Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

bok602 The Human Vapor is a surprisingly worthwhile change from the usual round of men in rubber suit Japanese horror films. It is an effective cross between The Invisible Man and Phantom of the Opera with just a dash of Hangover Square.The kabuki sequences were very well staged. The musical score is lush, heartfelt and at times quite moving. It has tremendous production values and some good, sincere acting. It is marred only by over-abundant comic relief and choppy editing (although the latter is almost certainly the fault of it's American distributors).It is also hampered by its current un-availability in any medium. My sad, long out of print, much-abused VHS rental copy is close to 20 years old and appears to have been made from a very worn out, badly scratched and faded TV print.Does anyone know of a restored print? A letter-boxed version? A DVD???? All in all though, it is worth watching....really.

OllieSuave-007 Somber screenplay writer Takeshi Kimura at his best. Probably the most sad and dramatic of all Toho sci-fi epics. Here, we have the title character, who is a librarian in his real life, willing to make sacrifices to pamper his lover, the Kabuki dancer, even if it resorts to chaos and havoc. Caught in the mix is a policeman and a reporter, out to catch the rampaging "Vapor Man" before he causes any more harm. I usually prefer more light-heated pieces, like the works of writer Shinichi Sekizawa. Though this is a really dark film, which could use more lighter themes, it is a movie with a very compelling story with an astounding climax. A good thriller even by today's standards.Grade B

Hessian499 The title may suggest a bad sci-fi movie, but this film is actually quite dramatic and well produced. Part mystery and part science fiction, it is well acted and the special effects of the man turning into the vapor is expertly done. The segments of the Vapor traveling about the city and telling of his experiences are a high point of the movie, and explain what it would feel like to actually be a cloud of gas. The central story, of the attraction between the Vapor and the dancer, is well written and effectively developed on screen. This is an example of a Japanese science fiction film that often gets overshadowed by the likes of Godzilla and Rodan, but is quite good on its own merits. Watch it if you get the chance!

Infofreak The Human Vapour shows that there was a lot more to 60s Japanese science fiction movies than Godzilla and Mothra. While the version I watched was badly dubbed and transferred to video, it still stood out as superior b-grade sci-fi. The FX may be quite primitive but the concept was handled well, the acting more than adequate, and the central relationship between the Vapour and the Kabuki dancer was suprisingly touching. Try and track this one down if you're looking for something different.