My Best Fiend (Apologies to Werner Herzog)
Oct 3rd, 2008 | By Rick | Category: News & Comment
Look at him: he looks like a kindly uncle, or a wise older mentor, the kind of guy you can go to for advice about girls or what all the best people are reading, or fine wine. But then, you start looking a little closer: the jet-black eyes with the vaguely fanatical sheen. The set of the mouth, in a solid, even cruel line. And you begin to suspect that maybe he’s not so gentle, maybe there are a few demons hiding under the hood.
But nothing in that image prepares you for this:
There, that’s better …
In fact, few actors embody the horror zeitgeist more thoroughly than Christopher Lee. If you go to Wikipedia, — to a special page “Christopher Lee Filmography,” no less — you’ll see that since 1958, the great majority of his projects have been horror or science fiction. Things like The Hands of Orlac (1960), The City of the Dead (1960) (aka Horror Hotel) and, of course, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965).
But of all the things he’s known for, the tops in my book are the Hammer Dracula flicks, beginning in 1958 with Dracula (released as Horror of Dracula here in the States) and continuing with six more: Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula AD 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973).
Lee is still kickin’ and making movies. Over at his IMDB page, it lists six projects in various stages of pre/post/production for the 86-year-old (!) actor. One of these has the best title I’ve seen in a while: Cowboys for Christ, described as “Director Robin Hardy’s reimagining of his eerie 1973 film, The Wicker Man.” Hmmm …
Nowadays, he’s best known to a new generation of sci-fi geeks as Saruman in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy and as the idiotically-named “Count Dooku” in George Lucas’ equally-idiotic Star Wars prequels. Hope he got paid a lot.
And now, behold the glory that is Christopher Lee!
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And oh Lord, that voice. I don’t know what he had to do to get those pipes, but whatever it was, I’ll do it, too.
As a PS - Cowboys for Christ started off as a novel by Hardy, which you can pay too much for to get a used copy of on-line (at least, it costs too much on Amazon). My understanding is that the novel has similar themes to The Wicker Man, but isn’t a “re-imagining”. At the same time, I remember Hardy trying to get another movie made that was also referred to as a re-imagining, to star Lee, called May Day, but that one has dropped off IMDB. So I don’t know. Maybe Hardy decided to go with his original novel title, but Cowboys for Christ and May Day are really the same thing.
And another thing…I really need to write a post about The Wicker Man some time. I have much to say about that film. Rick, I saw you refer to yourself once as a “man of the cloth”? Were you being serious? If so, I’d be very curious to know your take on that film.
Bill — Yes, the voice … I hope it’s natural, and it wasn’t because he screwed it up with cigarettes or something … but whatever it was, it was probably worth it … and look, he’s 86-years old this year, so it hasn’t killed him yet.
And yes, I’m a Presbyterian (U.S.A.) pastor. (we’re the liberal ones). I don’t make a big deal out of that around here, because if folks know, it alters their perceptions of me and my work. I’d just as soon be judged by what I write and say, and not by some preconceived notions of what pastors think or don’t think.
And as soon as I watch The Wicker Man, I’ll let you know. It’s on my Netflix list. Maybe we can do a cross-blog review of it or something. I’d like to do more of that multi-blog kind of thing.
I’d be up for that. Let me know when you’ve seen it, and we can work something out. The thing is, I love The Wicker Man, but I think it’s often misunderstood even by those who also love it. It’s a fascinating movie.
Bill –
Are you talking the original or the remake?
Oh, the original. The remake…well, let’s call it misguided.
The other day I was watching “The Magic Christian” with my brother, and he was pretty amazed (and amused) when he realized that one of the characters wasn’t an actor imitating Christoher Lee, but Mr. Lee himself playing the vampire in a parodic vein… Come to think, there was a time when films could afford such luxuries.
That’s true … they don’t seem to do as much of that as they used to. Maybe because there aren’t as many “big” personalities around, so nobody to do self-parody
I’ve never seen “The Magic Christian” … might have to check it out.
I don’t know how to exactly describe it, but I could say it’s a very-very sixty/seventies (therefore a bit psichedelyc) film about a wealthy anarcho-capitalist played by Peter Sellers, who teams up with Ringo Starr to sabotage British Society, Arts and Sport. Pre-Monty Python John Cleese and Graham Chapman are also appearing (and collaborating in the script)
Plot-wise, is sketchy, but has some brilliant gags. It’s sort of Buñuelesque, for a British film.
there’s a good number of big names doing cameos there: Lee is one of them, and I’m not mentioning more people as I could be spoiling something (as some cameos are uncredited)
Yeah, I’ve always heard that the film is a hoot, but somehow just have never gotten around to it. Gotta get hold of it and see it.