Varan the Unbelievable
- For lizards from the family Varanidae, see Monitor lizard
| Varan the Unbelievable | |
|---|---|
| File:Varan 1958.jpg Theatrical poster for Giant Monster Varan (1958) | |
| Directed by | Ishirō Honda Jerry A. Baerwitz (USA) |
| Written by | Ken Kuronuma (story) Shinichi Sekizawa Sid Harris (USA) |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka Jerry A. Baerwitz (USA) |
| Starring | Kôzô Nomura Ayumi Sonoda Fumito Matsuo Myron Healey (USA) Tsuruko Kobayashi (USA) |
| Cinematography | Hajime Koizumi Jacques R. Marquette (USA) |
| Edited by | Kazuji Taira Rudolph Cusumano (USA) Jack Ruggiero (USA) |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube Albert Glasser (USA) |
| Distributed by | Toho Crown International Pictures (USA) |
Release dates | October 14, 1958 December 7, 1962 (USA) |
Running time | 83 min. 70 min. (USA) |
| Languages | Japanese English (USA) |
Varan the Unbelievable (大怪獣バラン, Daikaijū Baran, Giant Monster Varan) is a 1958 daikaiju eiga (giant-monster movie) directed by Ishiro Honda (drama) and Eiji Tsuburaya (tokusatsu), and their last black-and-white monster film. The title character Varan is one of Toho Studios' least-famed creations. Although shown in Japanese-language theaters in the USA, the film saw general U.S. release in 1962 only after being heavily revised, in the manner of Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, to have all principal scenes reshot with American actors. Indeed, the plot itself was generally revised, and the Japanese material consisted only of special effects, a few incidental shots, and the ending scene.
The 2005 subtitled DVD release of Daikaijū Baran was titled Varan the Unbelievable, leading to confusion as to which version of the film (Japanese or American) was presented on the disc.
Story
Varan was supposed to be a god that lived under the Kitami River. The village that lives near the river worshipped him. At first, he kills an expedition team and then destroys the entire village once disturbed. Varan started wreaking havoc throughout the contry, eating people he encountered. The JSDF tricked him into eating two bombs out of the sky. The bombs explode, destroying Varan.
Kaiju Varan
Height and Weight
Varan is 50 meters (150 feet) tall and weighs 15,000 tons.
Abilities
Varan is a true 'triphibian', able to swim (hiding underwater for extended periods of time), walk and fly in the air at speeds up to 1.5 times the speed of sound. Varan, despite it's appearance, is actually is quick enough to jump out of the water and snatch planes from the sky. Beyond this, the monster relies on its claws and teeth as weapons.
US release
- Akira Ifukube's score was removed, and replaced with B-movie stock music by Albert Glasser.
- Dialogue was dubbed into English.
- Scenes with US actor Myron Healy was added in to replace various footage removed from the Japanese version.
- All footage showing Varan flying was removed.
- the US version runs 13 minutes shorter than the Japanese version.
Trivia
- The character of Varan had a very, very, very! small role in the film Destroy All Monsters as one of the kaiju brainwashed by the Kilaak aliens to attack Earth, indicating Varan survives his debut film (as Destroy All Monsters takes place in 1999, according to the series timeline). However, due to the rather dilapidated state of Varan's costume, it only appears very briefly at the Mt. Fuji scene and the end, making it the least seen of the monsters in the movie (literally, unexageratily, 6 seconds(3 in each scene)).(Baragon, also not in very good shape, only appears briefly as well( 8 seconds.). Stock footage of Varan was also featured in the opening credits of Godzilla: Final Wars (2004).
- If you listen carefully, you can hear a version of Akira Ifukube's famous "Giant monster war" theme, that will be eventually heard in several future Toho Daikaiju films, including those of Godzilla.
- Varan's name is a reference to Varanidae, the family of reptiles that includes monitor lizards and goannas.
- Varan has made two appearances in toho-related video games: Godzilla: Monster of Monsters (1988- Nintendo) and Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1993-Gameboy)
External links
- Daikaijû Baran at IMDb
- Varan the Unbelievable at IMDb
- DVD review at DVD Drive-In
