In 1965, maverick British producer and writer Harry Alan Towers (The Bloody Judge) scored a hit with The Face of Fu Manchu, a thrilling revival of Sax Rohmer’s super-villain imperiously portrayed by Christopher Lee (The Terror of the Tongs). Over the next four years, Lee and Towers would collaborate with directors Don Sharp (Psychomania), Jeremy Summers and Jesús Franco (Venus in Furs) on four ever more delirious tales of attempted world domination (The Brides of Fu Manchu, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, The Blood of Fu Manchu, The Castle of Fu Manchu), each pitting the criminal mastermind against his arch-nemesis Nayland Smith, as played variously by Nigel Green (Play Dirty), Douglas Wilmer (Sherlock Holmes) and Richard Greene (The Adventures of Robin Hood).
Now, all five classic Fu Manchu films are presented on Blu-ray for the first time, newly restored from original negatives and containing a wealth of new and archival extras, including critical appreciations, cast and crew interviews and audio commentaries. This stunning collection is strictly limited to 6,000 units, and is presented with an exclusive, fully illustrated 120-page book, featuring new writing by Tim Lucas.
Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Audio commentary with film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (2020)
- The BEHP Interview with Jeremy Summers (2001, 72 mins): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring Summers in conversation with Darrol Blake
- Vic Pratt Introduces ‘The Vengeance of Fu Manchu’ (2020, 7 mins): appreciation by the BFI curator
- Tall, Lean and Feline (2020, 50 mins): film historian Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic, on the early career of Christopher Lee
- The Cheque’s in the Post (2020, 5 mins): first assistant director Anthony Waye remembers Harry Alan Towers and Fu Manchu
- The Ghost of Monk’s Island (1966, 93 mins): Jeremy Summers directs this exciting mystery made for the Children’s Film Foundation
- Alternative title sequence
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material