Overview: Mysterious sprites, eerie supernatural goings on and heroic sword-fighting action abound in this mystical tale of vengeance and adventure from the makers of the Zatoichi, Daimajin and Yokai Monsters films.

In Edo-era Japan, Sanshiro diligently hones his sword-fighting technique at the kendo dojo, but no amount of practice can hide the fact that he is both clumsy and cowardly. When his samurai father falls prey to a gang of murderous phantom thieves while on night watch duties, Sanshiro is drawn to the banks of the Sanzu River that separates the worlds of the living and the dead.

Here he encounters a strange being that introduces itself as a Shokera. The otherworldly apparition offers advice on how Sanshiro can avenge his father with the aid of a mysterious potion with the power to turn him invisible. But first Sanshiro must gather the ingredients, and his father’s killers might be closer to home than he thinks.

Directed by Yoshiyuki Kuroda (Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare, Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell) and beautifully shot by Hiroshi Imai (Zatoichi and the Doomed Man, The Haunted Palace), The Invisible Swordsman boasts the sumptuous attention to its historical setting, costume design, fight choreography and period details that Daiei Kyoto were renowned for, all with an added dose of rip-roaring fantasy and adventure.

Arrow Films is proud to release this unseen gem in a brand new high-definition transfer for the very first time for the home video market outside of Japan.

Blu-ray Verdict: The makers of the Yokai Monsters films carry over their tone of supernatural buffoonery to this samurai revenger with middling results, in my humble opinion. Sanshiro is being trained at an Edo-era dojo to please his father, but no amount of training can hide his clumsiness or cowardice.

However, when his father is brutally murdered by a gang of marauding thieves, in a fit of grief, Sanshiro meets a Shokera – a strange otherworldly being who gives him the recipe to a potion that will help him gain his revenge ... by making him invisible!

Cue much fun as various items are hurled at actors by barely hidden strings and everyone pretends poorly that they really are fighting an Invisible Swordsman.

Its broad comedy beats are blunt and simply don’t gel with its more serious narrative elements at times, but that’s all in the eye of the beholder, of course. Osamu Sakai’s entire character is ripped from a pure comedy, all bumbling mannerisms and pratfalling performances, and even when he’s up against an entire armada of vengeful bandits, the overly humorous nature of the whole falls a little flat (but nothing that stops you watching along and rooting for him).

The fight choreography is non-existent, almost all the action set pieces limited by the ‘invisible’ special effects of the time and even its lean 78 minute run time is a sign that the makers – director Yoshiyuki Kuroda and writer Tetsuro Yoshida – were struggling themselves to know exactly what to do with the premise.

All that said, and in conclusion, a prime example of what sounds good on paper – The Invisible Man crossed with 47 Ronin – not translating well into practice, and yet a compelling watch if only for the way the 70’s played out invisible people scenes! [M.C.]

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
High-Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Original lossless Japanese mono audio
Optional newly translated English subtitles
Brand new audio commentary from author and Asian culture expert Jonathan Clements
The Invisible People, a brand new interview with film critic Kim Newman on the history of invisibility in cinema
Phantom Fighter, a brand new interview with film critic and Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jolyon Yates
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Zack Davisson

Official Purchase Link

www.arrowvideo.com