THE HUMAN VAPOR (American version 1964)
Re-edited from GASU NINGEN DAIICHIGO (1960)
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Toho Films of Japan made this story of a man who could change from solid to gas and back. While the English-language version is hard to find and badly edited, it is a more accomplished story than some of Toho's later and better-known films. It makes for a decidedly offbeat science fiction film. Rating: 6 (0 to 10), high +1 (-4 to +4) This review contains plot spoilers.
Toho Films, probably the premier film company of Japan, is probably best known for their Godzilla films and some of the finest Samurai films. In the late 1950s they produced at least four science fiction films on the subject of humans who could change their physical properties. For some reason they are each also crime films in addition to being on a science fiction theme. They made a film in 1954 called THE TRANSPARENT MAN, but it is very hard to find in this country. Humans turn into a sentient viscous fluid in THE H MAN. THE SECRET OF THE TELEGIAN features a man who can transform himself into electronic impulses and transmit himself where he wants to go, not unlike the later British film THE PROJECTED MAN. The man in HUMAN VAPOR, their fourth film, has the power to go back and forth into a state like water vapor. He can make himself invisible, he can fit through small spaces and he can ride the wind.
While HUMAN VAPOR did get a 1964 release in the United States on a double feature with another very different Japanese science fiction film, GORATH, it is almost unknown in this country. It also is a film that is about themes that most American mass audiences cannot appreciate. A large part of the motivation of the main character is his desire support a famous classical dancer and to help her to reach perfection in her art. Americans understand lust as a motive, or love, but it is very hard for us to accept that someone can respect an art like classical dance to such an extent that it becomes his primary motivation. I have always interpreted the story of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA that the Phantom is not physically attracted to Christine Daae but instead believes through her he can potentially create a perfect operatic voice. This is just not a theme that Americans seem to appreciate, but it is easy to believe that the Japanese would accept this motivation more easily.
Perhaps another reason this film is not frequently shown is the fact it is Japanese with a title almost suggesting it is about people vaporized by a nuclear explosion, making HUMAN VAPOR further seem like it will be an unpleasant film to watch. However the American edition does more to make the film unpleasant than anything in the plot. In any case HUMAN VAPOR was poorly dubbed, poorly edited, and poorly distributed. For most American fans of Japanese science fiction films it was unavailable or showed up very rarely on late movies.
In addition the film has been crudely re-edited for American audiences. The Japanese editing is far superior. The plot of the Japanese version has the police facing some crimes that are baffling to them and to the audience. Slowly they track down the culprit who has the strange ability to turn into a gas and return to human form. The American version begins by telling the secret to the audience, robbing the film of much of its suspense. It also appears the Japanese version lavishes much more footage on the Japanese dance sequences. These are very transparently chopped down for American consumption. The American editor has done everything possible to dumb-down what looks like a fine and subtle film for an American audience.
In the American editing, the film begins with Mizuno (played by Yoshio Tsuchiya) granting an interview with a newspaper. It is clear he knows that this meeting is a trap for the police to catch him, but he has no fear of the police and he wants to tell his story. He then tells how he became the Human Vapor in flashback. He had originally been a test pilot or astronaut, but was washed out for health reasons. Embittered, instead he takes a job as a librarian. A mysterious scientist, Dr. Sano (Fuyuki Murakami), seeks him out wanting to use him as the subject of an experiment. Sano lies about the purpose of the experiment, and Mizuno agrees to participate without question. Mizuno is locked in a chamber and appears to be reduced to a coma. When he awakes he finds he has "become the Human Vapor," a man who can at will turn his body into a gas and return it to its solid form. He discovers Sano has performed the experiment several times, but that he was the first test subject who has lived. In a rage Mizuno kills Sano.
Mizuno turns to a life of crime, robbing banks. However, he announces the crimes ahead of time, in order to save lives. He clearly has no fear that the police can stop him. If someone does try to stop him he can use his powers to make himself invisible, he can escape from the bank through any tiny hole, and he can float into the sky and ride the winds. This makes him almost impossible to kill. The police track stolen money to a famous classical dancer Fujichiyo Kasuga (Kaoru Yachigusa) and her instructor (the miserable looking Somesho Matsumoto). Police detective Okamoto (Tatsuya Mihashi), who has been leading the investigation of the mysterious crime wave, discovers that Mizuno has been supporting Fujichiyo. Okamoto uses her as bait for a trap to catch Mizuno.
The special effects are minimal by modern standards, using mostly animation and/or smoke to show the presence of the vapor man. He will appear as a suit of clothing with smoke rising from it. It is not clear that smoke could hold up a suit of clothing, but it looks good on the screen. Throughout the 1950s Toho science fiction had used more intelligence than money to create their special effects. The American version threw out the Japanese musical score for the film and instead uses pieces of Paul Sawtell's score for THE FLY (1958). Veteran actor James Hong dubs Mizuno.
THE HUMAN VAPOR can hardly be considered a classic of science fiction, but it certainly has its rewards and is worth seeking out. I would rate it a 6 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
Copyright 2001 Mark R. Leeper
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