Actor Discussion #2: Christopher Lee

[samuelrichardscott]

General opinions? Best performances? Worst performances?

[Achim]

I really like Christopher Lee. I have not seen all that many films with him, although some I might just not remember as having him in it (like some of the Hammer films I saw as a teenager).

My favorite performance(s) of his is/are, how predictable, in Horror of Dracula and Prince of Darkness. His best might be in The Wicker Man, at least I believe that's what he likes to think himself. Worst will probably be in one of the countless horror movies he appeared and only few people ever heard of

[Dragonfire]

I like him.  I know I've seen him in several...I just can't remember all of them.
I liked him in the few Hammer Dracula movies I've seen.  I have a few more to watch.  I'm pretty sure I've seen him in other Hammer horror too...maybe a Frankenstein. 

[Tom]

I have to admit that I only know him from Gremlins 2, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Star Wars movies.
I am not sure if I ever saw him as Dracula.

[Silence_of_Lambs]

I am not sure if I ever saw him as Dracula.

Now this is something to be posted in the   - thread.

It's like stating to not have seen Sean Connery as James Bond

[Tom]

As a kid I saw some Dracula movies. I am not sure if there was one with Christopher Lee that I saw. Since then I only saw the one with Gary Oldman and the one with Leslie Nielsen 

Edit: If we are currently on the topic of Dracula movies. There was one that I saw as a kid, where you get transformed to a vampire if you are bitten three times by the same vampire. The movie ends with the girl and Dracula flying away as bats. But I didn't seem to find out which movie this was.

[addicted2dvd]

I tend to enjoy him in whatever I see him in. But I haven't seen as many of his titles as I would like to. Especially his Hammer Horror titles. Below is a list of titles I have for him... The titles in bold I haven't had the chance to watch yet.

- 100 Years of Horror (Host)
- Captain America 2: Death Too Soon
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Circus of Fear
- Corpse Bride
- Count Dracula and his Vampire Bride
- The Golden Compass
- Gremlins 2
- Howling 2
- Jocks
- The Last Unicorn
- The Longest Day
- The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
- Sleepy Hollow
- Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
- The Satanic Rites of Dracula
- The Wicker Man

Going by the titles I have seen... I enjoy his work quite a bit.

[Silence_of_Lambs]

Edit: If we are currently on the topic of Dracula movies. There was one that I saw as a kid, where you get transformed to a vampire if you are bitten three times by the same vampire. The movie ends with the girl and Dracula flying away as bats. But I didn't seem to find out which movie this was.

Rings a bell.
If it had a comedy-aspect it might be "Love at First Bite". Can't recall the end right now, but the three bites are definitely true for this one.

[samuelrichardscott]

Edit: If we are currently on the topic of Dracula movies. There was one that I saw as a kid, where you get transformed to a vampire if you are bitten three times by the same vampire. The movie ends with the girl and Dracula flying away as bats. But I didn't seem to find out which movie this was.

Can't think of this one myself though in the Stoker novel, Mina is bitten several times (IIRC), so that opens up a lot of possibilities.


As a Hammer Horror fan, Christopher Lee will always hold a big place in movie history for me, though I have to agree with his own views and say The Wicker Man is likely his best performance. Like with any horror actor, he has succumbed to allowing second rate movies to cash-in on his name every now and again with little cameos which is a shame, but it great to see that after all these years and over 250 items in his filmography, he is still getting roles in titles like The Hobbit. One of the roles he revisited several times was that of Fu Manchu, but so far, I seem to have not stumbled across the best of that long series (though Lee was only Fu Manchu for a few).

[Jon]

It was almost criminal how he was used (or not, to be more precise) in The Resident. I appreciate Hammer may be doing shite like that to shore up their resurgence proper with The Woman In Black (hopefully), but reducing the great Christopher Lee to such a cheap role is unforgivable.

His classic Hammer work is fantastic. I must watch those again. And the Wicker Man of course. Surprised no-ones mention Lord Of The Rings yet, as I thought he was excellent as Saruman.

[addicted2dvd]

Edit: If we are currently on the topic of Dracula movies. There was one that I saw as a kid, where you get transformed to a vampire if you are bitten three times by the same vampire. The movie ends with the girl and Dracula flying away as bats. But I didn't seem to find out which movie this was.

Can't think of this one myself though in the Stoker novel, Mina is bitten several times (IIRC), so that opens up a lot of possibilities.


As a Hammer Horror fan, Christopher Lee will always hold a big place in movie history for me, though I have to agree with his own views and say The Wicker Man is likely his best performance. Like with any horror actor, he has succumbed to allowing second rate movies to cash-in on his name every now and again with little cameos which is a shame, but it great to see that after all these years and over 250 items in his filmography, he is still getting roles in titles like The Hobbit. One of the roles he revisited several times was that of Fu Manchu, but so far, I seem to have not stumbled across the best of that long series (though Lee was only Fu Manchu for a few).

The Wicker Man is the one movie of his I have that I just can not stand! I was given the remake... so I am hoping that I will like it much more then the original. With my tastes and a movie such as this... that is a fairly good possibility. Here is where I reviewed my viewing of The Wicker Man.

[samuelrichardscott]

I love the original, and your review makes me hurt a little inside ( ) but everyone has different tastes. I can see why you might like the remake more, but even if the original wasn't there to compare it with, the Cage version would still be pretty bad. I gave the original 4.5/5 and the remake 1.5/5

[Jon]

The Wicker Man is the one movie of his I have that I just can not stand!

Fair enough. Horses for courses, etc.

I was given the remake... so I am hoping that I will like it much more then the original. With my tastes and a movie such as this... that is a fairly good possibility.

There's no need for that!   Even if you don't like the original, it deserves more respect than having the remake be considered a viable alternative. This isn't some random, run-of-the-mill horror. It's a milestone.

[addicted2dvd]

  I had a feeling that would get a bit of a rise out of people. But hey... got to remember. This is coming from the guy that actually liked Omen IV! 

[samuelrichardscott]

I got an ex to do the dancing naked scene once... just felt weird.