Description

Between directing the original "Frankenstein" in 1931 and his masterpiece "Bride of Frankenstein" in 1935, James Whale put out a little gem called "The Invisible Man" in 1933. In some ways I rate "The Invisible Man" above "Frankenstein." For one thing "The Invisible Man" has a great musical score which heightens the drama in many scenes and helps to speed the pace of the film. The original "Frankenstein" had no musical score (strange one was never added for re-release as it would have improved an already great film tremendously) as musical scores weren't commonplace until a few years later. Imore… also think that Whale had developed greatly as a director between 1931 and 1933. "Frankenstein" has many scenes that seem to be stagey and lack the finesse of Whale's later films.

In many ways "The Invisible Man" is Universal's most horrific horror film of the 1930s. Dracula was a vampire who killed to sustain his own existence, Frankenstein's Monster was a misunderstood and sympathetic creature who killed out of fear or anger, while The Invisible Man is a man driven mad by an illicit drug who kills out of shear pleasure. He commits mass murder during the film on a scale much greater than any other Universal picture. We also have to remember he is at his core a man not a monster.

Claude Rains gives a magnificent performance, in his US film debut, in the title role. Rains, who's face was only seen on screen briefly at the end of the film, had a deep distinctive voice which was perfect for a role that was more about voice than body. This role was the start of a long and very successful film career for Rains who played costarring and supporting roles in classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Also in the cast are Henry Travers, Gloria Stuart and Una O'Connor. Travers was a talented character actor who may be most recognized to film fans as Clarence the inept angel in the holiday classic "It's A Wonderful Life." Stuart, who as a starlet in the 30s appeared in dozens of films before retiring from the screen, had a career resurrection in recent years when she was cast as "old Rose" in the mega-hit "Titanic." O'Connor, supplying comic relief as a busybody inn keeper's wife, played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood's golden age including a the role of Minnie in Whale's "Bride of Frankenstein."

Of course, by 21st century standards "The Invisible Man" is antiquated. The special effects, undoubtedly cutting edge for their time, are not very impressive in the age of computer technology. Having said that, I must admit this film is still entertaining and exciting to watch. The performances, especially Claude Rains, still hold up and the direction by Whale remains spot on. If you sit back and imagine yourself as a moviegoer in the 1930s, having never seen special effects like this before, it's easy to see how stunning this film must have been to audiences more than 70 years ago.

This collection is well worth owning just to have "The Invisible Man" but in this Legacy Collection you also receive ALL of the Universal "Invisible" films (minus "Abbot & Costello Meet The Invisible Man"). It could be argued that "The Invisible Man Returns" and "The Invisible Man's Revenge" are the only true sequels as they follow the adventures of Jack Griffin's (Claude Rains' character in the original) brother. "... Returns" is distinguished by Vincent Price in the title role. These two films are pleasant B-movie efforts by Universal and part of the second horror cycle of the 1940s. "The Invisible Woman" is more comedy than horror and features John Barrymore in the twilight of his career. "The Invisible Agent" was a wartime adventure featuring Universal's top action hero of the 40s, Jon Hall, using invisibility to fight Nazis.

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Info:

Category:

Movies > Films

Case Type:

DVD

Release Type:

Retail

Language:

English

Region:

R1

Format:

Full Screen

Comments:

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Cover Info:

Title:

The Invisible Man Collector's Edition (2004) FS R1 Retail DVD

Part:

CD 2

Dimensions:

1200 x 1200 px

Size:

562 KB

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