The man I grew up knowing as Dracula, Christopher Lee, is dead. Probably. I know most of you young whippersnappers probably think of him as Saruman or worse, Count Dooku, but I will tell you definitively that you are wrong, and everyone should know he was Dracula, most definitely.
Mostly, of course, he was a guy who brought some class and dignity to even the goofiest role.
Saruman…
A tragedy, yes. He was (is) an incredible actor.
No. His body shape is all wrong to be Sauron.
For some reason I sometimes think of him as Saruman, however.
It’s hard for me to keep those lesser roles straight.
Lesser roles? LESSER?!? He was the scariest of the movie adaptation characters, IMHO. Devious to a cell.
Tsss, you’Re wrong
He’s the voice of King Haggard, obviously.
Yes, he spoke the role both in English and in German and his teeensy tiny accent made it so much better. This small deviation from “normal”, so hard to put your finger on, so brilliant, so disturbing.
I really liked him in the original Wicker Man, too. It was reportedly his favorite role.
I sorrow at Mr. Lee’s passing. Not only a fine, compelling actor, but a scholar, and a veteran of the WW2 Special Operations Executive.
Just as badass in real life as his characters were, in movies.
Lee had a habit of slumming it sometimes; like being in The Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf, Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, or Gremlins 2. He was even in the horrid second* made-for-TV Captain America movie back in the late 70’s. Him being Count Dooku is far from the worst thing someone can remember of Lee.
* This is not to say the first one was any good. However, it may have been what Black Widow’s “Where did Captain America learn to steal a car?” question in The Winter Soldier was a reference to.
The Wicker Man, most definitely. Watching him gleefully burn a man to death in the name of religion — knowing that if the crops failed again, it would be his turn next year — is definitely one of the most terrifying moments ever put on film.
That said, Lee was Dracula before I even knew who Bela Lugosi was. Watching many of the old Hammer Horror films was probably one of the few reasons I enjoyed Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow– another film with Lee in it, even if a small role- since it had many of the qualities that studio employed.
Any eyes on his phylactery?
Thirding the Wicker Man recommendation.
And no, we don’t talk about ‘original’ such and so. There is only one. Albeit existing in 2 versions, both of which are recommended.
No! This can’t be true. He’s merely lying dormant in the vault beneath his castle, waiting for proper moment to rise again.
Scaramanga? Muhammad Jinnah? Elderly victim #1 of Burke and Hare in the acclaimed Pegg/Serkis film of the same name?
Or there’s always his series of Charlemagne metal albums…
I, too, am stuck at Saruman as his ultimate.
Wicker Man, I am now reconsidering, based on all the recommends here. I was previously dissuaded from WickerMan with words of [lots of 4 letter words] from persons I respect the opinions of. [ errrr … “…of whose opinions I respect.” (to get all grammar nazi on myself…)]
RIP Lee.
The Ring has passed on…
And his absolutely magnificent voice! I think I’d sit and listen to him read a friggin Macdonalds menu.
:(
@16 stevem
I presumably they were referring to the 2006 Wicker Man, I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about the 1973 Wicker Man.
Crip Dyke, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaiden
“I know most of you young whippersnappers probably think of him as Sauron or worse, Count Dooku,
No. His body shape is all wrong to be Sauron.
For some reason I sometimes think of him as Saruman, however.”
PZ Myers
“It’s hard for me to keep those lesser roles straight.”
Understandable mistake, even Saruman had difficulty thinking of the roles as different…
He was Sir Henry Baskerville in the best Sherlock Holmes film ever made.
Phonebook. The McD menu is way too short.
I remember the Wicker Man. A friend of mine was greatly amused by the confrontation with the visiting detective over the young women ceremonially jumping naked through a wood fire. The detective was a prude, shocked at their nakedness; Lee’s character replied “Well OF COURSE they’re naked. It would be DANGEROUS to leap through fire wearing clothes!”
Is no one going to mention Magneto? His little discussion with Patrick Stewart’s Xavier in X-Men was fantastic.
As he turns to leave, tipping his hat, “We are the future Charles, not them. They no longer matter.” One of the all-time greatest villain lines, gives me chills every time.
Travis Odom @23 – that’s Ian McKellen, who aten’t dead yet.
I’m so glad he lived. I never got round to listening to any of his heavy metal till today. A true polymath.
@9: I won’t hear a word said against Gremlins 2.
@25 robinjohnson
I think most people’s criticism of Gremlins 2 stems either from the fact they don’t like that it’s self-parody or that they don’t realize it’s self-parody…mostly the latter
So someone finally staked the King of Vampires…Peter Cushing can finally rest in peace.
I had noticed that over the past year or so he had finally started to look old, as opposed to that strangely ageless look he had for decades, so I’m not particularly surprised. I’m just grateful that he was around for as long as he was. So many great roles, so many fantastic stories–I’m partial to the “sound of stabbing a man in the back” one, of course, but the “heavy metal singer” bit and the “not bothering to say Dracula’s dialog in an entire movie” ones are classics too.
And who can forget Lee singing about the joys of alcohol in “Name Your Poison”?
Lord Summerisle will be missed. RIP
Rob Grigjanis
He was in that? Apparently it has been a (too) long time since i’ve seen that one, but of what I remember indeed a fantastic movie.
Dracula has Risen from the Grave (1968) will always be classic Hammer horror, with Lee doing great in his iconic role.
re 18 replied:
sorry. that “advice” I was given was long before 2006, so it had to refer to the ’73 version.
