1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:06,159 The following programme contains violent scenes, sexual references, 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,720 and explores the theme of racism. 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,000 (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING) 6 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:48,439 Christopher Lee, tall, handsome, elegant. 7 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:50,439 Very aristocratic. A little stiff. 8 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:52,759 Slightly pompous. Imperious. 9 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,759 Stilted, a little un-forthcoming. 10 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,159 He was a powerful individual. 11 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:59,599 Everyone will always remember him as Dracula 12 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:01,599 because he was a powerful Dracula. 13 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,719 Consistent aura around him, which was of a certain kind of dignity 14 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,919 and a certain kind of scariness and a certain kind of... 15 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,599 "Ooh, he must be scary to meet," kind of thing. 16 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,359 People when they- sometimes they say, "You always play villains, 17 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,399 you always play the bad guy," 18 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,359 He said, "No, I play people. 19 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,919 Good and evil is a state of mind. Depends on which side you are on." 20 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,639 He was, I think, soft as putty. 21 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,879 That's what's so interesting about monsters, 22 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,199 that you gotta remember, people forget, 23 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:32,960 but most monsters are victims. 24 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:37,960 (IMITATING LEE) How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 25 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:42,760 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 26 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:45,320 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 27 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:47,880 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 28 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,840 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 29 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,239 On the 7th of June in the year 2015, 30 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,359 I passed away at the age of 93. 31 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,519 To some, this might seem like a defining moment, 32 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:03,799 but not me. Oh, no. 33 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,040 By then I had become quite accustomed to dying. 34 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,639 You might even have called it my stock-in-trade. 35 00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:13,720 (JAUNTY MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) 36 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,720 (EXPLOSION, MUSIC STOPS) 37 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,679 'When I was born on the 27th of May, 1922, 38 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,199 'I was a new chapter in the story of the Italian aristocratic 39 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:39,159 'Carandini family.' (MEDIEVAL FLUTE MUSIC) 40 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,639 'Records of the House of Carandini stretch back to the 12th century. 41 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,279 'Here, you see our coat of arms awarded to us in the 15th century 42 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,840 'by Frederick Barbarossa, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. 43 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,319 'Our noble lineage could be traced directly back to Charlemagne. 44 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,679 'But let's not dally with detail. 45 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,319 'For as impressive a list of soldiers, governors, 46 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,679 'senators, and clergymen the Carandini tree may offer up, 47 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:07,360 'our time is short, and our subject is me. 48 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,359 'Of this mighty family tree, at the time of my birth, 49 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,039 'a sapling had been growing quite admirably in London, for some years. 50 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,119 'My maternal grandfather was the Count Carandini 51 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,199 'and my mother, his only child, 52 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,720 'the Contessa Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano. 53 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:26,399 'My mother was an Edwardian beauty 54 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,319 'and in her youth, a muse to many. 55 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,999 'She was painted, sketched, sculpted, and etched, 56 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,600 'desired by many, but landed by one. 57 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,919 'Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Lee of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, 58 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:42,639 'a hero of the Boer War and the Great War, 59 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,680 'survivor of the Somme.' 60 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,119 Quite late on in life, I got a book called, "Il Carandini" 61 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,519 and they looked like a lot of rogues... (CHUCKLES) 62 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,599 ...sort of the Mafia of their day. 63 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,119 But you know, to get- the cynical view is that 64 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,319 to keep a title for 700 years or something, 65 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,279 you've got to have killed a lot of people. (CHUCKLES) 66 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:08,439 'I grew up in the shadow of achievement and nobility. 67 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:11,599 'And as a child, wondered if I would be able to live up 68 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,799 'to the remarkable lives of those who had preceded me. 69 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,599 'I was, at heart, a wanderer. 70 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,439 'As was my Papa who wandered away from us 71 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,200 'when I was just four-years-old, never to return.' 72 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,919 His mother was very strict, and he had a very uptight upbringing. 73 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:34,279 You know? So, he was a bit naive in certain- in certain ways. 74 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:38,119 There I am. I look like quite a normal boy, don't I? 75 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,119 And in many ways I was. 76 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:44,079 Equally anxious and arrogant, but my childhood was unique. 77 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:48,239 We were sprung once more into high society when my mother remarried. 78 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,279 My stepfather was a small but exceedingly strong man 79 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:56,279 known as Ingle. He was a banker and bon viveur. 80 00:05:56,280 --> 00:06:00,119 'To celebrate their union, I was swiftly dispatched to boarding school 81 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,959 'in the hope that they might whip me into shape to be accepted into Eton. 82 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,919 'One could hardly describe me as a star student, 83 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,920 'but the desire to please consumed and overwhelmed me. 84 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:15,040 'So, it is perhaps no surprise that I was to end up on the school stage. 85 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,839 'Mother, Ingle, and my sister Xandra made the journey 86 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:23,040 'for the first night of the school production of Henry V. 87 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,079 'And they all excitedly agreed that a bright future in acting 88 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,320 'awaited the proud young boy playing the eponymous lead. 89 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,159 'Sadly, that boy was not me. 90 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,679 'But I loved the stage and I was an obstinate little so-and-so.' 91 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,199 Perhaps my time would've been better spent on the study of mathematics, 92 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,679 for it was that, along with a downturn in Ingle's finances 93 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,319 which would lead me away from the path to Eton. 94 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,120 Instead, at 14, I was enrolled in Wellington College. 95 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,559 Wellington was a military establishment, 96 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,279 and, I suppose much like the rest of the public schools of the day, 97 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:01,719 but with the addition of endless polishing. 98 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,920 The smell of Brasso haunts my nostrils still. 99 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:09,119 If you've got some sensitivity and you've got a sort of, 100 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,479 for want of a better word, an artistic soul, 101 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,359 and you're pushed through the British public school system 102 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,400 as a male... 103 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,639 ...it can absolutely kill that. 104 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,479 There's such a strong ethic in that schooling that, 105 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,039 about what it is or is not to be a man. 106 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,679 And I think right down in his heart, this is my intuition, 107 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,159 there's absolutely nothing to bear this up, it's just... 108 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,000 it's just sense. He was very feminine. 109 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,879 And... very sensitive. 110 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,879 And I feel that he didn't quite know how to express that side of him. 111 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,479 'What awaited me as I aged out of Wellington, 112 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,639 'was likely an Oxbridge education 113 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,119 'followed by a career in international diplomacy. 114 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,159 'I was practically bred for it. 115 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:56,319 'By this stage, my French, German and Russian were already rather good. 116 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:58,239 'But something happened. 117 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,960 'Ingle went bust, bankrupt, to the sum of £25,000. 118 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,799 'He left my mother and faded into the distance.' 119 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:09,199 I never knew his father, my grandfather, 120 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:11,639 and I never knew his step-father. 121 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:15,119 Both those father figures had sort of disappeared out of his life, 122 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,399 and that explains quite a lot about him as well, 123 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:20,799 because he didn't have a father around. 124 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:23,439 It was his mother's influence that he took away 125 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:25,319 into the world much more. 126 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,079 'At 19-years-old, unsure of my future, 127 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:30,719 'I found myself in Paris. 128 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,839 'Early one morning a friend dragged me to Versailles. 129 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,319 'There was something he wanted me to see. 130 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,680 'We arrived to an open square, steadily filling with people. 131 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:42,879 'Dawn broke over the scene 132 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,679 'and I realised that the focus of the amassed crowd 133 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:47,720 'was Madame Guillotine. 134 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:50,999 'In that instant, a man was marched out, 135 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,079 'Eugen Weidmann. 136 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,639 'He had murdered six people in cold blood. 137 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:57,679 'Within 30 seconds 138 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:00,959 'he had been whisked off his feet, bound, punched in the gut, 139 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,639 'placed on the monstrous contraption and adjusted into position. 140 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,360 'The blade fell and I failed to look away. 141 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,720 'I was sickened to my soul. 142 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:14,519 'I watched the gleeful crowd clamour to dip their handkerchiefs 143 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:17,160 'into his warm blood as a grizzly souvenir.' 144 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,399 He had witnessed the last execution 145 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:23,639 in France with a guillotine. 146 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:25,680 So, he was obsessed with executions. 147 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:30,480 And he kept execution memorabilia. 148 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,399 "This is the rope that was used to hang, I don't know who." 149 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:36,359 (BOTH CHUCKLE) "Who gave you that?" 150 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:38,399 "That was Pierpoint, gave it to me. 151 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,999 I'm gonna leave it in my will to Roger Moore." 152 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,199 I remember that he wrote, 153 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,159 "I am leaving you the rope that was used to hang... 154 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:50,599 King I-Don't-Know-What that my friend Pierpoint passed over to me. 155 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:52,640 I would like you to have it." 156 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,399 I don't think Roger Moore got it. 157 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:59,119 I now suspected my friend was trying to dispel my naivete 158 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,999 and ready me for the brutalities of war. 159 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,039 Because within weeks the party was over 160 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,080 and all of a sudden, the Germans were coming. 161 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:11,039 I returned to London. 162 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,480 'On the 3rd of September, Chamberlain declared we were at war. 163 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,879 'Keen to reveal myself a hero, 164 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:19,919 'I immediately reported to the war office, 165 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,399 'who had no apparent need for me.' 166 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,719 So, I took a job in the city 167 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,399 and grew accustomed to the noises of the war at home. 168 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:29,399 (EXPLOSIONS) 169 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:31,640 And then, I heard something even worse. 170 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,919 I heard that my wayward Papa was in hospital with a terminal diagnosis. 171 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:38,879 He was barely 60. 172 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:40,919 It was, I suppose, to honour him 173 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,479 that I swiftly decided again to enlist 174 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:45,359 and join the war abroad. 175 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,519 (SHIP HORN BLARES) (SEAGULL CAWING) 176 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:50,680 'I couldn't face the army, so I took to the skies.' 177 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,399 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 178 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,239 'Six weeks by sea and one by train brought us 179 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,640 'to flight training in Rhodesia, far from enemy fire. 180 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:03,999 'South Africa was paradise. 181 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,160 'Behind the controls of an open cockpit Tiger Moth, I felt alive! 182 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,839 'In the shimmering heat haze of a dusty afternoon, 183 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,479 'we would stall, spin, and loop our paths 184 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,520 'to becoming fully-fledged pilots. 185 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:19,519 'During my final accompanied flight, 186 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,600 'my head filled with fire and I went blind in my left eye. 187 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:26,519 'I was diagnosed with an unreliable optic nerve. 