The Invisible Swordsman
directed by Yoshiyuki Kuroda
starring Yasushi Yokoyama, Hachirô Oka
Arrow Video
The kid-friendly fantasy-comedy-samurai mash-up The Invisible Swordsman appears for the first time in the West on a packed Blu-ray release from Arrow Video. One of the last films produced by Japanese movie studio Daiei Films before their bankruptcy and closure in 1971, the film is a charming mix of the studio’s established samurai and yokai fantasy films, but clearly aimed for the children’s market, further evidenced by its release on a double bill with the kiddie kaiju Gamera vs. Jiger.
Sanshiro Yuzuki tries to be a dutiful son who makes his father proud, but seeing that his father is a noble samurai and poor Sanshiro is utterly hopeless when it comes to fighting, his desire may be a lost cause. Sanshiro’s life gets more complicated when his father is killed and the duty to avenge his death and lead the clan falls on his shoulders. The dog faced yokai Shōkera takes pity on the lad and gives him a recipe for a potion that will turn him invisible, thus giving the upper hand in his fight against his father’s betrayers. In the end the invisibility fails him, but Sanshiro finds he actually had the courage all along to win the fight.
Although this is clearly a Japanese film intended for a local audience, it most closely resembles the kind of movie that Don Knotts was turning out at the same time. I do not think anyone would have blushed at the thought of casting the 45-year-old comedian as a 20-year-old Japanese samurai in training, and most of the humor would have remained intact or been elevated by Knott’s impeccable timing. Comparisons aside, what is on the screen is a delightful and exciting bit of kiddie matinee fare with some good gags and the standard-issue invisibility special effects. One nice addition to the invisibility canon is that the potion has a time limit and the end of the effects are precluded by three sneezes. The first is a warning, the second makes clothing visible (yes they nimbly avoid the nude sword fighting issue by making Sanshiro’s kimono invisible, too), and the third ends the effects entirely. This bit of business adds some suspense to the affair, although everyone over the age of 10 knows what is going to happen.
Even though The Invisible Swordsman is essentially a lost film in the West, Arrow Video has not skimped, delivering a gorgeous transfer and a host of fun extras, including an audio commentary track from author Jonathan Clements, an interview with Asian film historian Jasper Sharp, and a nifty piece on invisible films from the inimitable Kim Newman.
