The Blood of Fu Manchu 4K Review (Blue Underground)

The Blood of Fu Manchu is a 1968 crime thriller co-written and directed by Jesus Franco (Jailhouse Wardress, Golden Temple Amazons, Faceless, House of Cruel Dolls, Zombie Lake, Barbed Wire Dolls, Countdown to Esmeralda, Angel of Death, Diamonds of Kilimandjaro, Panther Squad, Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein, Night of the Blood Monster, and Sinfonía Erótica). It’s based on book series from author Sax Rohmer. It was co-written and produced by Harry Alan Towers (The Face of Fu Manchu, The Brides of Fu Manchu, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, The Million Eyes of Sumuru, House of 1,000 Dolls, 99 Women, Count Dracula, Night of the Blood Monster, The Mangler, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, The Man with the Golden Gun, and Ten Little Indians). This crime franchise included 4 other movies such as The Brides of Fu Manchu, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, and The Castle of Fu Manchu. Evil criminal mastermind Fu Manchu (played by: Christopher Lee from the Fu Manchu franchise, Star Wars franchise, Dracula franchise, The Lord of the Rings franchise, and The Wicker Man) and his sadistic daughter Lin Tang (played by: Tsai Chin from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Casino Royale, Psycho-Circus, Fu Manchu franchise, Blow-Up, and You Only Live Twice) reveal their latest diabolical plot for world domination. Ten beautiful women are infected with an ancient poison so deadly that one kiss from their lips will bring instant death and lead to a fatal global plague. Now the Asian madman’s nemesis, Nayland Smith (played by: Richard Greene from Tales from the Crypt, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Island of the Lost, and The Castle of Fu Manchu), must desperately hunt an antidote in a savage land where rape and torture reign from these cold blooded villains!!!! The Blood of Fu Manchu is much better than it’s reputation and it’s one of the better features from the legendary Jesus Franco. The script had an interesting concept where gorgeous women that’s been kidnapped are all bit by a poisonous cobra and they are used as weapons. Christopher Lee is great as the ruthless Fu Manchu. At this point, he’s already played the iconic role before so he was very familiar with this villain. His presence alone elevates this production. The fx makeup and transformation of into Fu Manchu is very impressive considering how Lee normally looked. He proves that he is chameleon when he gets into character. He was always one of the best villains on screen and he’s a deadly terrorist in this. Tsai Chin is very solid as Fu Manchu’s demented offspring Lin Tang. She was no stranger to this crime franchise. She’s a sidekick that definitely stands out. She’s just as bad as her dad. The rest of the supporting cast includes Richard Greene, Howard Marion-Crawford (Fu Manchu franchise), Götz George (Murder Party), Maria Rohm (Count Dracula), Ricardo Palacios (Monster Dog), Loni Von Friedl (Big Mäc), Frances Khan (Maria Bonita, Rainha do Cangaço), Shirley Eaton (The Million Eyes of Sumuru), Olívia Pineschi (99 Women), Francesca Tu (The Brides of Fu Manchu), and Jesús Franco (The Sadist of Notre Dame). Producer Harry Alan Towers has a blast with his ambitious story and concept here. I’m not a fan of snakes so it’s pretty terrifying to see these girls get attacked by a cobra so they can basically go out and be an assassin. These women are a suicide squad because they are not coming back after all of that torture. It even got the RiffTrax treatment years later but I honestly think it’s better than that. It’s something different from cult director Jess Franco and it’s not as sleazy as most of his other work. It does have a good amount of violence and action in it. It had a unique and colorful atmosphere to it. I wish the other sequels that followed this one were on this level because unfortunately this series kept getting a little worse over the years. The Blood of Fu Manchu is highly underrated, very entertaining, and so much fun. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Blue Underground! This 2160p (1.67:1) unrated transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is from a brand new 4K restoration from uncensored camera negative. This blows away all of the previous versions plus it’s fully uncut. It has slick cinematography, high quality production design, and attention grabbing locations that shines here. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track on the UHD. The audio has it’s moments during it’s wild scenarios and the soundtrack. All of the dialogue is crisp, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. They go over both Jesus Franco and Harry Alan Towers here. They chat about how it stacks up against the original source material. They break down it’s strengths and weaknesses. They talk about the cast, characters, and all kinds of other stuff related to the Fu Manchu franchise. It’s a great track especially if you want to know more about this one. It has the “International” and “U.S.” trailers. These are the only extras located on the UHD, the rest of them are on the blu ray. It has the “RiffTrax Edition” with Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. It has the archive 16 minute “The Rise of Fu Manchu” directed by David Gregory (Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson, What’s in the Basket?, Ban the Sadist Videos!, Forget Everything You Have Ever Seen: The World of Santa Sangre, Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth, The Joe Spinell Story, The Theatre Bizarre, Tales of the Uncanny, Enter the Clones of Bruce, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau, and Plague Town). It features interviews with Jesus Franco, Harry Alan Towers, Christopher Lee, Shirley Eaton, and Tsai Chin. They chat about the original source material that inspired and influenced The Blood of Fu Manchu. They talk about the characters and some of the stuff that they go through for this. They bring It’s production, it’s history, and all their experiences on it. It’s in both English and French, subtitles are provided here. It has the 28 minute “Sanguine-Stained Celluloid”. It’s an interview with author Stephen Thrower. He shares his thoughts and honest opinions on the movie. He provides a variety of information and stories about The Blood of Fu Manchu. He’s always fun to watch and he’s passionate about cinema no matter what genre or budget. It has the updated new “Poster and Still Gallery” from Blue Underground’s own Gregory Chick. It has various press books, posters, lobby cards, and home video releases. It was on the previous blu ray but this version has been extended for this UHD. It comes with a slipcover, reversible artwork, and a blu ray copy. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!