188 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:28,920 'My dreams of flight were put paid to. 189 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:34,519 Following this, I rather expected my war to be a dull clerical affair 190 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,839 but then I found myself in an operational squadron, 191 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,040 and my role was that of... spy. 192 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,119 'Five missions a day was our average 193 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,839 'and with our robust fighter bombers, the P-40s, 194 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,160 'we outclassed the German Luftwaffe every time. 195 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,080 'Well, except once. 196 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:55,599 'We were in Tunisia, 197 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,239 'and I was standing on the airstrip assessing the skies first-hand. 198 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:03,559 'As I turned around, I was faced with a sheer wall of flame. 199 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:08,119 'Above it, four German ME-109s heading directly for me. 200 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,639 'I sprinted, completely exposed, 201 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,879 'looking for somewhere to dive for cover. 202 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,719 'The bombs couldn't have been more than 150 yards away. 203 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,359 'I could feel the heat singe my neck hair. 204 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:21,239 'The final bomb landed within range, 205 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,520 'and the blast rent asunder the ground behind me. 206 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,639 'The debris created was as if fired by shotgun, 207 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,839 'targeted almost entirely to my buttocks. 208 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:32,599 'Within 10 minutes, 209 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,279 'I was being debriefed in both senses of the word. 210 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,439 'I could not sit down for two days. 211 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,480 'And had I been able, I suspect I would not have been permitted to. 212 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:45,639 'This raid was my failing. 213 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:47,680 'I would not fail again.' 214 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,959 As the war ended, there was still important work to be done. 215 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:55,119 My next posting was to serve with the Central Registry 216 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,839 of War Crimes and Security Suspects. 217 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,519 A position which sounds almost clerical 218 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:04,120 but became known somewhat more grandly as Nazi Hunter. 219 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:09,039 The adventures I had during this period remain highly classified. 220 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:11,439 I could relate to you a story or two, 221 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,159 but sadly I would have to kill you. 222 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:16,639 And we don't want that, do we? 223 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,879 There is some mystery attached to his work 224 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,119 during the war and immediately after it. 225 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,079 A lot of that I think, has to do with the Official Secrets Act 226 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,759 and the fact that Lee himself was, you know, 227 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:30,999 not willing to open up about it to any great degree. 228 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,799 And I think it has actually created a great deal of confusion. 229 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,239 I know a bit. 230 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,839 Because he spoke perfect German, perfect French, 231 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,719 and perfect Italian, he was involved with a lot of sabotage 232 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,879 and working with partisans behind the enemy lines 233 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:49,440 and also in targeted assassinations. 234 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:52,879 Which, of course, the British government 235 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:54,839 doesn't know anything about. 236 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,000 He was very intense. 237 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,679 There were some things he just- he didn't want to get into, 238 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,200 but it marked him, the experiences. 239 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,839 But I gave him shit. I mean, I always wanted to know. 240 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,600 "Tell me about the war." "John, I can't." 241 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,519 "Come on!" You know? "Tell me about the war. Come on, Chris!" 242 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,039 (CHUCKLES) You know? And I always gave him a hard time. 243 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,360 And one day we were at... 244 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,079 ...a restaurant in Sloane Square 245 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,919 and he had had several glasses of wine 246 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,519 and he wasn't tipsy, 247 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:31,399 but he was a little loose. 248 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:33,599 And I said, "Chris... 249 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,799 this is the perfect moment. 250 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,840 Tell me about your war experiences." 251 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,639 He said, "You know I can't." And I said, "Come on. 252 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:45,879 Who am I gonna tell, Chris?" And I kept giving him shit. 253 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:49,639 And then finally he said, "John," and he leaned forward. 254 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,999 To be suddenly imposing, he leaned forward and he said, 255 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,160 "Can you keep a secret?" 256 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,119 So of course, I lean forward and go, "Yes." 257 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,079 And he said... 258 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:03,360 "So can I." 259 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,439 SERAFINOWICZ: (AS LEE) 'I arrived back in London, 260 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,079 'like so many of my generation, to find that civilian life 261 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:18,039 'had far less use for me than the military had. 262 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:19,959 'With a new blue suit 263 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,199 and half a pound of shrapnel forever embedded in my buttocks, 264 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:24,999 'I slowly explored my options 265 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,960 'and ravenously accepted all invitations to lunch. 266 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,599 'One such invitation came from my mother's cousin, Nicolo, 267 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:34,999 'the Italian Ambassador to Great Britain. 268 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,799 'Amidst my drunken tales and impersonations, 269 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,759 'Nicolo said simply, "Why don't you become an actor, Christopher?" 270 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,239 'So, that was that. 271 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:47,279 'It was immediately apparent to me that he was right. 272 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:49,879 'Before I even had a chance to fail, 273 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,559 'Nicolo arranged a meeting for me with his friend 274 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:54,959 'who worked with The Rank Organisation.' 275 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,199 I suppose if you were being uncharitable, 276 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,239 you could say that there was a touch of almost nepotism 277 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,439 involved in Lee's entry into the film industry. 278 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,639 So, it was all very easy. But I think... 279 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:09,319 in the immediate post-war years, it didn't last very long, 280 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,399 but the British film industry was at its zenith. 281 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,559 And I think there was a great hunger, 282 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,480 particularly after the war, to create new stars. 283 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:22,039 And so, as a result, Lee was packed off to the... 284 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,600 to The Rank Charm School, as it became known. 285 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:28,919 Which had an expressed... 286 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,679 wish to create British, 287 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,559 and hopefully later, as they put it, international stars. 288 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,599 'To Worthing we were sent to fill out the lower half of the cast lists 289 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:41,679 'of a provincial repertory theatre. 290 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,439 'And admittedly, many lessons were learned 291 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,079 'which would shape me as an actor. 292 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,119 'The first time I trod the boards was as Roberto the Butler, 293 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,199 'in The Constant Nymph. 294 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,919 'I gave it my all. I buttled relentlessly. 295 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,479 'More than this, I acted. 296 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,759 'I acted my young heart out. 297 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:04,359 'When one of the principal characters cried, I shed a tear with them. 298 00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:07,840 'When one laughed, I laughed too as if my sides were splitting. 299 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:12,239 'I responded to every word of that script as I felt right. 300 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,039 'From my place in the background, I projected outrage, 301 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:18,280 'good humour, surprise, and bonhomie. 302 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,639 'The curtain fell for the interval and the director took me aside. 303 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,999 'I couldn't tell whether he was laughing or crying, 304 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:28,440 'but either way, he left me in no doubt as to my transgression. 305 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,559 'I had upstaged the entire production. 306 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,839 'My feelings were terribly hurt, 307 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:36,879 'and I was greatly embarrassed. 308 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,879 'I was, however, vindicated when the reviews came in. 309 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:43,760 'The critics singled me out as having provided welcome light relief. 310 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,199 'By day in Highbury, 311 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,119 'we learned Stanislavsky's method of physical action. 312 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:52,759 'We fenced, we pranced, we raged, 313 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,559 'and we paraded the old church hall with books upon our heads. 314 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:59,959 'Of course, no directors had the slightest interest in using us 315 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,959 'for more than background and stand-ins for the talent. 316 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:06,640 'But this in itself was film set experience and therefore useful. 317 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:11,399 'I was 24 when I gave my first performance on film, 318 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,759 'a kindness extended to me by director Terence Young, 319 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,479 'who overcame the standard reason for my rejection, 320 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,759 'the issue of my height, by keeping me seated. 321 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,079 'The film was Corridor of Mirrors. 322 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,360 'I had one line and it was a withering barb against the lead.' 323 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,520 Take a look. Standing in the entrance, Lord Byron. 324 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,519 'To some degree, in that moment, my die was cast. 325 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,199 'The nucleus of my celluloid id, 326 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,440 'upper class, educated, loquacious, and disdainful. 327 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,199 'Soon after, Rank decided to give its company of youth 328 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,159 'an accelerant boost. 329 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,799 'Rather than scattering us in small roles across its bigger releases, 330 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,639 'it would give us all big roles in our own tiny release. 331 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,079 'It was ,of course, a horrible idea. 332 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,679 'None of us were nearly ready enough to carry an entire feature 333 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:05,679 'and, had it not been compulsory to attend the premiere 334 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:07,679 'on the Tottenham Court Road, 335 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,279 'I'm sure all of us would have preferred to be elsewhere. 336 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:14,159 'It was, however, my first time in the role of chief antagonist, 337 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,359 'the bad guy. 338 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:19,999 'Sadly, the only thing more diabolical than my character's intent 339 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,760 'was the performance of the actor inhabiting it. 340 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,960 (OVERLAPPING SINGING 'GOOD KING WENCESLAS') 341 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,279 'Such was the British film industry in those days 342 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,119 'that even this early on I was at least working, 343 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:38,520 'and my star was arguably rising. 344 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,799 'Scott of the Antarctic was a generously-budgeted 345 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:44,359 'Ealing production. 346 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:47,839 'It starred John Mills as the legendary explorer, 347 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:50,599 'and I was one of his ill-fated team. 348 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,079 'Not unlike the explorer I portrayed, 349 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:55,959 'I would also shortly be out in the cold.' 350 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:57,559 I'm afraid that's it, Sir. 351 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,559 'I was told by my benefactors at Rank that I was too tall 352 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,079 'and too foreign-looking to be a film star, 353 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:05,559 'and I was out on my ear. 354 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:09,199 'My 1950s would be a mixed bag of quite small roles 355 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,279 'in quite big films. 356 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,560 'But then there were also the small roles in small films. 357 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:18,559 'And then there were the uncredited roles.' 358 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:21,119 These years were not without their high points. 359 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:23,079 'I parried with Errol Flynn.' 360 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:24,719 LANDIS: He was quite a good fencer. 361 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:27,959 Although how many people have told you when Chris would go like this, 362 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,119 he'd say, and he'd point at his damaged finger 363 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:33,560 and he'd say, "Errol Flynn did that to me." 364 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:37,439 Which he did in a duel in some movie. (CHUCKLES) 365 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,359 Errol Flynn, you know... was not an excellent fencer. 366 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:43,959 But these were not roles that I could... (CLEARS THROAT) 367 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,000 get my teeth into. 368 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,199 It was a living, and it was work. 369 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,799 The notion of film acting, especially in Britain at that time, 370 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,759 as being in any way glamorous or indicative of a luxurious lifestyle, 371 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:58,839 is entirely false. 372 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,079 Back then, maybe still today, I don't know, 373 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,119 there's a slight whiff of disreputability, if that's a word, 374 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:05,999 clung to the acting thing. 375 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,719 I think there was a bit of him saying, "I suppose you think 376 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,479 I'm not worthwhile because I'm just an actor." You know? 377 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,719 Which of course that's reversed much now, where you know, 378 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:16,759 you get a lot of people go, "Oh gosh, actors." 379 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,439 (CHUCKLES) "They're really exciting people." 380 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:23,719 But in my father's day, there was a bit of snootiness about actors. 