Daiei Films and Sinister Cinema

[Terasawa]

Somewhere in here (I think) someone mentioned that Daiei made four invisible man films. Two of them I already have, thanks to Sinister Cinema, but I think that one, maybe both, of the other two involved an invisible samurai (or maybe more than one).

If anyone could tell me what the names of these two films are and when they were released, that would be great! Then I could see if SC has them in their catalog and then order them for my collection of Daiei tokusatsu films of the 20th century (specifically, 1949-1999 and involving kaiju, seijin and kaijin (i.e., monsters, aliens and mutants/mutates). Yokai (ghosts), other than the Yokai Monsters trilogy, I don't need or want).

Please reply a.s.a.p.. Thanks.

I know very little about these films, as I have never seen them, but they're Daiei films with "Invisible" in the title and they do seem to be about invisible men.

IMDb: Tomei Tengu (1960) - "The Invisible Braggart" (Not sure of the translation here.)
IMDb: Tomei Kenshi (1970) - "The Invisible Swordsman"

Both are available individually (and affordably) as part of DeAgostini's "Daiei Special Effects Movie DVD Collection:"

• Tomei Tengu (1960)
• Tomei Kenshi (1970)

In case anyone is unfamiliar with these DeAgostini releases, the Toho ones at least were really cool. (I have not had my hands on any of the Daiei volumes.) You get a barebones DVD packaged with a magazine (a few pages' worth anyway) about the featured film. All of this is in Japanese, of course, and the films aren't subtitled, but it's a nice package for the low price.

Truthfully I'm not anything close to an expert on Daiei's genre films, so there may yet be more similar films produced by Daiei. These are simply the two that I was aware of beyond the more familiar "The Invisible Man Appears" (1949) and "The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly" (1957).

[mikelcho]

Somewhere in here (I think) someone mentioned that Daiei made four invisible man films. Two of them I already have, thanks to Sinister Cinema, but I think that one, maybe both, of the other two involved an invisible samurai (or maybe more than one).

If anyone could tell me what the names of these two films are and when they were released, that would be great! Then I could see if SC has them in their catalog and then order them for my collection of Daiei tokusatsu films of the 20th century (specifically, 1949-1999 and involving kaiju, seijin and kaijin (i.e., monsters, aliens and mutants/mutates). Yokai (ghosts), other than the Yokai Monsters trilogy, I don't need or want).

Please reply a.s.a.p.. Thanks.

I know very little about these films, as I have never seen them, but they're Daiei films with "Invisible" in the title and they do seem to be about invisible men.

IMDb: Tomei Tengu (1960) - "The Invisible Braggart" (Not sure of the translation here.)
IMDb: Tomei Kenshi (1970) - "The Invisible Swordsman"

Both are available individually (and affordably) as part of DeAgostini's "Daiei Special Effects Movie DVD Collection:"

• Tomei Tengu (1960)
• Tomei Kenshi (1970)

In case anyone is unfamiliar with these DeAgostini releases, the Toho ones at least were really cool. (I have not had my hands on any of the Daiei volumes.) You get a barebones DVD packaged with a magazine (a few pages' worth anyway) about the featured film. All of this is in Japanese, of course, and the films aren't subtitled, but it's a nice package for the low price.

Truthfully I'm not anything close to an expert on Daiei's genre films, so there may yet be more similar films produced by Daiei. These are simply the two that I was aware of beyond the more familiar "The Invisible Man Appears" (1949) and "The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly" (1957).

Thanks a lot! I think that these are the two that I'm looking for. I hope that Sinister Cinema also releases these as well.

By the way, according to IMDb, the title of the first film is The Invisible Demon.

Also, the source that I saw said that Daiei only made four invisible man films, so these two here are, more likely than not, the ones that I'm looking for.

Finally, what's the prices for these two in American dollars? Are they both relatively reasonable-say, in the 20s or 30s? And do I have to get them directly from Japan, or can I get them here in R1?

[mikelcho]

Terasawa, you haven't answered my questions. Could you please do so?

[Terasawa]

Just click the link to either of the CDJapan links I provided. You can either convert the yen amounts to U.S. dollars (or whatever currency you use) with a Google search or you can use the tool they provide on the product pages (where you can even calculate the shipping costs to your country). Likewise, there's nothing difficult about Googling "The Invisible Demon R1 DVD" or variations of that and seeing what hits you get.

