characters to be the constant foil in his plans.  And the women he’s assembled – especially in The Blood of Fu Manchu – couldn’t be any more appreciative for their release.  The South American cave he and Lin have the women chained in doesn’t exactly look appealing. 

Heart transplants have never been this deliciously evil.  Fu Manchu returns with this twofer from Blu Underground.  Embrace this one, Horror Hounds, as we live in an era where Fu Manchu will probably never happen again.  Between the opium reserves, the blatant racism, and the rampant sexism, it’s a wonder this collection even saw the light of the HD day.

Get your fortune misread by Christopher Lee in The Blood of Fu Manchu and The Castle of Fu Manchu, now available on blu-ray.  They might be two of the worst in the series, but they sure beat afternoon boredom.

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The Blood of Fu Manchu/The Castle of Fu Manchu - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Blue Underground
Available on Blu-ray
- May 30, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:

Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single set
Region Encoding: Region A

Blue Underground’s 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode (framed in 1.66:1) is leaps and bounds ahead of what previously was released with the same title.  Both titles probably don’t deserve this HD treatment, but Blue Underground’s handling does not disappoint.  With a contrast fine-tuned from the original negative, the transfer is very nearly spot on with its upgrade.  Colors are fierce and bold and dance across the screen with new life. There is a thin layer of grain that adds to filmic quality of the double feature.  The sound is presented in a crisp mono DTS-HD Master Audio English 1.0 track.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

The supplemental items have been ported over from the previous DVD release.  They include interviews with director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers, and stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, & Shirley Eaton and cover the rise and fall of the five film series with Lee in the title role.

  • The Rise of Fu Manchu
  • The Fall of Fu Manchu
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • Poster & Still Galleries

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[tab title="Art"]The Blood of Fu Manchu/The Castle of Fu Manchu - Blu-ray Review

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