Blood of Fu Manchu/Castle of Fu Manchu (Blu-ray)

In the 1910s author Sax Rohmer created the character of Fu Manchu to exploit the racism against Asians in America. In the 1960s Christopher Lee played the character in five films with The Blood of Fu Manchu being the fourth. The movie is part exploitation (there are plenty of women in compromising positions), part racist stereotypes about Asians and Latins.The story revolves around Fu Manchu, assisted by Lin Tang (Tsai Chin), kidnapping ten women and infecting them with an ancient poison from the Amazons that they will then transfer to others with a deadly kiss. They are to kill Fu Manchu’s greatest opponents starting with his main nemesis Nayland Smith (Richard Greene). Smith had his own aide Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford). The two were based off of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and they acted almost exactly alike with Smith being a meticulous investigator using the smallest clues to unravel cases, while Petrie was his loyal, yet a bit bumbling ally.That would be a straight forward story, but instead the writers decided to focus upon an adventure in the Amazon that includes a bandit named Sancho Lopez (Richardo Palacios) that ambushes a group of Fu Manchu’s men. Fu decides to send one of his poisoned women after Lopez as a result. She’s supposed to be a dancer that can seduce the ruffian, but she ends up squirming around on the ground instead. Lopez himself looks ridiculous with a silly hat that’s too small for him. When his men rape and pillage it looks like a comedy play rather than a serious act of terror. Into this mix enters Smith and Petrie trying to find Fu Manchu. That makes for a completely absurd movie.C

So bad it's really funny in a "Plan 9 From Outer Space" way. Deadly cobras in South America? Well, of course! Establishing a shot underneath a horse's belly? Hey -- a touch of art! Having what looks like an earlier incarnation of Jack Black as one of the baddies? And one of Jack Black's followers looks like the Lucky Charms leprechaun fallen on hard times? GENIUS! And let's not forget the happy background music during the raping and sacking of a village. Or that apparently Jack Black's crew killed the Pope -- who was inexplicably visiting an unnamed South American country sans Popemobile. Throw in lots of gratuitous nudity, equally gratuitous horse whippings (which the horses promptly ignored) and blatant racial prejudice and you get the magic that is "The Blood of Fu Manchu."And Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu -- well, when you think sadistic Chinese bent on world domination, you just have to think Christopher Lee in really bad makeup and apparently without the ability to bend over. Pass the popcorn, please.

Blu-ray double feature arrived very quickly and in great condition. 2 movies on 1 disk. Under $16. Separate set-up choices for each film. The Blood of Fu Manchu, 93+ min., widescreen, English subtitles and several bonus features. The Castle of Fu Manchu, 92 min., widescreen, English subtitles and several extras. I believe Blood of Fu Manchu is the better of the two, interesting to find out these are Jess Franco films. Both worth a watch.

Still a good story, and if you can put aside the automatic modern "outrage reaction" a good flick

The entry of Jess Franco to Harry Alan Towers' Fu Manchu series signalled the beginning of the end. Fast, cheap and amazingly bad, Franco is one of the few directors who could make Michael Winner look like Stanley Kubrick by comparison. After all, it takes denial on an Olympian scale to have David De Keyser dub three separate characters IN THE SAME SCENE or to include black and white stock footage from 'A Night to Remember' in a colour film (in The Castle of Fu Manchu) and think that if you tint it blue no-one will notice...'The Blood of Fu Manchu' is marginally the better of his two Fus, but its still a major step down for the Christopher Lee series. Fully restored, but really no better for it, the presentation is enough reason for disappointed Fu Fans to consider adding it to their collection. The print is the best you're likely to see (the film is marginally better shot than most of Franco's efforts) and the extras package is more entertaining than the film (although the same can be said of mending a faulty waste-disposal). The first of a two-part documentary gives a brief background to the series with some candid observations from Tsai Chin and Shirley Eaton, as well as a somewhat more relaxed than usual Christopher Lee, countering Franco's unwarranted enthusiasm; one of the two trailers actually makes the film look good (quite an achievement); and the notes on the Fu Manchu novels are enlightening.If only we could get this kind of presentation on the highly enjoyable initial entry 'The Face of Fu Manchu' or its two immediate sequels 'The Brides of Fu Manchu' and 'The Vengeance of Fu Manchu' - they may not be masterpieces, but they're a lot more fun than this FuBar film.Incidentally, this print credits Peter Welbeck - Towers' regular pseudonym - as writer, but the film was actually written by Manfred Barthel and Jaime Jesus Blacazar.

Too often Fu Manchu is portrayed as a 2D sort of character, when really he was a complex man. Some people say his crimes were like Hitler, Mussolini, or ISIS - but real history isn’t so simple.Overall, this could be the best of Christopher Lee’s five Fu films. It’s hard to say because they are all very good. My only criticism is for the unfair stereotypes of Englishmen having weak nerves and a strange fondness for lads. The directors should have implied those scenes rather than showing them.

These two films are truly bad, not even good bad, and not even camp bad. I would accuse Cristopher Lee of having phoned in his performance but he is clearly not even on the same set in the Blood..... Naylan Smith, flat out and comatose for most of the film, pity I couldn't have been. The odd, very odd touch of female nudity to give the german audience something to hold their interest in the Kino at the Railway Station. Total dross and clear why they never saw much screen time when they were originally released. I have read that Jess Franco is considered something of an auteur, more talentless amateur on the basis of these opuses.

Envío rápido y perfecto. Las pelis son tan malitas como recordaba, pero esas series B entrañables porque crecí con ellas. Recomendable para quien las vió de pequeño y pasó miedo con ellas.

This movie would have Sax Rhomer spinning in his grave! Junk!