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Title: Christopher lee as fu manchu Post by: Svengoolie 3 on September 19, 2018, 07:15:09 PM Okay Mr. Lee gets a lot of press for being Dracula In like umpteen films by hammer, but he also played another villain in a series of movies. He starred in 5 movies as Fu Manchu. Now some people consider Fu Manchu a racist stereotype. Well in the first place is Dracula an ethnic stereotype? Also as evil as the modern Chinese government is, the last thing the Chinese have to complain about is a comic level villain
The FM movies don't have the benefit of the legendary Hammer studio name attached to them but still have that "British" feel to them that I usually associate with hammer films. Personally I think the first FM movie, "the face of Fu manchu", was the best. The plot of foreign terrorist using civilian aircraft to carry out an attack that murdered some 3000 people in a movie made in 1965 is somewhat eerie today. The rest of the series gradually degenerated in budget and quality until the fifth one, the awful "castle of Fu Manchu", was practically a plea from the series to be euthanized. The series had an entry, "the brides of Fu manchu", which even I admit was a pander to the worst form of racist stereotype, the old "they want our white women!!" But it was a movie made in england in the 60's. Such were the times.. All in all the first few were enjoyable enough British 60's tough (English) good guy vs super bad (foreign) guy films. I can't recommend the last one at all. It received a well earned roasting on MST3K which may be the only enjoyable way to watch it. Title: Re: Christopher lee as fu manchu Post by: Ticonderoga 64 on September 20, 2018, 06:30:47 PM I like the Lee Fu Manchu series, although the first three seem to be a better quality than the Jess Franco directed final two. The series is generally fast paced and has some decent casts throughout. The films usually get overlooked when UK fantasy/horror.sci-fi movies are discussed but are well-worth checking out if you havent seen any.
Title: Re: Christopher lee as fu manchu Post by: Archivist on September 20, 2018, 08:22:46 PM The Fu Manchu films look hella fun, although the Peter Sellers movie was what introduced me to this character in the 80's. Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu blows my mind. I'll always remember Christopher Lee with his golden gun, his Eye of Sauron, his vampire fangs, and his third nipple.
Title: Re: Christopher lee as fu manchu Post by: Svengoolie 3 on September 20, 2018, 11:19:52 PM Well, he likely would prefer that to being remembered for a one piece black spandex leotard with a face cutout and a 5 pointed hat and a garish flying snake on the chest....
(https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w780/k2dlgkyIyJAhC5CtRP2I4uVAJxr.jpg) Lord you can see the anguish on his face. Hang in there, Chris. 4 words to remember: Lord of the Rings! |