THE
SUPER INFRAMAN (1975) Blu-rayDirector: Shan Hua
88 Films
THE
SUPER INFRAMAN (1975) Blu-rayBefore the Power Rangers, the Shaw Brothers imitated Japanese sixties sci-fi with THE SUPER INFRAMAN on Region B Blu-ray from 88 Films.
The sudden eruption of Mount Devil which has been dormant for two thousand years unearths the Dragon Mouth, the headquarters of Princess Elzibub (Terry Liu, THE BAMBOO HOUSE OF DOLLS) – or "Princess Dragon Mom" on the dub – her assistant Witch Eye (Shu-Yi Tsen, BLACK MAGIC), and a host of mutants descended from prehistoric beasts. Princess Elizibub orders humanity to surrender or die, and she unleashes an inferno on all of the major cities, killing millions. Realizing that the world's technological advancements are no match for the ancient evil, Professor Liu (Hsieh Wang, A BETTER TOMORROW) of "Science Headquarters" recruits stalwart family friend Rayma (Danny Lee, THE UNTOLD STORY) to be the human component of The Super Inframan, an invincible radiation-treated biological weapon that looks like a red Power Ranger, to combat the monsters. Little do the humans realize that the princess has brainwashed Rayma's best friend Zhu into helping them steal the plans for Super Inframan to discover his vulnerabilities and to destroy Science Headquarters. When Super Inframan decimates some of her monsters, the princess ransoms Professor Liu's daughter Mei Mei (Man-Tzu Yuan, BOXER FROM SHANTUNG) to get him to build a Super Inframan using one of her mutants.
A thoroughly juvenile affair that seems to be targeting the Japanese
kaiju market, THE SUPER INFRAMAN seems to revel in its absurdity from
the simplistic plot – with dialogue so basic it seems like it would be
just as corny in Mandarin to a native speaker as it does on the English dub
– and talking and cackling monsters (who sound on the English track like
they belong on H.R. PUFNSTUF) to the stoic hero and cute kids in peril. Effects
range from rubbery monster suits and puppeteered tentacles to a combination
of in-camera reverse motion and post-production optical effects so proud of
themselves that they are utilized repeatedly in succession.
The funky soundtrack of Yung-Yu Chen (FIVE DEADLY VENOMS) can be wonderfully
inappropriate, as when the professor being transported to the princess' lair
is scored like a leisurely boat ride. Director Shan Hua would later helm BLOODY
PARROT for Shaw as well as KUNG FU ZOMBIE.
Released theatrically in the United States by Joseph Brenner and Associates in an English-dubbed version, THE SUPER INFRAMAN was one of the large Shaw Brothers catalog to be remastered in 2003 by Celestial Films and one of a handful released on DVD by Image Entertainment shortly after. 88 Films' 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen Blu-ray appears to be derived from a newer master, or at least an older one that was not as heavily filtered as the ones that appear on some of the other Shaw Brothers Cine Asia line releases. The HD master has bright, saturated colors in the costumes, cheesy sets, and visual effects while the textures of the creature puppetry look as rubbery as they actually are. The Panavision image also does not have the bowing defects of the company's Shawscope productions. Audio options include an okay Mandarin LPCM 2.0 mono track and a lesser quality English LPCM 2.0 mono dub, the poor voice casting of which is as entertaining as a Eurociné production. Optional English subtitles are provided for the Mandarin track. IMDb lists the film as having a 4-track "Infrasound" stereo surround track, but the mag track have probably rotted and the 5.1 track on the Image DVD is likely an upmix. The running time is roughly a minute shorter than the DVD which may be evidence of damaged frames being cut here and there rather than a missing scene. The only extras are a stills gallery (1:43), a reversible sleeve with original Hong Kong poster art, and an 8-page liner notes booklet titled “Cool as Kaiju” by Callum Waddell which covers the genre, compares the film to the better-known examples like the GODZILLA series, and is illustrated with production stills and a beautiful reproduction of the U.S. poster. A limited run of copies purchased directly from 88 Films comes with an O-card. (Eric Cotenas)