Difference between revisions of "The Blood of Fu Manchu BluRay review"
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'''The Story''' | '''The Story''' | ||
In the South-American jungle, an expedition by XXXX for a hidden city in the mountains gets ambushed by villains. They all die, only XXX (''' | In the South-American jungle, an expedition by XXXX for a hidden city in the mountains gets ambushed by villains. They all die, only XXX ('''Götz George''') escapes. While the evil Fu Manchu ('''Christopher Lee)''' and his daughter xxx (xxx) inject kidnapped girls with snake venom to turn them into infectious killing machines, the Cangaceiro bandit XXX (xxx) terrorizes nearby towns. One of the first victims of Manchu's death squad is SSSS (xxx) an old friend of XXX, who subsequently sends out a rescue party headed by nurse xxxx ('''Maria Rohm'''). They infiltrate Fu Manchu's lair, just as he conspired with the bandit, at great cost aiming to put an end to his evil plans of blackmailing the world into submission... | ||
This and many other of the Fu Manchu movies were based on dime novels by '''Sax Rohmer''' (a pseudonym), who was a best selling author in the 20s for adventure stories cashing in on exotic adventures and the red peril. '''Harry Alan Towers''', the film's producer, secured the rights to all his books, but for the most part then made up his own scripts. Just like the A-list ''Fu Manchu'' movies of Hollywood, the Towers pictures were largely white-washed, and also rather cheap adventure flicks. Blue Underground's BluRay double feature lets you discover two of the '''Jess Franco''' made '''Chistopher Lee''' interpretations of these stories in great quality and with some interesting extras. | |||
[[File:Fuman1.jpg|The Blood of Fu Manchu]] | [[File:Fuman1.jpg|The Blood of Fu Manchu]] | ||
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Franco.... .... cheap thrills, some exotic locations | Franco.... .... cheap thrills, some exotic locations | ||
rio, barcelona, hong kong, etc. for the whole series, | rio, barcelona, hong kong, etc. for the whole series, | ||
Revision as of 18:15, 27 December 2018
Review of the Blue Underground BluRay release of The Blood of Fu Manchu (which is a double feature with The Castle of Fu Manchu, see separate review).
The Story
In the South-American jungle, an expedition by XXXX for a hidden city in the mountains gets ambushed by villains. They all die, only XXX (Götz George) escapes. While the evil Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) and his daughter xxx (xxx) inject kidnapped girls with snake venom to turn them into infectious killing machines, the Cangaceiro bandit XXX (xxx) terrorizes nearby towns. One of the first victims of Manchu's death squad is SSSS (xxx) an old friend of XXX, who subsequently sends out a rescue party headed by nurse xxxx (Maria Rohm). They infiltrate Fu Manchu's lair, just as he conspired with the bandit, at great cost aiming to put an end to his evil plans of blackmailing the world into submission...
This and many other of the Fu Manchu movies were based on dime novels by Sax Rohmer (a pseudonym), who was a best selling author in the 20s for adventure stories cashing in on exotic adventures and the red peril. Harry Alan Towers, the film's producer, secured the rights to all his books, but for the most part then made up his own scripts. Just like the A-list Fu Manchu movies of Hollywood, the Towers pictures were largely white-washed, and also rather cheap adventure flicks. Blue Underground's BluRay double feature lets you discover two of the Jess Franco made Chistopher Lee interpretations of these stories in great quality and with some interesting extras.
The actors and characters
German 70s heartthrob Götz George who also starred in the Karl May adaptation Treasure of Silver Lake and later became a prime time police detective, but was always considered one of the best German actors of his generation.
Christopher Lee made the Fu Manchu character famous, but they were certainly not his most glorious moment.
Maria Rohm played in countless of the standard Franco flicks, and I never quite understood what he saw in her, aside from bad teeth and cheap makeup she didn't really have star qualities.
Verdict
Franco.... .... cheap thrills, some exotic locations
rio, barcelona, hong kong, etc. for the whole series,
The BluRay offers a sub-average 2K transfer which is often lacking detail and crispness and runs not always steady, but is overall sufficient. Both movies are on one disc, so the bit rate is also not very high but the material also wouldn't need it. There is only an English language track, but it sounds alright for what it is. You can select subtitles (English SDH), but there are no other language options. Extras are "The Rise of Fu Manchu" with interviews with Jess Franco, Harry Alan Towers, Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin and Shirley Eaton (15mins) as well as the international and the US trailer, plus a poster and still gallery. Interesting little insight into these obscure films and the adaption of the Sax Rohmer universe to which also belong movies like The Million Eyes of Sumuru.
Continue reading: The Castle of Fu Manchu BluRay review
Review by Seb. Special thanks to Blue Underground for supplying the BluRay.
