Varan (1958) User Reviews

Ironically, even the Japanese original is too "American"

[pv71989-2 · 4/10 · 2 February 2007]

Don't confuse this original Japanese monster film with its cheap American version called "Varan, the Unbelievable." The American version was a hack job and a half.

Ironically, this original seems to have too much "American" in it as well. The film was commissioned by ABC-TV in 1958 and shot by Toho. Unfortunately, Toho had seen American TV and had noticed that Americans have a penchant for action -- lots of action (i.e., "War of the Worlds," "Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers," "Invaders from Mars"). Toho gave ABC what it thought they wanted. A monster movie with little plot and lots of action.

This concept turns "Baran" into a mediocre film. Even "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" and "It Came From Beneath the Sea" had well-thought out plots and good acting.

The plot (or what is supposed to be the plot) deals with an isolated village in northern Japan. The villagers worship a god called "Baradagi." Two butterfly scientists come calling and get shunned by the high priest. They press on, find a rare butterfly and also find a huge shadow and a massive rock slide.

A reporter who is also the sister of one of the crushed scientists drags another butterfly scientist along, as well as a fat cameraman, to the village. They ignore the priest and rouse Varan, a dinosaur that trashes the village.

Unlike "Gojira" where the tension built slowly, here, there is no tension. The military responds (ineffectively) and then we see lots of attacks by the Navy, Air Force and Army. Finally, a simple solution is found to stop the monster that seems like it should have been easier (like when police launch a massive manhunt for a missing person and then find the person's car three blocks away about three weeks later, making you wonder why they didn't find it sooner).

Too many potential plot twists are left flapping in the breeze. The high priest (Akira Sira) and his villagers don't get enough screen time. The supposed romance between the butterfly scientist (Kozo Nomura) and the reporter (Ayumi Sunoda) was supposed to emulate Emiko Yemane and Ogata from "Gojira" but went nowhere as the two leads had no on-screen chemistry.

Nomura's character is so bland he actually drags down the film. His character isn't very likable either. When he gets to the village, the first thing he does is insult the priest and the village's religion. He breaks village law and rouses Baran. If he wasn't so bland, he might have redeemed himself, but fails miserably. Meanwhile, Sunoda devolves into one of Toho's most useless characters -- the reporter who never reports. Fumito Matsuo is along as the cameraman and provides yet another Toho cliché -- the comic-relief fat guy, though he does get in a classic comedic exchange with other reporters when they retreat from Baran's rampage ("You want the enemy to see your back?" "No, I'm just going to take a picture from a distance." "Good, I think I'll take one from a distance, too.")

There's a scene where everyone's retreating after the initial military attack fails. Yuriko wants to stay to report on the monster, but the scientist tells her it's no place for a reporter. Yeah, but it's obviously a place for a butterfly scientist? More credibility is killed moments later when the scientist has to rescue her from an incredibly slow-moving Varan in a scene with no suspense whatsoever.

The film's best actor is probably Akihiko Hirata as Dr. Fujimora, who supplies a weapon that might help stop Varan. Hirata was Dr. Serizawa in "Gojira" who supplied the weapon that stopped Godzilla. In "Varan," Hirata's character appears out of the blue.

Varan actually flies like a flying squirrel (it's somewhat comical because it looks like the guy in the rubber suit needed to do some stomach crunches), but is shown like that for one scene.

The special effects were okay, blending stock footage with miniatures. Unfortunately, footage was borrowed from "Gojira," thus repeating the same mistakes as that film. For instance, you can clearly see the wires holding up the jets. The scene where the monster's foot crashes through the roof of a warehouse is strangely missing the tail, just like in "Gojira." The worst thing about the special effects was a problem that was all too evident in most Japanese monster films. The miniatures fired at the monster in one take, instead of blending stock footage with close-ups of explosions on the monster. What you got were tanks, jets, ships and rocket launchers that couldn't hit the broad side of a building. About 90 percent of the shots missed. And I won't even get into that most annoying military feature -- the rocket launcher that never reloads.

Also, Varan is never fleshed out, like Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra were. Here, it might be an angry God or a revived dinosaur, but it's never explained. It just attacks and heads for Tokyo. Also, it never gets to Tokyo, just Haneda Airport. Unlike other Toho films, it doesn't take a potshot at Japan or America (like in "Mothra" where the American gas stations get trashed or Rodan, where an American-style car dealership is smashed by Japanese-made cars and buses). It's just a straight-forward monster movie -- monster shows up out of the blue, resists military efforts to kill it, rampages across countryside and is finally taken out. Very by-the-numbers.

Only Akira Ifukube's excellent movie score saves this film.

So, add this to your collection if you're a B-movie fan or like Japanese monsters. Just don't compare it to "Gojira" or even "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" for that matter.