381 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,679 Of course, he always told the story that when he went to his mother 382 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,759 and announced his intention to become an actor, and she literally, 383 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,399 in a very actressy way, she struck a melodramatic pose 384 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,239 and possibly, you know, the back of the hand to the forehead, 385 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:39,279 and said, "An actor. 386 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:43,559 Oh, Christopher, just think of all the appalling people you'll meet!" 387 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,599 'It was work. 388 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:47,799 'It was work, which I generally enjoyed 389 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,799 'and work in which I became increasingly proficient. 390 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,199 'But it was 9:00am to 6:20pm. 391 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,319 'with a 15-minute tea break and one hour for lunch. 392 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,519 'It was a job. 393 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:00,839 'And seven years on a job without notable progression 394 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,039 'would be frustrating to anybody. 395 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:06,559 'But it was not just my lack of progress which frustrated me.' 396 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,600 I really wanted to sing. 397 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,640 (SINGING MOZART'S 'THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO' IN GERMAN) 398 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:33,919 My love for opera had blossomed. 399 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,079 And with my film career barely advanced 400 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,039 in the best part of a decade, 401 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:41,439 I petitioned a professor at the Royal College of Music for help. 402 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,040 Too tall, too foreign-looking, and now, too old. 403 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,959 My dream was dead, 404 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,000 dead, dead. 405 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:53,999 But that was, I suppose, alright, 406 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,719 death was calling me to another destiny. 407 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:00,920 It was almost time for me to be death's emissary in modern cinema. 408 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,719 Now, to understand the story of my Dracula, 409 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:08,360 you have to understand the story of Hammer. 410 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,479 'Hammer was a film production company which, by the mid-50s', 411 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:14,799 'had been around some two decades. 412 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,719 'It had been established by the comedian William Hines 413 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,359 'in the early '30s, a name for his stage persona Will Hammer.' 414 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:24,119 Post-war, Hammer Film Productions 415 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:26,399 were devoted to second features. 416 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,279 Yes, what would previously have been called Quota Quickies. 417 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:32,359 They began, really, with very forward thinking. 418 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:36,520 They began by adapting already popular BBC radio subjects. 419 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,159 But in among all that, they also got together 420 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,479 with an American producer called Robert Lippert, 421 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,439 and they started making second features 422 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,279 that were aimed, quite specifically, at the American market. 423 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,119 Robert Lippert would send over fading American actors, 424 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:52,119 and they would be leads in the pictures, 425 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:54,199 which would allow a sale in America. 426 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,159 And so, there was a whole series of pictures that Hammer had done, 427 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:00,399 which are, you know, not bad pictures but not exemplary. 428 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,599 But they didn't make much of a splash. 429 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,599 Curious little films, 430 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,199 which nowadays are very often identified as Neo-noirs. 431 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,279 To some degree they were certainly were that. 432 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:10,999 But of course, the question mark was, 433 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,039 how long could you continue in that vein? 434 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,119 They needed a kind of new hook, a new formula. 435 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:18,960 And well, it came along in the mid-'50s. 436 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,279 'Hammer was always in search of that golden goose, 437 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:24,919 'which they eventually found 438 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,959 'when they turned their hand to the macabre. 439 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,959 'Having adapted the BBC's Quatermass Xperiment 440 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,839 'to film in 1955, it became very evident 441 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,400 'that scary films might be where their fortune lay.' 442 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,120 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (SCREAMS) 443 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:41,239 'What better subject matter to begin with 444 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,080 'than that of Baron Frankenstein and his creature? 445 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,119 'Peter Cushing was cast in the lead role as Frankenstein, 446 00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:51,239 'but who was to play his creature? 447 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,399 'Where might they find a tall, odd-looking soul 448 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,160 'with the chops to pull off such a role? 449 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:00,399 'Oh, yes!' 450 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,239 RIGBY: In the case of Lee, they had a man for The Curse of Frankenstein, 451 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,239 who fulfilled the basic casting brief, 452 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,119 which was a very tall man with a knowledge of 453 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:12,880 and skill in movement and mime. 454 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,719 And, uh... And that was Lee to a T, if you like. 455 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,879 'Now, I did not go into this lightly. 456 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,239 'I was aware of the greatest risk of becoming a monster player. 457 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,479 'That of typecasting. 458 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,439 'My dear friend, Boris Karloff, 459 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,039 'argued that to be a type was to always be in employment. 460 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,359 'And considering his quarter century in the wilderness as an actor, 461 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:38,119 'he really was qualified to talk on the matter. 462 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:42,079 'He had acted in over 80 films before his performance as the monster 463 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,639 'for Universal Pictures launched him into the stratosphere. 464 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,719 'Crucially, he was also tall and foreign-looking. 465 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:50,879 'So, I took the role. 466 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,679 'I wouldn't say it did the same for me as it did for Boris, 467 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:55,919 'but it was a satisfying experience 468 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,839 'and the film performed remarkably well.' 469 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:00,839 Hammer didn't really have an identity 470 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:02,639 until The Curse of Frankenstein, 471 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:04,919 where it said, "A Hammer Film Production." 472 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:08,759 And we remembered that and that became... a calling card. 473 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,999 What's interesting is that it's a very well made movie. 474 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,639 He played it like somebody with a... with a damaged brain. 475 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,719 It was described in the British press 476 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,919 as looking like a road accident, which is not entirely untrue. 477 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,039 It's a strange effect that he had as the creature 478 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,039 because he looked so hideous and yet there was a sort of- 479 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,719 there was a kind of forlorn quality about him. 480 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:32,439 In part because of that, 481 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,920 but also because he was just such a remarkable physical actor. 482 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,639 He was very sympathetic, although he was really terrifying 483 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:42,919 and I had nightmares for a long time. 484 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:46,439 'Yes, it courted controversy with its violence and gore, 485 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,439 'but this was tempered by a favourable critical response.' 486 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,079 And it really put Hammer Films on the map internationally 487 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,599 because it was a huge hit, even though it didn't cost a great deal. 488 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,959 But it looked good and the acting was obviously top-notch 489 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:03,199 because they had British players and nobody made fun of it, 490 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:04,959 nobody sent it up. 491 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,239 It was all done completely straight 492 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,879 and that made it even more compelling. 493 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,559 FILM NARRATOR: His unwilling collaborator was Paul Krempe. 494 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:15,600 I can't prove you murdered him. 495 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:18,239 But I can stop you using his brain. 496 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:20,119 Why? He has no further use for it. 497 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:22,639 Don't be a fool! Be careful! 498 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:24,639 You'll damage it! 499 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,319 Only two women ever entered this house of evil. 500 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,839 Elizabeth! Come back! 501 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,480 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 502 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,319 'Did this lead to my most iconic casting? 503 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,040 'Actually, no. At least, not directly.' 504 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,279 SERAFINOWICZ: (AS LEE) 'Following Frankenstein, I scored a plum role 505 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,840 'in a lavish remake of A Tale of Two Cities. 506 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:57,559 'This was a big movie.' 507 00:27:57,560 --> 00:27:59,959 FILM NARRATOR: Betty Box and Ralph Thomas, 508 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:02,279 whose names have been associated with the very best 509 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,399 in film entertainment for almost a decade, 510 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,359 have turned to the ever-popular works 511 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:09,719 of Charles Dickens for their latest, greatest film. 512 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,759 'I was to share the screen with the likes of Dirk Bogarde 513 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:17,440 'and several legends whose fame has sadly dimmed through the years. 514 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:22,679 'My role was that of villain, 515 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:24,799 'the Marquis St. Evremonde, 516 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,959 'a nasty piece of work, a cruel, sneering aristocrat.' 517 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,840 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 518 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,439 'This film was also well-received 519 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,399 'and finally broke the reticence on the part of the studios 520 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:41,439 'to trust me with more significant roles. 521 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:45,599 'With my monstrous and aristocratic credentials so well-established, 522 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:47,759 'I was finally an obvious candidate 523 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:50,320 'for that delicious title role to come my way. 524 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,719 'Eight minutes. 525 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:58,760 'Just eight minutes, and my life was changed forever. 526 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,239 'My total screen time in the whole of that first Dracula movie 527 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,280 'was just eight minutes.' 528 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:10,279 FILM NARRATOR: This is the story of Dracula. 529 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:12,999 A creature who destroys all whom he touches. 530 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,759 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 531 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:17,799 Dracula, the terrifying, the feared, 532 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,879 who sleeps in the tombs of the dead by day 533 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:24,359 and arises at night to inflict his terror 534 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:27,200 upon the innocent and the unsuspecting. 535 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,360 (DRAMATIC MUSIC STING) 536 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:37,079 It was really the Dracula movie that I think... 537 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:38,799 made him a household word. 538 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,199 Even though he's not in it that much, 539 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,879 he hung over it like a shroud and... 540 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:45,679 made an incredible impression. 541 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,839 I love his entrance 542 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:51,399 'cause you just cut to the stairs and he comes down the stairs. 543 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,879 He says, "I am Dracula. I welcome you to my house." 544 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:56,959 And it's so great! 545 00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:59,839 Wonderful! I mean, he's just, wow. 546 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:02,399 It's, you know- Do you ever hear him talk about it? 547 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:04,319 "You have to bring the fire." 548 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:06,959 'I was recognised everywhere I went, 549 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:08,959 'and it was a certain type of fame. 550 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,559 'I don't say this out of pride or vanity, 551 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,639 'but I had become somewhat iconic. 552 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:16,839 'Meaning that, to some degree, 553 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:19,639 'it wouldn't matter what I now went on to do with my life. 554 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:23,159 'Indeed, had I retired from acting in that very moment, 555 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,239 'I would still, for the rest of my life, 556 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:27,599 'have been recognised on a daily basis as...' 557 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:31,159 FILM NARRATOR: Dracula! Bedevilled master of all that is evil. 558 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,400 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 559 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,559 When that film came out in the summer of 1958, you know, 560 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:46,239 the impact was enormous. 561 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,599 He's suddenly appearing in the fan magazines. 562 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,159 You know, there are lots and lots of questions about him. 563 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,159 Picturegoer actually heads a piece about him and calls it, 564 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:57,079 "Scream Boy? No! Dream Boy." Because of course, 565 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:01,199 so many young women were fascinated by his Dracula, you know? 566 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,879 Because he was an irredeemable monster, 567 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,639 one of the most evil Dracula's ever put on film. 568 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,519 But at the same time, of course, he was extremely sexy. 569 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,559 FILM NARRATOR: How do you destroy a fiend 570 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,439 who has so far proven himself indestructible? 