A Quick Look: THE HUMAN VAPOR (1962 - color)

   THE HUMAN VAPOR remains one of the more obscure Americanized Japanese films. It was imported and drastically re-edited (though reportedly to much improvement) and released in the early 60's. I'm not sure if the film ever saw much play on television, but it was issued on VHS in the 80's. That was the last anyone saw of this fine science fiction/crime thriller. In this one, a man who had his dreams of being an astronaut destroyed by shadows on an X-ray suddenly gets a second chance if he'll submit to an experimental procedure being performed by a mysterious scientist. The experiment instead changes his molecular structure, allowing him to become an invisible human mist. He uses these powers to rob banks and send the money to the woman he loves, an out-of-work dancer who dreams of making a come-back. Strangely touching romance story holds together mixture of police drama and science fiction in a character-driven piece that should be much easier to find. The only way to see it, though, is to own the VHS release -which fortunately is a great tape and still plays well if in good condition. Movies like this are how the rest of us visit Japan!