Veers from decent to 'so bad it's good' to bad

[BrandtSponseller · 5/10 · 4 June 2005]

Before I get into the review proper and upset everyone who loves this film, it might help to say a word about the various versions. "Daikaijû Baran (1958)" is the original Japanese version. It has recently been released on DVD, by Tokyo Shock in May 2005, but under the title "Varan The Unbelievable (1962)", which has its own listing on IMDb.

This is bound to cause a lot of confusion, as "Varan the Unbelievable" was an American-produced adaptation, similar to the American adaptation of the original Godzilla (Gojira, 1954). Varan was originally to be a joint US/Japanese production, but that deal fell through. Toho, the Japanese production company also responsible for Godzilla and many other infamous monsters, went ahead and made Varan anyway. A few years later, the American version was produced, with a different title and with additional material directed by Jerry A. Baerwitz.

How do you know what version you watched? Well, the American version is 70 minutes long, has an American actor, Myron Healey, and a plot about trying to desalinize water. The Japanese film is about 90 minutes long, has no American actors, and Varan (or "Baran") makes his first (offscreen) appearance when a couple of scientists from Tokyo make a trip to a remote, mountainous village to research the sighting of a butterfly previously only known to exist in Siberia. The Japanese version also has a different musical score, but since music is a bit difficult to describe well in words (other than technically), that's not a great way for most folks to tell which version they've watched.

To make matters even more confusing, the Tokyo Shock DVD also has a truncated Japanese television version of Daikaijû Baran, clocking in at about 50 minutes, which dispenses with both the desalinization and the butterfly plots. Also, at least some people have reported seeing a color version of the film. I don't know which version that would be, but the Tokyo Shock DVD has the original, black & white widescreen Japanese version from 1958.

So, Daikaijû Baran is the film with the butterfly plot, and that's what I'm reviewing here. It's too bad that it doesn't have more of a butterfly plot, perhaps, or just more of a plot in general, because one of the major faults of Daikaijû Baran is shallowness and a general ineffectiveness of the little plot there is. After the initial scientists head off to the remote village, which happens to worship Varan as a God--the villagers call him "Baradagi"--they quickly get squashed. Once news of this gets back to Tokyo, the scientists send out another team to investigate, and they relatively quickly find the monster.

From there, the film "evolves", if you want--I would say devolves--into a stock Godzilla plot. Perhaps that's surprising given that Daikaijû Baran was made only a couple years after the first Godzilla, but it's a stock Godzilla plot nonetheless. That means that Baran/Varan lumbers around, basically killing time, while the humans try escalating-but-silly, military-based means of fighting him, which all have no effect, at least not until they have to because the film has to end.

For me, the opening, the stuff set in the village and everything up until shortly after we first see Varan all has great promise. I was engaged in the story, I was getting into director Ishirô Honda's atmosphere, and I was enjoying Akira Ifukube's score--the music that accompanies the titles is particularly sublime.

But then it seems like most of that interesting stuff is abandoned (even the fun fact that Varan flies is just dropped after one scene), and three-quarters of the film feels like aimless padding.

It's often funny aimless padding. Of course there is the usual guy-in-a-rubber-suit factor. My wife and I amused ourselves by playing a game seeing who could shout out the "mode" of each shot the fastest. The choices were "studio (standing in for exteriors)", "toys/models", "stock footage", and "real". "Real" meant that Toho actually ponied up for exterior, full-scale shots of exteriors. The challenge has to be who can call the "mode" the quickest, because there's no challenge in spotting the mode at a leisurely pace. Honda makes it very conspicuous when he's switching from "real" tanks to toys, for example, because the toys look like little plastic things with little, fake, immobile people in them. It's a great way to exercise your imagination--you have to work hard to pretend that this stuff could be real, rather than just cinematography of little toys being pulled along by wires. But it's also very funny.

I'm not sure why the military attacks on the monsters in some of these films are shown to be so incompetent. We see Varan lumbering towards models of the Tokyo Airport, then we see the model tanks and guns shooting at him, but the paths of the bullets, missiles and such almost form random patterns across the frame. If they were trying to aim, they wouldn't be able to hit the broad side of a barn if it were as big as China.

In a way, Honda and his screenwriters seem to be trying to state something metaphorical/subtextual about war, and specifically about World War II and Japan's experience in it. This is supported by the fact that most of Ifukube's score consists of military marches, and a lot of the film could be seen as (a satire of?) propaganda for the Japanese military. But aside from the metaphor of an approaching monster from the sea that's going to destroy Japan, and having to fight it from within, what Honda and his crew seem to be primarily saying is that the Japanese military is incompetent.

In any event, it doesn't make for a particularly good film, although it's worthwhile for die-hard Kaiju fans, those interested in the technical aspects (there's a great special effects documentary and commentary on the Tokyo Shock DVD), and those who want to laugh at the film.

Pretty okay, better than the US-cut.

