On June 23, 2025, Arrow Video is releasing the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for The Invisible Swordsman, a 1970 fantasy actioner directed by Yoshiyuki Kuroda (Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell).
Mysterious sprites, eerie supernatural goings on and heroic sword-fighting action abound in this mystical tale of vengeance and adventure from the makers of the Zatoichi, Daimajin and Yokai Monsters films.
In Edo-era Japan, Sanshiro diligently hones his sword-fighting technique at the kendo dojo, but no amount of practice can hide the fact that he is both clumsy and cowardly. When his samurai father falls prey to a gang of murderous phantom thieves while on night watch duties, Sanshiro is drawn to the banks of the Sanzu River that separates the worlds of the living and the dead. Here he encounters a strange being that introduces itself as a Shokera. The otherworldly apparition offers advice on how Sanshiro can avenge his father with the aid of a mysterious potion with the power to turn him invisible. But first Sanshiro must gather the ingredients, and his father’s killers might be closer to home than he thinks.
Directed by Yoshiyuki Kuroda (Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare, Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell) and beautifully shot by Hiroshi Imai (Zatoichi and the Doomed Man, The Haunted Palace), The Invisible Swordsman boasts the sumptuous attention to its historical setting, costume design, fight choreography and period details that Daiei Kyoto were renowned for, all with an added dose of rip-roaring fantasy and adventure. Arrow Films is proud to release this unseen gem in a brand new high-definition transfer for the very first time for the home video market outside of Japan.
Features:
- High-Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- Original lossless Japanese mono audio
- Optional newly translated English subtitles
- Brand new audio commentary from author and Asian culture expert Jonathan Clements
- The Invisible People, a brand new interview with film critic Kim Newman on the history of invisibility in cinema
- Phantom Fighter, a brand new interview with film critic and Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jolyon Yates
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Zack Davisson
This title will soon be available at The Goodie Emporium, a U.S.-based online store that currently has many Import Shaw Brothers/Golden Harvest/martial arts DVD/Blu-ray movies in-stock – with New titles being added regularly!
Watch the Trailer below:
Dear Arrow…
Let “old” Asian cinema to 88 Films, Eureka, BFI n’ Co.