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The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the only times they bring a book to screen RIGHT
Review: Now I'm not saying this is better than the book, i'm just saying that this is how I would have done it! Griffen( I know that's spelled wrong) has turned himself invisble. So what the big deal? Well, he can't turn back, making him a freak. After a group of people ruined an exsperiment that could have turned him back, he goes crazy and goes on a killing spree. Some of this kills are really disturbing( like the seen were he kills his so called "partner") and has just as good as an effect on scarying you then most mordern day horror flicks. Let's give a bid round of applause to everyone invoulved. This ones a classic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Grab this DVD Before It Disappears!
Review: One of the most curious things about this otherwise memorable DVD package is the fact that it offers little information on Gloria Stuart--and nothing at all in the way of a personal interview. Given that Stuart is the only cast member still alive, this seems a terrible oversight. It is only when one discovers that there was no love lost between Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart that the reasoning becomes apparent: in such documentaries as UNIVERSAL HORROR, Stuart has had many positive things to say about director James Whale, the cast in general, and the production as a whole--but she has never hidden her dislike for Rains, and claims that Whale often had to step in to prevent Rains from deliberately upstaging her during filming.

Even though the absence of Gloria Stewart is conspicuous, like all classic horror DVDs released by Universal the bonus package for THE INVISIBLE MAN is a superior collection, with production photographs, production notes, and biographical notes. The audio commentary track by Rudy Behlmer is occasionally dry but often quite interesting, and the making-of documentary ("Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed") is exceptional, featuring interviews with the likes of Rains' daughter and the various technicians who worked to create the special effects.

The film, of course, is based on the H.G. Wells novel, and although it differs quite a bit from the original and lacks the novel's overall social-commentary bite, it was indeed approved by H.G. Wells himself. The here concerns a scientist (Rains) who has discovered a drug that will make him invisible--but fails to realize that the drug has sinister side effects: it also induces madness. And with delusions of taking over the world, he engages in everything from practical jokes to outright murder.

The great thing in this film are the special effects, which were truly amazing for the early 1930s and which still hold up extremely well today. But of equal importance is the weird twist of horror and humor with which director Whales endows the piece. And as in his later THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, this film would contain a number of coded messages: Whale was homosexual, and like most gay men of his era he felt that society valued him for his sensibilities but at the same time disenfranchised him as a person. In a very real sense, THE INVISIBLE MAN is the ideal Whale vehicle: it offers a portrait of someone locked outside of the system.

The cast is extremely good, with the aforementioned Claude Rains (making his American screen debut) and Gloria Stuart as the leads--and the ever-memorable Una O'Connor screaming, whooping, hollering, and generally running riot to tremendous comic effect. She would give her role in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN a similar spin, but she was never was so wildly, so enjoyably over the top as she is here. The rest of the cast is equally fine, and includes such memorable character actors as Henry Travers, Bill Hall, and Holmes Herbert as well.

While Whales would direct more commercially and critically successful films, and while THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is arguably his most personal statement, THE INVISIBLE MAN is tremendous fun for fans of classic horror. If you're one of them, grab this DVD before it disappears!

--GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Grab this DVD Before It Disappears!
Review: One of the most curious things about this otherwise memorable DVD package is the fact that it offers little information on Gloria Stuart--and nothing at all in the way of a personal interview. Given that Stuart is the only cast member still alive, this seems a terrible oversight. It is only when one discovers that there was no love lost between Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart that the reasoning becomes apparent: in such documentaries as UNIVERSAL HORROR, Stuart has had many positive things to say about director James Whale, the cast in general, and the production as a whole--but she has never hidden her dislike for Rains, and claims that Whale often had to step in to prevent Rains from deliberately upstaging her during filming.

Even though the absence of Gloria Stewart is conspicuous, like all classic horror DVDs released by Universal the bonus package for THE INVISIBLE MAN is a superior collection, with production photographs, production notes, and biographical notes. The audio commentary track by Rudy Behlmer is occasionally dry but often quite interesting, and the making-of documentary ("Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed") is exceptional, featuring interviews with the likes of Rains' daughter and the various technicians who worked to create the special effects.