[gazzo-2 · 6/10 · 26 April 2009]

I thought this was alright, though it's clearly just cut from the same exactly cloth as all things Godzilla, Guilala, etc you know? Nothing really is new here-though I enjoyed it despite everything.

The best parts were the opening half hour where our friends in the butterfly researching racket get stomped on by the big Spiny squirrel and go from there. The witch doctor was fun-til he gets stomped on by the Big Spiny Squirrel, despite brandishing his ferns etc. They didn't work when they were most needed, did they? I liked the stock characters-grey-haired general(he looked like he was on thorazine), the young, conflicted bomb-building scientist, the plucky comedy relief guy in glasses(think the guy in the X from outer space who saves the day by sticking his butt into a hull breach--don't ask), the damsel in distress, etc.

Enjoyable as well were the toy tanks, the terrible aim of the rockets and army, the wire-propped jets and the toy boats in the tank. They obviously liked that one long-shot of Varan sticking his head outta the water, they used it 24 times in the movie I think at last count.

Overall its fun if you don't think about it too much, it's certainly nothing great and cliché ridden, but it has it's moments. Beats the US-sliced version def.

**1/2 outta ****

a good, fun kaiju movie

[TheUnknown837-1 · 4/10 · 28 December 2005]

not as powerful as the original Godzilla, but still a fun movie to watch. Don't waste your time with the Americanized release starring Myron Healy. Get the Japanese version, it's a whole lot better. Varan is called by his real name, he has a more terrifying roar, and the plot is better and so on.

And what's more, the music score really helps the film out. Without such a great score, I would probably rate this movie a 6 or 7 out of 10. But Akira Ifukube's score is so powerful and entertaining, it helped boost the movie's level up.

Once again, don't bother with the Americanized version, check out this one.

test-case for work on later films

[winner55 · 7/10 · 13 December 2006]

One of the better of the early Toho monster epics, the film suffers from a lack of definition. We don't really know where this monster comes from, or why he's so pee-ed off he wants to stomp Tokyo. Also, he never even quite gets to Tokyo, which is major disappointment - what good is a Japanese monster movie where Tokyo doesn't get stomped.

I suspect that the secret to this problem lies in the original score for the film, by the great Akira Ifikube. Godzilla fans should recognize variations on three essential themes for other movies - for "Godzilla", "Rodan", and "Mothra". Yet they are not just borrowed sound-tracks from those films, but actual variations. Apparently Ifikube used composition for this film as a kind of notebook on themes that would later get improved on again and again. My sense is that this is true of the film as a whole, that director Honda and crew used this film as a test-case for work on later films - the kaiju film industry was about to go wide-screen and technicolor in a big way, but the exact formula for the genre had not yet come together. I think they were using this film to get it together.

In its favor, I remark the film is narratively tight, so that not much time is wasted on the back-stories. It is what it is, a straight-out rubber-monster stomp, and begs to be enjoyed for that, and nothing more.

By the way, the subtitled DVD release from Animego has a couple fascinating bonuses to it - an interview with one of the special fx crew, as well as a demonstration of the technique used to manufacture the monster's costume. The film itself is enjoyable, if no great shakes, but bits of film-history like this are priceless.

Good, if slightly generic, monster movie

[barugon · 5 July 1999]

I think this was Toho's fourth "giant monster on the loose" movie, and it's also probably the least known. The American "version", "Varan the Unbelievable", is a travesty and should be avoided at all costs.

The Japanese original has some really good things about it. It features one of Akira Ifukube's best monster-movie scores, in which he introduced some themes that would be re-used in practically every kaiju eiga that followed... There's also a wonderful "Lovecraft-gone-Japanese" feeling about the protagonists' arrival in the village: they interrupt a strange ceremony, and a sea of masked faces turns to watch them. This is followed by an eerie scene as they follow a mist-shrouded path to the forbidden lake.

Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is a little uninspired. It doesn't have the emotional tension of "Godzilla" or "Rodan", although the monster costume and attack scenes are very, very good.

A Forgotten Toho Monster

[Johnnycitystar · 4/10 · 26 January 2008]

To be honest, I read lots of reviews of this movie and most from bad to mediocre reviews but I gave it a chance and the reviewers were right. This film is not so great.from the flat characters,a bland plot to the film's worst offender, the Awful pacing is what makes this movie bad. But It does have some good moments from the great music score, to the special effects and the decent acting.but besides that lets review this movie.

The film starts with the protagonist trio Kenji,Yuriko and Horiguchi sent on a expedition to find out the death of Yuriko's brother who died earlier in the film.they come to a village where the priest warns them to leave or they will be killed.Kenji insults the priest and thinks he's crazy.soon enough Ken a village boy goes looking for his dog and Kenji goes to save the boy and challenges the priest's warning and the villagers agree to help Kenji.The trio eventually finds Ken near a lake and some of the villagers see something appear from the lake and it's Varan going to the village and the film's slow pacing starts once Varan appear from his attack from the military to his raid in Hanada Airport.

