In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu's attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colours got director Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anythinggoes, inyourface aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa Oshima. Tokyo Drifter is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties. Features: New highdefinition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Video piece featuring new interviews with director Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu Interview with Suzuki from 1997 Original theatrical trailer New and improved English subtitle translation PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Howard Hampton
Finally released outside Japan for the very first time, these unique riffs on H.G. Wells' classic character (though undoubtedly also indebted to Universal's 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 film's 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 Murayama's 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 who's just invented an invisibility ray be the one to stop it? SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition (1080p) transfers of both films on one Blu-ray disc Original lossless Japanese mono audio on both films Optional English subtitles for both films Transparent Terrors, a newly filmed interview with critic and genre scholar Kim Newman on the history of the Invisible Man in cinema Theatrical trailer for The Invisible Man Appears Image galleries for both films 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
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