Infra-Man
Infra-Man is a 1975 Hong Kong superhero film directed by Hua Shan and produced by Runme Shaw. Produced and distributed by Shaw Brothers Studio, the film was inspired by the success of the Japanese tokusatsu franchise Kamen Rider that grew in popularity in Asian regions such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
Infra-Man was released theatrically in Hong Kong on August 1, 1975.
Plot
The story recounts that in 2015, Demon Princess Elzebub awakens from 10 million years of dormancy and plots to conquer the Earth. She destroys a few major cities in China to prove her power, and humanity reacts in shock. Returning to her lair in Inner-Earth, she awakens her army of Skeleton Ghosts and various mutant humanoids to wreak havoc on the surface.In response, the head of the Science Headquarters, Professor Liu Ying-de, completes the BDX Project, a potential countermeasure against Elzebub. In the Science HQ's secret laboratory, he transforms Lei Ma, a high-ranking SH officer, into the bionic kung fu superhero Inframan. The solar-powered red-&-silver armored Inframan has both enhanced strength and powerful combat weapons.
Once Inframan destroys the Princess’s various monsters, she decides to steal the professor's blueprints of Inframan in hope of discovering his weakness. Meanwhile, the professor introduces Thunderball Fists, enhanced gloves capable of destroying any substance known to man, as well as covering up Inframan's weakness. Capturing the professor's daughter, the princess blackmails the professor into creating an Inframan for her. The professor agrees to go to Mount Devil for a meeting. When the professor refuses to make another Inframan, he and his daughter are frozen. Inframan and the Science Patrol decide to rescue both, leading to the final battle between Inframan and Demon Princess Elzebub.
Cast
Protagonists
- Lei Ma/Inframan, the hero. Played by Danny Lee
- Professor Liu Ying-de, the proprietor of Science Headquarters. Played by Wang Hsieh
- Liu Mei-mei, the Professor's daughter. Played by Yuan Man-Tzu
- Xiao Hu Mei Mei's younger brother. Played by Lu Sheng
- Lin-lin Mei Mei's little sister. Played by Fanny Leung
- Zhu Qi-quang The lieutenant of Science Headquarters. Played by Kong Yeung
- Lu Xiao-long The sergeant of Science Headquarters and a tough fighter. Played by Bruce Le
- Zhu Ming The awkward member of Science Headquarters, who is captured and turned by Elzebub into an evil spy. Played by Lin Wen-wei
Antagonists
- Demon Princess Elzebub The main villainess, ruler of Inner-Earth. Her name is a play on "Beelzebub". She is armed with a whip, and can turn into a winged dragon-like creature. In the U.S. English dubbed version, she is called Princess Dragon Mom. Played by Terry Liu
- Witch-Eye Elzebub's beautiful-but-deadly servant. Has a horned helmet and eyes on her palms that shoot green beams. In the U.S. English dubbed version, she is called She-Demon. Played by Dana Shum
- Skeleton Ghosts Rank-and-file henchmen of the Glacier Empire. They dress in black-on-white suits with a skeleton motif, and with horned helmets. They also carry explosive metal spears.
Ice Monsters (冰河怪獸)
- Fire Dragon A scaly reptilian humanoid spouting a large horned crown and mustache. Can shoot fire from his mouth. Played by Wai Lo
- Spider Monster A fat red spider creature that shoots web-bombs and acid from its mouth and grows to gigantic size. Played by Kazunari Mori
- Plant Monster A teal vine-like monster that plants itself into the ground and grows into giant killer vines. Played by Tien-Chu Chin
- Mutant Drill A horned blue mole-like monster with a drill for a hand and a shovel-like claw for another. Played by Toru Kawai
- Long-Haired Monster A red-skinned witch-like demon with long white hair and huge horns that shoot yellow beams from both its horns and hands. Played by Alan Chui Chung-San
- Iron Armor Monsters Two mechanical knight-like monsters, whose heads and right hands spring forth to strike their enemy and retract again. Played by Tang Chia and Yuen Cheung-yan
Production
The following year, Joseph Brenner brought this film to the U.S., and re-titled it simply Infra-Man, with the advertising campaign slogan "The Man Beyond Bionics!" attempting to capitalize upon The Six [Million Dollar Man]'s success on American network television at the time.
This film also has some historical importance as the first superhero film set in Hong Kong, the first film promotion in Hong Kong using a hot air balloon, and the first Shaw Brothers production using a storyboard.
In 2004, the film was released on DVD in Japan and Hong Kong.
Reception
, in his 7 March 1976 review for the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film two and a half stars out of four, concluding "The movie even looks good: It's a classy, slick production by the Shaw Brothers, the Hong Kong kung fu kings. When they stop making movies like Infra-Man, a little light will go out of the world." Infra-Man has an aggregated score of 100% based on six critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.On 30 April 1999, after Quentin Tarantino re-released Mighty Peking Man in North America, Ebert upgraded his rating for the film to three stars, explaining that "I find to my astonishment that I gave Infra-Man only two and a half stars when I reviewed it. That was 22 years ago, but a fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that film. I am awarding Mighty Peking Man three stars, for general goofiness and a certain level of insane genius, but I cannot in good conscience rate it higher than Infra-Man. So, in answer to those correspondents who ask if I have ever changed a rating on a movie: Yes, Infra-Man moves up to three stars." The original review of the film as re-posted on Ebert's website accordingly gives the film three stars.