Overall by the time Varan comes you lose focus in the movie and the characters.the films slow pacing is what just makes you want to stop watching the film. plus Varan isn't a very memorable monster, the only memorable thing he does is fly and only does it once out of the whole film.

As for the characters, there flat as a surfboard. These bland characters are so flat and boring there also another offender of the film.Kenji is your overall hero, but isn't very likable as he offends the priest and Horiguchi during the beginning of the film and is somewhat naive.Yuriko is another damsel in distress and very uninteresting.As for Horiguchi he's what you call the comical side-kick as he is a coward and has his moments besides giving so little work.He's really the only character I can praise though i did want Varan to eat him in the end.

As for the Acting, surprising it's not bad.It's really good, despite the fact the cast is given so little to do.Kozo Nomora who plays Kenji well here as really he fits into his bland role well and really out of the whole film he never lacks off.Ayumi Sonoda who plays Yuriko is really the only one to give a poor performance at times she fine when not much is needed from her.but when she has to do something like bump into varan it's bad.Fumito Matsuo as Horiguchi does a good job with the very tiny role he is given as he looks like he enjoys and having fun with his role.Past the leads Akihiko Hirata has a brief role but probably gives the best performance of the cast as he does a better job with role unlike his previous role from the Mysterians.Yoshio Tsuchiya isn't given much work to do but he does well with what he's given.overall everyone does a decent job with their little roles.

Overall this film is boring and probably worth watching once or twice but not repeatedly itself.

Can be seen finally on DVD

[ebiros2 · 6/10 · 24 October 2005]

Of all the kaijyu movies Toho has produced in the '50s, this probably is the least well known. It was originally available in United States in a super 8 format under the title "Varan the Unbelievable", and sported American actors. The one reviewed here is not this Americanized version but the original Japanese version called "Daikaijyu Baran" (Literal translation: Giant monster Baran). Being a kaijyu eiga fan, I used to hear about this monster a lot and wished I could find a copy for a long time. I'm happy that it is now available on DVD.

Baran gets its inspiration from Japanese flying squirrel called musasabi and it was intended to be a flying monster from the start. What makes this movie little weak is the lack of character of the monster itself. In most Japanese kaijyu movie, there's a subplot that justifies the character of the monster, but in this movie this is lacking. He's supposed to be some sort of god to the village people, but when he shows up, he's just a giant reptile out for destruction.

This is a cult classic kaijyu movie, and definitely worth a watch before it disappears into obscurity again.

Kaiju misstep

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 19 March 2021]

VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE is a misstep of a Japanese kaiju movie, faiing to get off the ground at all times and becoming tedious as a result. The first twenty minutes, full of academics, butterfly collectors and disaster, is quite interesting and involving, but once Varan himself shows up the pacing slows to a crawl. There's a set-piece of Varan swimming across an ocean which goes on for at least half an hour of tedious repetition, then an endless climax of him getting shot and bombed. I love Varan himself - he looks like a dinosaur version of Godzilla on steroids - but he barely does anything and by contrast the destructive humans just feel cruel. Even the Americanised version was slightly better, and it's rare for me to note that.

Routine monster mayhem.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 1 January 2016]

Scientists discover a species of butterfly that is believed to be native only to Siberia. They travel to a region known as "The Tibet of Japan", where a much bigger menace awaits: the towering lizard "Varan", some sort of throwback. Varan, of course, turns out to be a huge threat, but Japanese military forces are hard pressed to find a plan of attack that actually works.

Ultimately, "Varan the Unbelievable" is too much of an unimaginative "Gojira" clone to be all that successful. The action is decent, and the special effects are decent (some of the time, anyway). The atmosphere and widescreen photography are certainly reasonably impressive. But the characters lack any sort of truly interesting features; they're not fleshed out much at all. The steadfast actors do what they can with the material: Kozo Nomura as jut jawed, heroic Kenji, Ayumi Sonoda as his love interest Yuriko, a headstrong reporter, and Koreya Senda as the knowledgeable Dr. Sugimoto. The music by Akira Ifukube is rousing enough to be entertaining.

But Varan itself, while an engaging monster to watch for 87 minutes, lacks the appeal of the most striking creatures in Japanese genre cinema.

Not one of director Ishiro Hondas' best efforts, but lightly entertaining.

Six out of 10.