571 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:17,039 Those who come to end his reign of terror 572 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,359 stay to become his victims. 573 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,439 Hammer suddenly became a... 574 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,479 a place for people to go to see a certain kind of movie. 575 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:27,719 And that's not to belittle the fact that 576 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:30,639 they were actually making other kinds of movies at the same time, 577 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,999 but these particular Gothic movies were especially popular. 578 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,199 'The American premiere took place in New York 579 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,519 'where Universal threw their full might behind its release. 580 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,759 'It was my first trip to America, and I was quite overwhelmed. 581 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,520 'Not just by the city, but by the clamour of the fans. 582 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,159 'Dear Peter and I damn near destroyed our wrists 583 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:51,599 'with all of the autograph signing. 584 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,719 'By that point, Mr Cushing and I had become good friends. 585 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,399 'I think the public often made the mistake of assuming 586 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,799 'that we were rather gloomy people, 'humourless and severe. 587 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:03,519 'But nothing could have been further from the truth. 588 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,239 'From the day we met, Peter and I, 589 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:08,919 'more than anything else, laughed.' 590 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,359 But we also did a lot of this kind of thing... 591 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:14,840 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (BOTH GRUNTING) 592 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:33,760 (GROANS) 593 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,520 (DRAMATIC MUSIC BUILDING) 594 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,200 (SCREAMS) 595 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:06,440 (SCREAMS) 596 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:14,239 He and Chris became a kind of... 597 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,919 a kind of a couple in the sense that they would 598 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:19,279 often end up in the same picture together. 599 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,919 I think, I can't remember, 17, how many pictures they did together. 600 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:25,879 But they were like Laurel and Hardy, you know? 601 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:29,039 They were just- You would seldom see one without the other. 602 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,039 They were like chalk and cheese. 603 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,519 Very different, different styles of acting, different ways of acting, 604 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:37,639 and obviously totally different characters, 605 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:39,839 but it just gelled, you know? 606 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:41,679 The whole thing with them gelled 607 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:43,679 and they had huge respect for each other. 608 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:46,879 They always brought total conviction 609 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:49,799 to whatever crap they were in. 610 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:53,160 So, if they're in a terrible movie, they're still good. 611 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:56,679 You know? They're still good. 612 00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,519 Do you know what they used to do? 613 00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:00,600 They loved Looney Tunes cartoons. 614 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,799 Peter and Chris, and they'd get together and watch, you know, 615 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,759 Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and all the classic Looney Tunes, 616 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,399 and they really knew them. You could- 617 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,639 I was on a phone call with the two of them 618 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:15,519 and they did like the whole thing of "What's Opera, Doc?" 619 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:16,999 It was amazing. 620 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,279 'In some ways, Hammer became a family to me, 621 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,239 'replete with all the eccentricities, bickering, 622 00:34:23,240 --> 00:34:25,239 'resentments and frustration, 623 00:34:25,240 --> 00:34:28,120 'but also a warm, encouraging, and friendly bunch.' 624 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:32,199 They tended to have the same crews, you know? 625 00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:35,079 They tended to have the same DPs and the same... 626 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,439 makeup and hairdressers, 627 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,279 and so it was a nice kind of continuity to it. 628 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:43,759 And all the crews knew each other so they worked so well together. 629 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:46,359 And Hammer made a lot of- not a lot, 630 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,319 but Hammer made a number of good films. 631 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,079 And they had tremendous success with a lot of stuff. 632 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,479 'I worked for other studios during this period also. 633 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,319 'I was in some demand, but my path was laid out for me now. 634 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:03,279 'I would be successful, but I would be... sleazy. 635 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:07,919 'Any notion of romantic leads or matinee heroes was behind me now. 636 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,839 'I had given the public and the studios what they wanted, 637 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,839 'and that would be all they required from me. 638 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,919 'Which is not to say there was no room for manoeuvre, 639 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:21,120 'for, as I discovered, there are so many types of sleazebag. 640 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:26,799 'Considering the limitation placed on me that I always be wicked, 641 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,680 'I was rather pleased with my range and breadth. 642 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:34,199 'Later on in the '60s, I befriended Vincent Price. 643 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:37,199 'Vincent had established himself as a gentleman of horror 644 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:39,159 'long before I came along. 645 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:41,439 'And when I did come along, along with me, 646 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:45,080 'came for him the daily indignity of being recognised as me. 647 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,759 'People would stop him in the street and say, 648 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:50,799 "Mr Lee, might I have your autograph?" 649 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,759 'But Vincent was so much more than a horror star. 650 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,999 'He gave lectures on painting, sculpture, and cookery. 651 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:58,879 'At the height of his success, 652 00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:01,879 'he had a job on the side as an art buyer for Sears Roebuck. 653 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:05,560 'Vincent knew how to enjoy his work and enjoy his life. 654 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:09,719 'He enjoyed his public image and played up to it deliciously, 655 00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:12,479 'but he also took relish in switching it off. 656 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,720 'I never heard him complain. 657 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,599 'Perhaps the one thing that I envied him and Peter 658 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:20,719 'was their ability to be so comfortable 659 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:22,679 'with the public's perception of them.' 660 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:25,080 I never quite was. 661 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:29,039 I think for a long time, horror fans, 662 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:32,359 particularly horror fans, liked Christopher Lee the least. 663 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,439 Not because of his performances, 664 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,439 but because of his attitude to his own performances and to the genre. 665 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:40,920 He sort of kidded himself as a result. 666 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:45,719 In some interviews he actually said, you know, in the late '60s, 667 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:48,559 as late as that, he was suggesting that The Curse of Frankenstein 668 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,119 was the only REAL horror film he'd been in. 669 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:54,519 And I think as a result, fans found him rather ungracious, 670 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,199 which is a bit of an irony 671 00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,799 because ungracious is the one thing 672 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,880 Christopher Lee would never want to be thought to be. 673 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:06,160 'And then... there was Gitte.' 674 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,240 (ROMANTIC GUITAR MUSIC) 675 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,239 'She was a painter and a photographer. 676 00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:21,839 'She modelled for Balenciaga and Dior, 677 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:25,359 'and her father was a director for the Tuborg Brewery in Copenhagen. 678 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:27,399 'After a couple of missed opportunities, 679 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,799 'our paths finally crossed, and entwined they would happily stay 680 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,000 'until the end of my life. 681 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:39,040 (GUITAR MUSIC CONTINUES) 682 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,799 'My fame at this point was undoubtedly becoming global 683 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:49,399 'and when international filmmakers became aware 684 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,959 'of my ability to speak in several other languages, 685 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,119 'I found myself in demand.' 686 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:56,999 This was fortunate, as I unexpectedly found myself 687 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,039 under attack from a monster 688 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:02,399 the likes of which Hammer could never have envisioned. 689 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,279 He left England for Switzerland 690 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:07,719 as a tax refugee. 691 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:10,319 He came out with quite a lot of standard, you know? 692 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,759 Conservative stuff that it was... 693 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:15,799 the politics of envy 694 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:18,519 and this level of taxation couldn't... 695 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,640 you know, couldn't be maintained for any longer. 696 00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:26,319 'With appropriate irony, the first role I was contracted to play 697 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:30,519 'as a non-domicile was one of the great fictional Englishman. 698 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:33,319 'It was my turn to don the deerstalker 699 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:35,599 'and interpret Sherlock Holmes... 700 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:37,680 'into German.' 701 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:41,519 (SPEAKING GERMAN) 702 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:44,839 'Despite my perfectly adequate German delivery, 703 00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:46,959 'they decided to dub my voice.' 704 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:49,040 (DUBBED GERMAN VOICE) 705 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:05,400 'From Germany to Italy.' 706 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,640 (OMINOUS MUSIC) 707 00:39:16,720 --> 00:39:20,600 (FILM NARRATOR SPEAKING IN FRENCH) 708 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:31,159 'The Crypt of the Vampire was shot in Avezzano 709 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:33,200 'at the Castello de Balsorano. 710 00:39:34,040 --> 00:39:37,440 'The film was good, but the location, divine. 711 00:39:39,720 --> 00:39:42,679 'I would come to know the castles of Europe rather well 712 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:46,239 'as it transpired that many of the filmmakers who wanted to work with me 713 00:39:46,240 --> 00:39:48,719 'may not have wanted me to play Dracula, 714 00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:51,320 'but certainly a derivative thereof.' 715 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:57,999 Going to Europe in 1962 was a very good idea because, you know, 716 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,119 the early Hammer horror films and the other British horror films 717 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:04,799 that grew up around Hammer were enormously venerated in France 718 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:08,359 and also had made a huge impact in Italy. 719 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:12,559 He's in all these German and French and Spanish movies, Italian movies, 720 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:15,159 where they're not movies we even know about 721 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,839 because they were never dubbed into English 722 00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:21,439 and he's speaking French or Italian or German or Spanish. 723 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:24,879 They are quite interesting because they're all fractured versions 724 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:29,319 of the persona that he first showed in the Hammer films. 725 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:32,319 Italy, of course, was an industry that would always go for what was 726 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:35,559 the now thing and how can we produce our own version of it. 727 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:38,519 Well, one very good way to produce it was to get Christopher Lee in. 728 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:41,599 So, you know, there he was by the shores of Lake Geneva 729 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:45,279 during his Swiss exile, and he was constantly popping down to Italy. 730 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:47,519 Italy was a perfect place. 731 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:50,359 There were wonderful locations, et cetera. 732 00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:53,559 And who was the number one star in horror pictures? 733 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:55,839 Christopher Lee. 734 00:40:55,840 --> 00:40:58,759 So, I reached out for Christopher 735 00:40:58,760 --> 00:41:01,999 and when I met him, we just became fast friends. 736 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,479 And I... raised some money 737 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,719 and put together the first budget 738 00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:11,999 for Castle of the Living Dead. 739 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,920 And that's how it happened. 740 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:18,360 FILM NARRATOR: The Castle of the Living Dead. 741 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:21,399 In an atmosphere of horror, 742 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:25,400 the story of a man who violates the forbidden frontiers of science... 743 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,119 ...to arrive at a frightful but lucid madness 744 00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:32,959 and atrocious inhuman crime. 745 00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:35,840 Starring the unforgettable creator of Dracula. 746 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:40,359 'The great joys of my experience in Europe, were my partnerships 747 00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:44,200 with the Italian director Mario Bava and the Spanish Jess Franco. 748 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,839 He made quite a few pictures with Jess Franco, 749 00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:51,840 who obviously he must have respected and liked on some level. 750 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:56,839 Very few of them are at the top of the heap of the movies 751 00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,399 that he would wanna be remembered for. 752 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,599 But interestingly, 753 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:03,999 he changed his mind about doing a Dracula picture 754 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:06,000 because he did one for Jess. 755 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:10,200 MAN: And, action! 756 00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,280 (WHIRRING OMINOUS MUSIC) 757 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:25,079 The idea was that this was going to be 'the' Dracula picture, 758 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:27,999 based on the book, which was always a bugaboo of his, 759 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,959 is how few things from the book ended up in these movies. 760 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:33,839 And it was another thread-bearer kind of a movie. 