THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU / THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU REVIEWED
“The Blood of Fu Manchu” is an odd film. Odd in the sense that the special guest star was nothing more than unused footage from “The Girl from Rio”. What makes it odder was that you could kinda tell that Christopher Lee wanted this series to end. So, why did Jess Franco force two final movies within a year’s time? That’s like asking why this 5-Film Series shot on the run from Europe to the Shaw Brothers studios. Even back then, Fu Manchu was too pulpy for most to handle. So, why bother?
“The Castle of Fu Manchu” closes the door on this series and provides the only real answer for its existence. This film sources even more stock footage from the earlier Fu Manchu films and “A Night to Remember”. Some might ask how a color film sources footage from a Black & White movie? The answer is they tinted the older footage with a blue hue. Good times were had by all, except for Christopher Lee. At the time, the Fu Manchu makeup was practically mortician wax and a mustache.
From the amount of time that Lee is obviously not on camera to the final film’s race to a conclusion, this film series became self-aware. It was almost like it could see a future where the Sax Rohmer source novels had disappeared from the mainstream. Where tiny waves of man-children would cry about anything that didn’t fit their narrow world-view. Plus, Bond was doing all of this better. Pick up this release out of morbid curiosity.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Interviews
- Trailers
- Poster & Still Galleries
A/V STATS
- 1.66:1 1080p transfer
- DTS-HD MONO
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
