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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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5
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8 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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SNEAK
PREVIEW
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DVD Release Date: Sept.
30, 2003 |
In
the mid-1960s prolific U.K.-based independent producer Harry
Alan Towers decided to revive the character of Fu Manchu for
the movies. The creation of pulp writer Sax Rohmer, Fu was the
villain in a series of popular adventure novels which pitted
the Chinese super-criminal against the intrepid, globetrotting
Scotland Yard inspector, Nayland Smith. A scientific genius,
utterly ruthless and disdainful of human life, Fu's ultimate
goal was world domination, with himself as the all-powerful
mandarin. The first Fu Manchu story appeared before the outbreak
of World War I; the last in the 1950s, when Rohmer died. In
all respects a product of the rather old-fashioned Victorian
way of thought, the character nonetheless proved colorful and
intriguing enough to endure. The 'supervillain' concept certainly
echoes throughout pop culture to this day. (Fu clearly served
as the template for Ian Fleming's Dr. No.) There had been previous
attempts at bringing the character to the screen, most notably
1932's The
Mask of Fu Manchu, starring Boris Karloff in the
role, but none of them lived up to the franchise-friendly potential
of Rohmer's novels. Probably encouraged by the success of the
James Bond films, Towers kicked off his Fu series in 1965 with
The
Face of Fu Manchu, which, while flawed, showed promise.
Hiring horror icon Christopher Lee to play Fu was an inspired
choice. With his tall, sinister physicality and aquiline features
he very much resembles the archvillain as described in the novels.
(Even with the latex eyepieces, Lee has the screen presence
to pull it off.) Strapping, dynamic actor Nigel Green (Zulu,
Countess
Dracula) made a fine match for Lee as Nayland Smith,
Fu's nemesis. Good period detail and fast-paced action helped
make the film a moderate success. The sequels —
four altogether —
followed in rapid succession and the law of diminishing returns
just as quickly took its toll. Budgets shrank; the quality of
the writing dropped off precipitously. By the time Spanish exploitation
auteur Jess Franco took over directorial duties the franchise
was already on its last legs. Only Fu's penchant for keeping
his dungeon stocked with scantily clad females managed to get
a few backsides into theater seats.
The fourth of the five Towers-Lee Fu flicks, The
Blood of Fu Manchu, is quite simply a bloody mess. The
wafer-thin plot revolves around — what else? — Fu's latest scheme
for global conquest. From his fortress hideout, a "lost" city
somewhere in the South American jungle, he plots to unleash
a deadly poison on the world unless all nations swear fealty
to his rule. The first step in the plan is to assassinate his
ten greatest enemies — with Nayland Smith (this time played
by Richard Greene) at the top of the hit list. This is to be
achieved via the "Kiss of Death", a lethal lip-lock administered
by a bevy of hypnotized babes. The women, inoculated with the
poison through snakebites, are to seek out their individual
targets and kiss them. Within seconds the victim goes blind,
followed by a slow, agonizing death. (Just what exactly keeps
the assassins from succumbing to the poison isn't really explained.)
As planned, Smith is incapacitated when a beautiful woman shows
up unannounced at his London home, unexpectedly rushing into
his arms and kissing him. The mystery woman is killed while
fleeing the scene, hit by a car in the street. Though Smith
is struck blind, he's helped by his Watson-like companion, Dr.
Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford), to take ship for South America.
The ace detective is convinced that Fu Manchu has his base there;
the deadly kiss reminds him of an old Inca legend. He also has
one of his top agents stationed in the region, a German adventurer
named Carl Jansen, who can assist them once they arrive.
The story then switches to Jansen (Götz
George), trekking through the jungle in search of Fu's hideout.
Escaping an ambush laid by Fu's private army, Jansen is arrested
by the provincial governor and forced to play chess with him.
(???) A missionary nurse (The
Bloody Judge's Maria Rohm, wife of producer Towers) is then
thrown into the mix, as is a fat, boorish bandit chief (Ricardo
Palacios) who finds himself on the wrong side of both Fu Manchu
and the good guys. Bridging these various plot threads
are scenes of Fu and his reptilian daughter, Lin Tang (Tsai
Chin of You Only Live Twice), barking
orders to their henchmen or threatening captives in the dungeon.
Since the flick's nominal hero, Smith, is put out of the action
early on, I suppose there was little alternative but to focus
on these other characters. The result is a rather schizophrenic
movie which bounces around to no real purpose — very little
is actually going on. This scattershot effect is only exacerbated
by the sudden, jarring inclusion of a lengthy scene from another
Franco-Towers flick, The Girl from
Rio (also from 1968), starring Goldfinger's
Shirley Eaton. Apparently added to the film for padding purposes,
this footage is woefully out of place; it adds nothing to the
story and destroys all attempts at period detail. (The Fu films
are set in the '20s, while the Girl from
Rio clip shows 1960s fashions, cars, and architecture.)
Conclusive proof — as if that were really needed — that the
filmmakers just didn't give a damn.
So yeah, the flick's pretty bad. Nevertheless
I found it mildly diverting. Fortunately the cheese is laid
on pretty thick. It also doesn't hurt that Franco ups the sleaze
factor — at least in this uncut version — by including some
naked chicks in chains, a move that has never proven detrimental
to any movie as far as I'm concerned. The action sequences
are laughably dumb... I was sweating bullets (NOT!) during the
tense struggle between Jansen and one of Fu's killers atop a
log spanning a gorge all of 5 feet deep. One fight scene (if
you can call it that — it's really just two guys rolling around
in the bushes, over and over) seems to last an eternity and
is out of focus almost the entire time. (Not exactly an uncommon
occurrence in a Franco film.) As the bandit leader Sancho Lopez,
Palacios pretty much steals the movie; he's a Latin version
of John Belushi in Chris Farley's body. We even get a dance
number from him! And Christopher Lee's rigid, straight-faced
stoicism amid the ludicrous dialog and situations is an abject
lesson in Goal Visualization. This is exactly how people are
able to muck out port-a-potties for a living.
Think of the paycheck.
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Compared
to previous TV broadcasts and VHS incarnations, Blue Underground's
new DVD edition of The Blood of Fu Manchu
looks like a completely different film. The print used for the
disc isn't exactly the sharpest but handily consigns its muddy
Pan & Scan forebears to the trash heap. The letterboxed (1.66:1)
transfer boasts vivid colors, most evident in the lush greens
of the Brazilian jungle and the various costumes Lee wears as
Fu. The solid mono audio track is free of any distortion or static.
BU again comes through in the extras department
for a film no one else would've even bothered with. Fans of Christopher
Lee, Jess Franco and the Fu series should dig the 15-minute documentary,
The Rise Of Fu Manchu, specially created for the DVD. This
terrific featurette illuminates Franco's love of pulp fiction
as well as Lee's approach to the character and undisguised disdain
for the direction the films had taken by this point. Producer
Harry Alan Towers briefly weighs in; co-star Tsai Chin comments
on the series' now politically incorrect view of Asian characters
and culture. Supplementing the documentary is an informative illustrated
essay, The Facts of Fu Manchu, which serves as a primer
for those unfamiliar with the novels of Sax Rohmer and his most
famous creation. Two theatrical trailers (the U.K. and U.S. versions)
and a photo/still gallery are provided, along with witty liner
notes by Tim Lucas. Blue Underground also demonstrates a cheeky
sense of humor: the company's animated logo is given a clever
Fu "makeover".
The Blood of Fu Manchu
is sold as part of BU's 4-disc Christopher Lee Collection
(which includes its immediate sequel, the execrable Castle
of Fu Manchu) as well as individually. 9/21/03 |
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