Fu Manchu Double Feature: The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu / The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu Blu-ray

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Fu Manchu Double Feature Blu-ray

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930)

THE MYSTERIOUS DR. FU MANCHU (1929) – The diabolical doctor makes his talkie film debut in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu, based on the first book in Sax Rohmer’s classic series. During the Boxer Rebellion, Dr. Fu Manchu, deviously played by Warner Oland (Charlie Chan in Paris), saves the life of little Lia Eltham; but soon after, his own wife and child are killed by the allied troops. He takes revenge by hypnotizing the now grown Lia, played by screen great Jean Arthur (A Foreign Affair), to do his evil bidding. The world’s most notorious supervillain is born in this Pre-Code chiller from director Rowland V. Lee (Tower of London). Co-starring Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon of TV’s Batman) as Dr. Jack Petrie and O.P. Heggie (The Bride of Frankenstein) as Inspector Nayland Smith.

THE RETURN OF DR. FU MANCHU (1930) – The fiendish Dr. Fu is back with a vengeance in The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, as the evil criminal genius continues his campaign of cruelty on the foggy moors of the English estate where Lia Eltham and Dr. Jack Petrie are set to marry. Director Rowland V. Lee (Son of Frankenstein) returns along with Warner Oland (Charlie Chan’s Secret), Jean Arthur (Easy Living), O.P. Heggie (The Count of Monte Cristo) and Neil Hamilton (Tarzan the Ape Man) for this sequel that’s more menacing, more exciting and more bloodcurdling than the first.

Posters and one Book Cover

Theatrical Release: August 10th, 1929 - May 2nd, 1930

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu: 1:21:43.500 The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu: 1:13:26.208
Video	The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu: 1.19:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 43,283,348,856 bytes Feature: 22,038,159,360 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.91 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu: 1.19:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 43,283,348,856 bytes Feature: 19,574,366,208 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.90 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu Blu-ray:
Bitrate The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1957 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1957 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentaries by Tim Lucas • Trailers Blu-ray Release Date: June 14th, 2022 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 8 / 8

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (June 2022): Kino have transferred an early Fu Manchu Double Feature with 1929's talkie The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (only the sound version exists today) and 1930's The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu on one dual-layered Blu-ray. Both may be making their debut on digital. The image is fraught with frequent marks, speckles and light scratches that are present on most frames. There is a bit of warping and the overall HD presentation is subject to the surviving elements. The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu is a shade superior and both have decent grain although contrast flickering is evident. I don't mean to be too critical of the image which is mostly a function of the film's age and source condition - both are highly watchable for those forgiving of the, understandable, image production limitations - which 1080P can actually exemplify with its high resolution.

NOTE: We have added 100 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Neither film has impactful bass although there is a battle sequences in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu. The first film has a score by Oscar Potoker (Blonde Venus), with none credited for The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu. Being very early talkies the audio quality is, predictably, rough with muffled dialogue - audible but scattered although no definitive drop-outs that I noticed. Like the video quality of Return this is also a small notch ahead being somewhat clearer. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentaries for both films by Tim Lucas. He discusses the lesser known director Rowland V. Lee, he couldn't find any information on The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu ever playing on TV and states that this Blu-ray set marks the first time either film has made it to home video (which I believe is true!) He talks about the Sax Rohmer books - of which he is a fan - discussing the author, the banning of them in Germany, and differences form the novels to film adaptations. He identifies Joseph L. Mankiewicz's surviving intertitles, Jean Arthur and her 'heart-melting' voice and 'better film side', Fu Manchu's hypnotic powers and much more. He pauses and lets certain scenes run, reads newspaper review comments of the era admitting there is almost nothing about these films in print (books) citing the absence in many examples. He states that The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu is the first feature length horror film sequel and how it repeats about 1/2 the cast of The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu. Tim finishes with a promise; "The world shall hear from me again" in an echoed effect. We hope so! Excellent work from Mr. Lucas - a very valuable attribute of this Blu-ray. There are also trailers but none for either film.

The strong theme of these Fu Manchu pairings is a personal vendetta for "killing all descendants of those who killed my wife" by the once humanitarian Doctor Fu Manchu. He skillful utilizes poison, blow darts, and hypnosis to that end making for two cracking early thrillers. While officially "Pre-Code" - it's only distinguishable in the adult-vein by the often ruthless Dr.'s methods and Jean Arthur's revealing gown in one scene of The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (hubba, hubba.) I had never seen either of these Fu Manchu films - which may be the same as many of you - and the Kino Blu-ray with both vintage era productions and King Lucas commentaries are highly recommended!