Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		1.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		1.5

The Blood of Fu Manchu Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 10, 2017

Jess Franco's "The Blood of Fu Manchu" a.k.a. "Sax Rohmer's Kiss and Kill" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; archival program featuring director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers, and stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, and Shirley Eaton; and large gallery with promotional materials. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The evil one

The Blood of Fu Manchu is a bit of a mess, really, and even though it gives proper credit to Sax Rohmer’s novels it is in fact an original project. It was one of three films that the prolific British producer Harry Alan Towers and cult Spanish director Jess Franco worked on at approximately the same time during the 1960s. While shooting The Girl from Rio in Brazil, Franco and cinematographer Manuel Merino also did some bonus footage that was later on used in 99 Women, and Towers literally borrowed footage from The Girl from Rio, featuring the beautiful actress Shirley Eaton, and used it in The Blood of Fu Manchu without ever asking for her permission.

The new story is actually quite good. After years of hiding in a secluded fortress somewhere in the jungles of South America, the great Oriental villain Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) discovers a very special poison, quite possibly brought to earth by an alien race, which he decides to use to eliminate his biggest enemies. Fu Manchu and his evil daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) then abduct ten beautiful women, infect them with the poison and immediately dispatch them across the world. (The women are basically used as containers, and all they have to do to eliminate their targets is give them the Kiss of Death). In London, Fu Manchu’s old foe Inspector Nayland Smith (Richard Greene) allows one of the girls to kiss him and instantly becomes blind. Shortly after, agent Carl Jansen (Götz George) contacts Smith and informs him that he has found Fu Manchu’s lair and is getting ready to go after him. Escorted by his good friend Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion Crawford), Smith then travels to South America to confront Fu Manchu and find an antidote before the poison kills him. Before the grand finale, Smith and Jansen get unexpected help from a local bandit named Sancho Villa (Richard Palacios), whom Fu Manchu suspects of being a secret agent, and a fearless beauty named Ursula (Maria Rohm), who has lost a relative and is looking for revenge.

Virtually all of the films Towers produced during the 1960s blend exotic atmosphere and action, occasionally with a bit of sleaze, in order to impress. The recipe for The Blood of Fu Manchu is unchanged, though given the talent that contributed to it this is arguably the weakest one from the bunch. It is quite odd, to say the least, because Rohmer’s novels offer exactly the type of lavish exotic material that Towers loved.

The film does have an authentic exotic vibe, but the story is filled with so many distracting subplots that after a while it becomes awfully difficult to care about any of its characters. In fact, because the story is so fractured it begins to feel as if Franco and Towers agreed to use footage that wasn’t necessarily needed but felt right to incorporate in the final version of the film because they had done it. To be fair, there are other films that they did together that suffer for the very same reason (see Marquis de Sade's Justine), but here it all seems a bit too obvious and, even for a Franco film, uncharacteristically distracting.

While it is difficult not to agree that in terms of star power Lee’s presence is the film’s biggest asset, in a way it can also be considered its Achilles' heel. It is clear that Fu Manchu was not the right character for the iconic actor to play, and yet because of his involvement neither Franco nor Towers were willing to experiment with more risqué material.

Franco shot The Blood of Fu Manchu with frequent collaborator and close friend Manuel Merino. Their best work came a few years later with the hugely atmospheric erotic thrillers Vampyros Lesbos and Eugenie.

The Blood of Fu Manchu Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jess Franco's The Blood of Fu Manchu arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.

The technical presentation is incredibly disappointing. The release is sourced from a master that is so problematic that I would not even consider it appropriate for a DVD release. Detail and clarity range from underwhelming to flat-out horrendous, with many of the larger panoramic shots completely lacking the type of depth a proper high-definition master ought to deliver. The indoor and darker visuals, in particular, almost always look poor, and there are more than a few instances where detail completely breaks down and everything looks suspiciously flat. Frankly, the quality of these particular visuals isn't any better than what one would expect from upconverted standard definition material (see screencaptures #6, 7, 12, and 18). There are some decent primary colors, but the various technical issues that are noted above have basically destroyed all healthy nuances. Image stability is good. My score is 1.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Blood of Fu Manchu Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional yellow English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Jess Franco's early films very rarely have impressive sound designs and The Blood of Fu Manchu is exactly that type of a modest film. The original audio mix also features some overdubbing, so if you notice some minor unevenness here and there keep in mind that it is in fact part of the final sound design. Clarity is quite good and there is even some proper depth. However, my feeling is that if the audio is fully remastered there will be some notable improvements in terms of depth and fluidity.

The Blood of Fu Manchu Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Rise of Fu Manchu - in this archival program, director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers, and stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, and Shirley Eaton discuss Sax Rohmer and Edgar Wallace's original writings that inspired The Blood of Fu Mancu, as well as the production history of the film and some of the more complicated relationships between the main characters and their ultimate goals. The program was directed by David Gregory, and initially appeared on Blue Underground's DVD release of The Blood of Fu Manchu. In French and English, with imposed yellow English subtitles where necessary. (16 min).

• International Trailer - original international trailer for The Blood of Fu Manchu. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• U.S. Trailer - original U.S. trailer for The Blood of Fu Manchu. The film is promoted here as Sax Rohmer's Kiss and Kill. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Still Gallery - a large collection of original posters from around the world, UK pressbook, U.S. pressbook, German pressbook, lobby cards, original stills, and home video covers. The gallery was compiled by Gregory Chick.

The Blood of Fu Manchu Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Blue Underground's technical presentation of Jess Franco's The Blood of Fu Manchu, which is one of two films included in this recent Blu-ray release, is shockingly poor. To be honest, I would consider the master that was used problematic even for a DVD release because the overwhelming majority of the film's visuals look seriously filtered and as smeary as only a very poor upconverted material can. AVOID.