I admit, maybe I misinterpreted the criticism as not referring to the movie itself, but just describing their personal reaction to the movie, putting the events of the movie in horrific terms; not that the movie was horrific, just that it depicted horrific events, etc.
Like I said earlier, I am considring giving it a shot.
A wonderful actor, with such a well-deserved reputation and a record of achievement likely to last for a considerable time – with so many iconic images – fittingly, about as close as any human really gets to being eternally undead.
@31
Quite possible, the film is viscerally disturbing. Particularly the dénouement…creepy as fuuuuuuuuck
Christopher Lee had the same voice as my dad. I listened to him on the extras for the Lord of the Rings movies, after my father died, and it was somehow very comforting to hear that voice, those intonations, that way of speaking. I’m so glad I still have the DVDs.
robinjohnson at 25 and Matrim at 26- I know Gremlins 2 was a self-parody and like that about it. That’s the only thing putting it in the “so bad it’s good” territory. On the whole I like the movie, though my ribs do feel bruised a bit from all the “get it?”s by the end. Still, my point was if Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel trilogy was one’s idea of Lee’s worse roles or movies, there were plenty more out there that were pretty bad, even when compared to the PT.
End of an Era.
I just put “The King if Elfland’s Daughter” into the stereo. Another work that would have been much less without his voice!
The world just got a little less sexy.
I’m glad somebody already mentioned ‘Name Your Poison’ from The Return of Captain Invincible, where Lee as supervillain Mr. Midnight showed off his bar to the alcoholic superhero of the title. Lee obviously had great fun camping it up. The most memorable moment of an admittedly mediocre movie.
How is it possible everyone is overlooking Lee’s role as Count Rochefort, in David Lester’s Three Musketeers/Four Musketeers (1973)? He nailed the quintessential bad-ass evil henchman, conveying style, menace and. where needed, humor–and one hell of a good swordsman as well.
Ivanhoe. In the late 90s the BBC made a six-episode adaptation of Ivanhoe. It was quite good as these things go, and it did have about a dozen well-known and respected character actors in it, faces whom you’d recognise (well, at least if you grew up when and where I did). And then in about the fourth episode, the action is suddenly interrupted by this commanding voice from off-scene: Christopher Lee appearing as the head of the Knights Templar, who goes on to accuse pretty much everyone who matters of treason and/or witchcraft and who dominates the subsequent trials and politics. Lovely stuff.
This afternoon I had a tear in my eye when I read that Christopher Lee had died. A tear of blood…
Oh, look what some kind soul has done!
Arse. That could have gone better.
Rich Woods @40: Lee also appeared in the 1958 ITV series, starring Roger Moore as Ivanhoe.
He was a great actor with exceptional range, even if many people still associate him principally with slightly off-kilter theatrical fangs.
Another iconic actor has taken their last curtain call. It is a sad day.
@John Cryan
“How is it possible everyone is overlooking Lee’s role as Count Rochefort, in David Lester’s Three Musketeers/Four Musketeers (1973)? He nailed the quintessential bad-ass evil henchman, conveying style, menace and. where needed, humor–and one hell of a good swordsman as well.”
Oh yes! He will always be Rochefort to me. Best swordsman since Basil Rathbone. Lee is a life-long hero of mine. RIP
So it goes.
Poo tee weet.
I love the response he gave when asked about the “secret” of a long-lived marriage. “Marry someone wonderful.”
He had wanted to play Gandalf in a LOTR movie but knew he was too old to carry it off in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, so he settled for Saruman.
Lee was also in “Airport 77”, which was arguably the best of the “Airport” movies. He reportedly asked for the role because he had never worked with Jack Lemmon before and wanted to, which says something about him as a person.
I’m going to embarrass myself now by mentioning DiZ/Ansem the Wise in Kingdom Hearts 2. It’s far from the perfect game, but I gotta say, when Disney decides to get you some voice actors they get you some voice actors.
And let us not forget “Ship’s Vampire” in THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN! Damn, but that man could rock a cape!
He was also Death in ‘The Color of Magic’, based on Terry Pratchetts’ book. So maybe he’s just moved on to a new role.
Bela Lugosi was the best. When I was young, the novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker was one of my favorites and the only one that actually scared me. Other than the Bible of course.
The man also had four heavy metal albums of his own under the name Charlemange, earning him the title of the world’s oldest metal performer.
So sad. An incredible voice, and a very charismatically evil presentation in pretty much every role. Even Count Dooku.
He was never really alive you know so how can he be dead? Horror of Dracula is the best, evil personified and so bloody charming!
Aside from doing Dracula in many films Lee also did Fu Manchu in 5 films in the 1960s. other people have mentioned that Lee slummed in some of his roles for a paycheck. The Fu Manchu films had Lee do what was called “yellowface” and despite Lee’s truly deliciously evil performances it is more than a tad embarrassing.
^ At least one of those films is really funny from today’s perspective. At the very end, Fu Manchu hides out in some kind of Tibetan monastery. The good guys – two white male British detectives – blow the whole thing up. The first fireball has half the volume of the building; the second about twice that of the building; I can’t remember if there’s a third and even bigger one. And then Fu Manchu’s face takes up the upper half of the screen and says: “You’re wrong again, Mr Smith! I, Dr Fu Manchu, LIVE!”