Varan the Unbelievable
| 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. If you listen carefully, you can hear a version of Akira Ifukube's famous "Giant monster war" theme, thet will be eventually heard in several future Toho Daikaiju films, icluding those of Godzilla.
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.
US realese
- Akira Ifukube's score was removed, and repalced 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 made a cameo 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).
- Before being made into a movie, Varan the Unbelievable was meant to be an American television show.
External links
- Daikaijû Baran at IMDb
- Varan the Unbelievable at IMDb
- DVD review at DVD Drive-In
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