6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Jewel thieves become interested in an invisibility formula invented by Professor Nakazato and want to use his invention to acquire a diamond necklace called the "Tears of Amour"..
Starring: Chizuru Kitagawa, Takiko Mizunoe, Daijirô Natsukawa, Mitsusaburô Ramon, Ryunosuke TsukigataForeign | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of The Invisible Man Appears / The Invisible Man vs The Human Fly.
For all of the frankly awe inspiring magic that modern day CGI has brought to the film world, there’s really nothing to match the wonder that is
generated by watching an older movie like Universal’s 1933 The
Invisible Man (and its many follow ups, as aggregated in The Invisible Man: Complete Legacy Collection). With decades of special effects brilliance having
occurred
in the interim, from our 21st century vantage point, it’s still absolutely remarkable to think that the often mind boggling effects featured in the first
Universal film built around the H.G. Wells
classic came only four years after the advent of talkies! There are a number of fascinating sources those interested can consult to find
out
how some of the more memorable effects were created, but the bottom line is, even after reading about the techniques utilized, the resultant
effects
are
still generally gobsmacking (to use an appropriately British term, given Wells' country of origin), especially when considering the still nascent
technologies available to technicians of the early 1930s. The
Invisible
Man was a major hit for Universal, and it has of course spawned a litany of imitators through the years (including Universal’s own 2020 The Invisible Man), but even diehard film fans may be
unaware of the two Japanese entries Arrow has collected in this new release. The cheekily titled The Invisible Man Appears from 1949
and
the kind of bizarrely titled The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly from 1957 may in fact have no connection other than their titular
references
to a largely unseen focal character, but they prove that the special effects wizards in Japan had obviously studied Universal’s groundbreaking modes
of
making the invisible, well, visible.
The Invisible Man Appears is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. The film begins with the following disclaimer (which can be seen in the sixth screenshot included in the The Invisible Man Appears / The Invisible Man vs The Human Fly Blu-ray review):
The Invisible Man Appears and The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly are presented from the best surviving film elements, which in both cases are 16mm exhibition prints. As a result, both transfers feature anomalies like picture weaving, scratches and exposed film edges that we felt could not be effectively repaired without further compromising the integrity of the original image.Arrow is obviously aware that this is a less than optimal presentation, and it's probably also inarguable that The Invisible Man Appears is the less fortunate of the two generally problematic presentations in this double feature set. As evidenced by Arrow's own disclaimer, The Invisible Man Appears is afflicted with recurrent wobble, a lot of damage, including some significant scratching, as well as a kind of fuzzy, mottled overall look. A generally "dupey" look is only exacerbated in the effects sequences featuring "reveals" of the invisible man, which are pretty rough looking, with anemic blacks which tend toward gray, and some wonky looking contrast.
We sincerely hope these issues do not affect your enjoyment of these two rare pieces of tokusatsu history, available outside Japan for the first time.
The Invisible Man Appears features a sometimes harsh sounding LPCM Mono track in the original Japanese. While dialogue is generally well rendered, some scoring and sound effects are pretty bright and brash at times, with perhaps overamped higher frequencies. That said, there's surprisingly little damage here, at least when compared to the general shape of the video side of things. Optional English subtitles are available.
Arrow has packaged both films together on one BD-50, with the following supplemental features:
- The Invisible Man Appears (HD; 4:00)
- The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (HD; 2:50)
The Invisible Man Appears is kind of goofy fun, though the whole criminal enterprise angle probably only ends up distracting from the main focus on the sad fate of the "volunteer" for the invisibility serum. There are some laugh out loud funny moments here, including the bizarre musical performance and little touches like superimposing the diamond necklace on the eyes of one of the villains, just to make his psychology overt. Per Arrow's own warning text, video quality here is compromised, and audio has some issues as well, but the Kim Newman featurette in particular is enjoyable, for those who are considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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