Infra-Man

Infra-Man (Chinese: 中國超人, lit. Chinese Superman), also titled The Super Inframan, is a 1975 Hong Kong science fiction action film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio. Inspired by the huge success of the Japanese tokusatsu franchises such as Ultraman and Kamen Rider in Hong Kong, this film features the same type of "henshin"/transformation, monster/robot action and costumed heroics, coupled with Chinese kung fu action.
The film was directed by Hua Shan, written by science fiction writer Ni Kuang, produced by Runme Shaw and photographed by Tadashi Nishimoto. There was also assistance from Japan; music from Ultra Seven (1967) and Mirrorman (1971) (both composed by Toru Fuyuki) is used in this film and the Inframan/Science Headquarters/monster costumes were provided by Ekisu Productions, which had done costumes for many Toei superhero TV shows of the same period. The film also starred Danny Lee as the superhero himself, and Bruceploitation star Bruce Le in a supporting role (he still got to display some of his martial arts skills in many scenes of the film).

The following year, Joseph Brenner brought this film to the U.S., and re-titled it simply Infra-Man (or Inframan), 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.