CIRCUS OF FEAR / FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS - Blue Underground (Blu-ray Review)

UK/1966, 1967
Directed By: John Moxey, Jeremy Summers
Written By: Peter Welbeck
Starring: Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski
Color/195 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: June 28, 2016

The Films
This pair of films based on the work of novelist Edgar Wallace each feature, appearances by the late great Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski. That was enough to get me excited about them, especially CIRCUS OF FEAR which is a film I've long wanted to see but the film and I never ended up at the same place at the same time. FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS was of less interest as the Harry Alan Towers produced spy film's I've seen don't really get my blood pumping but again, Lee and Kinski in the cast made it a must see.

CIRCUS OF FEAR is from 1966 and directed by John Moxey who is best known to me as the director of City Of The Dead aka Horror Hotel which is a brilliant gothic horror film from 1960 starring Christopher Lee. He would pair up with Lee once again here where an armored car heist leads London's detectives to a mysterious circus where a disfigured lion tamer (Christopher Lee) is one of several suspects in a series of accidents and murder but nobody is as innocent as they seem.

I enjoyed CIRCUS OF FEAR it's a well made crime mystery with a strong cast including Suzy Kendall, Margaret Lee Leo Genn and Klaus Kinski. There's enough action to keep things moving along at a comfortable pace and the plot is constantly thickening. The danger of the lions add an element of horror to the picture and there are a couple of more gruesome scenes that had been cut in some releases.

The film's mystery is quite obvious and there's little surprise to the big reveal that comes in the third act. The weak reveal doesn't hurt the picture too much thankfully as the movie is never more than just good. I'd never call the film great but it is an enjoyable watch from start to finish.

FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS is easily the more visually appealing of the two films. This Jeremy Summers (House of 1,000 Dolls, Vengeance Of Fu Manchu) stars Bob Cummings in what would be the former Hitchcock cast member's final feature film. Cumming stars as Bob Mitchell, a wealthy American playboy type (why they chose a rather washed up actor at the end of his career for this doesn't make sense to me) who is quickly thrown into a dangerous and life threatening situation between local mobsters and a group known as the Five Golden Dragons who hope to take over the world's economy without revealing their identities to each other until some grandiose ritual of key turning, box opening and gun shooting. It's up to Mitchell to reveal the identities of the Five Golden Dragons if he can survive long enough.

FIVE GOLEN DRAGONS is easily the more visually stimulating and appealing of the two films. Shot at Shaw Brothers' Studio in Hong Kong this film has a very exotic flavor filled with beautiful bikini clad women, boat chases and strikingly colorful costumes including the golden dragon masks. The visuals of FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS are its best asset as the writing is awful. The film is apparently a comedy because Bob Mitchell takes the entire thing as joke despite very real danger and attempts on his life he's laughing and joking throughout. That may be forgivable if the movie didn't have extremely out of place and down right bizarre music and sound cues that would fit more in a 3 Stooges slapstick act than a spy thriller.

On top of this the majority of the cast is given nothing to do, including Klaus Kinski who shows up every half hour for about 15 seconds and Christopher Lee who is relegated to taking off a mask and is given about 10 seconds of screen time. I like the art direction in this film but sadly that's about it.

The Audio & Video
Blue Underground makes sure you have no reason to search down any other version of these films as they've presented both films uncut with gorgeous 2K scans from the original negatives. Both films feature strong detail in textures, surfaces and especially in close-ups. The grain in wood and the fabric in clothing is immediately evident. Colors are faithfully reproduced from the darker and drearier CIRCUS OF FEAR to the far more bright and vivid color palette of Hong Kong and the costumes in FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS. The black levels are deep with no signs of blocking up and the more vibrant colors shine without bleeding or looking artificially enhanced. Each film features an English DTS-HD Mono mix that are free of any background noise or distortions. I feel that CIRCUS sounds slightly better with a more crisp and clear sound overall. There's nothing drastically wrong with DRAGONS audio but I don't think it was quite as crystal clear sounding to my ear which leads me to believe it has to do with how the audio was originally recorded.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with Director John Moxey on CIRCUS OF FEAR
-Theatrical Trailer Collection
-Poster and Still Galleries

The Bottom Line
Blue Underground's excellent presentation of these films is probably better than the films themselves but I found CIRCUS OF FEAR plus the appearances by Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski in both films to be enough to warrant a recommendation.


