Blu-ray Review The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu/The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu – Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[t1g3r5fan]

First created by English novelist Sax Rohmer in 1913, the character and stories of Fu Manchu were not only popular with readers, but also generated controversy over accusations of racial stereotyping. However, that hasn’t stopped the character and his evil exploits from reaching the silver screen several times during the 20th Century; Boris Karloff (The Mask of Fu Manchu in 1932) and Christopher Lee (five films for producer Harry Alan Towers from 1965 to 1969) most notably incarnated the character, but it was Paramount Pictures and a Swedish actor named Warner Oland who first introduced American audiences to the character in three films – plus a cameo appearance in Paramount on Parade (1930) – in the early days of the Great Depression. Kino has licensed the first two movies – The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu and The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu – for their home video debut here.



The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929)



Released: 10 Aug 1929...

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[J. Casey]

I had these years ago on VHS purchased during a film convention in the early 80s. Those copies were probably from 16mm and were barely watchable. Seeing these in HD was a real treat. They hold up pretty well for films of their age (early talkies). There is some warpage, lots of negative (white) marks, but as Mychal says, it's a miracle that we get to see these at all. Great package!

 

[Ray Faiola]

While the films looked great I was very disappointed with the audio. Very heavy noise reduction was employed (there are a few moments where it was not and you can hear the radical difference) and nearly all the room tone was suppressed. I wish a more judicious approach to the clean up had been used.

 

[cda1143]

While the films looked great I was very disappointed with the audio. Very heavy noise reduction was employed (there are a few moments where it was not and you can hear the radical difference) and nearly all the room tone was suppressed. I wish a more judicious approach to the clean up had been used.

All too common these days. I wish more people were aware of this issue

 

[Robert Crawford]

While the films looked great I was very disappointed with the audio. Very heavy noise reduction was employed (there are a few moments where it was not and you can hear the radical difference) and nearly all the room tone was suppressed. I wish a more judicious approach to the clean up had been used.

All too common these days. I wish more people were aware of this issue

Unfortunately, I think most of us process visual anomalies much easier than we do audio discrepancies.