The Blood of Fu Manchu 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

Blue Underground’s exclusive new 4K restoration of The Blood of Fu Manchu is a major upgrade over the label’s old double-feature master and a clear step beyond the strong 2022 Indicator/Powerhouse 1080p presentation. In native 4K with Dolby Vision (and HDR grading), the image gains a convincingly organic texture with markedly better dynamic range, particularly in the darker cave material and sunlit exteriors. Fine detail is striking—skin pores, sweat, and facial stubble read with newfound clarity—while the color scheme is vividly rendered. Reds and greens run hot, but this aligns with the film’s 1960s palette rather than errant grading. Black levels are deeper than on the included 1080p Blu-ray, with more neutral flesh tones; occasional black crush lingers in the caves but is reduced versus earlier masters.

Across both the 4K disc and the new Blu-ray, the HDR pass is judicious, balancing highlights without pushing noise or artifacts, and there are no signs of intrusive digital cleanup. Shadow gradients show slightly more nuance than prior editions, alleviating the light crushing seen before, and the overall color reproduction in Dolby Vision surpasses the previous Region B-only release. The transfer looks “amazing” in 4K and remains impressive in 1080p, but the native 4K/Dolby Vision option delivers the most vibrant primaries, cleaner low-end, and the most stable, filmic presentation—benefits that scale notably on larger screens.

Audio on this 4K UHD (and the included Blu-ray) is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono. Optional subtitles are available in English SDH, Spanish, and French for the main feature. The lossless track is healthy and appears either newly remastered by Blue Underground or ported from the Indicator release; in practice, it sounds very similar. There’s no attempt at modern spatialization or a stereo alternative, but fidelity to the source is strong, with clean, intelligible dialogue and a track that honors the original mono character.

Effects are modest yet effective—gunfire from Sancho Lopez and horse hooves in the rain forest read clearly—but the mix lacks musical presence to flesh out the soundstage, and overall dynamic intensity is restrained. It does the job without the pomp and flair of contemporary surround mixes: simple at its core, faithful, and free of distracting artifacts, but ultimately limited by the film’s sparse scoring and inherently narrow mono design.

A robust, well-curated package. The 4K UHD hosts a new historian commentary and trailers; the Blu-ray repeats the commentary and adds substantial archival and newly produced supplements. Coverage is focused and contextual: Franco/Towers collaborations, Sax Rohmer origins, production history, and fan-friendly ephemera. The expanded gallery and full RiffTrax feature add strong replay value.

Extras included in this disc:

• Audio Commentary with Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson: New track on UHD and Blu-ray; Franco/Towers, Rohmer sources, strengths/weaknesses.
• International Trailer: Remastered; English; not subtitled; 3 min.
• U.S. Trailer: For Sax Rohmer’s Kiss and Kill; English; not subtitled; 2 min.
• Sanguine-Stained Celluloid: Stephen Thrower on Franco/Towers and production; English; not subtitled; 28 min.
• Poster & Still Gallery: Newly expanded; compiled by Gregory Chick; global posters, UK/US/German pressbooks, lobby cards, stills, video covers.
• RiffTrax Edition: Feature riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy; English; not subtitled; 77 min.
• The Rise of Fu Manchu: Archival; dir. David Gregory; Franco, Towers, Lee, Tsai Chin, Shirley Eaton; French/English; imposed yellow English subs; 16 min.
• Reversible Cover: Vintage poster art.

Jess Franco’s The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) is an original riff on Sax Rohmer, mounting a 1930s-serial-style world-domination plot in a South American jungle fortress. Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) and daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) weaponize an ancient poison—benign in women, lethal when transmitted by a kiss—dispatching ten carriers to assassinate global targets. Nayland Smith (Richard Greene) is blinded yet survives, then heads to the jungle with agent Carl Jansen (Götz George) and Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford) to find an antidote. Shot by Manuel Merino while Franco and producer Harry Alan Towers were concurrently juggling other projects in Brazil, the film notoriously borrows footage from The Girl from Rio—reportedly including Shirley Eaton—without permission, and even incorporated bonus material created for 99 Women. Lee’s imperious presence anchors the pulp, though his casting as a Chinese villain (delivered with a British accent) reads as period practice more than a fit.

Despite a brisk 94-minute runtime, the narrative feels overstuffed with detours—most notably a local bandit subplot (Richard Palacios) and the avenging Ursula (Maria Rohm)—that dilute momentum and character engagement. The exotic atmospherics, action beats, and occasional sleaze are pure Towers-era formula, but the film’s patchwork assembly and surplus subplots leave it the weaker of their collaborations. Still, the kiss-of-death conceit, jungle-lair theatrics, and serial cliffhanger energy deliver serviceable exploitation pulp for viewers attuned to Franco’s collage-like storytelling and the era’s cheeky villainy.

Jess Franco’s The Blood of Fu Manchu remains one of the series’ strangest entries—an international patchwork mounted as a 1930s-style serial. Christopher Lee’s imposing presence anchors the film and tempers its sleazier impulses; Franco’s sensibilities peek through, but Lee’s gravitas keeps it comparatively restrained. The eccentric casting mix—British villain, Chinese daughter, Spanish/Portuguese supporting players, and a German as the British agent—adds to the pulp charm. It isn’t the pinnacle of Fu Manchu (the 1932 Karloff title still looms large), but it’s a brisk, bizarre, and undeniably fun curio for devotees.

Blue Underground’s new 4K restoration is a clear, definitive upgrade over the label’s 2017 outing, with a clean, stable image and faithful presentation. Technical specifications: Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 HEVC; Audio English DTS-HD MA Mono; Subtitles English SDH, French, Spanish; Rated NR; Runtime 94 minutes; Studio Blue Underground; Blu-ray Release Date July 29, 2025. Credits: Directed by Jess Franco; Written by Jess Franco, Manfred R. Kohler, Sax Rohmer; Starring Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Rya Kihlstedt, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Tony Todd. The combo pack delivers a strong audio track and a notably generous slate of extras, rounding out a package tailored to collectors.

Conclusion: This is a presentation for the fans—an eccentric pulp adventure given its best home-video treatment to date. Blue Underground has effectively redeemed its prior release with a sharp 4K transfer, solid mono audio, and worthwhile supplements. Casual viewers may balk, but genre enthusiasts and exploitation aficionados should be pleased with this definitive edition.