The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection

NB: Disk 3 "Crypt Of The Vampire" er låst til sone A, og krever sonefri Blu-ray-spillerHe remains one of the most beloved horror/fantasy icons in US/UK pop culture history, but Christopher Lee delivered several of the most compelling, acclaimed and bizarre performances of his entire career in 1960s Europe. THE EUROCRYPT OF CHRISTOPHER LEE brings together five of these Lee classics - the 1964 gothic shocker CRYPT OF THE VAMPIRE; the 1964 cult hit CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD co-starring an unknown Donald Sutherland; 1962's celebrated SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE; 1967's lurid favorite THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM and the rarely-seen 1963 oddity CHALLENGE THE DEVIL - with the 24 surviving episodes of the 1971 Film Polski anthology series THEATRE MACABRE hosted by Lee, all remastered from original negative materials with over 10 hours of trailers, rare promos, audio commentaries & vintage interviews, plus the CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD soundtrack and an all-new 88-page book by Lee biographer Jonathan Rigby.DISC 1: THE CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD (1964) Region FreeIn the final film of his early ‘60s European period,Christopher Leestars as a 19thcentury Count who invites a theatrical troupe for a weekend of horrors that boasts an enthusiastically creepy performance by Lee, startling locations in Lazio, Italy’sOrsini-OdescalchiCastle and ‘Park of the Monsters’,second-unit direction byMichael Reeves(WITCHFINDER GENERAL) and the screen debut ofDonald Sutherlandas both a doofus gendarme and a hunchbacked hag.Philippe Leroy(THE NIGHT PORTER) andJacques Stany(VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN’S PRISON) co-star in this 1964 French-Italian co-production from American producerPaul Maslansky– who would go on to produce DEATH LINE and the POLICE ACADEMY movies – and fellow expat writer/directorWarren Kiefer– after whom Sutherland would name his son –now scanned in 4K from the Italian negative for the first time ever.DISC 2: CHALLENGE THE DEVIL AKA KATARSIS (1963) Region FreeIn the most obscure film of his early ‘60s Italian period – if not his entire career –Christopher Leestars in this brilliantly bizarre combination of neo-realist crime thriller, tawdry Christian melodrama, fizzy cabaret musical and trippy gothic horror, culminating in a gang of bongo-crazed delinquents menaced by a white-haired Lee as a sinister Victorian who may be Satan himself.George Ardisson(HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD) stars in this staggering 1963 oddity that marked the sole screen credit of writer/directorGuiseppe Vegezzi, who attempted suicide shortly before its release. Also known as KATARSIS and little-seen for over 50 years, it is nowscanned in 2K from the Italian negative for the first time ever.DISC 3: CRYPT OF THE VAMPIRE (1964) Region AIn a lavish gothic shocker inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu’s immortal novellaCarmilla,Christopher Leedelivers a rare ‘hero’ turn as nobleman Count Karnstein whose foreboding castle teems with ancestral curses, unnatural desires, philosophical hunchbacks and grisly acts of vengeance.Adriana Ambesi(FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD) co-stars in this 1964 Spanish-Italian co-production – also known as TERROR IN THE CRYPT and CRYPT OF HORROR – directed byCamillo Mastrocinque(AN ANGEL FOR SATAN) asThomas Miller&Robert Spaffordfrom a screenplay by giallo masterErnesto Gastaldi(ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK) asJulian Berryand Sergio Leone protégéTonino Valerii(MY NAME IS NOBODY) asRobert Bohr, now featuringa 2k scan from a fine-grain 35mm master print.DISC 4: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE (1962) Region FreeShortly after their hit collaboration on THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES,Christopher Leeand directorTerence Fisher(HORROR OF DRACULA) returned to Holmesiana for Lee’s sole feature film portrayal of the world’s greatest detective. Shot in Berlin with Hammer regularThorley Waltersas Dr. Watson, Lee considered it to be “one of the best things I’ve ever do