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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "The Invisible Man Appears" or "Tômei ningen arawaru" - TOP /

"The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly" or "Tômei ningen to hae otoko" - BOTTOM)

 

Directed by Shinsei Adachi, Shigehiro Fukushima
Japan 1949

Directed by Mitsuo Murayama
Japan 19
57

 

Finally released outside Japan for the very first time, these unique riffs on H.G. Wells classic character (though undoubtedly also indebted to Universals iconic film series) are two of the earliest examples of tokusatsu (special effects) cinema from Daiei Studios, later the home of Gamera. In The Invisible Man Appears, written and directed by Nobuo Adachi in 1949, a scientist successfully creates an invisibility serum, only to be kidnapped by a gang of thugs who wish to use the formula to rob a priceless jewel. In addition to being the earliest surviving Japanese science fiction film ever made, the films entertaining special effects were an early credit for the legendary Eiji Tsuburaya, five years before he first brought Godzilla to life. Eight years later, Mitsuo Murayamas exciting The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly tells the story of a series of mysterious murders where the only clue is strange buzzing noise at the scene of the crime could this be linked to secret wartime experiments in shrinking humans to the size of insects? And can a scientist whos just invented an invisibility ray be the one to stop it?

***

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"...

***

A ruthless serial killer with a peculiar method of stalking and killing his victims comes face to face with a police officer turned invisible by a scientific experiment. Who will emerge triumphant?

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 26th, 1949 - August 25th, 1957

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Review: Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime

The Invisible Man Appears: 1:22:24.376

The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly:  1:35:54.387       

Video

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 49,733,158,519 bytes

The Invisible Man Appears: 20,374,722,520 bytes

The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly: 23,072,478,144 bytes

Video Bitrate: 26.46 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Audio

LPCM Audio Japanese 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Arrow

 

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 49,733,158,519 bytes

The Invisible Man Appears: 20,374,722,520 bytes

The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly: 23,072,478,144 bytes

Video Bitrate: 26.46 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

Transparent Terrors, a newly filmed interview with critic and genre scholar Kim Newman on the history of the ""Invisible Man"" in cinema (24:40)
Theatrical trailer for The Invisible Man Appears (2:38)
Image galleries for both films (4:00 / 2:50)
Reversible sleeve featuring new and original artwork by Graham Humphreys FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Keith Allison, Hayley Scanlon and Tom Vincent


Blu-ray Release Date:
March 15th, 2021
Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray (March 2021): Arrow have transferred two Japanese horror/sci-fi films to one Blu-ray; The Invisible Man Appears and The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly. They aren't in ideal condition and the presentations starts with this disclaimer: "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. 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 vs. The Human Fly is the rougher of the two with plenty of speckles and reel-change aberrations plus in one sequences the frame even coming out of the gate! (see below.) But these imperfects only add to the high camp value. Yeah - far from the height of the format but decent enough in regards to the source material.  They are fairly inconsistent but this did not effect my enjoyment.

NOTE: We have added 90 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Arrow use linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original Japanese language. Audio effects in both films are modest - in accordance with the era. Dialogue can be scattered and the scores are by Gorô Nishi on The Invisible Man Appears and Tokujiro Okubo for The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly. Both are fairly unremarkable. Arrow offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Arrow Blu-ray offers a newly filmed 25-minute interview with critic and genre scholar Kim Newman on the history of the "Invisible Man" in cinema. It is entitled "Transparent Terrors". Kim is always great to listen to. There is a theatrical trailer for The Invisible Man Appears and image galleries for both films. The package offers a reversible sleeve featuring new and original artwork by Graham Humphreys and the first pressing purchasers get an illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Keith Allison, Hayley Scanlon and Tom Vincent.

While The Invisible Man Appears is the more polished film, I really enjoyed The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly. with its inventive and alluring title - crossing over the two sci-fi characters. It's wonderfully bizarre with some unintentionally funny dialogue and absurd plot situations meshing with the unique cultural hybrid differences from the vintage Universal series they are emulating. Really innocent and fun in a boyhood sense - akin to Japanese versions of Drive-In enticement. Both titles fit snugly in our 50s-60's science-fiction / fantasy listing. The Arrow Blu-ray is one I will covet in my collection and revisit. Surely this is something that can't be successfully duplicated today in terms of camp value. Recommended to the wide-eyed child in you.

Gary Tooze

 


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Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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