I realize why Varan isn't that popular among kaiju fans

[zackeryburgedd · 5/10 · 15 August 2011]

Before I saw this movie, I was very interested in Varan. The monster seemed kinda cool and I realized he wasn't that popular among monster fans and I wondered why Toho didn't used him more. After watching the movie I see why. This movie was just boring, I mean the characters were just shallow, and it really didn't do much for me. This is really not one of Ishiro Honda's best films, however its not his worst. But as I said its just boring. Other than gliding, Varan isn't really an interesting monster and I wished they used him more in other Toho films, but I see why they didn't. The only good thing is that Akira Ifukube once again is great as the composer. The music in this is great and the music was actually used in future Godzilla films. Overall while I think the monster shouldn't been forgotten, this movie is very forgettable.

Pretty cheesy, but with a great Ifukube score

[Horror Fan · 10/10 · 31 January 1999]

Monster god, Baradagi, is worshiped by a cult on an island near Japan. It becomes disturbed and wakes up from it's lake. The thing turns out to be a reptilian dinosaur that flys with membranes attached to itself. It is called Baran by Japanese scientists. The monster causes havoc on it's island and then flys to Tokyo where it is put to death by fire balloons. The American version was called Varan, the Unbelievable. Stick with the Japanese version because you can't see the monster very well in the American version and Ifukube's marvelous score is gone.

BARAN is a movie of myth

[hideyotsuburaya · 7/10 · 30 December 2009]

Read reviews of DAIKAIJU BARAN and see how confused they are. If I wrote one it'd probably be no less so. This is perfectly normal, because BARAN is a confused production for its type. I'd mean that in a good way if I could, so I'll distill my comments to the following points about it:

1) music score, Akira Ifukube going full tilt, heavily orchestrated. There're those out there not unlike me who'll just eat it up;

2) it's been written the aspect ratio changed from standard academy to widescreen anamorphic mid-filming when it became a theatrical product instead of TV release, necessitating cropping tops/bottoms off of scenes already lensed. Having examined the film myself many times I don't detect any hard evidence of this in the picture frame itself, it may be a false issue, or one confused with the use of some stock footage lifted from GOJIRA which of course was non-anamorphic and so required cropping for those shots alone;

3) until the advent of VHS tapes and home video, BARAN was largely forgotten in its home country, not having enjoyed any re-releases there over the years since 1958. Much to the ire of knowledgeable Japanese fans. So the scenes of monster Baran flying became the stuff of hardcore fan mythology;

4) I like DAIKAIJU BARAN; it is done serious and straight, is part of a beautiful Black & White & Cinemascope format genre (the only Toho monster movie filmed that way, the 1st GAMERA film being a B&W 'scope Daiei production), and has some exotic flourishes for director Ishiro Honda who frequently took the pedestrian route. Despatching the beast by dropping parachuted explosives for it to swallow and detonate within is an imaginative approach Toho never re-used;

5) how it started as a US co-production, then stranded mid-filming to 100% Japanese product, only to be largely re-shot a couple years later transforming into more a US film again, by Crown International Pictures as Varan The Unbelievable is bizarre production genesis. Greg Shoemaker publisher/editor of renown Japanese Fantasy Film Journal fanzine termed Varan a US production using Japanese stock footage, a fairly accurate estimation. To watch it (the US Varan) is to thrill to endless transition shots of a military Jeep riding actor Myron Healy around rocky terrain. At a fan convention Myron was asked about it and remembered actress Tsuruko Kobayashi was a terrific cook on the set. The 1962 Crown Int'l theatrical Varan trailer terms it 'Tumultuous' in a title slide. Believe me the English Varan is anything but tumultuous. If one listens to the soundtrack ever so carefully you'll detect a microscopic whisper of the original Ifukube music score buried deep there. Otherwise and overall its stock anonymous film library music;

6) when the Ifukube music score was 1st released on a Japanese CD, it contained a couple additional music cues at the end labeled 'intended for TV version'. Go figure.

Dull retread

[davidmvining · 4/10 · 3 May 2024]

What if Ishiro Honda made a cheap Godzilla ripoff for Japanese television that was quickly recut into a feature length motion picture? Would you believe me if I told you the result was not very good? That it does nothing to set itself apart from the movie it's copying? Well, as can be said for pretty much every Honda monster film, the special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya are the star, even if Varan himself ends up looking like Godzilla's brother from another mother.

A pair of entomologists go into what is called the Tibet of Japan, a remote region in the inner mountains of the nation, where a butterfly only known to live on mainland Asia has been found. Does this butterfly have anything to do with the inevitable monster? Nope. We do get a knowing wink at the audience when one of them says that it's too early for monsters as they drive out from the small village, so that's nice, knowing that Honda and his writer Shinichi Sekizawa are savvy enough to know not to reveal their monster too early. Anyway, the pair are killed in mysterious circumstances, mostly after they feel an earthquake that isn't an earthquake. This sends the sister of one of them, Yuriko (Ayumi Sonoda), to their lead professor, Dr. Sugimoto (Koreya Senda), and attaches herself to the expedition to investigate what happened. The investigation seems to be one person, Motohiko (Fumindo Matsuo), until Yuriko joins which then convinces Kenji (Kozo Nomura), another entomologist, to join. So, that's weird. Anyway.

