Castle of Fu Manchu, The (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Aug 08, 2025
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Jesús Franco

Release Date(s)

1969 (July 29, 2025)

Studio(s)

Towers of London Productions (Blue Underground)

Film/Program Grade: C
Video Grade: A
Audio Grade: A-
Extras Grade: B

blue-underground.com/

Review

The final film in the Fu Manchu cycle under the producorial eye of Harry Alan Towers, 1969’s The Castle of Fu Manchu also proved to be one the least satisfying entries in the series; not just for Towers, but for fans, as well. Known by several titles the world over, including Die Folterkammer des Dr. Fu Man Chu, Il castello di Fu Manchu, The Torture Chamber of Fu Manchu, and Assignment: Istanbul, it put the controversial character to bed for some time until 1980 when Peter Sellers resurrected him for the comedy The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu. That film wound up being a complete commercial and critical failure, as well as Sellers’ final film before his untimely passing. As for The Castle of Fu Manchu, it was also one of the last few projects made by Jesús “Jess” Franco and Harry Alan Towers before their partnership dissolved in 1970 with the release of Count Dracula.

Dr. Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee), with the help of his daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin), has devised a way of turning the oceans into ice, demanding that the world bow to his rule. He sets up his new residence in Istanbul with the aid of local crime boss Omar Pasha (José Manuel Martín) and his assassin Lisa (Rosalba Neri). While he attempts to keep an ailing scientist (Werner Abrolat) alive that will help him complete his evil work, Scotland Yard’s Nayland Smith (Richard Greene) and his companion Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford) set out to stop him once and for all. The cast also includes Günther Stoll, Maria Perschy, and Jess Franco himself.

While The Castle of Fu Manchu is certainly messier than its predecessor, it’s perhaps a bit more entertaining, mostly because the protagonist, Nayland Smith, doesn’t spend the majority of the film on his back dying (only to be miraculously saved at the end). This film also moves a little quicker and has much more style, with more overt colored lighting schemes and a variety of locations. Interestingly, it’s also much tamer, with no nudity and hardly any bloodshed. That said, it’s clear at the outset that the film isn’t fully up to the task, borrowing footage from the previous film and The Brides of Fu Manchu, as well as extended footage from 1958’s A Night to Remember and 1957’s Campbell’s Kingdom (the latter used more in the second half). It’s unclear how much input Jess Franco had over the final cut, but it gives the impression of a sloppily-edited together film that doesn’t have enough material to fill itself out.

Matters aren’t helped by the fact that The Castle of Fu Manchu was seen in substandard presentations for decades, where the film was so murky and duped-looking that it was difficult to appreciate it. Many may have seen it for the first time as part of Season 3 of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which also furthered the narrative that the film was so awful even Joel and the Bots could poke fun at it. Today, it’s still not well-liked, and considered the least of the five Fu Manchu films. However, since the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, and now 4K Ultra HD, many are beginning to look past its readily-apparent flaws to see that it’s impeccably well-shot, the actors are doing their due diligence, and there’s some variety in the visuals. The plot may be a complete shambles, but there’s more here than meets the eye. In other words, The Castle of Fu Manchu is more entertaining than its reputation would lead you to believe.

The Castle of Fu Manchu was shot by cinematographer Manuel Merino on 35mm film with Arriflex cameras and spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Blue Underground debuts the film on Ultra HD in the US with a new 4K restoration of the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and encoded to a dual-layered BD-66 disc. Unlike the previous film, The Castle of Fu Manchu doesn’t have a vast number of alternate versions as it escaped relatively unscathed in regards to any objectionable content, of which there’s next to none. Title sequences were changed and a few minutes were trimmed in Germany and in the US strictly for tighter running times, but nevertheless, this release carries the full original version of the film at 91:54. This presentation is also slightly better than its predecessor, with slightly more solid levels of grain and no density issues to be speak of. Detail is once again high with bitrates sitting between 70 and 90Mbps for the most part, and the HDR grades fully boosting the bold swatches of pink and green for the colored gels, as well as the contrast in the natural world with a range of bold hues and deep blacks. The entirety of the picture is stable and clean, making this the best presentation of the film available.

Audio is included in English mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH, French, and Spanish. Like its predecessor, it’s very clean, but a bit more organic in nature. It’s a louder track, as well. Sound effects and score have more aural heft to them, while dialogue is also boosted. It’s limited by its age, but works well for what it is.

Blue Underground’s 2-Disc 4K Ultra HD release of The Castle of Fu Manchu sits in a black Amaray case alongside a 1080p Blu-ray also containing the new restoration in SDR, with a double-sided insert that features new artwork on the front and the original international theatrical artwork on the reverse. Everything is housed in an embossed slipcover containing the same new artwork. The following extras are included on each disc:

DISC ONE (UHD)

Audio Commentary with Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
International Trailer (HD – 2:26)

DISC TWO (BD)

Audio Commentary with Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
Featurettes:
- The Fall of Fu Manchu (SD – 14:01)
- Castle of Carnage: Stephen Thrower on The Castle of Fu Manchu (HD – 21:25)
International Trailer (HD – 2:26)
Poster & Still Gallery (HD – 129 in all)
RiffTrax Edition (HD – 75:05)

In the new audio commentary with writers and film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, they provide their usual good-natured fan perspectives, an analysis of the film and this period in Franco’s career, and various pieces of information about the cast. The Fall of Fu Manchu is a 2003 DVD-era featurette containing interviews with Jess Franco, Harry Alan Towers, Christopher Lee, and Tsai Chin. It’s a wonderful retrospective that digs into the film’s politics, as well as its production. In Castle of Carnage, author Stephen Thrower delves into Jess Franco’s partnerships with producer Harry Alan Towers and Christopher Lee, and provides an analysis of the film. Next is the film’s international trailer, and a newly-expanded Poster & Still Gallery featuring 129 stills of posters; advertising materials; the US and German pressbooks; lobby cards; black-and-white and color production photographs; publicity material; and home video artwork. Last is a RiffTrax edition of a shorter version of the film featuring Mystery Science Theater 3000 veterans Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy.

There are also a few items missing from previous releases. The 2003 Region Free Blue Underground DVD release also contains the text-based essay The Facts of Dr. Fu Manchu, talent bios for Christopher Lee and Jess Franco, and liner notes by Tim Lucas. Those are minor losses, but the biggest omissions are from the 2022 Region B Indicator/Powerhouse Films Blu-ray boxed set of all five Fu Manchu films. That set contains the Assignment: Istanbul pre-release version of the film, the Vic Pratt Introduces The Castle of Fu Manchu introduction to the film, the From Alicante to Istanbul: Rosalba Neri Remembers Jesús Franco, Maria Rohm and The Castle of Fu Manchu interview, An Interview with Harry Alan Towers: Conducted for the Archive Film Agency by Cy Young in 2008, The Further Mysteries of Dr. Fu-Manchu: The Coughing Horror 1924 serial segment with and without score, a set of two Alternative Title Sequences for the film, a double-sided poster, five production still replicas, and a 120-page book with an assortment of various texts and items about the film.

Despite any missing bonus materials, this 4K Ultra HD upgrade of The Castle of Fu Manchu by Blue Underground is most welcome, with a beautiful picture and much-improved sound over the previous film. For fans of these films, you couldn’t ask for better.

- Tim Salmons

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