Christopher Lee

  • Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

    Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, May 2021) It’s amusing that the then-modern Dracula A.D. 1972 is now retro-dated even in its title, but let’s not underestimate both the concept of letting Dracula loose in then-hip times, and the fun of being able to travel back to the 1970s thanks to a film meant to be cutting-edge. The intention from Hammer Studios was to update their series of Dracula movies by moving it to the present and reboot the franchise. It sort-of-worked in that Dracula (Christopher Lee) here infamously meets hippies, and that it helped launch another film in Hammer’s Dracula series: The Satanic Rites of Dracula. Alas, that next film ended up being the nail in the series. But time has generally been kind to Dracula A.D. 1972: What was then a cash-grabbing novelty courting young viewers is now about as exotic as a Victorian-era Hammer horror movie, the kind of film that would feel like a period homage if it was done today. It’s still very basic when it comes to plot — don’t expect much here in terms of filmmaking quality or story refinements. Nearly all of its interest comes from the early-1970s atmosphere and the dislocation of seeing a Victorian monster rampaging through post-Swinging Sixties London. But that’s more than good enough.

  • Moulin Rouge (1952)

    Moulin Rouge (1952)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, December 2020) There is a particular charm to the way Hollywood used to make biopics – a mixture of caricature, big stars in famous people’s roles, mannered filmmaking and some very specific idea of what a “prestige” picture could be. So it is that in Moulin Rouge, we head to late 19th-century Paris to learn about the life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as played by José Ferrer. The attraction to the topic should be obvious: Toulouse-Lautrec was a genius and a tortured man – physically stunted due to a childhood accident, unlucky in love, spectacularly alcoholic and perpetually living close to poverty. He incarnated much of what many people imagine when they think about troubled artists in the 1890s. For 178cm Ferrer, taking on the role of 152cm Toulouse-Lautrec meant undergoing a physical transformation and making good use of unusual filmmaking techniques such as trenches, fake knees and body doubles. Then there’s the visual attraction of the topic: It would have been unthinkable, even in the 1950s, to shoot Moulin Rouge in anything but colour. The musical numbers are, of course, very can-can: I strongly suspect that most of what we think of as being the aesthetics of the Moulin Rouge (or that period), including the 2001 version of Moulin Rouge!, can be traced back to this film. Absinthe shows up (naturally), as do dark stockings and garter pants. The character of Toulouse-Lautrec perfectly fits the colourful, seedy, exhilarating world created here: Director John Huston knew what he was doing, and the result is a film that deserved its Academy Award nominations. Ferrer is quite good, and there are other known names, such as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in the cast. The 2001 Moulin Rouge! (which doesn’t share much than the title and the setting) is one of my favourite movies of all time, but this 1952 title is perfectly likable in its own way.

  • The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

    The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, October 2020) Hammer horror and Peter Cushing take a swing at Sherlock Holmes’ classic story in the 1959 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles… and generally succeeds. Making quite a few updates to the narrative, the film nonetheless lets Cushing realize a long-held dream of playing Holmes, bringing along an impeccable understanding of the character. At his side, André Morell plays Watson as a real, competent character. (And there’s Christopher Lee in a supporting role!) Compared to the Basil Rathbone films, the colour cinematography brings Holmes into a more modern era, with the patina of foggy horror that the Hammer films perfected. The least faithful aspect of the production is its lack of adherence to the original short story, but that’s absolutely not to the film’s detriment—in fact, the added attraction of having a little bit of Hammer Horror thrown into a Holmes story adds considerably to the film’s distinctiveness. It’s all quite watchable, although I would only recommend the result to those who are both Holmes and Hammer fans in order not to get false expectations. It’s a shame that the Holmes Hammer series did not continue beyond this initial instalment—Cushing is good, and the horror-infused take is distinctive.

