| Varan the Unbelievable | |
|---|---|
Theatrical Japanese poster for Daikaijū Varan (1958) |
|
| Directed by | Ishirō Honda Jerry A. Baerwitz (USA) |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka Jerry A. Baerwitz (USA) |
| Written by | Ken Kuronuma (story) Shinichi Sekizawa Sid Harris (USA) |
| Starring | Kôzô Nomura Ayumi Sonoda Fumito Matsuo Myron Healey (USA) Tsuruko Kobayashi (USA) |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube Albert Glasser (USA) |
| Cinematography | Hajime Koizumi Teisho Arikawa Jacques R. Marquette (USA) |
| Editing by | Kazuji Taira Rudolph Cusumano (USA) Jack Ruggiero (USA) |
| Distributed by | Toho Crown International Pictures (USA) |
| Release date(s) | October 14, 1958 December 7, 1962 |
| Running time | 87 min. 70 min. (USA) |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese English |
Varan the Unbelievable, released in Japan as Giant Monster Varan (大怪獣バラン Daikaijū Baran), is a 1958 Kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda (drama) and Eiji Tsuburaya (special effects), 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.
Originally, the film was to be produced for American television, but the American producers backed out at the last minute. With most of the film already completed, Toho's crew filmed additional scenes and it was released in Japanese theaters. A reconstructed version of the TV version is included on both the Japanese and American DVDs.
The 2005 subtitled DVD release of Daikaijū Baran, the original Japanese version, was titled Varan the Unbelievable on the front cover leading to confusion as to which version of the film (Japanese or American) was presented on the disc.
Contents |
Varan was supposed to be a demon god that lived in the upper reaches of the Kitakami River. The villagers that live in Iwaya near the river refer to Varan as Baradagi-Sanjin and they both worship him. An expedition team arrives in the area to find a Siberian species of butterfly that has mysteriously made its way to Japan, but are killed in an avalanche after they hear an echoing roar. Some time later, a second team is sent to investigate, only to discover Varan, who then destroys the entire village once disturbed. The JSDF responds to this by arriving in the Kitagami areato lure Varan out by polluting the lake where he is hiding. Later, they light the forest on fire. Distraught with the destruction of his home, Varan takes off into the sky, and heads towards Tokyo bay. Varan eventually unleashes an attack on the Haneda airport, where The JSDF tricks him into eating several bombs out of the sky. The bombs explode one by one, weakening Varan. When Varan retreats to the sea, the final bomb explodes and destroys the beast.
Much stock footage from Godzilla was used mostly in close ups of buildings getting crushed and when the planes fight Varan.
|
|||||||||||