| The Invisible Man | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 51 reviews)
Sales Rank: 6970
Category: Video
Actors: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Henry Travers, Una O'connor
Director: James Whale
Publisher: Universal Studios
Studio: Universal Studios
Brand: Universal Picture Corporation
Label: Universal Studios
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Hifi Sound, Original Recording Reissued, Original Recording Remastered, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 71 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 155880448X
UPC: 096898039833
EAN: 9786300185289
ASIN: 6300185281
Release Date: March 1, 1992
Theatrical Release Date: November 13, 1933
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com essential video
Claude Rains practically owns his film debut in The Invisible Man, despite the fact that his face (let alone his body) is seen only for seconds in the final moments. As the brilliant scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility, Rains steps into the film wrapped up like a mummy behind a layer of bandages and blanketed in heavy clothes. When he removes his garments, there's nothing underneath, a simple but effective bit of 1930s movie magic that, apart from a few glitches, works as well today as it did in 1933. Like Frankenstein, another cautionary tale of science gone horribly wrong, the consequences of the doctor's experiments are dire: the chemicals drive him insane. Director James Whale infuses the film with plenty of humor, much of it arising from the quaint quirks of the local villagers, but it turns to black comedy as the doctor transforms from an impish prankster upsetting bicycles and taunting tavern patrons to a megalomaniac bent on world domination. It's slow going even at 71 minutes, but full of delightful touches and boasts a terrific performance by the all but unseen Rains, whose rich, cultured voice envelopes the picture in a kind of omnipresent fog. Vincent Price took up the role in the sequel, The Invisible Man Returns. --Sean Axmaker
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| Customer Reviews: Read 46 more reviews...
 Insanity Is the True Horror October 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are on this page, you probably already know that this movie is based on H.G. Welles's book "The Invisible Man." I did enjoy the book, but I found I actually liked the movie better. (Undoubtedly because of Claude Rains's phenomenal acting. (All the more kudos to him, since he had to perform the part with just his voice at his disposal!) His character Jack Griffin (already invisible, but disguised with a coat, hat, and other clothes that make him appear visible) comes to a small out of way town. He causes some stir in this clannish town, but for the most part, they seem to have the decency to treat him with the same courtesy they might give a local. With tensions released for a moment, we meet the other central characters including his former friend Kemp, his former boss Dr. Cranmy, and his former potential wife Flora. Through the conversations, we can see that Rains was a scientist who was not able to keep his experiments behind the 'this far and no further' point. From here, as he tries to find a way to cure himself from his own experiment, Claude Rains has a falling out in the clannish environment. Angry and frustrated he reveals his invisibility which REALLY frightens these people. From here, we may mistake this movie for a comedy, as these people run in terror, and as we see things like a bike riding itself. From here, Rains meets with his former associate Kemp, and we begin to see the reality of a conversation Cranmy and Kemp had about a drug 'monocaine' that slowly drives one insane. Rains's intentions are scary enough in word: 'A few murders here and there...We might even wreck a train or two.' From here, the comedy fades, and we see the horror of an intelligent man losing his sanity. (Perhaps through Rains's great acting, we can somewhat infer that there had once been compassion and kindness in his character, and now that character simply wants to kill.) While some may find his invisible features scary, the TRUE HORROR is his insanity! I don't want to give the story away, but the ways to catch his character become more and more well crafted and elaborate, but as they continue to fail, Rains's character grows more and more insane plotting deeper and darker revenges. (His destruction of a train is especially disturbing.) While modern day horror movies try to be more bloodier than each other, they forget that the true horror is the destruction of one's sanity.
Still Amazing After Seventy+ Years October 13, 2008
Many reviewers say the film's special effects look "dated". Well, DUH! What do you expect?? The movie is almost 80 freakin' years old, people! And you know what? Like all of the Whale films, it holds up better than 99% of the films made back then. Believe it or not folks, just because a movie is in black and white and doesn't have blood/gore does not automatically make it boring or bad. For example: there was a great, unbelievably frightening little film made in the early '60's called The Haunting. It was a b/w haunted house drama with Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn and Richard Johnson, and it relied on atmosphere, suspense, and psychological horror. They remade the movie in about 2000, thinking that they could really work wonders with today's state-of-the-art special effects and technical wizardry. The result was an awful and overblown mess of a movie which no one cared about.
But hey--I'm not revewing The Haunting, am I? My point is that a great film can be made using old equipment and methods, as long as the director and photographer really know their stuff. And that there is a real danger in assuming that more money, bigger names and modern equipment will automatically yield a better product.
This movie is still fabulously entertaining. Like all of Whale's work, it contains moments of laugh-out-loud humor, tender emotions, tragedy and horror. It's beautifully photographed, and the lighting is wonderfully artful (black and white at its best). We can't see Rains, but at least we can hear that splendid voice. We get to see Gloria Stuart, an incredibly beautiful young thing in the early '30's, who also appeared in another Whale masterpiece, The Old Dark House.
One of my all-time favorites.
 The quality is quite visible August 30, 2008
A maverick researcher (Claude Rains) uses an invisibility drug on himself, then goes into hiding while attempting to develop an antidote. Unbeknownst to himself, the drug also induces megalomania, and before long he will become the terror of the English countryside.
Although it may have been a severe miscalculation for Jack Griffin to subject himself to the drug before he had a countermeasure, there are no miscalculations on the part of director James Whale, who is responsible for some of the very best vintage Universal horror pictures. The special effects are surprisingly good for the era and present no bar to enjoyment. The script, though it departs significantly from the H.G. Wells source material, is intelligent. No review of this film is complete without praise for Rains, who appears only at the very end and only for a moment, but whose superb vocal performance and physical expression, while hidden under bandages, presents a fully realized character.
Excellent film that needs to be seen! December 14, 2007
This is a classic film. Bear in mind while watching it that this was done in 1933 and the effects are amazing for it's time. If you have read HG Well's book, upon which the movie was based, you will not be disappointed. While it is not a verbatum screen play, this movie is true to the spirit of the story and does follow the book closely. The additional features are nice too.
One Of The Classics of Sci-Fi Horror November 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although this film deviates somewhat from H.G. Welles novella this is an excellent adaptation that is still entertaining seventy years after its first release. The setting of England in winter is well conveyed though we know that in all probability the film was made on a Southern California sound stage. The special effects are amazing for 1933 and one can only imagine the marvel it was for 1930's film goers to see the invisible man's antics which at first are playful but evolve into murder. Much of the acting may seem melodramatic or "stagy" to modern viewers but if taken in the historical context it does not detract from the enjoyment of the film. My one quibble is the romance between "Jack" (the invisible "one") played by Claude Rains and "Flora" played by Gloria Stuart seems forced, unnecessary and unlikely.
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