Checking Out Toho's 'The Invisible Man' (1954) in 35mm!

A poster for the Laputa Asagaya's Science Fiction Film Festival. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Tuesday evening, January 10, I was privileged to see a rare screening of the early tokusatsu thriller The Invisible Man (1954) in 35mm at the Laputa Asagaya. The showing was part of the theater's Science Fiction Film Festival program, which offers a tantalizing array of sci-fi classics over the next few weeks.

I'm pretty sure I'd only seen this movie once before, which would have been around December 2000 or January 2001. My copy wasn't subtitled, so you could imagine why I didn't pull it out all that much over the years. I didn't remember much about the movie, even my own reaction to it. My strongest memory of  seeing it back then was when the titular character started playing various instruments in front of the gangsters in the cabaret.

My ticket for the show. Photo by Brett Homenick.

So, with all that said, you could see why I watched the movie with great anticipation. The 35mm print screened was in decent shape, though several flaws were quite evident. It wasn't the worst print I've ever seen, nor was it the best. There were some scratches and jumps throughout the film, but overall it wasn't too bad.

Now that's a cool T-shirt, but it's every bit as expensive as it is cool! Photo by Brett Homenick.

The movie itself was pretty enjoyable, though a bit primitive at times. A lot of Japanese movies from this era look like they were shot in the '30s, not the '50s, and The Invisible Man is no exception. Still, the scenes in the cabaret are quite entertaining, and they predate The H-Man (1958) by a few years. Toho was still in the process of figuring out its formula for sci-fi films, but it wouldn't be until Rodan (1956) that the studio really got it down to a science -- in my opinion, of course.

 

The movie was a bit more violent than I was expecting, but it was also more touching. The ending, in particular, was quite poignant, and I was moved by it more than I expected. The movie was directed by Motoyoshi (Godzilla Raids Again) Oda, not Ishiro Honda, but by the end of the film I felt for Nanjo (the Invisible Man) about as much as I felt for any character in any of Honda's flicks. 

Out and about in Asagaya. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I had a great time at the movies, and look forward to seeing more such films in the coming weeks. When I see them, I'll post my updates here. Stay tuned!