Hello there. I'm a rather new fan of Mr Lee, and a fan of what he so elegantly dubs "Théâtre de la Fantastique"
I first saw him in the anthology "The House That Dripped Blood", and I must have been sufficiently impressed to then watch "Horror Of Dracula" (yes, I know I know) in which I found him very impressive. Since then, I've seen him in "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave" "The Wicker Man" "Curse Of Frankenstein" and "The Satanic Rites Of Dracula (Lee was the best thing in a bad movie there, along with Cushing). On the other hand, "The Wicker Man" has become one of my favourite films. There's few faults with it in fact, very few indeed. And while I cannot say I love everything I've seen him in (which isn't much yet) I can say that I've loved Lee in everything I've seen him in.
What I like about Lee (well, here I'll limit it to 'what I like about Lee as an actor'). As I have to rush off in a minute, here are two of the things that really stand out to me:
1. With his impressive height, unique voice and rather distinguished features I really admire the fact that despite his "villainous" appearance (and it's charming that way) he can very convincingly play anything from an innocent victim, to a heart of pure evil, to an ambiguous villain or a violent but sympathetic creature such as Kharis or the one created by Dr. Frankenstein. In short, while his looks may have made typecasting an option, he can clearly act well enough to avoid it.
2. In my opinion, he is a tremendously fine physical actor. In both speaking and non-speaking roles alike, everything from the way he steps to the movement of his hands conveys a hell of a lot. Very impressive. By extension this makes him brilliant at being violently killed onscreen, with a sheer dramatic flair in a way few could hope to match. In fact, I could quite happily watch him being killed all day and never get bored, and I mean this with the greatest respect. I could probably watch him do a lot of things all day.
Thank you very much for your
Thank you very much for your kind welcome. Apologies if I came across as slightly pompous - I was in a hurry and I do naturally write in that style, I had no time to edit it into a more normal text!
"The Whip And The Body" is the film I'm anticipating most of all - I've wanted to watch it very much for quite a while now. But since I saw Bava's earlier masterpiece "Black Sunday", I now regard Bava's films as too precious to view just anytime and anywhere, so I'm waiting until next week when my exams are over to watch it alone, in peace and without other pressures on a dark night.
Thanks again, and I must say
Thanks again, and I must say that the people at this site seem to be much more pleasant than some others I've been around on. So well done to all.
EDIT: Here's another thing I admire Mr Lee for (don't worry, there's plenty to come anyway). Being perhaps one of the most cowardly persons you could have the misfortune to be acquainted with, any man who has the courage to be his own stunt double has risen a few notches in my book.
Hello, Ariel, be welcome.
I agree with you that Mr. Lee is fantastic and he gives life to many films that, without him... I also have The Wicker Man as one of my favorite ones. Also Rasputin, The Whip and the Body (did you attend this?).
Well, I hope it continues with us in the place always bringing comments on Mr. lee
__________________
Isabel Cristina Forlin Alves