The film, of course, is based on the H.G. Wells novel, and although it differs quite a bit from the original and lacks the novel's overall social-commentary bite, it was indeed approved by H.G. Wells himself. The here concerns a scientist (Rains) who has discovered a drug that will make him invisible--but fails to realize that the drug has sinister side effects: it also induces madness. And with delusions of taking over the world, he engages in everything from practical jokes to outright murder.

The great thing in this film are the special effects, which were truly amazing for the early 1930s and which still hold up extremely well today. But of equal importance is the weird twist of horror and humor with which director Whales endows the piece. And as in his later THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, this film would contain a number of coded messages: Whale was homosexual, and like most gay men of his era he felt that society valued him for his sensibilities but at the same time disenfranchised him as a person. In a very real sense, THE INVISIBLE MAN is the ideal Whale vehicle: it offers a portrait of someone locked outside of the system.

The cast is extremely good, with the aforementioned Claude Rains (making his American screen debut) and Gloria Stuart as the leads--and the ever-memorable Una O'Connor screaming, whooping, hollering, and generally running riot to tremendous comic effect. She would give her role in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN a similar spin, but she was never was so wildly, so enjoyably over the top as she is here. The rest of the cast is equally fine, and includes such memorable character actors as Henry Travers, Bill Hall, and Holmes Herbert as well.

While Whales would direct more commercially and critically successful films, and while THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is arguably his most personal statement, THE INVISIBLE MAN is tremendous fun for fans of classic horror. If you're one of them, grab this DVD before it disappears!

--GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Definitive Horror Classic still impresses today!
Review: Outstanding 1933 filming of H.G. Wells' novel is directed brilliantly by James Whale (hot off the success of FRANKENSTEIN and THE OLD DARK HOUSE). However major credit must go to Claude Rains as the mysterious Dr. Jack Griffin who experiments with invisibility potions and is slowly driven to acts of murder and mayhem. Ironically it was Rains' first performance, being completely unseen until the very end of the film, and the role that catapulted him to stardom. How appropriate though, isn't that what happened to Karloff, Lugosi, and Chaney? Titanic's Gloria Stuart is also a thrill to see in her earlier years. I don't need to remind you horror fans of this, but the special effects (even for 1933) are nothing short of incredible and seem far ahead of their time. This movie is so great, you have to see it to believe it. It's suspenseful, atmospheric, has great acting by a great cast, and is a definite worthy addition to any old Horror Film collector. DVD contains a fascinating documentary "Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed!" by Rudy Behlmer, who also narrates the film commentary. Great classic film, not only for the Horror/Sci-Fi Genre, but for all time - BUY IT NOW!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Invisible Man
Review: Saw this movie when I was a youngster (many years ago) enjoyed it then and still enjoy this and all the old (1930s & 1940s) horror movies.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Surprisingly dark, but a great movie!
Review: surprisingly dark for the time period. I saw it when I was 5 at the cinema quite a while ago. Because I was so young, I was quite paranoid about an invisible something strangling me for no reason for a few days after I watched it. Fear aside, I thought it to be a very entertaining movie with great special effects! I know it was not your modern- day, prettyboy Matrix, but not all special effects where like that 67 years ago!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: DVD buyers beware!!!
Review: The DVD release of THE INVISIBLE MAN has one scene that is noticeably different from the VHS and LD releases. In that scene Kemp is listening to the radio. What's playing on the radio in the VHS and LD versions (and, presumably, in the original 1933 release prints) is a vintage jazz tune typical of the era. For the DVD release MCA or Universal apparently no longer had the rights to that tune (and, also apparently, did not try to re-acquire the rights, even though it probably wouldn't have been too much trouble). Thus in the DVD release "new" music was substituted, so now Kemp is listening to a digital piano recording of "Hearts and Flowers"!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good Science Fiction Film For Its Time
Review: THE INVISIBLE MAN can be an enjoyable movie - particularly if you don't take it too seriously. By the standards of the early 1930's the special effects are good enough and the acting by Claude Rains as the invisible man is superb.

