Now available from Arrow Video
Through ingesting a magic drink, a young swordsman becomes invisible and his courage and fighting talent become much more impressive without the pressure of being seen.
Written by Tetsurô Yoshida and directed by Yoshiyuki Kuroda, the film here is an almost family-friendly action comedy with a bit of violence. The story here is somewhat simple, but the execution is a lot of fun. As an aside, was that Wu Kong? Him or not, the character is fun and one that adds a little something and a little wtf here. The story may be simple, but lots of characters come and go and it is quite easy to get lost here and there if not fully paying attention. Overall, though the film is well written and well directed.
The cast here is fun with the titular character being played by Hachirô Oka who seems to be in this for the fun of it all, not being too serious but also playing quite well his disappearances and his fight sequences. His work here creates the dynamic of the film and really makes it fun. Unfortunately, finding a full list of characters and their actors online is proving to be a bit difficult, so they all end up being put into one big bunch as they all did well enough with a few standing out, including an oddly charming performance by the actor under the “Wu Kong” costume.
The effects here must be noted as the film is from 1970, and the effects have aged quite well. The disappearance of the swordsman when he ingests the magic drink is really well done and fun. It shows how this could be done without computer effects. Everything here to be practical in front of the camera or playing with negatives and stacking them for effect. The effects are thus beautifully crafted and fun to watch.
In the end, The Invisible Swordsman is a boatload of fun, basically family friendly, and a very easy watch. The story, direction, and acting work well, and the disappearing effect is fantastic and aged quite well. The film as a whole aged decently well with a few late 60s/early 70s period piece film elements that didn’t age as well. It makes for a more than decent watch, or rewatch, for fans of swordsman films, invisible people films, or both.
This new release from Arrow Video looks lovely with crisp colors and good sound, a solid transfer overall. The extras here are good but lack archival elements (not always possible, I know), and the best of the bunch are the Phantom Fighter interview, The Invisible People interview, and the brand-new commentary.