They go to the village, learn that the locals worship a god named Baradagi, and insist on investigating despite the warnings. They end up chasing after a small boy who is, in turn, chasing after his dog, and awaken the wrath of Baradagi. Of course, there are efforts to properly categorize this monster, labeling him as Varanapode, hence the name Varan, which is de rigeur at this point in these films, but thankfully it doesn't last too long.

However, the film jumps right into the whole, "Japan must use all of its terrifying military might to destroy this thing that was being all alone and isolated until scientists stuck their nose in a place they were told not to go." You know, for a genre of films that almost deify scientists, it's the scientists who start most of the problems. The overall theme is, however, a plea for responsible science, but the scientists who start things never seem to learn a lesson and often are strategizing how to create larger weapons (never nuclear) to defeat the thing that they started. It's weird.

Anyway, irritating Varan just leads to him deciding to fly away (he has flying squirrel-like wings which seem insufficient for flight, but whatever, at least we don't have 3 minutes explaining it), and he heads towards Tokyo. The military has to get on alert to fight it off, and we have our standard look at how conventional weapons have no effect. They must come up with another weapon! Well, good thing that Kenji has developed an explosive that burns twenty times hotter than TNT! (But no nuclear, remember, nuclear burns a whole lot hotter than that.) They have to use it! But it isn't effective! They have to find another way!

Seriously, this is just rote. There's nothing particularly interesting about anything that happens. The characters are, again, threadbare, having something close to stories around them that are mostly ignored (Kenji and Yuriko become an item, I guess, not that it matters). The plotting is just standard giant monster stuff. The highlight is, once again, Eiji Tsuburaya's special effects. Sure, Varan is essentially Godzilla with some fleshy stuff under his arms, spikes along his spine, and the ability to crawl on all-fours, but he's decently realized and looks pretty good on screen. The destruction is always nice to see, the embrace of miniatures making it all the more adorable, and there's a good amount of it towards the end.

It's just that there's nothing else of interest to really talk about. The story around it isn't so much horribly handled as just boringly repeated. The characters are largely just there. The performers do what they can, but they have so little to do that they don't really make an impression. At least Varan himself looks decent as he stomps on tiny buildings.

That's something.

Light Years Ahead of the American Version

[Sargebri · 12 May 2005]

After the success of the Americanized version of Godzilla (aka. Gojira), Toho decided to team up with ABC for what was supposed to be a joint Japanese/American kaiju eiga. Of course, that deal fell apart, but Toho went ahead and created this film. However, this didn't stop a company by the name of Crown International from taking this film and butchering it by cutting out much of the footage shot by Ishiro Honda and making hack Myron Healy in the lead as a Navy commander who tries to find a way to desalinate water and winds up waking up the monster. That version also does away with one of Akira Ifukube's finest scores. Thankfully, the original version of the film has been released on DVD and now Americans can finally see it the way it was intended to be shown.

As for the film itself, it is an okay kaiju eiga. The monster is not as well rounded as Godzilla, Rodan or Mothra. In fact, Varan (or Baran as it is known in Japan) almost seems as though it is a throwaway due to the fact that it probably was intended for a one time appearance (although it does make a brief cameo in Destroy All Monsters). Also, the cast, with the exception of Honda favorites Akihiko Hirata and Yoshio Tsuchiya, is mainly made up of mainly Toho's second line actors. The other thing that made me somewhat disappointed with the film was the fact that it used a lot of stock footage. In fact, if you look closely at some of the battle scenes, many of them were borrowed from Godzilla (aka. Gojira) However, this film is still a much better version than the hatchet job we were treated with for years.

The 1958 original sees stateside release after more than 40 years

[kevinolzak · 5/10 · 1 January 2021]