761 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:37,519 Although Pere Portobella made a really interesting documentary 762 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:39,999 about the making of that movie, 763 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:43,080 which is actually much more interesting than the movie itself. 764 00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:49,640 (EERIE MUSIC STING) 765 00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:53,840 (EERIE MUSIC STING) 766 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:13,839 'To the continental filmmakers, 767 00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:16,359 'sex and death went hand-in-hand 768 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:18,559 'along with pain and pleasure. 769 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:22,279 'Accusations of downright perversity were levelled at some of these films, 770 00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:24,319 'but it was merely the European way. 771 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:27,399 'Their art and literature have been infused with sex 772 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,839 'as far back as can be remembered. 773 00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:33,160 'My films from this time have a distinctly different feel. 774 00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:40,679 'Sometimes dreamy, delirious, or demented, 775 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:43,160 'it was a heady and creative time for me.' 776 00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,479 MAN: A film of mystery! A film of thrill! 777 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:49,720 A film of terror! 778 00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:56,279 He made some amazing films, 779 00:43:56,280 --> 00:43:59,799 and he was delighted to be working in particular with Mario Bava. 780 00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:03,280 But I think he was very aware that this was really just... 781 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:07,879 ...a continuation, if you like, of what he called his graveyard period, 782 00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:11,400 because he was very much looked upon as a Gothic personage. 783 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:20,959 SERAFINOWICZ: (AS LEE) 'On the 22nd of November 1963, 784 00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:24,120 'Gitte gave birth to our wonderful daughter, Christina. 785 00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:27,319 'We were now a family. 786 00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:30,839 'The idea of leaving them, for even a small amount of time, 787 00:44:30,840 --> 00:44:32,879 'filled me with anxiety. 788 00:44:32,880 --> 00:44:35,959 'Death started to mean something different to me. 789 00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:38,360 'For the first time, I truly feared it. 790 00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:42,879 'For the idea of not living to see Christina bloom and conquer 791 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:44,920 'was unimaginably painful.' 792 00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:48,719 The charms of Switzerland had worn off by now 793 00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:51,639 and taxman be damned, we just wanted to be home. 794 00:44:51,640 --> 00:44:54,279 So, we returned to London and took a flat 795 00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:56,239 a stone's throw from Mr Karloff. 796 00:44:56,240 --> 00:44:58,519 My career had gone international, 797 00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:01,479 yet I didn't seem to have moved a step. 798 00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:04,239 The allowance of days that I was given as a tax exile 799 00:45:04,240 --> 00:45:07,399 by the government to work in the UK had all gone to Hammer 800 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:11,799 and my return made me feel as if perhaps, I had never even left. 801 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:14,279 But then a new character beckoned me. 802 00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:17,319 And although he certainly was of the shadows, 803 00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:21,200 it was as far from typecasting as I could reasonably hope. 804 00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:25,240 'I was not the first to bring the evil Dr Fu Manchu to screen. 805 00:45:26,720 --> 00:45:29,279 'Seven screen Fus had preceded me, 806 00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:32,040 'including a memorable turn by Boris. 807 00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:37,439 'It is perhaps unimaginable that such a film be made today, 808 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:39,639 'not just the racial characterisations, 809 00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:42,639 'but the very fact that the main role, a Chinese man, 810 00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:45,320 'be played by a Caucasian Englishman. 811 00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:49,159 'I can only say that I have never played Fu Manchu 812 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:51,439 'in any way that the Chinese could find offensive. 813 00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:54,559 'However, I can understand their objection to the character 814 00:45:54,560 --> 00:45:57,520 'being referred to as 'the Yellow Peril'. 815 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,759 'I played Fu over the course of five films 816 00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,439 'and very much following the pattern of my involvement 817 00:46:04,440 --> 00:46:06,039 'with the Hammer Dracula series, 818 00:46:06,040 --> 00:46:08,720 'it was a case of steadily diminishing returns. 819 00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:13,319 'In fact, these two franchises, in the modern parlance, 820 00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:16,799 'overlapped throughout my 1960s and '70s.' 821 00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:19,600 (THUNDER RUMBLES) (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 822 00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:33,560 (BAT SCREECHING) 823 00:46:38,720 --> 00:46:41,600 (WOMAN WHIMPERING) 824 00:46:56,640 --> 00:47:00,319 DANTE: Hammer, which was not exactly in the business of making art, 825 00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:02,999 decided that this was a vein that they wanted to mine. 826 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,079 And so, they ended up... 827 00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:08,919 essentially remaking those pictures like seven, eight times, 828 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:12,239 and they ended up doing kind of the same thing that Universal did, 829 00:47:12,240 --> 00:47:14,879 which is sort of running it into the ground after a while. 830 00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:17,439 There was always less of Dracula in every one of the movies 831 00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:20,719 until you get to Taste the Blood of Dracula, which is not a bad movie, 832 00:47:20,720 --> 00:47:23,039 it looks like it was conceived without Dracula. 833 00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:25,919 And indeed, it had been. (CHUCKLES) "No, we're not gonna have to." 834 00:47:25,920 --> 00:47:28,599 But Warner Brothers, the distributor said, "We can't distribute 835 00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:31,479 this picture without Christopher Lee. It's a Dracula movie!" 836 00:47:31,480 --> 00:47:34,319 There's a couple of real shit Hammers that he's in 837 00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:37,199 that he gives you this long story about. 838 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:39,679 Someone calls him and says... 839 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:42,279 "Chris, you have to come, you have to be Dracula 840 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:45,399 because the movie's cast, we've committed the money. 841 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:48,159 Everyone, the carpenters, you know, 842 00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:50,399 all the group, the family, you know, 843 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:52,559 it'll fall apart if you don't do it." 844 00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:54,639 You know they used to guilt him into these things. 845 00:47:54,640 --> 00:47:56,479 He never gave less than his all. 846 00:47:56,480 --> 00:47:58,799 I mean, he was always good in the movies. 847 00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:00,679 He did the best job he could. 848 00:48:00,680 --> 00:48:03,279 But I think that he felt after a while he was just wasting his time 849 00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:06,959 and that he was sort of sullying whatever... 850 00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:09,119 name value he may have. 851 00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:11,599 He had that ambivalence towards the role of Dracula. 852 00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:14,599 It had got him where he was, it had got him recognition, 853 00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:17,959 but it also was the sort of thing that he could never leave behind 854 00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:20,719 and that so many people thought was all he could do. 855 00:48:20,720 --> 00:48:23,959 You know, I got him to sign a poster for me once. 856 00:48:23,960 --> 00:48:25,999 I only got him to sign one poster 857 00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:28,399 and it was a poster for Taste the Blood of Dracula. 858 00:48:28,400 --> 00:48:30,679 He grumbled a bit when I asked him to sign it 859 00:48:30,680 --> 00:48:33,439 and the message he wrote on it was, 860 00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:37,439 "Dear Peter, this is from another life." 861 00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:41,719 You know? He regarded that as being something that was... 862 00:48:41,720 --> 00:48:44,759 He did but he wanted to move on from that. 863 00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:46,959 And, you know, personally speaking, 864 00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:49,639 I think the balance, he could've got the balance a bit better 865 00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:53,199 where he moved on, but not... 866 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:55,879 not to the point that he somehow 867 00:48:55,880 --> 00:48:58,359 came across as being ashamed of those films. 868 00:48:58,360 --> 00:49:00,999 'Cause he had nothing whatsoever to be ashamed about. 869 00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:03,439 He was absolutely the king of his... 870 00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:07,120 of all he surveyed really, in that niche. 871 00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:10,479 But he wasn't satisfied with that. 872 00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:12,559 It's an interesting conundrum 873 00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:15,279 but I think it's a lot to do with, you know, 874 00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:18,479 his ancestry where great things were expected of him 875 00:49:18,480 --> 00:49:20,119 and here he was playing monsters. 876 00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:24,319 Both of us had the same degree of a certain lack of confidence, 877 00:49:24,320 --> 00:49:27,279 which did come from our family, I think, 878 00:49:27,280 --> 00:49:29,719 because my grandmother could be very withering. 879 00:49:29,720 --> 00:49:32,039 I don't know. Not withering about acting. 880 00:49:32,040 --> 00:49:34,719 In fact, acting was the one thing that we made our family 881 00:49:34,720 --> 00:49:37,519 proud about, funnily enough. It was everything else you were 882 00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:39,879 that felt a bit sort of, "I'm not quite up to scratch." 883 00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:41,679 And I can't define it 884 00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:43,959 and I'd love to have sat down and talked to him about it. 885 00:49:43,960 --> 00:49:47,840 But it's just a sort of... aura in the family of sort of... 886 00:49:50,360 --> 00:49:53,719 There's a threat of ridicule somewhere in the atmosphere. 887 00:49:53,720 --> 00:49:56,959 Here's the funny thing, he loved playing Dracula. 888 00:49:56,960 --> 00:49:59,159 When you're that good at playing a part, 889 00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:01,919 and when you have such command of the screen, 890 00:50:01,920 --> 00:50:04,839 and you can make such an impact in such a short time, 891 00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:08,039 of course you're going to love playing that part. 892 00:50:08,040 --> 00:50:10,039 'Hollywood finally came calling, 893 00:50:10,040 --> 00:50:12,959 'and although this time it would be upon British soil, 894 00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:15,639 'I would actually be working very closely 895 00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:18,960 'with a certified legendary Hollywood director. 896 00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:23,919 'Billy Wilder had decided to make a Sherlock Holmes film. 897 00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:26,799 'He, quite correctly, saw me as Mycroft, 898 00:50:26,800 --> 00:50:30,119 'Holmes' arguably more clever, older brother.' 899 00:50:30,120 --> 00:50:33,119 Am I going too fast with the best brain in England? 900 00:50:33,120 --> 00:50:35,199 Go on. 901 00:50:35,200 --> 00:50:37,519 They planted that on you quite neatly, I must admit, 902 00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:40,199 so that you could lead them to their objective, the air pump. 903 00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:43,719 Very much like using a hog to find truffles. 904 00:50:43,720 --> 00:50:47,079 'It had taken me 23 years and over 100 films 905 00:50:47,080 --> 00:50:50,959 'before I was to have such a thoroughly satisfying experience.' 906 00:50:50,960 --> 00:50:52,639 Oh, charming! 907 00:50:52,640 --> 00:50:55,479 Chris was very proud of Mycroft Holmes, 908 00:50:55,480 --> 00:50:57,479 but what he was proud of 909 00:50:57,480 --> 00:50:59,679 was, although he's wonderful in the movie, 910 00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:03,479 but he was proud of being employed by Billy Wilder. 911 00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:05,519 That's what was, you know? 912 00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:09,599 That's what was... "I'm being- I'm with one of the greats." 913 00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:12,359 The early to mid-70s' were to offer me two roles 914 00:51:12,360 --> 00:51:16,239 which could hold their own in the iconic stakes against old Dracula. 915 00:51:16,240 --> 00:51:21,199 Finally, I was to go up against Britain's finest secret agent. 916 00:51:21,200 --> 00:51:23,839 But before we go into that. 917 00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:27,240 It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man. 918 00:51:36,520 --> 00:51:39,239 'Now, I've never been shy about proclaiming 919 00:51:39,240 --> 00:51:42,239 'this as my favourite of all the films I've appeared in. 920 00:51:42,240 --> 00:51:44,439 'There are many reasons for this. 921 00:51:44,440 --> 00:51:47,679 'Firstly, it's a brilliant story, expertly told.' 922 00:51:47,680 --> 00:51:51,480 You can't land here without written permission! 923 00:51:52,320 --> 00:51:55,199 I, as you can see, am a police officer. 924 00:51:55,200 --> 00:51:57,919 A complaint has been registered 925 00:51:57,920 --> 00:52:00,599 by a resident of this island of a missing child! 926 00:52:00,600 --> 00:52:02,719 Now that makes it a police matter, 927 00:52:02,720 --> 00:52:04,479 private property or not! 928 00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:06,999 Now, will you send a dingy, please? 929 00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:09,000 (QUIETLY) Need to tell his lordship. 930 00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:13,439 'The great playwright Anthony Shaffer found a novel 931 00:52:13,440 --> 00:52:16,719 'in which he saw a kernel of a story which intrigued him. 932 00:52:16,720 --> 00:52:19,240 'We bought the rights, and he made it his own.' 933 00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:22,800 (CLOCK TICKING) 934 00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:31,200 (FLUTE MUSIC) 935 00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:39,400 Good afternoon, Sergeant Howie. 936 00:52:40,600 --> 00:52:43,399 I trust the sight of the young people refreshes you. 937 00:52:43,400 --> 00:52:45,119 No, Sir. 938 00:52:45,120 --> 00:52:47,199 It does not refresh me. 939 00:52:47,200 --> 00:52:49,159 Oh, I'm sorry. 940 00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:52,440 One should always be open to the regenerative influences. 941 00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:56,679 'He conceived of the role of Lord Summerisle for me. 942 00:52:56,680 --> 00:53:00,319 'I assure you that this is an extreme rarity in the business. 943 00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:02,479 'To have a part not just handed to you, 944 00:53:02,480 --> 00:53:05,319 'but inspired by you is a rare moment, 945 00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:07,999 'especially one this good!' 946 00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:09,839 In that case, you must go ahead. 947 00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:13,959 The Wicker Man really drew from a lot of his past 948 00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:15,840 as a horror icon... 949 00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:20,079 ...because The Wicker Man is unquestionably a horror film. 950 00:53:20,080 --> 00:53:22,079 And at the heart of it, of course, 951 00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:24,999 you've got Lee playing, you know, the laird 952 00:53:25,000 --> 00:53:27,479 who lives in the castle at the top of the hill, 953 00:53:27,480 --> 00:53:31,039 to whom the unsuspecting innocent person has to travel by coach. 954 00:53:31,040 --> 00:53:33,839 Is this reminding you of anybody? You know. 955 00:53:33,840 --> 00:53:37,480 It's a very clever manipulation of his image. 956 00:53:38,440 --> 00:53:40,879 And I think to a degree, Lee was aware of that, 957 00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:43,839 but he was aware that in manipulating his image like that 958 00:53:43,840 --> 00:53:47,279 Shaffer had given him some beautiful dialogue 959 00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:51,759 and a marvellously ambiguous character to play. 960 00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:54,479 What my grandfather had started out of expediency, 961 00:53:54,480 --> 00:53:57,400 my father continued out of... love. 962 00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:00,719 He brought me up the same way. 963 00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:03,239 To reverence the music and the drama 964 00:54:03,240 --> 00:54:05,240 and the rituals of the old gods. 965 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:09,280 To love nature and to fear it. 966 00:54:10,720 --> 00:54:13,399 And to rely on it and to appease it when necessary. 967 00:54:13,400 --> 00:54:15,960 He brought me up- He brought you up to be a pagan! 