Tômei ningen

Made at about the same time as the first Godzilla film in 1954, this is the first known Japanese sci-fi film. THE INVISIBLE MAN begins with a bang. A car travelling on a Tokyo street runs over an unseen mass. The motorist gets out and watches, out of thin air, a bloodied dead man appear under the car. The reporter investigates, and discovers that a local band of criminals is being menaced and taunted by an invisible man. The film has the usual surreal, dreamlike, sometimes humorous, sometimes touching nuances found in the more famous and available Inosira Honda Japanese monster films. The ending has a fiery end that feels influenced by Warner Brothers' 1949 WHITE HEAT. I always have fun watching this rare film.