Toho's 1958 "Varan the Unbelievable" (Daikaiju Baran or Giant Monster Varan) remained unseen in the US until the 2000s, only known by its Crown International release of 1962. Baradagi was its name among the superstitious locals in Iwaya Village in the mountainous region of Siberia where a rare species of butterfly has been discovered, two investigators perishing in an avalanche. Three more follow up to find some answers and are told by the high priest that their god does not like intruders, but a runaway dog ensures its emergence from a large lake to run amok for a brief period. A military bombardment causes Varan to spread out its webbed claws and arms to glide like a flying squirrel toward the ocean (never shown in the Crown edit), where it simply swims through a continued barrage that has little effect on it. Only after Varan comes ashore to indulge its fascination for parachuting light bombs do authorities arrive at a solution, a special mixture of explosive gunpowder that should detonate once the monster swallows it, similar to the sorry fate of "Yongary Monster from the Deep" (not to be viewed when suffering indigestion!). Intended as a television coproduction between Toho and Hollywood's AB-PT (American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres), the latter went belly up right after their initial double bill release, Bert I. Gordon's "Beginning of the End" and John Carradine's "The Unearthly," leaving undaunted director Ishiro Honda to forge ahead with his usual crew, though on a noticeably lower budget in black and white with the most basic outline ever conceived for a kaiju film, Akihiko Hirata and Yoshio Tsuchiya the only familiar faces and little comic relief. The original version did receive theatrical distribution in Japan, and once Varan rises from his watery slumber there's plenty of monster footage to maintain interest (his first appearance at the 12 minute mark, much sooner than in Crown's retread), so even if it's a relatively minor cousin to Godzilla, and only a glider compared to Rodan's wingspan, it still proves how much better Toho was over their Hollywood counterparts (Varan would not be forgotten, as noted by its brief presence ten years later in "Destroy All Monsters"). What the 1958 original is now best known for is a stirring score by Akira Ifukube that could have been lost in time were it not revived to excellent effect in future Godzilla entries. It boggles the mind when Crown International jettisoned so much usable footage to offer up a tiny portion of what should have been more of a banquet, beefing up the starring role for little known Myron Healey at the expense of virtually everything else for its eventual stateside release in 1962, a successful pairing with "First Spaceship on Venus."

Average monster film, but with a great music score.

[OllieSuave-007 · 6/10 · 10 July 2004]

This is another monster film from Toho, featuring a solo monster named Varan (or Baran). It is basically a "monster-on-the-loose" movie, where we have a group of scientists and reporters visiting an island to investigate the death of one of the reporter's brother, who was researching butterflies on the island. The island's inhabitants is a mysterious cult that worships a sleeping monster called Baran.

The majority of the movie is focused on the humans' repeated attempts to defeat Baran; it lacks a creative plot and some of Baran's rampaging scenes are stocked footage from "Gojira." Baran wasn't portrayed as very menacing and the primitive cult was not emphasized enough. But still, this film is better than the American edited version "Varan the Unbelievable."

Aside from the critique, there are some neat effects, including the scenes where it shows the monster flying. The scene where the lead characters search for a missing kid in the island's cave while trying not to awaken the sleeping Baran is exciting. There are some great action involving the military and, lastly, Akira Ifukube gave a wide arrangement of music, which I think is some of his best music scores. His rousing marches and enchanting motifs are a pleasurable listening experience. The Main Title music is a haunting and a very catchy tune and the Giant Varan's March (played during the military's ocean assault on the monster) is my favorite of Ifukube's movie marches.

Overall, not a great but a satisfactory film to feature Toho's fourth movie monster.

Grade C+

Subpar and Little else.

[scarletspartan · 2/10 · 29 June 2021]

With as little sustenance and lackluster plot, it is no surprise this film is boring (though better than the American cannibalization of it). Varan is pretty much a simple monster movie, and nothing more. Outside of a charming kaiju design, there is little to this movie.

A little overview of both the American and Japanese version

[danieloutloud · 7/10 · 29 December 2020]

Original Japanese Release (1958) - Daikaiju Baran (Giant Monster Varan) follows a group of scientists as they venture into the Tibet of Japan to find a rare species of butterfly, exclusive to the region. After two investigators are killed, the authorities discover a giant monster living under the lake known as a Varanopod (an ancient reptile species) which goes on the rampage through the forest. The Self Defence Forces managed to drive off the kaiju from the survivors, forcing Varan to glide into the air with thin skin membranes between its limbs. After a number of encounters out at sea, Varan makes landfall at Haneda airport and runs rampante again. The film concludes with the humans using explosives attached to flare-mounted parachutes to trick Varan into eating them. After returning to sea, a big explosion erupts, plausibly killing the monster.

American re-edit (1962) - American military officials conduct a test to purify salt water in a stagnant river on an offshore island near the Japanese territory. Ignoring the protests and warnings of the superstitious natives, the monster Varan (renamed "Obaki" throughout the film) rises up and retaliates against its human aggressors. Having snuck away via the river into the open sea, the American general (through a Japanese-American soldier) alerts the mainland of the threat. As is the Japanese cut, Varan attacks Haneda and then retreats (no explosives dropped by plain this time). A counterattack from the navy is effected and depth charges are dropped on Varan. The closing narration from the general (whom we follow throughout the film) sounds clear that Varan (Obaki) has been defeated, but might return soon. Either way, he's sure that the military will be prepared.

In the context of the original Japanese release, Varan was originally intended to be a co-production between Toho and an American film company. At some point in the film's production, the U.S. company pulled out from the project, leaving Toho to make the film themselves. The result is a movie which had some potential to be on the same level as Godzilla (1954), but it does have its flaws.