968 00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:20,239 A heathen, conceivably, 969 00:54:20,240 --> 00:54:22,640 but not, I hope, an unenlightened one. 970 00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:32,079 SERAFINOWICZ: (AS LEE) 'How different could two film shoots be? 971 00:54:32,080 --> 00:54:34,759 'From the grey wind-swept hills of coastal Scotland 972 00:54:34,760 --> 00:54:37,599 'to the sun-drenched beaches of Thailand? 973 00:54:37,600 --> 00:54:42,079 'Famously, the 007 films were lavish Pan Global productions, 974 00:54:42,080 --> 00:54:45,519 'which shot for months with a travelling team of hundreds. 975 00:54:45,520 --> 00:54:48,599 'The producers were Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, 976 00:54:48,600 --> 00:54:50,919 'by now millionaires many times over 977 00:54:50,920 --> 00:54:54,839 'thanks to their shrewd licencing of my cousin Ian Fleming's books. 978 00:54:54,840 --> 00:54:58,319 'Oh, yes, Ian and I were quite the pair. 979 00:54:58,320 --> 00:55:01,399 'I've heard talk that certain elements of the James Bond character 980 00:55:01,400 --> 00:55:05,679 'were in fact based upon me and my own wartime experiences. 981 00:55:05,680 --> 00:55:09,399 'But of course, I couldn't possibly comment on such matters. 982 00:55:09,400 --> 00:55:11,879 'Sadly, by now, Ian was dead 983 00:55:11,880 --> 00:55:14,759 'and never did get to see me play one of his characters. 984 00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:18,559 'But here I was now squaring off against Roger Moore, 985 00:55:18,560 --> 00:55:21,320 'and what a match we made.' 986 00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:24,479 You live well, Scaramanga. 987 00:55:24,480 --> 00:55:27,959 At a million dollars a contract, I can afford to Mr Bond. 988 00:55:27,960 --> 00:55:29,999 You work for peanuts. 989 00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:32,519 A hearty, "Well done" from Her Majesty the Queen 990 00:55:32,520 --> 00:55:34,199 and a pittance of a pension. 991 00:55:34,200 --> 00:55:36,240 Apart from that, we are the same. 992 00:55:37,400 --> 00:55:39,159 To us, Mr Bond. 993 00:55:39,160 --> 00:55:41,120 We are the best. 994 00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:46,960 He was kind of thrilled to be The Man with the Golden Gun... 995 00:55:48,000 --> 00:55:51,079 ...because it was a big Hollywood international production 996 00:55:51,080 --> 00:55:53,599 and Cubby Broccoli and, you know, 997 00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:56,759 it was the biggest thing going and he was delighted to be in that. 998 00:55:56,760 --> 00:55:58,839 And I would say, 999 00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:02,319 "Chris, it was the third nipple you're delighted by, isn't it?" 1000 00:56:02,320 --> 00:56:04,879 (IMITATING LEE) "What are you talking about?" 1001 00:56:04,880 --> 00:56:08,959 (CHUCKLES) He was pretty easy to tease. 1002 00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:11,719 'My performance has regularly been singled out 1003 00:56:11,720 --> 00:56:13,799 'as one of the better Bond villains, 1004 00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:16,559 'and that is a compliment I don't take lightly. 1005 00:56:16,560 --> 00:56:19,520 'My star had risen. I had arrived.' 1006 00:56:20,640 --> 00:56:24,799 I think the first time he ever got ever any kind of nice treatment 1007 00:56:24,800 --> 00:56:28,799 by the critics in the UK was The Man with the Golden Gun. 1008 00:56:28,800 --> 00:56:31,519 He was a very sensitive man and he'd been, really, 1009 00:56:31,520 --> 00:56:34,799 cruelly treated by the critics and everything for years. 1010 00:56:34,800 --> 00:56:37,799 There's a little, little touch of bad luck even here 1011 00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:40,759 because finally Christopher is playing a Bond villain 1012 00:56:40,760 --> 00:56:44,679 and he's being, to my mind, one of the very best Bond villains, 1013 00:56:44,680 --> 00:56:47,799 but he's in a Bond film that is... 1014 00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:50,199 (GROANS) ..a bit of a curate's egg. 1015 00:56:50,200 --> 00:56:52,079 You know, I mean, look, 1016 00:56:52,080 --> 00:56:54,639 by comparison to most of Christopher Lee's films, 1017 00:56:54,640 --> 00:56:57,879 The Man with the Golden Gun made squillions of dollars. 1018 00:56:57,880 --> 00:57:00,559 But by comparison to the other James Bond films up to that time, 1019 00:57:00,560 --> 00:57:03,079 it was a little bit of a damp squib, even commercially. 1020 00:57:03,080 --> 00:57:06,639 So, you know, there were these- these little touches of bad luck 1021 00:57:06,640 --> 00:57:10,079 sort of drop through even at the moments of zenith. 1022 00:57:10,080 --> 00:57:14,319 But maybe- maybe that's, you know, the actor's lot in many ways. 1023 00:57:14,320 --> 00:57:17,079 On my return to Britain, all that awaited me 1024 00:57:17,080 --> 00:57:19,879 were more dismal deaths in dank dungeons. 1025 00:57:19,880 --> 00:57:22,279 And to be honest, not so many of those 1026 00:57:22,280 --> 00:57:25,159 since Hammer was in steep decline. 1027 00:57:25,160 --> 00:57:28,039 'In our mutual interest, I had picked up the rights 1028 00:57:28,040 --> 00:57:30,719 'to some of Dennis Wheatley's literary properties 1029 00:57:30,720 --> 00:57:34,719 'and hoped to motivate Hammer into action on a more modern type of film, 1030 00:57:34,720 --> 00:57:38,359 'which might compete with the likes of The Exorcist.' 1031 00:57:38,360 --> 00:57:41,040 (SCREAMING) 1032 00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:47,439 'Well, they dragged their feet, but eventually got it made. 1033 00:57:47,440 --> 00:57:50,920 'A tepid adaptation which angered Wheatley.' 1034 00:57:53,520 --> 00:57:56,680 (OMINOUS MUSIC) 1035 00:58:03,520 --> 00:58:06,160 (SCREAMS) 1036 00:58:13,560 --> 00:58:16,720 (WIND WHISTLING) 1037 00:58:18,080 --> 00:58:20,719 'It would be my last film for Hammer, 1038 00:58:20,720 --> 00:58:22,960 the end of an era. 1039 00:58:24,800 --> 00:58:27,839 'They had managed to snare Richard Widmark as leading man, 1040 00:58:27,840 --> 00:58:30,159 and he joined the Transatlantic Chorus, 1041 00:58:30,160 --> 00:58:33,439 'started a decade ago by Billy Wilder and finally convinced me 1042 00:58:33,440 --> 00:58:36,880 'that it was time to up sticks and move, lock stock to America.' 1043 00:58:37,840 --> 00:58:41,439 America, where I was appreciated, respected, 1044 00:58:41,440 --> 00:58:44,080 and where Hollywood seemed ripe with promise. 1045 00:58:45,080 --> 00:58:47,159 He had a decent life here. 1046 00:58:47,160 --> 00:58:48,919 It wasn't... 1047 00:58:48,920 --> 00:58:52,120 a life of discotheques and things like that. 1048 00:58:53,600 --> 00:58:55,359 It was a life of work 1049 00:58:55,360 --> 00:58:57,799 because he did work quite a bit 1050 00:58:57,800 --> 00:58:59,479 when he came to Hollywood. 1051 00:58:59,480 --> 00:59:02,959 It was a very fruitful period for Christopher. 1052 00:59:02,960 --> 00:59:04,999 It really was. 1053 00:59:05,000 --> 00:59:08,999 He loved being in Hollywood and he was working. 1054 00:59:09,000 --> 00:59:11,919 He got to work with Jack Lemmon and Lee Grant, you know? 1055 00:59:11,920 --> 00:59:14,519 Real actors and real Hollywood stars, 1056 00:59:14,520 --> 00:59:16,759 and he really enjoyed it. 1057 00:59:16,760 --> 00:59:19,919 'My first film was a huge movie for Universal, 1058 00:59:19,920 --> 00:59:21,960 'Airport 77. 1059 00:59:22,920 --> 00:59:26,399 'The Airport films were the original and finest exponents 1060 00:59:26,400 --> 00:59:29,559 'of the very popular, new 'disaster movie' genre. 1061 00:59:29,560 --> 00:59:31,919 'The format was simple and effective. 1062 00:59:31,920 --> 00:59:34,839 'A large cast of popular celebrities, old and new, 1063 00:59:34,840 --> 00:59:37,679 'are thrust into a cataclysmic situation. 1064 00:59:37,680 --> 00:59:41,439 'The fun of these films was the absolute unpredictability 1065 00:59:41,440 --> 00:59:44,320 'as to who would survive and who would die. 1066 00:59:45,480 --> 00:59:48,879 'I would be sharing the screen and the first-class lounge 1067 00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:51,439 'with Jack Lemmon, Olivia de Haviland, 1068 00:59:51,440 --> 00:59:55,159 'Joseph Cotton, and Jimmy Stewart. 1069 00:59:55,160 --> 00:59:58,199 'To absolutely nobody in the world's surprise, 1070 00:59:58,200 --> 00:59:59,839 'I died. 1071 00:59:59,840 --> 01:00:01,839 'But it was a good death, 1072 01:00:01,840 --> 01:00:04,680 'a hero's death, a new death. 1073 01:00:05,600 --> 01:00:08,719 'I had to train for a week in a water tank to accomplish it. 1074 01:00:08,720 --> 01:00:10,999 'And upon completion, I received an award 1075 01:00:11,000 --> 01:00:12,960 'more meaningful to me than an Oscar. 1076 01:00:13,960 --> 01:00:16,799 'The hallowed Stunt Team belt buckle, 1077 01:00:16,800 --> 01:00:20,199 'a recognition that you were one of them. 1078 01:00:20,200 --> 01:00:22,399 This is a good start! I mean, 1079 01:00:22,400 --> 01:00:25,439 it's a slightly silly disaster film of the period, but nevertheless 1080 01:00:25,440 --> 01:00:28,839 it's a big thing. But because of Christopher's workaholic tendencies, 1081 01:00:28,840 --> 01:00:31,079 the next thing he does involves going to Canada 1082 01:00:31,080 --> 01:00:33,960 to appear in something called Starship Invasions. 1083 01:00:34,960 --> 01:00:36,960 (CHUCKLES) Um... 1084 01:00:37,880 --> 01:00:41,759 And you know that film is an embarrassment on many levels. 1085 01:00:41,760 --> 01:00:46,639 However, there are some wonderful things happening for him in the USA. 1086 01:00:46,640 --> 01:00:49,599 He goes over to NYC to be guest host 1087 01:00:49,600 --> 01:00:52,479 on Saturday Night Live in March 1978. 1088 01:00:52,480 --> 01:00:56,279 'I had a wonderful time but was grateful to learn after the fact, 1089 01:00:56,280 --> 01:00:59,920 'that the audience viewing figures were as high as 35 million. 1090 01:01:00,920 --> 01:01:05,119 'By far my largest audience for anything I had ever previously done. 1091 01:01:05,120 --> 01:01:07,679 'Had I known such a figure before taking part, 1092 01:01:07,680 --> 01:01:09,839 'I'd have been a babbling fool. 1093 01:01:09,840 --> 01:01:13,479 'My appearance, seen by really everyone who was anyone, 1094 01:01:13,480 --> 01:01:17,559 'announced to the American film and TV industry that I was alive, 1095 01:01:17,560 --> 01:01:21,319 'that I was available, and that I was perhaps 1096 01:01:21,320 --> 01:01:24,399 'more versatile than they might have expected.' 1097 01:01:24,400 --> 01:01:26,799 Having shown America my capacity for humour, 1098 01:01:26,800 --> 01:01:28,679 the phone started ringing 1099 01:01:28,680 --> 01:01:31,440 and one of those calls was from Steven Spielberg. 1100 01:01:32,760 --> 01:01:35,119 'His next film was to be a comedy. 1101 01:01:35,120 --> 01:01:37,839 'Set around the confusion in the immediate aftermath 1102 01:01:37,840 --> 01:01:40,999 'of the bombing of Pearl Harbour. It would see me paired 1103 01:01:41,000 --> 01:01:44,399 'with the legendary Japanese actor, Toshiro Mifune. 1104 01:01:44,400 --> 01:01:46,439 'I played a German U-boat captain, 1105 01:01:46,440 --> 01:01:48,599 'speaking entirely in the German language. 1106 01:01:48,600 --> 01:01:50,839 'Mifune played my begrudging partner, 1107 01:01:50,840 --> 01:01:53,319 'a Japanese submarine commander 1108 01:01:53,320 --> 01:01:55,999 'who spoke entirely in, of course, Japanese. 1109 01:01:56,000 --> 01:01:59,159 'Now, the joke was that we railed against one another 1110 01:01:59,160 --> 01:02:02,920 'in our mother tongues but could understand each other perfectly. 1111 01:02:03,840 --> 01:02:05,639 'And therein lies the problem. 1112 01:02:05,640 --> 01:02:08,079 'It's not a particularly funny concept. 1113 01:02:08,080 --> 01:02:11,319 'True to its subject matter, the movie bombed. 1114 01:02:11,320 --> 01:02:14,279 'Serial was a very modern satire of life 1115 01:02:14,280 --> 01:02:17,799 'for the Baby Boomers in 1970s San Francisco. 1116 01:02:17,800 --> 01:02:20,839 'I played Luckman, a local businessman, 1117 01:02:20,840 --> 01:02:23,799 'respected and successful, who, on weekends, 1118 01:02:23,800 --> 01:02:26,559 'donned leathers and became Skull, 1119 01:02:26,560 --> 01:02:30,320 'fearsome leader of the local homosexual motorcycle gang.' 1120 01:02:33,880 --> 01:02:38,479 ♪ Might I say that I'm old-fashioned... ♪ 1121 01:02:38,480 --> 01:02:41,120 (SINGS IN FRENCH) 1122 01:02:43,040 --> 01:02:45,439 'My run of strange and wonderful pictures continued 1123 01:02:45,440 --> 01:02:49,479 'with a jaunt to Australia to film The Return of Captain Invincible. 1124 01:02:49,480 --> 01:02:53,319 'I was firmly back in mad fascistic villain territory, 1125 01:02:53,320 --> 01:02:55,919 'but the rest of the film was truly bizarre.' 1126 01:02:55,920 --> 01:02:58,559 I built a fish! Hit the dirt! 1127 01:02:58,560 --> 01:03:01,359 'Only Captain Invincible can stop me, 1128 01:03:01,360 --> 01:03:04,079 if he can kick his addiction to the booze.' 1129 01:03:04,080 --> 01:03:06,919 ♪ If you don't name your poison 1130 01:03:06,920 --> 01:03:09,759 ♪ I'll have to get the boys in 1131 01:03:09,760 --> 01:03:15,079 ♪ The spirit of adventure opens one's eyes 1132 01:03:15,080 --> 01:03:17,599 ♪ If you don't name your poison... 1133 01:03:17,600 --> 01:03:20,679 'To finally sing on film, 1134 01:03:20,680 --> 01:03:23,359 'do you think I might have been enjoying myself?' 1135 01:03:23,360 --> 01:03:27,640 ♪ Sunrise ♪ 1136 01:03:28,800 --> 01:03:31,839 There's no one that is in any doubt of how versatile he was 1137 01:03:31,840 --> 01:03:34,279 and the fact he was capable of other things. You know? 1138 01:03:34,280 --> 01:03:36,919 But I think a lot of the movies he made from the 1970s onwards 1139 01:03:36,920 --> 01:03:40,199 were really a reaction of getting as far away 1140 01:03:40,200 --> 01:03:42,759 from those horror movies 1141 01:03:42,760 --> 01:03:45,079 as he possibly could. 1142 01:03:45,080 --> 01:03:47,439 Christopher was very keen on playing, 1143 01:03:47,440 --> 01:03:49,559 as he called them, Short roles. 1144 01:03:49,560 --> 01:03:51,359 He didn't carry a film. 1145 01:03:51,360 --> 01:03:53,359 He punctuated a film 1146 01:03:53,360 --> 01:03:56,079 in an enormously exciting and brilliant way. 1147 01:03:56,080 --> 01:03:59,399 But he punctuated stories rather than carrying them. 1148 01:03:59,400 --> 01:04:02,039 Short roles enabled him to go 1149 01:04:02,040 --> 01:04:04,439 from film to film, to film, to film, 1150 01:04:04,440 --> 01:04:07,439 sometimes to make multiple films at the same time. 1151 01:04:07,440 --> 01:04:10,920 'My antagonistic services became very much in demand. 1152 01:04:11,960 --> 01:04:15,279 'Now, admittedly, not all of the roles I played were in 1153 01:04:15,280 --> 01:04:18,680 'what one might consider premium quality productions.' 1154 01:04:22,600 --> 01:04:25,759 I wouldn't hesitate to shoot this young lady, you know? 1155 01:04:25,760 --> 01:04:28,639 As you can hear, I don't have very much choice. 1156 01:04:28,640 --> 01:04:31,279 (SIRENS IN DISTANCE) 1157 01:04:31,280 --> 01:04:34,280 That's better. Easy does it. 1158 01:04:35,840 --> 01:04:37,720 (DOG BARKING) 1159 01:04:42,560 --> 01:04:44,560 (GASPING) 1160 01:04:46,720 --> 01:04:49,239 I would say maybe half the movies that he made 1161 01:04:49,240 --> 01:04:51,799 are more or less forgettable. 1162 01:04:51,800 --> 01:04:54,439 And he once said to me that he pitied me 1163 01:04:54,440 --> 01:04:56,479 because I had seen so many of his movies. 1164 01:04:56,480 --> 01:04:58,759 I think he had such a hunger to... 1165 01:04:58,760 --> 01:05:00,799 to keep doing things, 1166 01:05:00,800 --> 01:05:02,839 such a curiosity about doing things. 1167 01:05:02,840 --> 01:05:06,159 He didn't always say, "Is there any artistic merit in this?" 1168 01:05:06,160 --> 01:05:08,120 He didn't wanna be left out. 1169 01:05:09,960 --> 01:05:13,239 He just... He just felt that, 1170 01:05:13,240 --> 01:05:15,719 "The next one is gonna be the... 1171 01:05:15,720 --> 01:05:17,839 a better one." 1172 01:05:17,840 --> 01:05:20,759 I think he just took the rough with the smooth 1173 01:05:20,760 --> 01:05:23,039 all the way through his career. 1174 01:05:23,040 --> 01:05:25,639 And things didn't quite work out how he always wanted them 1175 01:05:25,640 --> 01:05:28,079 to work out, you know? He put that in perspective 1176 01:05:28,080 --> 01:05:30,800 with his wartime experiences and so what? 1177 01:05:36,840 --> 01:05:39,479 SERAFINOWICZ: (AS LEE) We had spent almost a decade in America, 1178 01:05:39,480 --> 01:05:42,079 and I had somewhat stretched my wings there, 1179 01:05:42,080 --> 01:05:45,040 but life, as it will, conspired to bring me back home. 1180 01:05:48,480 --> 01:05:51,439 'I was in Las Vegas shooting the movie Jocks 1181 01:05:51,440 --> 01:05:53,480 'when I felt quite unwell. 1182 01:05:55,600 --> 01:05:59,279 'I was getting tired very easily and walking became quite exhausting.' 1183 01:05:59,280 --> 01:06:01,440 (HEARTBEAT THUMPING) 1184 01:06:02,680 --> 01:06:06,320 (OMINOUS MUSIC) 1185 01:06:10,320 --> 01:06:12,280 'I went to see a doctor. 1186 01:06:13,840 --> 01:06:16,559 'She told me that my mitral valve in my left ventricle 1187 01:06:16,560 --> 01:06:18,799 'wasn't closing correctly. 1188 01:06:18,800 --> 01:06:21,959 'In that moment, I realised that, quite literally, 1189 01:06:21,960 --> 01:06:24,480 'my heart was no longer in it. 1190 01:06:29,800 --> 01:06:32,479 'Our departure was swift. 1191 01:06:32,480 --> 01:06:35,319 'Back in London I took to Harley Street, 1192 01:06:35,320 --> 01:06:37,519 'province of the private clinician, 1193 01:06:37,520 --> 01:06:39,479 'where, at great expense, 1194 01:06:39,480 --> 01:06:42,559 'I was pricked and prodded and invaded and examined, 1195 01:06:42,560 --> 01:06:45,720 'and the decision was taken that surgery was essential. 1196 01:06:46,640 --> 01:06:49,879 'I campaigned against one of those new-fangled plastic valves 1197 01:06:49,880 --> 01:06:52,679 'as I had heard terrifying tales of recipients of such 1198 01:06:52,680 --> 01:06:54,999 'dropping dead mid-sentence. 1199 01:06:55,000 --> 01:06:59,439 'As an aspirational raconteur and a connoisseur of the act of death, 1200 01:06:59,440 --> 01:07:01,880 'I could think of no worse way to expire. 1201 01:07:02,920 --> 01:07:05,679 'So, they offered me the valve of a pig, 1202 01:07:05,680 --> 01:07:08,199 'which I gladly accepted. 1203 01:07:08,200 --> 01:07:11,960 'In the moment, however, they decided to mend rather than replace. 1204 01:07:13,600 --> 01:07:16,799 'So much of my life had been spent as a purveyor of fear, 1205 01:07:16,800 --> 01:07:18,959 'terror, darkness, and blood. 1206 01:07:18,960 --> 01:07:21,959 'Here I was now at their mercy. 1207 01:07:21,960 --> 01:07:24,000 'I was scared. 1208 01:07:24,920 --> 01:07:27,399 'I wrote letters to Gitte and Christina 1209 01:07:27,400 --> 01:07:31,399 'should the worst happen, and then as I waited for the hour to come, 1210 01:07:31,400 --> 01:07:35,280 'I took comfort in that which has always given me comfort. 1211 01:07:36,640 --> 01:07:39,639 'I first read The Lord of the Rings upon publication. 1212 01:07:39,640 --> 01:07:42,879 'All three volumes were released in quite quick succession 1213 01:07:42,880 --> 01:07:45,840 'within a year or so, and I absolutely devoured them. 1214 01:07:47,320 --> 01:07:50,759 'I was obsessed to the degree that I read the full trilogy 1215 01:07:50,760 --> 01:07:53,400 'every single year for the rest of my life. 1216 01:07:56,640 --> 01:07:59,440 'I met Tolkien in the '50s quite by chance. 1217 01:08:03,560 --> 01:08:05,359 'I was in Oxford with friends. 1218 01:08:05,360 --> 01:08:07,919 'We were drinking merrily in the Eagle and Child Pub 1219 01:08:07,920 --> 01:08:10,479 #when the door opened and in he walked. 1220 01:08:10,480 --> 01:08:14,559 'You see, I recognised him from his photograph on the dust jacket. 1221 01:08:14,560 --> 01:08:18,160 'In he came and somehow, he joined our group for a couple of ales. 1222 01:08:19,480 --> 01:08:22,199 'All I could say was, "How do you do?" 1223 01:08:22,200 --> 01:08:24,520 'That is it, all I could manage. 