(Satoru Kobayashi and Shao Bao-Hui, 1968, Taiwan, 90 minutes)
Could've tripped out easy
A-but I've a-changed my ways
--Donovan, "Sunshine Superman" (1966)
You can tell you're in for a good time when a film--black and white in this case--opens with several satin jumpsuit-clad characters with metallic papier maché heads all converging on a bug-eyed salary man, leaving him flat on his back, without his briefcase, and with blood dripping from his mouth.
It reminded me of the vampiric kills in Messiah of Evil or Interview with the Vampire, except more loopy than disturbing. If it wasn't a good time for the salary man, who would not survive the attack, it definitely was for me.
Turns out the oddly-dressed miscreants are members of the Cosmos Gang. They look like aliens with their oversized heads and long spindly fingers, though maybe they just have bizarre taste in gloves. I'm not sure it matters one way or the other. Dragon Superman, aka Dragon Ghost Flying Knight, which premiered in Seattle in a new 2K restoration last spring, is the kind of crazy, mixed-up film where you have to just go with the flow.
Two gang members are next seen swiping jewels from a reception hosted by supermarket magnate Mr. Liu (Yang Weixi) and attended by San Lin-Jun (Kuei Chih-Pang), a straight-laced newspaper reporter, and Mr. Mischief (Lai Te-Nan), a Jerry Lewis-like photographer. The gangsters give the authorities the slip when they clamber into a helicopter and fly away. They'll later return to steal Mr. Liu's golden lamp stand, a treasure--as he keeps repeating--from the Inca Empire.
If the authorities are no match for the gang, Hong Kong superhero Dragon Superman just might have what it takes to bring them to justice, though he doesn't look especially formidable in his silky white scarf and bat-ear mask.
The Batman TV series with Adam West premiered on ABC in 1966, just two years earlier, though I'm not certain whether director/cowriter Satoru Kobayashi, codirector Shao Bao-Hui, and cowriter Chen Hsiao-Tao were familiar with it, not least since the film is an adaptation of Maboroshi Tantei: Chiteijin Shûrai, a manga adaptation from 1960. But I'd imagine they were.
Other characters include visually-impaired singer Li-fen (Wu Min), her femme fatal-ish sister Li-sa (opera star Liu Ching), Mr. Liu's secretary, and the sisters' brother, a handsome man whose primary trait is his handsomeness (I regret that I was unable to track down his name).
Beyond their thieving, murdering, and crimes against fashion, the gang members proceed to abduct Li-fen and Li-sa, Mr. Liu's granddaughter, and even Mr. Liu himself. They also terrorize San Lin's family. Along the way, Kobayashi reveals that the reporter is actually Dragon Superman, which comes as no surprise whatsoever, or I would've kept it to myself.
The film appears to have been designed to capitalize on several trends popular on the American B-movie/drive-in/grindhouse circuit, but given a Taiwanese twist by a Japanese filmmaker (the film takes place in Hong Kong due to Taiwan's then-current censorship laws). It's sci-fi, film noir, and thriller, all set to composer Tseng Chung-Ying's percussive score.
Though it's the first of his films that I've seen, Kobayashi has 385 directorial credits at the IMDb in a career that spanned 43 years. As appealingly rough around the edges as it may be, Dragon Superman was his 39th feature.
The budget was surely low, but the film looks good enough, though the Foley work is out of control. For some reason, Kobayashi decided to amplify every footstep, so that the soundtrack is filled with non-stop clicks and clacks. For my money, it adds to the charm, though your mileage may vary.
Considering that the narrative ends on a cliffhanger, I hope the delightfully-titled sequels, Moonlight Superman, and Skyfly Superman, which were also released in 1968 and restored in 2023, make their way to Seattle, too. In case you're curious, these are the summaries I found at the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute:
Moonlight Superman
To obtain the Golden Light Statue, the Cosmic Gang takes the owner's family hostage. The "Detective Boys" witness a crime and are kidnapped by the Gang. San Lin-Jun hears their cries and suits up to save them.
Skyfly Superman
The thieves take children and women hostage for experiments. Dragon Superman arrives in time to defeat the villains and save them out. However, Yuan-Tai's parents seem to hide some secrets, suggesting a larger conspiracy.
I'm not sure why SIFF 2024 only programmed the first film in the trilogy, but one is better than none. I'll update this post if I hear about any screenings or home-video releases; for now, the films are making their way around the world theatrically. Images from the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (Kuei Chih-Pang and the poster image), Taiwan Film Institute (Kuei and Lai Te-Nan), and Urania National Film Theatre (Kuei and Lai redux).
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