The Christopher Lee Collection [Limited Editon] [4 Discs] [DVD]

The Bloody Judge
This erotic horror film from cult director Jesus Franco is based on the witch-hunting exploits of Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys (Christopher Lee), a real historical figure who died in prison in 1702 at the age of 54. In 1685 England, young Alicia Gray is burnt for witchcraft. Alicia's sister Mary (Maria Rohm) unwisely falls for Harry Selton (Hans Hass, Jr.), a rebel against King James II. After the rebels are defeated, Harry is captured by agents of Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys (Christopher Lee), who defends the crown by accusing its enemies of witchcraft. Also a captive, Mary tries to save her lover by surrendering herself to the cruel Judge, who takes perverse sexual pleasure in sadistic torture. The film revels in displays of whipping, sex, and chained women, but is difficult to evaluate otherwise due to the numerous different versions available, some with alternate endings. One version has Jeffreys hanged, then taken down and beheaded, while another has him watching a hanging from a window while a narrator reads his death sentence. There is also a third ending in which Jeffreys makes a confession to Harry's father, the Earl of Wessex (Leo Genn), before suffering a fatal heart attack. Franco used the character again, this time portrayed by Cihangir Gaffari (aka John Foster) in his 1972 film Les Demons. Howard Vernon, who plays the cruel executioner Jack Ketch here, took a heroic role in the sequel. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

The Blood of Fu Manchu
The first of several collaborations between cult director Jesus Franco and British producer Harry Alan Towers, this horror-tinged adventure is full of jungle action, creative murders, and violent sexual sadism. Christopher Lee portrays the mysterious Asian madman Fu Manchu, plotting world domination from his secret headquarters underneath the Amazon rainforest. Fu has discovered a rare poison which affects only men, and uses it as lipstick for ten beautiful women, who are to deliver a kiss of death to each of 10 public officials. Carl Jansen (Gotz George) and Sir Denis Nayland Smith (Richard Greene), a pair of Scotland Yard detectives, track Fu Manchu to his underground hideout and -- with the aid of Dr. Ronald Petrie (Howard Marion Crawford) -- search for the antidote to the deadly poison. Lee's wooden performance is alleviated by an amusing turn by Ricardo Palacios as a revolutionary, and a beautiful female cast. Vicente Roca and Marcelo Arroita Jauregui also appear in this entertaining, if extremely sexist, fourth entry in the Fu Manchu series. Nude torture scenes and snake attacks are featured in some of the numerous prints, running 91, 88, 82, and 61 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

The Castle of Fu Manchu
This extremely low-budget adventure was director Jesus Franco's second Fu Manchu film for British producer Harry Alan Towers. Christopher Lee returns as the Asian madman, who has developed a way to turn the oceans into ice as part of his plan to rule the world. Kidnapping famed Prof. Herakles (Gustavo Re), Fu forces the doctor to help him with his diabolical plan. When Herakles' health starts to fail, Fu kidnaps two more people (Guenther Stoll, Maria Perschy) for a transplant operation at his Istanbul headquarters. Fu's old rivals Dennis Nayland Smith (Richard Green) and Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion Crawford) come to Turkey to foil his evil experiments. Rosalba Neri, Jose Manuel Martin, and Werner Abrolat co-star in this poor fifth installment in the popular series. The film is so poorly conceived that -- although it was made in color -- the shipwreck caused by Fu is actually a black-and-white scene borrowed wholesale from A Night to Remember. For completists only, this disastrous entry also stars Herbert Fuchs and Tsai Chin, while Franco makes a cameo as a Turkish detective. Various versions run 92, 86, and 85 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Circus of Fear
Based on an Edgar Wallace murder mystery this chiller centers on a Scotland Yard investigation of a series of puzzling deaths plaguing a traveling circus and the hunt for loot stolen from an armored car robbery. Suspects include the mask-wearing and disfigured lion tamer, a vengeful ringmaster, an insanely jealous knife-thrower, and a blackmailing dwarf called "Mr. Big." The film is also known as Circus of Fear. A German version was shot simultaneously with Psycho-Circus but used a different director. Though available in color in Great Britain, most of the American copies of the film are in black-and-white. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi