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!

MOTOYOSHI ODA FACE REVEAL! The Camera-Shy Director Can Finally Be Seen in All His Glory!

Director Motoyoshi Oda (left) and SFX director Eiji Tsuburaya (center) on the set of Toho's The Invisible Man (1954). The Invisible Man © 1954, Toho Co., Ltd. 

In the wake of Yoshimitsu Banno's passing, I was having a discussion with some Godzilla fans in the U.S., and the subject of Motoyoshi Oda came up. It turns out that photographs of the Godzilla Raids Again (1955) and The Invisible Man (1954) director are pretty hard to come by. In fact, one fan-generated collage of Godzilla directors that was circulated a couple of years ago presented Oda as a literal shadow.

Motoyoshi Oda (far right) confers with his cast on the set of The Invisible Man. The Invisible Man © 1954, Toho Co., Ltd. 

After the discussion, I decided to dig around and try to find any photos I might have of Motoyoshi Oda. One source in my collection had two pictures (from the set of The Invisible Man), and in order to put a face with the name at long last, I'm sharing the photographs here.

ANOTHER AFTERNOON WITH ULF! Japanese and American Movie Classics!

Ulf Otsuki poses with his copy of The Invisible Man. Photo By Brett Homenick.

I spent another afternoon at the home of actor Ulf Otsuki. Today, we watched the Frank Capra classic Meet John Doe (1941), which was rather enjoyable. While there, Ulf signed my DVD sleeve of the Toei all-star war film Port Arthur (1980), in which he plays a Russian officer. 

Ulf-san has amassed quite a collection of classic films on DVD, one of which is The Invisible Man. You can never go wrong with the classics! After all the movie talk, we went out for Indian food. Suffice it to say, another fun day was had!