Warner Bros. recently paired BRIDES OF FU MANCHU with CHAMBER OF HORRORS on a double feature DVD. (Initially a Best Buy exclusive, it will get a mainstream release later this year.) So the first (and best) of Christopher Lee's Fu Manchu series is still awaiting its DVD debut. (It and the third film, VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU, are the only films in the franchise not to be on Region 1 DVD.)
share"Blood & Castle of Fu-Manchu" were released separately(never seen them but terrible films by all accounts)in the UK because the rights` are owned by different companies.This is maybe what`s happened in the States with the first three....If you`re really desperate why not import the UK dvd although you`ll need a multi-region player and make sure your TV can accept the PAL signal we use here.Check with your local dealer.The uk dvd is 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen but picture is speckly and needs some form of restoration-better than nothing though!"Vengeance" is out too uk dvd with a very nice 1.85:1 pic!
shareThanks, Khazi. BLOOD and CASTLE came to Region 1 DVD several years ago, from Blue Underground. (On their own, as part of a Christopher Lee set, and packaged together as a Fu Manchu double feature.) Warner Brothers released FACE, BRIDES and VENGEANCE on VHS years ago and still hold the home video rights to them, here in the U.S. Unfortunately, to date, they've only given BRIDES OF FU MANCHU the DVD treatment in the States. Why Warner passed over the first (and best) film and started off with the second film just makes no sense.
shareBetter still, get the French DVD, which has the same widescreen transfer but also includes an English language interview with Christopher Lee.
The rights for the various films are (or at least were) spread between different studios, Harry Palmer style, on both sides of the Atlantic, which makes it difficult to put together a boxed set. I think the only territory where all five films belong to the same distributor is Germany, where there was a boxed set of all five.
"Life flash before your eyes? Cup of tea, cup of tea, almost got a shag, cup of tea."
I've given up seeing a boxed set of all five here in the U.S. (I remember when a number of bargain labels put out BLOOD OF FU MANCHU under its various titles on VHS, such as KISS OF DEATH and KISS AND KILL.) I just wish when Warner decided to release their Fu Manchu films to DVD that they would have started with the first one, FACE OF FU MANCHU, instead of BRIDES. (Since BRIDES was on a double bill with another horror film, maybe Warner would at least consider pairing FACE with VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU.) I was starting to think the only Region 1 DVD releases of any the franchise was going to be limited to Blue Sky's two Jess Franco Fu films. (Those came out several years ago.)
shareI have those Blue Underground DVDs: as usual with that label, it's a first-rate presentation of a couple of fifth-rate movies.
It seems that Warners' rights on the first three films aren't all on the same contract - StudioCanal, the current owners, tend to licence to various companies, and it may be that Brides is the only title they have a reasonable period left to run on their contract. I remember when I was still at WHV in the late 90s we were unable to do restorations of The Wicker Man or Once Upon a Time in America because we either had rights in too few territories or we only had months left to run before the contract was up for renewal (Once Upon a Time was a particular problem since Arnon Milchan had just broken with Warners under very acrimonious circumstances and refused to renew the distribution deal at any price).
Apparently both Anchor Bay and Blue Sky have wanted to put out the first three, but bad blood with certain distributors and shakey finances prevented it.
"Life flash before your eyes? Cup of tea, cup of tea, almost got a shag, cup of tea."
Confusion does set in when different distributors have the rights to the same film in different territories. When Fox gave us the Region 1 DVD of ONE MILLION YEARS BC, it was the shorter cut of the film with no extras. I believe Warner handled the Region 2 disc, which was the longer version and had (I believe) interviews with Raquel Welch and Ray Harryhausen.
shareI didn't know the Fox DVD was cut. That Warners/StudioCanal UK disc is a nice package - it even includes the trailer as well as the interviews. A friend was one of the editors on that film, and since the whole thing was shot mute (Hammer didn't want to send a soundman to Lanzarote), they made up much of the 'dialogue' in post-production. Some of it is actually the names of the cast of the Victor Mature version said backwards!
"Life flash before your eyes? Cup of tea, cup of tea, almost got a shag, cup of tea."
(LOL) I didn't know that soundtrack tale! Thanks.
shareAlong with Vengeance of Fu Mancho. Thanks for the info, Woody. You're very welcome, BijouBob8mm.
I'm a totally bitchin' bio writer from Mars!