[mikelcho]

Okay, thanks.

[mikelcho]

I just received the last Sinister Cinema catalog today.

The founder and owner, Greg Luce, is retiring from the full-time operation of Sinister Cinema and Armchair Fiction early in 2020. In February or March 2020 he'll make his final decision.

As far as the films that I've listed are concerned, again, do with this information what you will. However, this list seems to be all of them - at least for now.

I think, however, that that's the end of it once and for all.

UPDATE: I was wrong (see below).

[mikelcho]

I talked to one of the Sinister Cinema people and she said that Greg Luce'll probably be available to talk to on June 1st.

I'm going to talk to him and see if I can get any more information about any more releases.

Wish me luck.

[mikelcho]

Just put in four more films in the list on page 1!

It seems that there's still a lot of dance in the old dame yet!

[mikelcho]

I just talked to one of the Sinister Cinema staff today and she said that it's highly unlikely that they'll get The Invisible Demon (or Braggart) and The Invisible Swordsman on their roster of films in time for Greg Luce's retirement.

The first flyer of the year after the last catalog has just come in the mail today. There'll probably be just one more flyer after that and then it's all over as far as new releases...or so I've been told.

So much for completing my 20th century collection of Daiei tokusatsu films (1949-1999). It looks like Rainbow Man (1949) will be the end when (and if) I can get it.

[mikelcho]

I just called Sinister Cinema today and they're definitely not getting the two Daiei invisible man films that I wanted.

Also, they're not getting the Yokai Monsters trilogy, either.

I guess that Rainbow Man really is the last one that I need. I'll let you all know when I get it.

[mikelcho]

I just ordered Rainbow Man today! Boy, it sure took me long enough!

[mikelcho]

I just got the second SC flyer for this year and it had one more Japanese film.

According to the last catalog, next February Greg Luce, the owner of the company, will make his final decision whether to keep it alive or not.

I think that I can safely presume that the list of tokusatsu films on page 1 is finally complete.

[mikelcho]

I've only got one question about the list on page 1: which studios made which films?

I know that at least some of them are from either Daiei or Shintoho, but that's all that I know.

Can anyone please help me here?

[mikelcho]

I just got Rainbow Man today! Believe it or not, it's a horror film!

Finally, my collection of Daiei tokusatsu kaiju/seijin/kaijin films of the 20th century (1949-1999) is now semi-complete (except for The Invisible Demon (1960) (or The Invisible Braggart, I still don't know which one is right) and The Invisible Swordsman (1970), but Sinister Cinema most likely isn't going to get them by the end).

[mikelcho]

Just wanted to let you all know once again that the end is coming up soon, so if anyone wants any or all these films, you have until either February 2020 or March 2020 to buy them.

After that, who knows...?

[mikelcho]

Today I got a duplicate copy of the last SC catalog. That's it, nothing else.

I guess Greg Luce is just trying to get rid of excess copies? I don't know.

Anyway, just thought I'd keep you all posted here. I'll let you know if anything else comes up.

[mikelcho]

Just got this news - nothing's written in stone yet, but SC's probably going to stay open on a possible part-time basis after the end of February.

If anyone wants any of the films listed on page 1, you might still have a chance!

[mikelcho]

I just looked at the SC website and it said (if I'm reading it correctly) that the final full-time period of operation is between now and March.

That's all I know for now. I'll keep you posted.

[mikelcho]

I just found out that the next SC flyer is coming in late February or early March and will be the news about the company's future that we've all been waiting for!

Again, I'll keep you all posted.

[mikelcho]

As a British butler would say, I have jolly good news!

Greg Luce, head of Sinister Cinema, has announced on the SC website that SC will be open on a part-time basis until January 2021! After that, it'll either stay open on a part-time basis, or it'll be shut down. It all depends on the customers' response.

Therefore, if any more Japanese tokusatsu films are released, I'll put them on the list on page 1. Oh, I do hope that The Invisible Braggart (I guess I'll have to use that name for now, even though I still don't know if it's the right English translation here) and The Invisible Swordsman will be among them! That way, I'll finally have all four of Daiei's invisible man films and I'll have finished my home video collection of Daiei tokusatsu films of the 20th century (1949-1999)!

Well, except for the Yokai Monsters trilogy, but maybe someday...