Available Now: We Belong Dead's Christopher Lee Tribute Issue




When horror icon Christopher Lee passed away last June, it felt like a particular era of horror cinema came to an end. Lee led an extremely impressive life, but his contributions to the horror genre--as well as pop culture in general--are truly legendary. In honor of his passing, UK horror magazine We Belong Dead has recently published a special 100 page, full-color issue as a tribute to Lee and the many memorable roles he brought to life on the silver screen.

The issue covers Lee's prolific career, from his most popular films (The Wicker Man, The Lord of the Rings series, his portrayal of Dracula in numerous films, etc.) to his more obscure work (Night of the Big Heat, Taste of Fear, Nothing but the Night, etc.). The details provided in this issue about Lee's career are exhaustive in scope, both well-researched and well-written by a diverse selection of contributors. Among the personal fan reflections about Lee and in-depth analyses of the films and studios in which Lee worked, here are some of the articles that caught my attention:

* Stephen Mosley's in-depth analysis of Rasputin: The Mad Monk, the 1966 film where Lee assumed the role of the nefarious Russian holy man. Fun trivia fact: During the course of his life, Lee actually met Prince Yusupoff and Dmitri Pavlovich, the assassins of Rasputin, as well as Rasputin's own daughter, Maria.

* Steve Gerrard's retrospective of House of the Long Shadows (1982). This film doesn't rank among Lee's best work; nevertheless, it's cast of noted horror icons included Lee, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price and John Carradine. It was a rare lineup to excite any fan of classic horror cinema.

* Tony Earnshaw's interview with Jamil Dehlavi, director of Jinnah (1998). Jinnah featured Lee in the role of Pakistani leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of modern Pakistan.

* Troy Howarth's "Christopher Lee's Continental Horrors", a detailed look at films he made in Italy, France, Germany, Sweden and Spain. While some of these films unavailable on DVD and Blu-ray, Lee's work in countries outside of England and the U.S. allowed him to work with other noteworthy horror icons such as Mario Bava and Jess Franco.

Of course, this is just a small sampling of what is included in We Belong Dead's Christopher Lee issue, which also features a selection of gorgeous fan-submitted art. It's a must-have addition to the libraries of fans of Lee, Hammer Studios, and horror films in general. It cost £10 with an addition £2 in postage for UK and Europe and £4 rest of the world. You can support the magazine by buying directly via Paypal and using wbdmagazine@yahoo.co.uk. You can also check out the official We Belong Dead Facebook page here.



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