  • Dracula aka Horror of Dracula (1958)

    Dracula aka Horror of Dracula (1958)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On Cable TV, November 2019) Every myth must be refreshed with new blood at some point, and if I’ve got my history of vampire movies right, the 1958 version of Dracula reinvigorated the Dracula character at just the right moment. Anchored by Christopher Lee, this Dracula updates the character made familiar by Bela Lugosi in the 1931 classic by making him sadder and sexier—clearly leaning into the subtext of the Stoker novel. As a result, modern iconic representations of Dracula tend to pick liberally between both Lee and Lugosi. Not a bad result for what was intended as a low-budget exercise from the legendary Hammer Film Productions. The story is streamlined (perhaps to excess) in order to fit within 90 minutes, lending it an unusually rapid pace for those who are familiar with the original novel. This Dracula’s longevity probably owes much to it being in Technicolor, hence accessible to broader audiences. It does strike me that variations on Stoker’s public-domain novel are now as close to a standard repertory text, fit to be appreciated for its variations from the original text. Curiously, the broadcast French dub that I saw alternated back to the original English—not a bad thing, considering Lee’s wonderful voice.

  • The Wicker Man (1973)

    The Wicker Man (1973)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Criterion streaming, August 2019) When I set out to watch the original version of The Wicker Man, I was expecting a sombre backwoods horror thriller far more serious than the bonkers 2006 Nicolas Cage remake.  But this original quickly proved itself just as mad once the lame musical numbers began. Not only musical numbers, but early 1970s folk musical numbers, which is enough to make anyone retch in disgust. Much of the film remains silliness piled upon silliness, as the dumbest policeman in the world meets the most obviously sinister village in the world and can’t help but make himself a target of their underhanded tricks. I’d pay some money for an alternate version in which a SWAT team takes down the village … but until then we’re stuck with a self-righteous cop with little sense of self-preservation. Much of The Wicker Man has aged exceptionally poorly, and I’m not talking about the infamous ending that everybody can see coming thanks to the rise of the folk-horror genre. No, the film is locked in its early 1970s origins (there’s quite a bit more nudity than I expected) and in no small measure to the wave of Hammer horror films that ran on promise more than execution. But for all of my reluctance to say anything nice about film, it does have a few things going for it: The scenery is nice, the tone is slightly more serious than the even-dumber remake, Christopher Lee does have a memorable role, and the film’s last five minutes do have a few good lines and moments (specifically the “you’re the next sacrifice” curse and then the “you get to be a martyr!” response) that suddenly elevate the film above the smothering silliness. I have a thoroughly mixed reaction to The Wicker Man, but remove the last ten minutes and my reaction is far more definitive … and significantly lower.

  • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

    The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Blu Ray, September 2018) Roger Moore’s second outing as James Bond isn’t particularly good, clearly showing how the producers didn’t yet understand how to best use Moore’s debonair natural charm. The Man with the Golden Gun doesn’t manage to control its comedic impulses, sometimes trying to bring back the written Bond’s violence and at other times going way too far in silliness. It starts with a disappointing theme song that can’t manage to do honour to its fantastic signature riff (à la Live and Let Die) with on-the-nose silly lyrics and a weak vocal performance. The odd thing about the film is that it does have undeniable strengths: Moore is naturally likable, Scaramanga is a fantastic idea for a villain, Christopher Lee is exceptional as the antagonist and the corkscrew jump two thirds through the film is easily one of the most spectacular shots in Bond history. Alas, each one of those aspects is undermined by filmmakers who don’t quite understand how to showcase their assets: Bond is too often unnecessarily aggressive or rough, Scaramanga’s build-up isn’t matched by the third act, Christopher Lee isn’t given much to do, and the stunt is accompanied by a stupid slide whistle sound (and wrapped in dumb dialogue between Bond and one of the worst characters in the series), deflating the impact of the shot. The entire film is like that: Bond Girl Britt Ekland makes a strong first impression as a Foreign Service agent able to verbally spar with Bond, then devolves into an idiotic damsel-in-distress throughout the movie. The film’s third act sputters through an anticlimactic duel and a butt-activated solar death ray. Even the film’s attempt to cash on the early-seventies kung fu craze (after doing its best with Blaxploitation in the previous instalment) feels like an extraneous afterthought with an incredibly dumb payoff. I still have some enduring sympathy for the Moore-era Bonds because that’s when I first encountered the series (between Moonraker and For Your Eyes Only), but my patience was sorely tested with The Man with the Golden Gun—In fact, I almost snapped at the film’s iteration of the series’ frankly insulting seduction plot device. At least there’s a bit of a bedroom farce to take the edge off, but despite the winged cars, exotic trips through Southeast Asia and the great idea of using the Queen Mary wreck as a secret base, The Man with the Golden Gun is just frustrating. Fortunately, the next instalments of the series would learn how to best use Moore’s specific take on the character.