The quality of acting and direction does vary from the human characters to the monster scenes, which the best sequences of the movie. The creature design, paired with the miniature destructions in accompaniment of Akira Ifukube's orchestral score are unique in the Japanese release. As for the western edit (curtesy of Jewel International Pictures in 1962), the entire movie has been so far removed from the original version. All of the characters have been changed from scientists and the like to a U.S. general, his wife and a small battalion of troops stationed to keep the locals at bay. In addition, Ifukube's score has been completely replaced with music from other science fiction and horror movies, even Varan's roar was removed.

This presentation also cuts together stock footage (most notably) from Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla Raids Again (1955). The Japanese release also did this but only used two shots from Godzilla (the building crumbling apart and Godzilla's foot crashing through a roof).

In conclusion, the Japanese version may come off a little cheesy at points but it delivers on the monster and miniature destruction scenes.

As for the American release, it's been changed to the point any trace of the original cut seems nonexistent. The storyline is also far removed, and Varan is not called "Varan" (even though it's in the U.S. title).

If you can find a copy, the. I'd recommend the Original Japanese release.

Barely worth a watch even for Kaiju fans

[ebeckstr-1 · 4/10 · 28 January 2023]

At the bottom of the heap in terms of Kaiju flicks, and one of the worst from the classic era. The monster itself is a somewhat interesting twist on the tyrannosaurus rex/Godzilla-type creature. It has semi-translucent, long spines up the entire length if its tail, back, and head. It's arms and torso have visible bulges of muscle as distinguished from the sheer bulk of most other Kaiju, and in some close-up shots parts of its body are bristled with mud from the lake in which it lives.

Toward the beginning there are some atmospheric scenes with characters moving through fog and the heavy wind which seems to whip up around the creature. But that effect is inconsistent and is pretty much dropped in the last part of the movie.

There are a couple of moments of okay miniature work, but the excessive use of cheap-looking military stock footage (something other Kaiju flicks from the era didn't rely on) is not only boring but visually unappealing.

In a strange and I think haphazard point of plotting, something that distinguishes this Kaiju from others is that the monster isn't awakened by an accident, or a bomb, or something else, but is intentionally provoked by the scientists and military personnel who are supposed to be our heroic protagonists. If they had just left the thing alone it might have terrorized the local village from time to time but it had heretofore shown no desire to emerge from its muddy lake home and storm Tokyo. Similarly haphazard, the sister of one of the First characters killed in the movie is, conveniently, a reporter on the beat, who shows absolutely no regret over the death of her brother and just sees a good story. This is not a point of character development or something, it's just thoughtless writing. Similarly haphazard is the methodology of the scientists and the military. They try one random thing after another to defeat the creature that they blame for attacking, despite their having started the thing to begin with. There is no pseudoscientific method like there is in other Kaiju flicks, and the military leadership seems befuddled and at a complete loss. The lead military dude and the lead scientist dude are, as in many movies of this kind, supposed to be the sage and well-informed leaders of the endeavor, but in this movie the actors who are cast in those roles are devoid of personality and charisma, with their roles written in such a way as to make them seem like fumbling old guys who don't know what they're doing. There isn't some kind of statement about ineffectual bureaucracy being made here, of course; it's just bad writing, bad casting, bad direction, and bad acting. This is not a Kaiju that I will ever watch again. It's just not worth the time since there are a number of others that are so far superior. (Shin Godzilla from 2016, on the other hand, is a funny, savvy, and exciting modern Kaiju that *is* an intentional satire of the bureaucratic process of fighting a giant monster. It's a great movie in its own right and I highly recommend it.)

The Turning Point In The Kaiju Realm

[meddlecore · 6/10 · 23 October 2019]

Varan, The Unbelievable is really the patron deity of a small Japanese village called Isikawa, where he is known as the God Baradagi.

He is awakened when a group of scientists break the taboo and invade his territory- with hopes of debunking the legend surrounding his existence.

They die, and now there's no going back.

Varan gets his new name from the fact that he is a Varanopod- a class of dinosaur that existed from the Triassic to Cretaceous periods, historically speaking.

The scientists convince the local townsfolk to ditch their beliefs and opt for skepticism instead of a fear driven reverence for Varan.

But little good that does them when Varan wipes their town off the map.

Now he's on the warpath, hellbent on vengeance, and they can't figure out how to stop him.

Eventually there's only one idea left, and if it doesn't work...

This one is most notable, because it shows that man's hubris was to supplant the Old Gods, not for a single monotheistic God, but rather the Gods of Technology...who generally tends towards war and destruction...as opposed to peace and prosperity.

As we continue deeper into the realm of the kaijus, the humans will be forced to rely less and less on technology, and more and more on their faith in the kaiju beasts.

So it is suggested, then, that it was the belief of the villagers that had manifested Baradagi in the first place.

Though, as we'll come to see...faith in the kaiju Gods is simply inescapable.

Marking this as a sort of turning point in the series.

5.5 out of 10.