CIRCUS OF FEAR/FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS is available HERE

THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU/THE GIRL FROM RIO - Blue Underground (Blu-ray Review)

UK, Germany, Spain/1967, 1969
Directed By: Lindsay Shonteff, Jess Franco
Written By: Kevin Kavanagh, Harry Alan Towers
Starring: Shirley Eaton, Frankie Avalon, Richard Wyler
Color/173 Mintues/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Blu-ray

The Films
This double feature of films starring Shirley Eaton as the titular Sumuru who has plans to take over the world with her all femme army are a part of the kitschy, campy and colorful 1960s spy genre that was so heavily influenced by the James Bond films. A bit more for the cult or midnight film crowd than Bond may be, including a show stealing scene in THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU from Klaus Kinski, these are the textbook definition of the films that Mike Myers would go on to parody thirty years later in the Austin Powers trilogy.

I will admit that I'm not a big fan of spy films and that I don't particularly care for James Bond. To put it simply those films and I have never clicked. I've never felt any sort of longing to watch them or dig deeper into the genre and there's never been a kinship between us. When I sat down to watch these two films I did so with an open mind giving them the best shot I could. I thought at least THE GIRL FROM RIO was directed by Jess Franco so that had a fighting chance at being something I'd find enjoyable. I couldn't necessarily say the same about the first film as Frankie Avalon doesn't exactly get my blood pumping but upon sitting down and finishing both films I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying both.

The films are campy, with overacting, scripts full of action and sexy bikini clad villains who can't hit the broad side of a barn with a machine gun. They're imperfect and flawed throughout but they remain charming and simply enjoyable. They're colorful and fun - in a way the Frankie Avalon tie is almost poetic. For movies about taking over the world, with weapons that will turn you into a statue or cause your organs to rot slowly, to maximize the suffering of course, these movies are silly and lighthearted and they work because of it. I won't say I fell in love but I think this is a fun double feature despite the flaws of the films.

The Audio & Video
Blue Underground does a bang up job with the technical side of this release. Both features look very nice with a newly remastered transfer from the original negatives maintaining the original aspect ratios of 2.35:1 and 1.66:1 respectively. Detail levels are high from facial closeups to textures and surfaces such as clothing to walls and doors. Black levels are deep and inky while colors are bright and vivid without being artificially enhanced to "pop" more than they should. Skin tones are mostly very natural and healthy with only an instance or two of a waxy look. On the audio side of things, both films are presented with DTS-HD mono tracks and optional English subtitles. The tracks are crisp and clear with a steady and well done mix. The soundtrack enhances the film but doesn't become overbearing on the dialogue. There's no damage, distortions or background noise.

The Extras
Carried over from the previous DVD of THE GIRL FROM RIO is "Rolling In Rio" a featurette of interviews with director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers and star of both films Shirley Eaton. There's also trailers and still galleries.

The Bottom Line
These films have given me some hope that the spy genre may in fact hold some gems for me and if they're released in a high quality release such as this SUMURU double feature I'll be much less hesitant to give them a chance. Another job well done by Blue Underground.

The SUMURU Double Feature is available HERE

April Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2016 - Days 14, 15, 16

BLUE ICE... what a movie. I'm reviewing the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray tomorrow so be on the look out for that for my full thoughts but boy what a movie.

Oh hey, it's another movie I did a full review of for its Blu-ray release. Why don't you check out SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM right HERE!

Oh no... THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU and THE GIRL FROM RIO are next and they're also getting full reviews because Blue Underground is releasing them on Blu-ray later this month. Watch out for that review later this week.

Sorry guys, a lot of stuff I'm doing in depth reviews of so I don't want to waste all the good thoughts before they get their just due.