1224 01:08:25,520 --> 01:08:29,199 'I had so many questions for him I didn't know where to start 1225 01:08:29,200 --> 01:08:31,919 'and really didn't know how it might end up. 1226 01:08:31,920 --> 01:08:35,720 'So, I just smiled and nodded and enjoyed his presence. 1227 01:08:36,600 --> 01:08:39,840 'I enjoyed being in his presence and I have no regrets. 1228 01:08:41,040 --> 01:08:44,879 'I could well have scared him away or upset or annoyed him 1229 01:08:44,880 --> 01:08:47,879 'and that I would've regretted to this day. 1230 01:08:47,880 --> 01:08:50,920 'No, it was quite alright just to have been around him. 1231 01:08:51,720 --> 01:08:53,919 'It is a very good memory. 1232 01:08:53,920 --> 01:08:57,839 'So, before my operation and in my sick bed 1233 01:08:57,840 --> 01:09:00,199 'and during my recuperation, 1234 01:09:00,200 --> 01:09:03,079 'I mentally transported myself to Middle Earth. 1235 01:09:03,080 --> 01:09:06,559 'And The Fellowship with all of their goodness and decency, 1236 01:09:06,560 --> 01:09:09,840 'played a role in my recovery and recover I did. 1237 01:09:14,320 --> 01:09:17,640 'My return to London also marked a return to old friends. 1238 01:09:18,840 --> 01:09:21,079 'House of the Long Shadows, 1239 01:09:21,080 --> 01:09:23,479 'really more of a Gothic chamber piece 1240 01:09:23,480 --> 01:09:27,319 'with the occasional unfortunate demise and a risible ending. 1241 01:09:27,320 --> 01:09:30,079 'This project would see me reunited on screen, 1242 01:09:30,080 --> 01:09:32,919 'not just with Peter, but also Vincent. 1243 01:09:32,920 --> 01:09:36,159 'Who could say no to a family reunion? 1244 01:09:36,160 --> 01:09:39,919 They were such gentlemen. You know, so respectful 1245 01:09:39,920 --> 01:09:42,439 of each other's talent and... 1246 01:09:42,440 --> 01:09:44,599 and of all the crew. 1247 01:09:44,600 --> 01:09:48,159 And modest, all very modest, about their talent. 1248 01:09:48,160 --> 01:09:52,279 'Cause they are, yes, as we said, the Holy Trinity of Horror. 1249 01:09:52,280 --> 01:09:55,119 'I was the youngest of the trio by a decade. 1250 01:09:55,120 --> 01:09:57,279 'Vincent was the youngest in spirit. 1251 01:09:57,280 --> 01:10:00,319 'But it was clear that Peter was winding down. 1252 01:10:00,320 --> 01:10:03,559 'Peter, if we're truthful, had been winding down 1253 01:10:03,560 --> 01:10:06,879 'since the death of his beloved wife, Helen, a decade earlier. 1254 01:10:06,880 --> 01:10:10,719 'He never recovered. Had no desire to recover, you see. 1255 01:10:10,720 --> 01:10:12,599 'From the moment he lost her, 1256 01:10:12,600 --> 01:10:16,679 'he was just passing time until they could be reunited in death. 1257 01:10:16,680 --> 01:10:18,439 'He kept busy. 1258 01:10:18,440 --> 01:10:21,079 'He had a huge success appearing in Star Wars, 1259 01:10:21,080 --> 01:10:23,039 'but I don't think he cared. 1260 01:10:23,040 --> 01:10:26,399 'He cared about being professional and giving a great performance. 1261 01:10:26,400 --> 01:10:28,639 'He just didn't care about his standing 1262 01:10:28,640 --> 01:10:30,879 'or the acclaim or the money. 1263 01:10:30,880 --> 01:10:34,439 'He lived a quiet life in Whitstable, by the sea there. 1264 01:10:34,440 --> 01:10:37,560 'He painted his miniatures, and he passed the time. 1265 01:10:38,960 --> 01:10:42,439 'Ultimately, he waited 23 years 1266 01:10:42,440 --> 01:10:44,800 'until he could join his dear Helen. 1267 01:10:46,320 --> 01:10:48,999 'He was truly a special man, 1268 01:10:49,000 --> 01:10:51,320 'and he was my friend. 1269 01:10:53,320 --> 01:10:55,199 'His last job was to narrate a documentary 1270 01:10:55,200 --> 01:10:57,759 'about Hammer films with me.' 1271 01:10:57,760 --> 01:11:01,759 I was in Cannes for two days - recently. - Say that louder. 1272 01:11:01,760 --> 01:11:04,719 (SHOUTS) I was in Cannes for two days recently.(LAUGHS) 1273 01:11:04,720 --> 01:11:07,919 And everybody gave me a big welcome. What were you doing there? 1274 01:11:07,920 --> 01:11:10,079 Well, talking about you. That's it for you. 1275 01:11:10,080 --> 01:11:12,839 - As usual. - Yes. And somebody said to me, 1276 01:11:12,840 --> 01:11:15,079 (FRENCH ACCENT) "And how is Mr Cushing?" 1277 01:11:15,080 --> 01:11:17,560 (NORMAL VOICE) I said, "I don't know." 1278 01:11:19,000 --> 01:11:21,279 This is happening all over the world. 1279 01:11:21,280 --> 01:11:23,599 People say to me, "How is Mr Cushing?" 1280 01:11:23,600 --> 01:11:26,039 Sometimes they say, "Good morning, Mr Cushing." 1281 01:11:26,040 --> 01:11:28,199 (LAUGHTER) 1282 01:11:28,200 --> 01:11:31,759 Sometimes they do that too. It's either that or Mr Price. 1283 01:11:31,760 --> 01:11:34,120 Always. Always. 1284 01:11:35,120 --> 01:11:36,959 'We had a wonderful day together. 1285 01:11:36,960 --> 01:11:39,719 'But as we said, goodbye, I had a premonition. 1286 01:11:39,720 --> 01:11:42,680 'I knew it would be the last time I would see him. 1287 01:11:43,960 --> 01:11:45,960 'And it was.' 1288 01:11:46,760 --> 01:11:49,199 I did not wind down. 1289 01:11:49,200 --> 01:11:51,239 He really loved doing movies. 1290 01:11:51,240 --> 01:11:54,519 Not just the movie itself, the whole process. 1291 01:11:54,520 --> 01:11:58,199 From reading the script to meeting the people at the set, 1292 01:11:58,200 --> 01:12:01,119 meeting other actors, exchanging ideas. 1293 01:12:01,120 --> 01:12:03,119 At home, he would be bored. 1294 01:12:03,120 --> 01:12:05,279 He would have nothing to do. He was restless. 1295 01:12:05,280 --> 01:12:08,559 He was in a situation in where 1296 01:12:08,560 --> 01:12:12,119 he was not getting any prominent movies. 1297 01:12:12,120 --> 01:12:14,639 In other words, he was getting... 1298 01:12:14,640 --> 01:12:16,479 meaningless parts. 1299 01:12:16,480 --> 01:12:19,119 The majority of people thought that he had passed away 1300 01:12:19,120 --> 01:12:22,039 'cause he had not been really in the mainstream. 1301 01:12:22,040 --> 01:12:24,839 At the time, I'm talking 1995. 1302 01:12:24,840 --> 01:12:28,519 From 1995 maybe to 1998, around that time. 1303 01:12:28,520 --> 01:12:30,799 He didn't wanna do any more horror movies 1304 01:12:30,800 --> 01:12:32,839 because he had done everything already. 1305 01:12:32,840 --> 01:12:34,719 There wasn't anything else to be done. 1306 01:12:34,720 --> 01:12:38,159 He thought that he had so much more to give than just that, 1307 01:12:38,160 --> 01:12:41,879 so, he wasn't getting the type of work that he wanted. 1308 01:12:41,880 --> 01:12:44,279 He came to see me playing at Stratford-on-Avon 1309 01:12:44,280 --> 01:12:46,959 in the Royal Shakespeare Company, and he came afterwards. 1310 01:12:46,960 --> 01:12:49,199 Afterwards, he said, "I'm so jealous of you... 1311 01:12:49,200 --> 01:12:51,719 because, you know, I'd love to have done 1312 01:12:51,720 --> 01:12:54,519 some of the great classical roles on the stage." 1313 01:12:54,520 --> 01:12:57,559 He was very, very keen to play Don Quixote. 1314 01:12:57,560 --> 01:13:00,959 I think that would've been a fantastic part for him, actually. 1315 01:13:00,960 --> 01:13:05,239 Can you just see him sitting astride that knackered old horse, you know? 1316 01:13:05,240 --> 01:13:08,840 In his Spanish armour, tilting at windmills. 1317 01:13:09,760 --> 01:13:12,639 The whole idea- I think in a way that role spoke to him. 1318 01:13:12,640 --> 01:13:15,439 'Cause the whole idea of tilting at windmills, i.e. 1319 01:13:15,440 --> 01:13:18,039 at conventional film stardom, 1320 01:13:18,040 --> 01:13:20,759 was something that he understood. 1321 01:13:20,760 --> 01:13:23,239 He did have a lot of rejection, 1322 01:13:23,240 --> 01:13:25,279 um, which people don't know about. 1323 01:13:25,280 --> 01:13:27,399 And so, you do, you know, 1324 01:13:27,400 --> 01:13:31,279 you could spend hours of your day being sad about where you didn't go. 1325 01:13:31,280 --> 01:13:33,759 And he did sometimes get into that place. 1326 01:13:33,760 --> 01:13:36,199 He was jealous. 1327 01:13:36,200 --> 01:13:38,599 He was jealous of certain actors. 1328 01:13:38,600 --> 01:13:40,840 He was jealous of Michael Caine. 1329 01:13:42,120 --> 01:13:45,479 I said, "Christopher, why are you jealous of Michael Caine? 1330 01:13:45,480 --> 01:13:48,760 Michael is a brilliant actor. You're a brilliant actor." 1331 01:13:49,560 --> 01:13:51,799 He would never give me the reasons. 1332 01:13:51,800 --> 01:13:55,320 He just thought that Michael Caine got more attention. 1333 01:13:56,200 --> 01:13:59,919 At this time, I actually turned largely to my great hobby of singing 1334 01:13:59,920 --> 01:14:02,879 and took a serious stab at making a go of it. 1335 01:14:02,880 --> 01:14:04,879 He did a narration for Rhapsody of Fire. 1336 01:14:04,880 --> 01:14:07,359 That was the first time that he worked 1337 01:14:07,360 --> 01:14:09,759 with a mainstream heavy metal band. 1338 01:14:09,760 --> 01:14:11,999 They were huge. And they're still huge. 1339 01:14:12,000 --> 01:14:15,359 They are pioneers of Symphonic and Power Metal. 1340 01:14:15,360 --> 01:14:17,839 He liked the music because... 1341 01:14:17,840 --> 01:14:20,559 it's very similar to the music that he liked. 1342 01:14:20,560 --> 01:14:23,239 He loved Wagner. And in his opinion, 1343 01:14:23,240 --> 01:14:26,559 Wagner and heavy metal are interconnected. 1344 01:14:26,560 --> 01:14:29,279 The music is very powerful, 1345 01:14:29,280 --> 01:14:31,679 big stories. So, you know, 1346 01:14:31,680 --> 01:14:34,959 that's how he knew about metal. 1347 01:14:34,960 --> 01:14:36,799 'I was hooked. 1348 01:14:36,800 --> 01:14:40,359 'A few years later, I formed The Charlemagne Project. 1349 01:14:40,360 --> 01:14:43,359 'What would become two full albums.' 1350 01:14:43,360 --> 01:14:46,559 Christopher had worked before in several albums, 1351 01:14:46,560 --> 01:14:49,519 several projects, he wanted to do some more. 1352 01:14:49,520 --> 01:14:52,439 So there is where we came in, huh? 1353 01:14:52,440 --> 01:14:54,719 The project started with 1354 01:14:54,720 --> 01:14:56,879 Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross, 1355 01:14:56,880 --> 01:15:00,479 and then the second heavy metal album, which was more heavy, 1356 01:15:00,480 --> 01:15:02,559 if that's a phrase. 1357 01:15:02,560 --> 01:15:05,159 Now the first album was more symphonic metal. 1358 01:15:05,160 --> 01:15:09,759 ♪ Four thousand men all dead in one day 1359 01:15:09,760 --> 01:15:14,439 ♪ They would not renounce their heathen ways... ♪ 1360 01:15:14,440 --> 01:15:16,439 We first, we did the symphonic one, 1361 01:15:16,440 --> 01:15:18,719 and there are two generations of fans. 1362 01:15:18,720 --> 01:15:20,759 Some loved it because it was symphonic. 1363 01:15:20,760 --> 01:15:23,359 It's light, they like that. But the more extreme, 1364 01:15:23,360 --> 01:15:26,359 the more heavier fans, ah, they were disappointed. 1365 01:15:26,360 --> 01:15:29,159 "Oh, this is not metal! This is symphonic." 1366 01:15:29,160 --> 01:15:31,479 We had to do it heavier. 1367 01:15:31,480 --> 01:15:34,319 And also, Sir Christopher said, "This needs to be one. 1368 01:15:34,320 --> 01:15:36,239 This needs to be heavier. 1369 01:15:36,240 --> 01:15:40,399 Needs to be much, much heavier! The music is not powerful enough. 1370 01:15:40,400 --> 01:15:43,919 The orchestra, we need more power!" Remember he said, "More power?" 1371 01:15:43,920 --> 01:15:47,519 "You know, I can sing much louder than that," right? 1372 01:15:47,520 --> 01:15:49,679 ♪ I shed blood of the Saxon man 1373 01:15:49,680 --> 01:15:51,959 ♪ I shed the blood of the Saxon men 1374 01:15:51,960 --> 01:15:56,319 ♪ I shed the blood of the Saxon man ♪ 1375 01:15:56,320 --> 01:15:58,719 But in between the Charlemagne albums, 1376 01:15:58,720 --> 01:16:00,799 he sung heavy metal singles. 1377 01:16:00,800 --> 01:16:03,599 You know, we started with the Heavy Metal Christmas then 1378 01:16:03,600 --> 01:16:07,519 Heavy Metal Christmas Two, - with Jingle Hells. - Oh yeah. 1379 01:16:07,520 --> 01:16:11,719 ♪ Jingle hell, jingle hell, jingle all the way 1380 01:16:11,720 --> 01:16:16,519 ♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ 1381 01:16:16,520 --> 01:16:20,599 He actually went number 18 on the- The American Billboard charts. 1382 01:16:20,600 --> 01:16:23,479 On the billboard single - charts in America. - Number 22, 1383 01:16:23,480 --> 01:16:27,799 and then number 22, and then from the PR of getting to number 22, 1384 01:16:27,800 --> 01:16:30,479 he went to number 18 in the Billboard charts. 1385 01:16:30,480 --> 01:16:34,639 It meant that Christopher became the oldest, now careful here, 1386 01:16:34,640 --> 01:16:39,279 recording artist, not somebody that wrote some music 1387 01:16:39,280 --> 01:16:42,159 and all of a sudden, you know, at 90 1388 01:16:42,160 --> 01:16:45,239 his music appears on the charts, he was 92- 1389 01:16:45,240 --> 01:16:48,119 91 and a half years old when he recorded, 1390 01:16:48,120 --> 01:16:51,279 and he became the oldest performing artist 1391 01:16:51,280 --> 01:16:53,639 to have ever charted. 1392 01:16:53,640 --> 01:16:57,280 ♪ In the name of Jesus Christo, our lord 1393 01:16:58,160 --> 01:17:02,360 ♪ On a day on Verden, no mercy given 1394 01:17:03,240 --> 01:17:07,159 ♪ Victory for the chosen people ♪ 1395 01:17:07,160 --> 01:17:10,560 Every single music magazine in the world... 1396 01:17:11,480 --> 01:17:15,439 ...started to refer to him as a heavy metal star. 1397 01:17:15,440 --> 01:17:18,319 Right? So, he started 1398 01:17:18,320 --> 01:17:21,120 as somebody who wanted to sing... 1399 01:17:22,240 --> 01:17:24,999 ...and at the end, he was respected 1400 01:17:25,000 --> 01:17:27,599 by every single heavy metal musician. 1401 01:17:27,600 --> 01:17:31,119 'One of the founding members of Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi 1402 01:17:31,120 --> 01:17:34,160 'presented me with the Metal Hammer Golden God award.' 1403 01:17:35,000 --> 01:17:37,999 I think it was probably the most memorable day 1404 01:17:38,000 --> 01:17:39,999 that I can remember in the whole of my life. 1405 01:17:40,000 --> 01:17:42,919 He was born again, he felt the energy of the place. 1406 01:17:42,920 --> 01:17:45,719 I remember that we were in the changing rooms with Tony Iommi 1407 01:17:45,720 --> 01:17:47,879 and Sir Christopher, they were talking. 1408 01:17:47,880 --> 01:17:50,879 They had a very long conversation in the changing room. 1409 01:17:50,880 --> 01:17:52,879 Sir Christopher said to him, 1410 01:17:52,880 --> 01:17:55,999 "You invented heavy metal, you are the father of metal." 1411 01:17:56,000 --> 01:17:59,359 He said. And Tony Iommi replied, 1412 01:17:59,360 --> 01:18:03,639 "No, you were the one that created heavy metal with your movies, 1413 01:18:03,640 --> 01:18:05,959 I was inspired by your movies." 1414 01:18:05,960 --> 01:18:09,159 Sir Christopher, "My movies? The good ones I hope!" 1415 01:18:09,160 --> 01:18:11,960 (LAUGHTER) He always said this, "The good ones I hope!" 1416 01:18:12,920 --> 01:18:16,199 By 1998, I was 76-years-old 1417 01:18:16,200 --> 01:18:18,399 and it could well have been assumed 1418 01:18:18,400 --> 01:18:21,119 that my most fruitful years were behind me. 1419 01:18:21,120 --> 01:18:23,919 But then, something happened. 1420 01:18:23,920 --> 01:18:27,999 Something wonderful and quite unexpected happened. 1421 01:18:28,000 --> 01:18:30,359 I received an invitation to tea 1422 01:18:30,360 --> 01:18:32,679 at the Basil Street Hotel in Knightsbridge. 1423 01:18:32,680 --> 01:18:35,399 My hosts there were the head of Islamic studies 1424 01:18:35,400 --> 01:18:37,679 from Cambridge university, Akbar Ahmed 1425 01:18:37,680 --> 01:18:41,239 and his friend, the film director, Jamil Dehlavi. 1426 01:18:41,240 --> 01:18:43,239 They had a question for me. 1427 01:18:43,240 --> 01:18:45,280 "What do you know about Jinnah?" 1428 01:18:46,560 --> 01:18:48,239 '"Well," I replied. 1429 01:18:48,240 --> 01:18:51,319 '"I know that Mohammed Ali Jinnah was the Baba-e-Qaum, 1430 01:18:51,320 --> 01:18:53,799 'forefather of the nation of Pakistan, 1431 01:18:53,800 --> 01:18:55,799 'the state he founded in 1947 1432 01:18:55,800 --> 01:18:58,679 'and became the first Governor General of. 1433 01:18:58,680 --> 01:19:02,239 'It was his committed endeavour to create a separate state 1434 01:19:02,240 --> 01:19:04,119 'for Indian Muslims. 1435 01:19:04,120 --> 01:19:07,359 'I believe him to have been an extraordinary man 1436 01:19:07,360 --> 01:19:09,159 'of determination and brilliance. 1437 01:19:09,160 --> 01:19:11,959 '"We should like you to play Jinnah." They replied. 1438 01:19:11,960 --> 01:19:15,439 'Jinnah was by far the most important film I made 1439 01:19:15,440 --> 01:19:19,479 in terms of its subject and the great responsibility I had as an actor. 1440 01:19:19,480 --> 01:19:22,239 'I am immensely proud of this picture. 1441 01:19:22,240 --> 01:19:25,879 'I received, really, the best reviews I've ever had.' 1442 01:19:25,880 --> 01:19:28,719 He was reminding you that he could do these longer parts, 1443 01:19:28,720 --> 01:19:30,959 these more conventional dramatic roles 1444 01:19:30,960 --> 01:19:33,439 and he could bring nuance and... 1445 01:19:33,440 --> 01:19:35,399 subtlety and, you know, 1446 01:19:35,400 --> 01:19:38,359 statesmanship in that particular instance, playing Jinnah. 1447 01:19:38,360 --> 01:19:41,359 He could bring all that to a role in a more conventional vein. 1448 01:19:41,360 --> 01:19:43,039 But you see... 1449 01:19:43,040 --> 01:19:45,319 because he'd done so many short parts, 1450 01:19:45,320 --> 01:19:48,759 I don't think casting directors, very often, saw him that way. 1451 01:19:48,760 --> 01:19:51,119 'The film was a smash hit with the critics 1452 01:19:51,120 --> 01:19:53,879 'but barely saw the inside of a cinema. 1453 01:19:53,880 --> 01:19:57,239 'It seems many could not accept the notion of a white Englishman 1454 01:19:57,240 --> 01:19:59,839 'playing such an important Indian icon. 1455 01:19:59,840 --> 01:20:02,480 'It passed largely unseen.' 1456 01:20:03,400 --> 01:20:06,039 Had this been the coda to my career in film, 1457 01:20:06,040 --> 01:20:08,720 well, it would have been a most satisfactory one. 1458 01:20:09,560 --> 01:20:11,559 But Jinnah was not the end. 1459 01:20:11,560 --> 01:20:13,559 It was the beginning of the end. 1460 01:20:13,560 --> 01:20:15,600 And what an end it was to be. 1461 01:20:16,640 --> 01:20:21,559 Almost a decade earlier, Vincent had enjoyed a magical last act revival. 1462 01:20:21,560 --> 01:20:24,799 After a decade of films which were often beneath him, 1463 01:20:24,800 --> 01:20:27,559 his final film, his final role, 1464 01:20:27,560 --> 01:20:30,279 his final moment on the silver screen 1465 01:20:30,280 --> 01:20:33,119 was a work of great beauty. 1466 01:20:33,120 --> 01:20:35,759 'Edward Scissorhands was an early picture 1467 01:20:35,760 --> 01:20:37,879 'from two of cinemas great artists. 1468 01:20:37,880 --> 01:20:40,519 'Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. 1469 01:20:40,520 --> 01:20:43,439 'It would be my good fortune to not only work with them 1470 01:20:43,440 --> 01:20:45,959 'but to call them friends. 1471 01:20:45,960 --> 01:20:48,999 'Our first picture together was, Sleepy Hollow. 1472 01:20:49,000 --> 01:20:51,799 'Washington Irving's tale of Ichabod Crane 1473 01:20:51,800 --> 01:20:53,879 'and the headless horseman. 1474 01:20:53,880 --> 01:20:57,239 'Their creepy but tongue-in-cheek Gothic style was, of course, 1475 01:20:57,240 --> 01:21:00,839 'familiar and pleasing to me but, unlike the Hammer films, 1476 01:21:00,840 --> 01:21:03,960 'there were no corners cut and quality was paramount. 1477 01:21:05,520 --> 01:21:09,639 'I would go on to appear in four more Depp-Burton collaborations 1478 01:21:09,640 --> 01:21:12,439 'and very fine they were too.' 1479 01:21:12,440 --> 01:21:15,319 I also found myself cast in what would go on to be 1480 01:21:15,320 --> 01:21:18,839 the two biggest cinematic franchises in the entire world 1481 01:21:18,840 --> 01:21:21,199 for the first decade of the new millennium. 1482 01:21:21,200 --> 01:21:25,039 One of these was already the biggest franchise in film history. 1483 01:21:25,040 --> 01:21:27,599 I would be following my friend Peter, 1484 01:21:27,600 --> 01:21:31,079 to become a villainous antagonist in a new Star Wars film 1485 01:21:31,080 --> 01:21:35,039 under the creator himself, George Lucas. 