The famed British actor, Christopher Lee, passed into the mist of time succumbing to respiratory complications. He was 93.
Long time back, while at school, the biggest bet among us was to read the book, 'Dracula' through the night and to be able to walk through a dimly lit road, on the periphery of the school subsequent to it. It was considered a sign of raw courage and your contemporaries and friends looked at you with deference on successful completion. I was among the handful who were able to manage the feat but the mortal fear that I'd endured during the entire sequence still rankle my mind after so many years.
It was then a burning desire, within me, to see the movie. And like many foreign films that I've viewed, I was spellbound to see not only Dracula, but his castle and the way he slithered down the rope like a lizard - in the wee hours of darkness for his nocturnal activities - in almost the same manner as I'd conceived after reading the novel. The way he zeroed in on his prey - mostly, a bevy of young, troubled women - and sunk his ominously prominent canines into their jugulars, making them his slaves for life, perpetuated horror of the worst form.
Kudos to Christopher Lee for immortalising(?) the character and giving it a personality that only he possessed!
I saw him later as the villainous Scaramanga in the James Bond flick, 'The man with the Golden Gun'
and found him to have become urbanised in it! He had also appeared in the blockbusters, 'Star Wars', 'Lord of the Rings' and quite a few others.
It's said that despite being a master of the horror genre, he detested horror so much so that he even did not like the word. To quote him, "It implies something nauseating, revolting, disgusting which one sees too often these days. I prefer the word fantasy".
The hallmark of a true and fabulous actor!
RIP, Christopher Lee. My humble homage to a great actor. Generations to come will remember you for your contributions to cinema.
Tailpiece.
Christopher Lee and Dracula, the Prince of darkness have become inseparable. It shows the extent to which he'd got into the skin of the character!
Long time back, while at school, the biggest bet among us was to read the book, 'Dracula' through the night and to be able to walk through a dimly lit road, on the periphery of the school subsequent to it. It was considered a sign of raw courage and your contemporaries and friends looked at you with deference on successful completion. I was among the handful who were able to manage the feat but the mortal fear that I'd endured during the entire sequence still rankle my mind after so many years.
It was then a burning desire, within me, to see the movie. And like many foreign films that I've viewed, I was spellbound to see not only Dracula, but his castle and the way he slithered down the rope like a lizard - in the wee hours of darkness for his nocturnal activities - in almost the same manner as I'd conceived after reading the novel. The way he zeroed in on his prey - mostly, a bevy of young, troubled women - and sunk his ominously prominent canines into their jugulars, making them his slaves for life, perpetuated horror of the worst form.
Kudos to Christopher Lee for immortalising(?) the character and giving it a personality that only he possessed!
I saw him later as the villainous Scaramanga in the James Bond flick, 'The man with the Golden Gun'
and found him to have become urbanised in it! He had also appeared in the blockbusters, 'Star Wars', 'Lord of the Rings' and quite a few others.
It's said that despite being a master of the horror genre, he detested horror so much so that he even did not like the word. To quote him, "It implies something nauseating, revolting, disgusting which one sees too often these days. I prefer the word fantasy".
The hallmark of a true and fabulous actor!
RIP, Christopher Lee. My humble homage to a great actor. Generations to come will remember you for your contributions to cinema.
Tailpiece.
Christopher Lee and Dracula, the Prince of darkness have become inseparable. It shows the extent to which he'd got into the skin of the character!
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