Are you ready for the heat when Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man) and director Jess Franco (Ilsa, the Wicked Warden) team up for two sinister Fu Manchu crime capers? The Blood of Fu Manchu and The Castle of Fu Manchu are getting major upgrades to 4K UHD. Even more exciting is both films are the uncut versions versus the censored butcher versions that arrived in America. Each disc also contains the spliced up versions along with the gang from RiffTrax. Here is the press release from Blue Underground with all the details:
| Blue Underground Announces the World Premiere of Brand New 4K Restorations of The Blood of Fu Manchu [4K UHD] 7/29 & The Castle of Fu Manchu [4K UHD] 7/29 Christopher Lee Stars as the Fiendish Fu Manchu |
| On July 29th, Blue Underground proudly presents the world premiere of the British horror-thriller classics The Blood of Fu Manchu and The Castle of Fu Manchu on 4K UHD + Blu-ray, in brand-new 4K restorations of the Uncut and Uncensored camera negatives and packed with bonus content. Christopher Lee has played countless evil characters on the screen, including Dracula, The Mummy, and Frankenstein’s Monster, along with battling James Bond, Captain America, Frodo, and Yoda. His most controversial villain role was Fu Manchu. He proved to be menacing as the Chinese criminal mastermind constantly coming up with diabolical plans to destroy the world. Blue Underground releases Lee’s final two movies as Fu Manchu directed by the legendary Jess Franco (Vampyros Lesbos) on 4K-UHD + Blu-ray Editions. The Blood of Fu Manchu has Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee, The Wicker Man), his daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin, You Only Live Twice), and his agents operating deep in the Amazon jungle. Fu Manchu has found a powerful snake venom that has the ability to kill men, but not women. The powerful madman plans to wipe out millions of men around the world by having his alluring female followers deliver the kiss of death. The only people who can stop him are Interpol agents Nayland Smith (Richard Greene, Tales From The Crypt) and Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford, Lawrence of Arabia). Can they avoid the temptation of fatal lips? The film also stars Maria Rohm (Venus in Furs) and Shirley Eaton (Goldfinger). The Blood of Fu Manchu is a 4K restoration of the original camera negative for the Unrated European Cut.The 4K UHD + Blu-ray Edition’s special features include an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, The Rise of Fu Manchu – featuring interviews with director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers, and stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, and Shirley Eaton, Sanguine-Stained Celluloid – an interview with Stephen Thrower, author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco, trailers, a newly expanded poster & still gallery, and RiffTrax Edition – THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU, Riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. Watch the trailer here: |
The Castle Of Fu Manchu features Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee, Lord of the Rings), his sadistic daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin, Casino Royale), and his elite fighting force, who take over the governor’s castle in Istanbul. Fu Manchu has invented a device that can freeze the oceans of the world. The only chance to defrost his fiendish plan for another Ice Age is the intervention of Interpol agents Nayland Smith (Richard Greene, The Hounds of the Baskervilles) and Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford, The Face of Fu Manchu). The Castle of Fu Manchu features a 4K restoration of the uncut and uncensored camera negative.
The 4K UHD + Blu-ray Edition’s special features include an audio commentary with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth, The Fall of Fu Manchu – interviews with director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers, and stars Christopher Lee and Tsai Chin, Castle of Carnage – an interview with Stephen Thrower, author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco, the international trailer, a newly expanded poster & still gallery, and RiffTrax Edition – THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU, riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy.
Watch the trailer here:
