It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

"Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed!" is a 35-minute documentary about the movie "The Invisible Man", an old film from the 1930s that is considered an early horror classic today. But this already shows one of the biggest challenges for this documentary here: There were almost 70 years between the makings of these two and cast and crew were all dead, so how do you fill this over half an hour. Writer and director David J. Skal found a way and his experience may have helped him. His very prolific filmmaking years between 1999 and 2003 had him work on several documentaries like this one here, sadly nothing really creative or original by himself was come up with there during that period. Anyway, back to this one here: We get many scenes from the film it is about, interviews with film historians and we get to hear Ian McKellen's and Bill Condon's statements as these two made a film on James Whale, the director of "The Invisible Man" that gave Condon an Oscar and McKellen an Oscar nomination. That's a pretty solid idea and inclusion I would say. But sadly it cannot distract from the fact that even for 35 minutes the material was simply too thin and not enough. They randomly talked about Gloria Stuart's Oscar nomination and included references to and scenes from several other old movies, including the sequels to "The Invisible Man". That is why all in all I give this documentary a thumbs-down here. It sure was a big challenge, but I don't think they came close to making a convincing tribute. I have not seen The Invisible Man (yet), but honestly this documentary did not get me more curious about it or its epicness. It's also about a lot more than the film in the title, so the title is a bit of a lie. No revelations here. Don't watch. Final note: Still, if you did actually enjoy this one more than I did, take a look at Skal's other works too as he for example made another documentary about Whale himself.

This 35-minute documentary offers an enjoyable and illuminating glimpse into the making of James Whale's horror classic "The Invisible Man." Among the people interviewed are Claude Rains's daughter Jessica, film historians David J. Skal and Paul M. Jensen, actor Ian McKellan, and Whale's director friend Curtis Harrington. Jessica Rains share a nice story about her father taking her to see the movie at a theater where Rains was recognized by the ticket counter man. Moreover, we also learn that Whale grew up in poverty, H.G. Wells was reluctant to have "The Invisible Man" adapted into a movie due to his dissatisfaction with "Island of Lost Souls," Boris Karloff and Colin Clive were both originally considered for the lead role, how various elements were combined together to create the invisibility effects, Whale loved casting distinctive character players in colorful supporting parts, and Whale eventually became a recluse because of his disillusionment with the meddlesome Hollywood studio system at the end of his career. In addition, there's a brief overview of the several sequels. Worth a watch for fans of the film.

Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed! (2000) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Another terrific documentary from Universal with this one covering James Whale's 1933 THE INVISIBLE MAN. This was originally released when that film first hit DVD but it has been paired with the film on other releases. We start off learning the history of the novel and then we get down to how Universal ended up with the rights. The film's production is gone through with a fine comb as we learn how Claude Rains was cast as well as hearing certainly issues the studio had as well as trouble with the special effects. Rudy Behlmer, Curtis Harrington< Paul Jensen, Bill Condon, David Skal and Jessica Rains are among the folks interviewed and all add nice bits of history to the making of the film. Some of the best moments come with Claude's daughter who shares her memories of what her father told her about the role and this includes the story of his original test being so awful that he was shocked anyone would be interested in him. Funny to think that considering all the major classics that he would go onto appear in. The documentary also spends quite a bit of time on Whale and how he originally made this picture to try and get Universal to make his dream project, which he would eventually make but well under the intended budget. Whale's opinion on the horror genre is discussed and we also hear about the original objections by H.G. Wells and how he wasn't happy with how Paramount handled ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. Fans of the film are going to learn a lot about the making of the film and the interviews are priceless. Highly recommended to those interested in the film or its sequel(s).

As a monster kid from way back, I enjoy much of the attention and adulation that these movies have garnered over the years. But what has always been a pet peeve is that some of the "lesser" films like The Invisible Man, The Mummy, The Old Dark House, etc...never get the same kind of pomp as Dracula and Frankenstein. I can understand why, but films like these have had just as much a powerful if not indeed more subtle influence. Well, here David Skaal, making documentaries for the big Universal horror films for DVD release around 2000, does his tribute for James Whale's revolutionary science fiction film - a film that had breakthrough technology at the time, used the Whale style to perfection, and made Claude Rains into a star. It had four sequels - granted only the second one near the quality of this, but all were fun. It had countless imitations as recent as the horrible Hollow Man and its sequel. This documentary chronicles the production of the film fusing anecdotal history with facts. We get interviews with some second-hand observers like Jessica Rains(telling a wonderful story about how her father took her to see this film for the first time as a child, Curtis Harrington(who had met and knew James Whale), and some film historians. There are plentiful scenes too. The documentary runs 35 minutes and though I found their analysis of the first film quite good, the rest of the sequels are lucky enough to get a mention. I would have liked to have seen some more on them as they are the films least known. Skaal does a great job with these documentaries as evidenced by the wonderful ones completed for Dracula, Frankenstein, and even The Mummy, but this one falls a little short on their scale. It definitely left me wanting to see more.