Christopher Lee was born in London, England in 1922 and since that time has had a prolific career as an actor for over 6 decades. But it’s his roles in the Hammer Studios horror films from the 1950’s through the 1970’s that have earned him a permament place in horror cinema history. Recently Mr. Lee spoke with Grace Wong for CNN about the current state of horror films calling them “obscene”.
Here are some highlights from the article:
“I find it quite nauseating what they do,” Lee told CNN. “The blood is all over the screen like an avalanche — the mutilation — dreadful things, and I just don’t enjoy that.”
What I believe he is referring to is what has come to be known as “torture porn” that includes films like Hostel and the Saw series. To learn more about torture porn read this article.
Though Lee is approaching the age of 90 he is still acting. He has a starring role in the upcoming film The Resident alongside Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Lee will also be reprising his role as Lord Summerisle in a reimagining of The Wicker Man, titled The Wicker Tree due out in 2010. Lee has this to say about The Wicker Man:
But he considers 1973’s “The Wicker Man” “the best picture I’ve ever done.” The role was written for him and remains his favorite.
“They didn’t have to look for me to play the part; they wrote the part for me,” which doesn’t happen very often, he said.
In closing he says this about his career:
“Well,” he said. “What else would I do?”
You can read the rest of the interview with Christopher Lee here.
Lee is spot-on with his criticism of today’s horror movies.
I never met Christopher Lee, i was just lucky has on his own website which is run by his daughter and son in law you could order this DVD of the trilogy of Lord of the Rings, in which 12 lucky members of his fanclub could have has prizes this DVD signed the unlucky ones just got the DVD unsigned. Going to Dracula;s Castle in Transylvania in 1974 was a expierence i never throught i would encounter, from the outside it looked like a 17th century chateau but inside was fill of armour, gold and silver dinning room tableware like gold plates, silver globes etc with marvellous precious gems on the candle holders etc a very wealthy guy. well his servants lived down in the cold concrete basement where he kept his vintage wines. we started in the morning for this trip to avoid the hot midday sun, by the time we reached the Carpathian mountains the sun was setting and it wasn't cold as nightfall was approaching we thats the other hotel guests felt unsettled the tour operator told us that we should take our cardigans etc because has we are at the bottom of the mountain its fine but you will feel a sudden drop in the air temperatures when we reach the summit, well silly us thats my parents and brother including myself we didn't bring one, the top felt spooky no wonder all of us felt uneased, we were not allowed to film or take photos in or out of the surrounding grounds. the wolves in the hilltops were howling it felt just as if hammer productions were here with there sound crew, we were assured the wolves would not be near us to cause concern, the the tour operator was right, the air was like a cold frosty night. i played a rotten trick on my brother i disguised my voice and spoke like Gary Oldman saying those famous words “Ah children of the night what sweet music they make.” my brother nearly wet himself. the mad man Dracula impaled people outside his ground the locals called him Vlad the impaler. maybe that's why Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle got his idea from instead of impalent lets make it as if he is drinking there blood, the place was eerie, Christopher Lee in his DVD documentry is a real film to see. the Carpathian's even mentioned to Christopher by saying the side view his features look like Vlad the impaler. he mentioned this with photos of images in his autobiography called “Tall, Dark and Gruesome. the castle is worth a visit i recommend it. If i get to save up for a holiday i would go there again. The Romanian's are very hospitable folk and they seem to live still in stuperdicious surroundings and still believe in the dark ages.
I love Christopher Lee, it's cool that you got to meet him. What was Dracula's home in Transylvania like?
I never met Christopher Lee, i was just lucky has on his own website which is run by his daughter and son in law you could order this DVD of the trilogy of Lord of the Rings, in which 12 lucky members of his fanclub could have has prizes this DVD signed the unlucky ones just got the DVD unsigned. Going to Dracula;s Castle in Transylvania in 1974 was a expierence i never throught i would encounter, from the outside it looked like a 17th century chateau but inside was fill of armour, gold and silver dinning room tableware like gold plates, silver globes etc with marvellous precious gems on the candle holders etc a very wealthy guy. well his servants lived down in the cold concrete basement where he kept his vintage wines. we started in the morning for this trip to avoid the hot midday sun, by the time we reached the Carpathian mountains the sun was setting and it wasn't cold as nightfall was approaching we thats the other hotel guests felt unsettled the tour operator told us that we should take our cardigans etc because has we are at the bottom of the mountain its fine but you will feel a sudden drop in the air temperatures when we reach the summit, well silly us thats my parents and brother including myself we didn't bring one, the top felt spooky no wonder all of us felt uneased, we were not allowed to film or take photos in or out of the surrounding grounds. the wolves in the hilltops were howling it felt just as if hammer productions were here with there sound crew, we were assured the wolves would not be near us to cause concern, the the tour operator was right, the air was like a cold frosty night. i played a rotten trick on my brother i disguised my voice and spoke like Gary Oldman saying those famous words “Ah children of the night what sweet music they make.” my brother nearly wet himself. the mad man Dracula impaled people outside his ground the locals called him Vlad the impaler. maybe that's why Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle got his idea from instead of impalent lets make it as if he is drinking there blood, the place was eerie, Christopher Lee in his DVD documentry is a real film to see. the Carpathian's even mentioned to Christopher by saying the side view his features look like Vlad the impaler. he mentioned this with photos of images in his autobiography called “Tall, Dark and Gruesome. the castle is worth a visit i recommend it. If i get to save up for a holiday i would go there again. The Romanian's are very hospitable folk and they seem to live still in stuperdicious surroundings and still believe in the dark ages.
I love Christopher Lee, it's cool that you got to meet him. What was Dracula's home in Transylvania like?
I am a fan of Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price i have never met them but Christopher Lee autographed my Lord of the Ring DVD (Return of the King.)I have also visited Count Dracula's castle in Translyvania where Christopher Lee was filming a documentry film called “In Search of Dracula,” Dracula did exsist but not have a vampire.