1486 01:21:35,040 --> 01:21:37,839 'In the original Star Wars films in the 1970's, 1487 01:21:37,840 --> 01:21:41,319 'Lucas had redefined what could be achieved with special effects. 1488 01:21:41,320 --> 01:21:43,879 'But here, at the dawn of a new century, 1489 01:21:43,880 --> 01:21:46,359 'he was pioneering what could be achieved 1490 01:21:46,360 --> 01:21:48,720 'through digital manipulation of the image. 1491 01:21:49,920 --> 01:21:52,959 'To be working on the cutting edge of technology was a thrill 1492 01:21:52,960 --> 01:21:55,640 'but it was also unfamiliar and disorienting. 1493 01:21:57,640 --> 01:22:00,319 'Forget the absence of other actors, 1494 01:22:00,320 --> 01:22:03,039 'oftentimes there weren't even sets. 1495 01:22:03,040 --> 01:22:05,759 'When one acts in nothing, to nothing, 1496 01:22:05,760 --> 01:22:07,720 'well, it was a challenge. 1497 01:22:08,520 --> 01:22:10,720 'But to be challenged is no bad thing. 1498 01:22:11,560 --> 01:22:15,360 'My high-point in this trilogy was my duel with the iconic Yoda. 1499 01:22:16,360 --> 01:22:18,599 'A fight that didn't take place 1500 01:22:18,600 --> 01:22:20,480 'with a creature that didn't exist. 1501 01:22:23,320 --> 01:22:25,880 (LIGHTSABERS CRACKLING) 1502 01:22:27,640 --> 01:22:30,680 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 1503 01:22:42,240 --> 01:22:44,199 Fought well you have, 1504 01:22:44,200 --> 01:22:46,199 my old Padawan. 1505 01:22:46,200 --> 01:22:48,240 This is just the beginning. 1506 01:22:49,240 --> 01:22:51,759 The critics weren't always kind to these films, 1507 01:22:51,760 --> 01:22:55,640 but George Lucas gave me a gift for which I remain eternally grateful. 1508 01:22:56,440 --> 01:22:59,239 The generation of children who grew up on these movies 1509 01:22:59,240 --> 01:23:01,559 have never even heard of Hammer films. 1510 01:23:01,560 --> 01:23:04,039 He unshackled me from my past 1511 01:23:04,040 --> 01:23:07,800 and allowed me to be something completely new to a modern audience. 1512 01:23:08,800 --> 01:23:11,079 My resurrection was becoming a regeneration, 1513 01:23:11,080 --> 01:23:13,079 and it was far from over. 1514 01:23:13,080 --> 01:23:14,999 Suddenly I was in demand. 1515 01:23:15,000 --> 01:23:18,799 'Stephen Polliakoff wanted me for Glorious 39. 1516 01:23:18,800 --> 01:23:22,640 'Martin Scorsese hired me for his love letter to early cinema, Hugo.' 1517 01:23:23,680 --> 01:23:27,839 But the greatest gift was one which had come from New Zealand. 1518 01:23:27,840 --> 01:23:30,519 My whole career, I had dreamt 1519 01:23:30,520 --> 01:23:32,999 of appearing in just one film. 1520 01:23:33,000 --> 01:23:36,519 He knew that The Lord of the Rings was being produced 1521 01:23:36,520 --> 01:23:38,799 and he always wanted to play Gandalf. 1522 01:23:38,800 --> 01:23:42,479 He read the books every year. He was very excited about that. 1523 01:23:42,480 --> 01:23:44,799 So he said, "Juan, look, 1524 01:23:44,800 --> 01:23:47,639 find out on the internet, put the word out 1525 01:23:47,640 --> 01:23:49,719 that I would like to be in that movie." 1526 01:23:49,720 --> 01:23:52,919 Gandalf, Saruman, whatever, as long as he was in the movie. 1527 01:23:52,920 --> 01:23:55,959 Christopher was someone that we had in mind for Saruman. 1528 01:23:55,960 --> 01:23:57,999 Not just because of his background, 1529 01:23:58,000 --> 01:24:00,799 and because I had grown up loving Christopher Lee's movies. 1530 01:24:00,800 --> 01:24:02,679 You know, he was perfect for that role. 1531 01:24:02,680 --> 01:24:05,839 There's no doubt about it. You'd be hard-pressed to find another actor 1532 01:24:05,840 --> 01:24:08,159 that would be better at bringing Saruman to life. 1533 01:24:08,160 --> 01:24:11,599 What surprised us is that it wasn't just a conversation where 1534 01:24:11,600 --> 01:24:14,319 we are trying to persuade him to, you know, 1535 01:24:14,320 --> 01:24:17,079 to do the role that we wanted him for. 1536 01:24:17,080 --> 01:24:20,159 He was super enthusiastic 'cause he was a huge Tolkien fan. 1537 01:24:20,160 --> 01:24:23,599 And then he said, "Well, I'd be very happy to do Saruman, of course. 1538 01:24:23,600 --> 01:24:25,799 This is great." But he says, 1539 01:24:25,800 --> 01:24:28,279 "But did you ever consider me for Gandalf?" 1540 01:24:28,280 --> 01:24:30,399 Which we hadn't done, 1541 01:24:30,400 --> 01:24:33,039 and it put us on the spot a bit 'cause I said, "Oh, really?" 1542 01:24:33,040 --> 01:24:35,639 He said, "Yes. I would much prefer to play Gandalf, you know?" 1543 01:24:35,640 --> 01:24:39,479 And I understand why 'cause Gandalf was pushing him as an actor 1544 01:24:39,480 --> 01:24:41,919 whereas Saruman was something, you know, 1545 01:24:41,920 --> 01:24:45,239 we- everyone knows he could do Saruman. He's perfect for that. 1546 01:24:45,240 --> 01:24:48,199 So, he said, "I prepared a scene. Can you film me? 1547 01:24:48,200 --> 01:24:50,359 I'd like to do Gandalf. I'd like to show you." 1548 01:24:50,360 --> 01:24:52,759 He auditioned for us, which is the last thing we wanted 1549 01:24:52,760 --> 01:24:55,039 Christopher to do, audition for the role of Gandalf. 1550 01:24:55,040 --> 01:24:57,919 He was good as Gandalf, but... better as Saruman. 1551 01:24:57,920 --> 01:25:01,359 And what we actually ended up realising 1552 01:25:01,360 --> 01:25:03,919 is that we had other possibilities for Gandalf. 1553 01:25:03,920 --> 01:25:06,439 You know, there were other actors that in different ways 1554 01:25:06,440 --> 01:25:08,319 could do Gandalf and we were talking to Ian 1555 01:25:08,320 --> 01:25:10,599 and he would be certainly top of the list. 1556 01:25:10,600 --> 01:25:13,879 But there is no other actor we thought of that could do Saruman. 1557 01:25:13,880 --> 01:25:15,759 I mean, Christopher was our only choice. 1558 01:25:15,760 --> 01:25:19,519 When he found out that he was gonna be in the movie, 1559 01:25:19,520 --> 01:25:22,199 it was like a dream come true to him. 1560 01:25:22,200 --> 01:25:25,359 He was a geek. He was a Lord of the Rings geek. 1561 01:25:25,360 --> 01:25:27,879 So that was a dream come true. 1562 01:25:27,880 --> 01:25:30,319 'It was an incredibly demanding shoot, 1563 01:25:30,320 --> 01:25:33,159 'requiring four stints of shooting in New Zealand, 1564 01:25:33,160 --> 01:25:35,759 'early starts and long days. 1565 01:25:35,760 --> 01:25:38,359 I do remember his very first day of filming... 1566 01:25:38,360 --> 01:25:41,679 was interesting. It was a scene from Fellowship of the Ring 1567 01:25:41,680 --> 01:25:44,999 where Saruman and Gandalf are walking in the Isengard garden 1568 01:25:45,000 --> 01:25:47,679 just talking with each other. There's just the two of them. 1569 01:25:47,680 --> 01:25:50,919 So we were in a local park 1570 01:25:50,920 --> 01:25:53,359 in Wellington shooting that sequence. 1571 01:25:53,360 --> 01:25:55,799 I remember part way through that first day, 1572 01:25:55,800 --> 01:25:58,439 um, Ian came up to me 1573 01:25:58,440 --> 01:26:01,559 just in between setups and he said, 1574 01:26:01,560 --> 01:26:04,159 "Oh... you might- 1575 01:26:04,160 --> 01:26:06,319 you might need to have a word with Christopher." 1576 01:26:06,320 --> 01:26:09,759 And I said, "Really? What? Why?" I said, "He's going great." 1577 01:26:09,760 --> 01:26:12,999 And Ian said, "Christopher's convinced that he's gonna get fired 1578 01:26:13,000 --> 01:26:15,919 at the end of the day. He's convinced he's doing a terrible job. 1579 01:26:15,920 --> 01:26:18,719 He's convinced himself that you don't like it, 1580 01:26:18,720 --> 01:26:21,279 and he's absolutely sure that he's gonna get fired 1581 01:26:21,280 --> 01:26:24,279 when the day's finished." Which was a terrible thing to hear 1582 01:26:24,280 --> 01:26:26,559 when we're only halfway through a day, so. 1583 01:26:26,560 --> 01:26:30,079 I just started to really reassure Christopher he was doing great. 1584 01:26:30,080 --> 01:26:32,799 It was quite a surprising insecurity about him. 1585 01:26:32,800 --> 01:26:35,879 For somebody who'd done 200, 250 films, 1586 01:26:35,880 --> 01:26:39,119 however many he'd done at that point, over decades of work, 1587 01:26:39,120 --> 01:26:42,159 he was still a very nervous, insecure actor. 1588 01:26:42,160 --> 01:26:44,559 It was almost like it was his first day 1589 01:26:44,560 --> 01:26:46,679 on the set of any film ever. 1590 01:26:46,680 --> 01:26:49,160 That's the way that he sort of, he came across. 1591 01:26:50,040 --> 01:26:52,719 The first two had come out and Christopher was great as Saruman. 1592 01:26:52,720 --> 01:26:55,599 Everyone loved the character, and everyone was looking forward 1593 01:26:55,600 --> 01:26:58,039 to that third Lord of the Rings film. But we were struggling 1594 01:26:58,040 --> 01:27:00,839 with the edit of it to really make the best film we possibly could. 1595 01:27:00,840 --> 01:27:03,279 And it was very, very long. I mean... 1596 01:27:03,280 --> 01:27:06,439 our first cut of Return to the King was over four hours long, 1597 01:27:06,440 --> 01:27:08,799 and it was just too long. And so, something- 1598 01:27:08,800 --> 01:27:11,359 We had to sort of, had to condense it. 1599 01:27:11,360 --> 01:27:14,319 We had the sequences of him in The Return of the King, 1600 01:27:14,320 --> 01:27:17,239 and we had to take time out, we looked at them and thought, 1601 01:27:17,240 --> 01:27:20,239 "Well, this is really not advancing the storyline." 1602 01:27:20,240 --> 01:27:23,559 It's like clearing up a loose end from The Two Towers 1603 01:27:23,560 --> 01:27:25,919 is how it felt a little bit, looking at it brutally. 1604 01:27:25,920 --> 01:27:30,199 So, a really tough decision was made that we could delete his appearance 1605 01:27:30,200 --> 01:27:33,919 in Return of the King, despite the fact we'd already shot it. 1606 01:27:33,920 --> 01:27:36,199 Chris was terribly upset about it. 1607 01:27:36,200 --> 01:27:38,719 And I remember saying to him at the time, 1608 01:27:38,720 --> 01:27:42,679 "Hello! You're essential role in Lord of the Rings. 1609 01:27:42,680 --> 01:27:45,040 Now you're part of Star Wars! 1610 01:27:47,000 --> 01:27:49,519 Relax!" You know? (CHUCKLES) 1611 01:27:49,520 --> 01:27:52,719 He was thrilled to be in all of the new popular movies 1612 01:27:52,720 --> 01:27:54,999 that were popular with, you know? 1613 01:27:55,000 --> 01:27:57,599 I mean, the movies, he was always in popular movies. 1614 01:27:57,600 --> 01:27:59,799 Even the Hammer films were popular pictures, 1615 01:27:59,800 --> 01:28:02,999 but they weren't mainstream popular, like blockbuster popular. 1616 01:28:03,000 --> 01:28:05,319 And when you get into working with George Lucas 1617 01:28:05,320 --> 01:28:08,159 and working with Peter Jackson, I mean, now you're talking about 1618 01:28:08,160 --> 01:28:11,359 these are huge budget movies that are seen by millions of people 1619 01:28:11,360 --> 01:28:13,879 in the world over, and it's the top of the heap. 1620 01:28:13,880 --> 01:28:16,119 You really can't get much higher than that. 1621 01:28:16,120 --> 01:28:19,199 And I think he was really thrilled at that point in his career 1622 01:28:19,200 --> 01:28:21,959 to say that, "OK, I did this. I went from here, 1623 01:28:21,960 --> 01:28:26,159 I went from... tiny parts in swashbuckler movies 1624 01:28:26,160 --> 01:28:28,999 in the early '50s to, you know, 1625 01:28:29,000 --> 01:28:32,759 the top of the heap in playing with the most respected directors, 1626 01:28:32,760 --> 01:28:35,640 Scorsese included, in the world." 1627 01:28:36,880 --> 01:28:39,999 He was very aware that these were big name directors, 1628 01:28:40,000 --> 01:28:43,159 but he seemed to forget that he was a big name actor or at any rate, 1629 01:28:43,160 --> 01:28:46,679 he had a huge heritage stretching back several decades, 1630 01:28:46,680 --> 01:28:49,079 which is why they wanted him. 1631 01:28:49,080 --> 01:28:51,840 But it did constitute an Indian summer. 1632 01:28:57,840 --> 01:29:00,639 SERAFINOWICZ: (AS LEE) The Lord of the Rings, quite rightly, 1633 01:29:00,640 --> 01:29:02,479 won many awards. 1634 01:29:02,480 --> 01:29:04,959 And then I started to as well. 1635 01:29:04,960 --> 01:29:08,239 'I realised that there comes a point at which they give you awards 1636 01:29:08,240 --> 01:29:10,359 'merely for still being alive. 1637 01:29:10,360 --> 01:29:13,279 'I was very moved and grateful for all of them. 1638 01:29:13,280 --> 01:29:16,159 'But there is a none-too-coded message attached 1639 01:29:16,160 --> 01:29:18,239 'to every Lifetime Achievement Award, 1640 01:29:18,240 --> 01:29:21,519 'which suggests that one might no longer be considered 1641 01:29:21,520 --> 01:29:25,720 'the promising newcomer, and that one's potential might now be spent. 1642 01:29:26,800 --> 01:29:28,800 'The Old Pipe and Slippers Award.' 1643 01:29:30,680 --> 01:29:33,039 The knighthood meant a lot to him. 1644 01:29:33,040 --> 01:29:35,959 He was a little disappointed that it wasn't the Queen. 1645 01:29:35,960 --> 01:29:38,199 I think Prince Charles knighted him, 1646 01:29:38,200 --> 01:29:40,679 but... still, it meant a lot. 1647 01:29:40,680 --> 01:29:43,039 It meant a lot. 1648 01:29:43,040 --> 01:29:45,679 ANNOUNCER: To receive the honour of knighthood, 1649 01:29:45,680 --> 01:29:50,520 Sir Christopher Lee for services to drama and to charity. 1650 01:29:51,360 --> 01:29:54,359 INTERVIEWER: So, what role would you like to be most remembered for? 1651 01:29:54,360 --> 01:29:56,039 Probably Jinnah. 1652 01:29:56,040 --> 01:29:58,479 I think that's the most challenging 1653 01:29:58,480 --> 01:30:01,199 and important part I've ever had. 1654 01:30:01,200 --> 01:30:03,999 There have been others, of course. The Man with the Golden Gun, 1655 01:30:04,000 --> 01:30:07,279 and of course in The Lord of the Rings, Saruman, 1656 01:30:07,280 --> 01:30:09,279 and Count Dooku. 1657 01:30:09,280 --> 01:30:12,759 What's important to me is that... 1658 01:30:12,760 --> 01:30:15,359 it seems that now I'm known 1659 01:30:15,360 --> 01:30:18,319 to every generation, and after all, 1660 01:30:18,320 --> 01:30:20,199 that's what it's all about. 1661 01:30:20,200 --> 01:30:21,799 Survival. 1662 01:30:21,800 --> 01:30:24,119 Thank you very much for speaking to us. 1663 01:30:24,120 --> 01:30:26,039 So there you have it. A knight of the realm 1664 01:30:26,040 --> 01:30:28,119 but still the King of Horror. 1665 01:30:28,120 --> 01:30:30,239 The King of what? 1666 01:30:30,240 --> 01:30:32,840 Horror! Don't say that, dear. I'm not. 1667 01:30:34,160 --> 01:30:37,239 But we remember you for- But I'm not the King of Horror. 1668 01:30:37,240 --> 01:30:41,119 I haven't done a horror film for 34 years. 1669 01:30:41,120 --> 01:30:43,119 Can I get you to say - this on camera for me? - Yes! 1670 01:30:43,120 --> 01:30:44,999 And then we can put it straight. 1671 01:30:45,000 --> 01:30:47,560 Please don't refer to me as the King of Horror. 1672 01:30:48,960 --> 01:30:51,440 (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 1673 01:31:12,760 --> 01:31:16,159 The day before he passed away, we thought he was coming home. 1674 01:31:16,160 --> 01:31:19,479 He was being himself. I thought he looked good, right? 1675 01:31:19,480 --> 01:31:22,679 I thought he was going home. The doctor said, "He's fine. 1676 01:31:22,680 --> 01:31:25,639 He looks good. He looks well." And that night he said, "Oh! 1677 01:31:25,640 --> 01:31:27,799 The Lord of the Rings is on TV, right? 1678 01:31:27,800 --> 01:31:30,759 So, we'll watch The Lord of the Rings with the nurses, right? 1679 01:31:30,760 --> 01:31:34,279 I'll explain to you how the movie is." Because he loved the movie. 1680 01:31:34,280 --> 01:31:38,079 So, he watched that night The Lord of the Rings with the nurses, 1681 01:31:38,080 --> 01:31:41,119 and we went home and we were already thinking, 1682 01:31:41,120 --> 01:31:43,239 "OK, he's coming back." 1683 01:31:43,240 --> 01:31:45,039 Then that night, 1684 01:31:45,040 --> 01:31:47,359 all of a sudden, I was asleep 1685 01:31:47,360 --> 01:31:50,399 and I saw Christina stressed 1686 01:31:50,400 --> 01:31:53,159 and saying, "Daddy is gone." 1687 01:31:53,160 --> 01:31:55,599 And it was a very- 1688 01:31:55,600 --> 01:31:58,479 It actually, it hit us really hard 1689 01:31:58,480 --> 01:32:01,079 because we thought that he- 1690 01:32:01,080 --> 01:32:03,639 I actually thought that he was eternal. 1691 01:32:03,640 --> 01:32:06,599 I thought that he would... 1692 01:32:06,600 --> 01:32:09,639 he would go past 100. I really did think so. 1693 01:32:09,640 --> 01:32:12,319 So, it was a shock. It was more, 1694 01:32:12,320 --> 01:32:14,519 I thought, "Well, he's in hospital. 1695 01:32:14,520 --> 01:32:17,639 He's got some respiratory problems." But he's always had problems. 1696 01:32:17,640 --> 01:32:19,680 He always had things. 1697 01:32:20,520 --> 01:32:23,599 But he just passed away. That was it. 1698 01:32:23,600 --> 01:32:25,559 It was peaceful. 1699 01:32:25,560 --> 01:32:28,080 He didn't suffer. He just went to sleep. 1700 01:32:31,200 --> 01:32:33,239 I was coming off stage, 1701 01:32:33,240 --> 01:32:35,879 got a message from Gitte on my answering machine. 1702 01:32:35,880 --> 01:32:38,959 I had friends in my dressing room who'd come to have a drink, 1703 01:32:38,960 --> 01:32:43,040 and I suddenly burst into tears and told everyone to leave the room. 1704 01:32:44,720 --> 01:32:46,439 I go to London. 1705 01:32:46,440 --> 01:32:48,519 Now part of me always has in the back of my mind, 1706 01:32:48,520 --> 01:32:51,399 "I must give Christopher a call." You know? I'm still not quite- 1707 01:32:51,400 --> 01:32:54,559 'Cause London just, somehow when I'm in London, I get that thing, 1708 01:32:54,560 --> 01:32:56,639 "Give Christopher a call" gets triggered in me. 1709 01:32:56,640 --> 01:32:58,719 And so I still haven't got quite used to the idea 1710 01:32:58,720 --> 01:33:00,760 that he's not there anymore. 1711 01:33:03,720 --> 01:33:05,719 Knowing him was a... 1712 01:33:05,720 --> 01:33:09,479 one of the perks of being in the movie business. 1713 01:33:09,480 --> 01:33:11,520 I miss him greatly. 1714 01:33:12,600 --> 01:33:16,079 Christopher was certainly, certainly one of those people 1715 01:33:16,080 --> 01:33:18,200 that was very much a part of me. 1716 01:33:19,440 --> 01:33:22,119 Very deeply much a part of me. 1717 01:33:22,120 --> 01:33:23,999 I feel... 1718 01:33:24,000 --> 01:33:27,640 just gratified that he was so much part of my life. 1719 01:33:28,640 --> 01:33:30,360 And, uh... 1720 01:33:31,520 --> 01:33:34,080 ...he made my life that much better. 1721 01:33:35,720 --> 01:33:37,720 Last time I saw Christopher? 1722 01:33:38,640 --> 01:33:41,759 It was about four months before he died. 1723 01:33:41,760 --> 01:33:44,519 I went to visit him in his flat in Cadogan Square. 1724 01:33:44,520 --> 01:33:47,319 I just felt, I don't know, I got emotional 1725 01:33:47,320 --> 01:33:49,639 because he was talking about dying and I was saying, 1726 01:33:49,640 --> 01:33:51,759 "Will you stop it?" You know? 1727 01:33:51,760 --> 01:33:53,359 "Jesus, Chris! 1728 01:33:53,360 --> 01:33:56,199 I didn't come to see you to get depressed." You know? 1729 01:33:56,200 --> 01:33:59,239 Actually, he became pretty funny after that. 1730 01:33:59,240 --> 01:34:01,279 And that's the last time I saw him. 1731 01:34:01,280 --> 01:34:04,679 I really, I really loved him. 1732 01:34:04,680 --> 01:34:07,439 I was delighted and honoured to know him, 1733 01:34:07,440 --> 01:34:09,480 and I miss him terribly. 1734 01:34:12,640 --> 01:34:15,399 What really choked me up was the next day 1735 01:34:15,400 --> 01:34:17,999 I looked up something about him 1736 01:34:18,000 --> 01:34:21,359 and it said, "Christopher Lee WAS an actor..." 1737 01:34:21,360 --> 01:34:23,999 They changed the 'is' to 'was' in 24 hours 1738 01:34:24,000 --> 01:34:26,280 and that really broke my heart. 1739 01:34:32,640 --> 01:34:34,680 Well, there we go. 1740 01:34:35,600 --> 01:34:37,799 Our time draws to a close 1741 01:34:37,800 --> 01:34:40,599 and the grave beckons me once more. 1742 01:34:40,600 --> 01:34:43,959 I do hope you have enjoyed this exhumation 1743 01:34:43,960 --> 01:34:45,959 as much as I have. 1744 01:34:45,960 --> 01:34:48,000 Good evening. 1745 01:34:57,320 --> 01:35:03,160 Subtitles by Sky Access Services www.skyaccessibility.sky