Just rented this. Extremely good fun! Could someone more knowledgeable than me about East Asian popular culture tell me whether this is indeed the direct ancestor of the Power Rangers et al? Does Infra Man tie in with any line of toys? How did the concept travel from Hong Kong to Japan (or vice versa?)
I had a version with French subtitles, and there are some interesting differences with Andrew's review. For a start, the baddy is the Ice Queen, and she assisted by the Vision Demon. Also, the first monster is not the Octopus Monster but the Plant Monster, which makes a lot more sense. The hero himself is called Lei Ma. (those R and L again)
The dialogues are even funnier in this version. For instance, the 'Thunderbolt fist' dialogue is as follows (more or less)
Professor: To defeat the monsters you'll need Thunderbolt Fists
Lei Ma; Thunderbolt Fists!
Professor: Yes, Thunderbolt Fists!!
Incidentally, these fists produce one billion Watts per square cm and are even more powerful that the Photonic Heels.
The Henshin (transforming) Hero has been a staple of Japanese TV and movies for at least six decades. It probably has its roots in mythology. Japanese lore is full of people turning themselves into monsters, demons, what have you.
Henshin Hero shows probably had their peak in the 70s, with Devil Man, Ultra Man, Kamen Rider, and countless others. There was even a show called Zone Fighter which routinely guest-starred Godzilla!
Infra-Man was probably made to cash in on the craze. Thailand and Korea made a lot of Henshin Hero shows and movies around the same time.
Now, this is far from a definitive answer on which country brought the concept to the video medium first. However, I am quite familiar with the Japanese shows and Infra-Man is obviously made to feel as much like them as possible, from the way characters dress, to the motorcycles they ride, to the way the monsters look and act. That doesn't stop it from being distinctly Chinese, though, which is not a bad thing.
Thanks! I've been googling Henshin Hero. Truly a treasure trove!
I rented this movie about 18 years ago and I loved it. I wouldn't mind seeing it again.
Infra man was the dude who would cross his arms and shoot a blast of energy from them, right? Wait.... that narrowed it down to about two thousand heroes, didn't it? :/
I remember seeing that show on a neighbor kid's TV... they had cable, back in the day when almost no one in my area did. There was also some bit about Infra Man falling and never rising again, that seemed to happen about every episode. I forget what the deal was, though.
Hehehe, I just watched Power Rangers the Movie and thought the same thing: where the hell did these shows come from?
That being said, the next day I had the pleasure of meeting the person in charge of the special effects for that movie, which was a funny coincidence.
Infra-Man was a one-shot movie. You're probably thinking of Ultra Man and his specium beam.
Mind you, Inframan could also raise himself from deep chasms and shoot bolts from his fists! He could also behead demons repeatedly!
¨Perhaps they shopped at the same store for costumes.
i heard the whole idea began with the extremelly loose japanese adaption of spider man, which was called "supaidah man". He got his powers from an alien from planet spider, and then fought monsters.
The Henshin Hero concept itself is much older than the Japanese Spider Man show but, come to think of it, "Supaidaa Man" may very well have been the first show in which a Henshin Hero piloted a giant robot.
thanks to this thread, i had a badass "sentai warriors as directed by takashi miike" dream last night.
For all you Boston-area fans, they're doing a midnight screening of this movie at the Coolidge Corner Theater next month. I'd go, but I'm pretty sure my band has a gig that night.
Andrew has a review of INFRA MAN (http://www.badmovies.org/movies/inframan/index.html).
I haven't seen the film, but after looking at the images and clip I'm ready to get a copy. : )
Oh, it is to laugh!
This insane picture is ripe for riffing, as well as takeing it on its own deranged merits. A double header!.