The Castle of Fu Manchu 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Castle of Fu Manchu 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 13, 2025

Jess Franco's "The Castle of Fu Manchu" (1969) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the release include new program with author and critic Stephen Thrower; new audio commentary with critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson; archival program with Jess Franco and cast members; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH, Spansh, and French subtiltes for the main feature. Region-Free.

The Chinaman

The Castle of Fu Manchu destroyed Jess Franco’s relationship with the notorious British producer Harry Alan Towers. The two collaborated on a few more films after it -- their final project was Count Dracula, again starring Christopher Lee, which was released in 1970 -- but only because they had already done a deal for them. The Castle of Fu Manchu made it impossible for Towers to continue trusting Franco with large projects, and solidified Franco’s belief that Towers did not have a proper grasp of his work.

So, what went so seriously wrong?

The Castle of Fu Manchu was, likeThe Blood of Fu Manchu , a passion project for Towers, who had contributed to the screenplays for both. These films were shot simultaneously, but, according to Towers, The Castle of Fu Manchu was rushed and ultimately badly mismanaged. After viewing a complete version of The Castle of Fu Manchu, with Franco present, Towers declared that Franco had effectively killed Sax Rohmer’s famous character.

But the real reason The Castle of Fu Manchu is not a good film is different. While Lee’s transformation is impossible to praise, it is also not in any meaningful way worse than the one from The Blood of Fu Manchu, which Towers liked. In fact, there are several sequences in The Castle of Fu Manchu where Lee exudes meanness that is significantly more effective, spilling over to other characters as well. The real reason is Franco’s inability to create a coherent film with oddly incompatible footage, some of which is ‘borrowed’ extracts from material shot by other people for different films. For example, early in The Castle of Fu Manchu, Franco utilizes ‘borrowed’ extracts from Roy Ward Baker’s classic film A Night to Remember. Later, Franco inserts ‘borrowed’ extracts from Ralph Thomas’s disaster drama Campbell's Kingdom. Also, Lee’s sinister plan to destroy the world if his demands are not met is sliced by several random developments.

Interestingly, The Castle of Fu Manchu looks better than The Blood of Fu Manchu. It blends some rather striking footage from Istanbul and Barcelona, with the former providing an authentic exotic atmosphere that a proper film based on Rohmer’s writings demands. Also, in The Castle of Fu Manchu, Lee is surrounded by better supporting actors, several of whom, like Rosalba Neri and Richard Greene, look terrific before Franco’s camera.

While some of the fireworks from the final act are impressive, they are not part of an intriguing and, most importantly, effectively told story. Lee hides in an ancient castle in Istanbul and abducts Professor Heracles (Gustavo Re), the most brilliant mind on Earth, to help him create crystals to be used in a machine capable of freezing the oceans. However, Professor Heracles needs an urgent heart transplant to stay alive, so Lee also abducts the famous surgeon Dr. Kessler (Gunther Stoll) and his assistant-lover (Maria Perschy) to perform the tricky operation. When Dr. Kessler’s disappearance puts Lee back on Scotland Yard’s radar, Inspector Nayland Smith (Greene) is dispatched to save the human race.

The Castle of Fu Manchu 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Blue Underground's release of The Castle of Fu Manchu is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray and the Blu-ray are Region-Free.

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-26 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #30-40 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

Blue Underground's release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of The Castle of Fu Manchu on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grade. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision. Later, I spent time with its 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray.

The new 4K restoration is a jaw-dropper, in native 4K and 1080p. To be honest, I was so impressed with the quality of the native 4K and 1080p presentations that more than a few times I wished Jess Franco's Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy had received identical makeovers. The studio footage, in particular, which utilizes great color filters, looks sensational. Obviously, some of the incerts, like the ones from Campbell's Kingdom, reveal pretty big fluctuations in quality, but this is hardly surprising. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Image stability is outstanding. On my system, the Dolby Vision grade handled all areas of the film very well, including the darker material from Fu Manchu's lair. I prefer the native 4K presentation because its wider color gamut produces some breathtaking visuals. However, it is impossible to be disappointed with the 1080p presentation, which is of reference quality as well.

The Castle of Fu Manchu 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very healthy. However, it retains the native limitations of the original soundtrack, like unevenness and some unconventional dynamic fluctuations, so you need to keep this in mind when you judge its quality. The 'borrowed' material has different qualities as well. The dialogue is pretty easy to follow, but I would suggest turning up the volume a bit more because some of the important characters have pretty thick accents.

The Castle of Fu Manchu 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson discuss the production history of The Castle of Fu Manchu, some of the good and a lot of the bad in it, the careers and loegacies of various cast members, and Jess Franco and Harry Alan Towers' relationship.

• International Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage internaitonal trailer for The Castle of Fu Manchu. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson discuss the production history of The Castle of Fu Manchu, some of the good and a lot of the bad in it, the careers and loegacies of various cast members, and Jess Franco and Harry Alan Towers' relationship.

• International Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage internaitonal trailer for The Castle of Fu Manchu. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• The Fall of Fu Manchu - this archival program gathers interviews with Jess Franco, Harry Alan Towers, Christopher Lee, and Tsai Chin. The interviewees discuss their involvement with the various Fu Manchu films. In French and English, with English subtitles where necessary. (14 min).

• Castle of Carnage - in this new program, author and critic Stephen Thrower discusses The Castle of Fu Manchu. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Poster and Still Gallery - presented here is a new, expanded collection of posters and stills for The Castle of Fu Manchu from around the world. The gallery was compiled by Gregory Chick.

• RiffTrax Edition - The Castle of Fu Manchu is riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. (75 min).

• Cover - a reverisble cover with vintage poster art for The Castle of Fu Manchu.

The Castle of Fu Manchu 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When Jess Franco tries too hard to deliver nicely polished, proper big films, the end result is almost always seriously underwhelming. Franco's best work is in smaller films where his imagination is unleashed, and the actors around him feed off of his energy and madness. The Castle of Fu Manchu, which was made simultaneously with The Blood of Fu Manchu, is a hot mess, so it is hardly surprising that it ruined Franco's relationship with producer Harry Alan Towers. I must admit that I have always had a copy of it in my library because I have collected as many of Rosalba Neri's films as possible. You probably need a similar excuse to consider picking it up as well. Blue Underground's combo pack introduces an astonishingly beautiful, exclusive new 4K restoration of The Castle of Fu Manchu, which I am convinced will remain its definitive presentation. RECOMMENDED only to the fans.