The story by H.G. Wells about a scientist who develops a method of becoming invisible and then gradually goes insane is unique. Local police who try to capture the invisible man provide much slapstick humor.

Gloria Stuart who played the girl friend of the invisible man also acted in REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM and THE THREE MUSKETEERS in the 1930's as well as TITANIC and THE LOVE LETTER in the 1990's. Director James Whale directed FRANKENSTEIN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN in the 1930's.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: TERRIFIC!
Review: The Invisible Man is a great flim! It stars Claude Rains as thne invisible one, Griffin. And during the end of the middle his partner calls the police while his is staying in his house. Then Griffin promised to kill him the next day at 10:00p.m. And that is a PROMISE! I wont say anything more. People would say why would he go mad? He only turned invisible but during the movie it says in the chemicals he uses there is a drug and mixed with the other chemicals it abvously creates invisibility. But the drug can hurt people drive them a little mad. This happens to Griffin. This was found by anciet times when they used this drug and the other assitiant points out thats why they have not used it since. This movie has an ending that makes you say how was there two sequels to The Invisible Man unless the invisible man is not Griffin or there was a miricle but otherwise this movie is TERRIFIC. So I highly reccomend this movie to anyone who spots a good eye on it. So may I end this review in:
This Movie Was Terrific

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: He may be invisible, but The Invisible Man is a must-see
Review: The Invisible Man is one of the most impressive Universal "monster" films of the 1930s, a motion picture masterpiece still as vibrant and engaging now as it was in 1933. It is also a representative of the rarest of movies - one which succeeds much better than the novel upon which it was based. Don't get me wrong - H.G. Wells was a brilliant writer, one of the two founding fathers of science fiction, but The Invisible Man left me as cold as the invisible man must have felt running around naked in the bitterly cold countryside. The invisible man is thoroughly unlikable in the novel, much more so than he is here. A running time of just 71 minutes and a brilliant tour de force of a film debut by Claude Raines make Jack Griffin a fascinating albeit quite mad character who never completely turns the viewer off with his misguided antics. Of course, the sword cuts both ways. In the novel, one gets a much deeper appreciation of the pain and struggle the man faces trying to restore himself to visibility. In the movie, the transition to raving megalomaniac occurs much more quickly, with several palliative dashes of humor thrown into the mix early on.

There isn't that much to the story, really. A man wrapped in bandages and clothed in a long overcoat, glasses, and hat suddenly enters the Lion's Head pub and inn one snowy night demanding a room. He makes it very clear that he wants privacy and soon begins performing chemical experiments. The fellow is a scientist named Jack Griffin (Claude Rains), a young chap who, after five years of private work, discovered the secret of invisibility; unfortunately for him, he has yet to figure out an antidote, as becomes evident when he begins to shed his clothes and bandages - yep, the title was right, he really is the invisible man. Now most fellows, were they to become invisible, would probably run right out and try to see the girl next door in her birthday suit, but Griffin is different. That special ingredient in the potion tends to make a person just a little bit insane, and Griffin has already begun forming plans to get filthy rich and make the world grovel at his invisible feet. His surly attitude and just plain weirdness soon get him evicted, and soon his secret is out. He has a jolly good time playing pranks on local villagers, but his pranks soon turn to mass murder. The police dragnet is fun to watch (it isn't easy to catch an invisible man), but the movie takes a continually darker tone as the inevitable conclusion approaches. I am of the belief that the story of The Invisible Man really doesn't teach any sort of lesson with it, although others are certainly free to voice their own interpretations of the story. Griffin is just too disagreeable to teach me anything (apart from the ubiquitous "don't meddle in God's domain" thing).

The special effects in the film are actually quite amazing. Many of them are rather simple but well-done, and the central bits featuring clothes walking around on their own serve the story very well indeed. There is one scene featuring a pair of pants skipping down the road accompanied by Griffin singing the kind of ditty a madman might be prone to sing that is absolutely priceless. Alongside Dracula and Frankenstein, The Invisible Man completes the threesome of truly must-see 1930s Universal "monster" films, even though we all know it's really pure science fiction and not horror.


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