Varan, le monstre géant

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.