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Invisible Man, The

List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Earl Cressey | posted September 23, 2000 | E-mail the Author
Review:
Movie:
The Invisible Man, originally released in 1933, was directed by James Whale and stars Claude Rains as Jack Griffin who, after five years of failed experiments, finally discovers the formula to turn himself invisible. Seeking some peace and quiet in order to discover the antidote and finish his research, he goes to the small town of Iping and rents a room in a local tavern. Continually disturbed and bothered by the owners, he stars to lose his mind and attacks them. When the police come, he flees and contacts his research partner, Kemp. Being slowly driven mad by his formula, Griffin asks Kemp to help him plan the murders of important people in order to rule the world. He also needs Kemp to drive him back to Iping so he can retrieve his scientific notes that he left in his room. With no other choice, Kemp agrees. Griffin manages to get his notes back, and while he is there, he also murders the police inspector who doesn't believe he exists. Upon their arrival at Kemp's home, Kemp calls both Dr Cranley, the scientist whom both of them work for, and the police. Dr. Cranley hurries over with his daughter, Flora, who is in love with Griffin. Before the police arrive, Griffin confesses that he loves Flora, and he only did all this so he could have the money and power to impress her, as before, he was only a poor scientist. When the police arrive and surround the house, Griffin flees and continues his murdering spree. With the death toll rising, the police are out of ideas to capture him until they receive two pieces of good luck: a farmer tells them that he believes that the Invisible Man is sleeping in his barn and it starts to snow, enabling the police to see his tracks. But will their plan be successful, or will the Invisible Man again elude capture?

A lot of the acting and dialogue in the Invisible Man is a bit on the campy side for sure, but it's a terrific treat for fans of the old classic horror films. The special effects are still quite impressive, and the story itself is quite interesting.

Picture:
The Invisible Man is presented in 1.33:1 full frame. As one would imagine from a film almost seventy years old, there are a lot of marks in the print. It is very watchable, however, with accurate contrast levels and rich blacks.

Sound:
The Invisible Man is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. The track contains some crackles and the dialogue is occasionally hard to understand, which makes the included subtitles a nice addition.

Extras:
The Invisible Man includes these extras: The documentary "Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed," which runs a bit over 30 minutes; a commentary from Rudy Behlmer, a film historian; a photo gallery with lobby cards, stills, and posters; production notes; cast and crew bios; and subtitles in English, French and Spanish. The documentary was terrific and included interviews with Behlmer, Bill Condon, Ian McKellan, Jessica Rains, and more. Behlmer's commentary track is an extremely informative and interesting one that is required listening for fans of the film. He provides tons of behind the scenes information and even points out how the invisibility effects were accomplished.

Summary:
Universal has done a terrific job with the Invisible Man with a DVD featuring loads of quality extras and above average picture and sound for a film of its age. Its highly recommended for fans of the film, and recommended for fans of classic horror films who are unfamiliar with the movie.

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Highly Recommended

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