The Invisible Man
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Movie Reviews of The Invisible Man
Movie Review: He may be invisible, but The Invisible Man is a must-see
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Grab this DVD Before It Disappears!
Summary: 5 Stars
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)--
Movie Review: "The Invisible Man"...Looks and Sounds Great on DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
This review refers to "The Invisible Man"(1933) from the Universal Classic Monster Collection editions....
Not too many years before this "talkie" was made, movie stars had to convey the essence of the story, with body langauge, without words, as it was the era of the silent film. In this film, the star would act with only his words, his voice, to convey this frightening character, as he was...well...invisible through 99% of the film. So who better then a stage actor, one with a voice that gets our attention, to better portray "The Invisible Man".
The man with the voice and no body... the very distinguished Claude Rains(making his film debut). A voice that brought the brillant but megalomanical Dr. Griffen to life. Sometimes wrapped up in bandages, sometimes just a shirt, dancing around and taunting his victims, other times completely invisible, Rains is wonderful at scaring up a good time with this film. Not able to find a cure for himself, he goes insane and leaves a number of dead bodies in his wake.
So just how do you go about catching an invisible killer? Director James Whale("Frankenstein") makes the hunt fun. He includes great character actors like Una O'Connor who adds great comic relief as she runs around doing some great screams.
Even the police are humorous in their efforts to thwart the invisible one as he outfoxes them at nearly every turn. Other wonderful actors of the era included in the great cast are, Gloria Stuart(now famous again as the old Rose in James Cameron's "Titanic"), and Henry Travers("Clarence, the angel from "It's A Wonderful Life"). The screenplay based on H.G Wells' novel was given a fabulous treatment by R.C. Sherriff.
And just how does "The Invisible Man" LOOK on DVD?...He Looks fabulous! The film itself has quite a bit of scratches, but the picture is clear, the black and white images, sharp and bright, and the sound in Dolby Dig(2.0 mono) is great. All dialouge is crisp and clear in this 70 year old film. The DVD includes the very entertaining and insightful featurette, "Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed". It's a lengthy look at everything about the film. The actors, the writer, the director, and best of all, how this technologically advanced film of the time, created all the wonderful special effects. Other features include commentary and production notes. The film may be viewed with English captions, and in Spanish and French languages(also with subtitles).
Get the popcorn ready.. Filmbuffs... add this one to your Monster Film Fest for Halloween...and Enjoy....Laurie
also recommended:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents volume 2
Sci-fi Channel Trivia Book. The Ultimate Trivia Challenge
The Movies: A Picture Quiz Book
Movie Review: 1933 Black and White Classic Movie based on H.G. Wells Novel has Stood the Test of Time!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first movie made based on H.G. Wells' 1897 novel of the same name. This movie although having the same main character and set in one of the towns from the book is pretty much only about 20% following the storyline of Wells' novel. This movie has characters and scenes which aren't in the novel such as Griffin (the invisible man) having a fiancé (played by Gloria Stewart an actress who grew old to be that annoying elderly lady in Titanic) who also has a father, another scientist who isn't in the novel either. Griffin didn't burn down his apartment in this movie in fact the most interesting scenes from the Wells' book where Griffin recounts his adventures in the department store and the city of London when he first became invisible to Dr Kemp are not in this movie at all.
James Whale has also added a fair bit of humour to Wells' novel and a fair amount of new very entertaining scenes such as train crashes, Kemp's car cliff diving, and toying with and taunting the townsfolk which all make the 68 minute movie extremely enjoyable. The biggest difference is that Griffin's madness is more blamed on a drug called monocaine in this movie whereas in the Wells' book although Griffin was never the nicest guy, his desire for murder and mayhem was created by his disgusting treatment by the bigoted town folk as well as the betrayal and stealing of his possessions including his notes (the one's he dropped to Kemp out of the window in the film) which he needed to make himself a cure by those he enlisted to help him.
There is sensational debut acting by Claude Rains as Griffin, but also some bad overacting in the film especially Una O'Connor as the landlady (who reminds me of Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies rather than the landlady from Wells' book) and some pathetic attempts at English accents by bar patrons and towns folk, but other than that the movie has more than stood the test time. Special effects brilliantly pull of the illusion of invisibility and although you can tell Whale used model trains and the like this movie is done so much better than other horror/special effects movies made in the decades following which you watch today just to laugh at their cheesiness. This 1933 classic is a masterpiece, you have to see it!
The DVD has a nice documentary of the film, its actors and the director James Whale as well as the many sequel and spin off movies inspired by this film (in fact you can buy all these movies along with this movie in a DVD set which may be better value than just buying this movie alone depending on prices). The documentary on this one goes for about as long as the movie. You can also watch the movie with commentary or with English, Arabic, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek, Czech or Romanian subtitles.
Movie Review: One of the Greatest Science Fiction Horror Movies
Summary: 5 Stars
Is it any wonder that people are frequently afraid of science when the unknown is exploited the way it is in "The Invisible Man?" Claude Rains powerfully and effectively fills the role of Dr. Griffen, the man who conducted experiments with a drug that was so dangerous that it was no longer produced. In the course of experimenting with the drug he managed to turn himself invisible. Naturally the excitement of being invisible wears off after a while and Dr. Griffen decides he would like to return to the world of the visible. There are only two minor problems with his return. First, he has no idea how to return. Second, the drug he used has the minor side effect of making the user insane.
Two aspects of this movie make it incredibly effective. First is Claude Rains outstanding voiceover. For many parts of the movie Dr. Griffen is invisible, moving through rooms and about town unseen. As Dr. Griffen does various things while invisible Claude Rains provides wonderfully emotional dialogue to support his actions. Rains manages to fill the invisible character of Dr. Griffen with incredible menace alternating with exasperation and even something pathos.
The other aspect is the fantastic special effects. There are a few glitches and inconsistencies, but the special effects in this 1933 film were phenomenal then and still impressive now. Sometimes you can guess how some of the items were moved though wires were not apparent. In other cases, such as when the bicycle is thrown at a crowd, the effect is wonderful and indiscernible. The special effects in combination with Claude Rains' performance create a classic science fiction based horror movie that is a classic for all ages.
Other actors may seem familiar to some. Gloria Stuart played the elderly Rose in the movie "Titanic." Henry Travers also played the angel Clarence in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life," a classic in its own right. Walter Brennan and John Carradine also make appearances. John Carradine would later be featured in many more horror movies.
Science fiction based horror movies continued to degrade soon after this classic film, leading to some incredibly cheesy films in the 50s and 60s and causing an aversion to science fiction horror. However, as this classic film shows, the genre had an outstanding beginning available to today's audience on DVD and VHS.