Super Inframan
Studio: Shaw Brothers/Celestial Pictures
Rated: NOT RATED
WorkNameSort: Super Inframan
The similarities between the Hong Kong’produced Super Inframan and the mega-successful Japanese Ultraman franchise were, not, to say the least, unintentional. By the mid-1970s, the martial arts films that the Shaw Brothers studio had codified had become blindingly formulaic, forcing the company to look elsewhere for inspiration; they found it in the live-action series from Japan that were incredibly popular on Asian television screens in the late ’60s. When Super Inframan was released in 1975, it was even listed in a catalog as ‘Chinese Ultraman.â?� Though the costuming and action sequences are directly informed by the red-suited, alien-beating Ultraman, this interpretation of an already odd entity was something else altogether. Playful and thoroughly bizarre, the plot and staging of Super Inframan are the visual equivalent of Adam West’era Batman, except with a whole lot more ass-kicking (courtesy of action star Danny Lee in the title role) and a coterie of enemies that includes the likes of flying bug-tree aliens. This remastered DVD version is part of a long-overdue (and authorized) cleaning up of the Shaw Brothers’ vast and inimitable output, and though it may not be the most original film the studio ever released, it’s certainly one of the most fun.
This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2006.