Varan (1958)

[Tyler]

In 1958 Ishiro Honda directed a film about a giant, prehistoric varanid (monitor lizard). Some love it, some hate it and others are stuck in the middle. I'm one of those. It is the poor man's Godzilla, but it's still something I can watch now and then. It's not really boring. I mean, the star is an amphibious flying squirrel monster. That's pretty neat. I just follows a pretty bland structure. It feels too much like an American monster movie.

I enjoyed the ways the human characters tried to defeat Varan, though. Eating bombs must be a nasty way to go out. So for me this is a nice movie for a rainy day or Halloween movie marathon.

[Blackout286]

I've never seen Varan's movie before, thankfully Target online has a large stock of Kaiju DVDS they even have Varan. So I plan on buying that and Mothra vs. Godzilla soon.

But I have heard some mixed feelings about this movie, some love it because the monster appears early and the movie is mainly focused on the monster most of the time. Which is a huge plus to me.

[TokyoVigilante]

It's origins as a TV mini-series shows in the plots pacing. I think it has some great atmosphere you can only get in Black & White Tokusatsu, a nice score (the title theme for this remains one of my favorite Ifukube themes) and Varan is a great looking creature. But the pacing is abysmal and makes the first act a chore.

[Hellspawn28]

Seen the american version years ago. It seems like they where trying to make it the next KOTM since Godzilla: KOTM was a huge hit back in 1956, and they must have thought releaseing a movie that cameout four years eariler in Japan would be a good idea. Not a bad movie, but I thought it was boring.

Too bad Varan only been in two movies, and has not been in a movie in almost 42 years.

[JVM]

What a horrible, horrible movie.

[DaikaijuSokogeki!]

Zzzzzz....hmm? Wha...? Oh sorry, the title itself put me to sleep. That's how abysmally boring this flick is. At least Ifukube delivers a great score, and there is a handful of nice shots such as when the native chief is killed. That's all there is to say though. Varan's a bland kaiju, the characters are bland, the story is bland, the whole movie's just so bland and boring.

[ZigraDude]

It's a decent movie. I enjoyed the Varan scenes in the film and there was some neat Tsuburaya work in here. The Ifukube soundtrack is no doubt the best part of the film. It's just great to listen to. The rest of the film is rather dull. There is nothing to the human characters and the movie itself feels like your average monster-on-the-loose kind of film. It's not terrible, but it's not the greatest.

[edgaguirus]

It's allright, but needs some work. The Varan suit is great, as well as the music. The rest is very much average. It's not a film I watch often, but I do from time to time.

[Showa Gyaos]

Meh. I thought it was disappointing. There's little action to keep myself satisfied.

[Killswitch]

I enjoyed the beginning of the film, I thought it was a good story, but then it all of a sudden fizzled. I thought the ending of the film stunk. They made Varan out to be a dumb animal.

I would like to see Varan get a second chance. He has a lot of potential. The ability to fly/glide would look wonderful with modern day effects. I often think of Varan gliding from building to building, during a battle, or gliding off a mountain.

[Sydney Aradi]

What are your thoughts about Daikaiju Baran (Giant Monster Varan) & its totally butchered US counterpart Varan, The Unbelievable? The Japanese version of the film IMO is pretty bland in terms of acting and the script (which was written by Shinichi Sekizawa) was okay at best. The saving grace of the Japanese version was the special effects (except for some scenes of Varan's shell flapping) & the great score by Akira Ifukube. While not the best kaiju film Ishiro Honda directed it's at least tolerable. The US version.........is perhaps one of the worst Americanzations done to a Toho film I've ever seen in my life. The inserted scenes with the added in actors were just terrible, most of Akira ifukube's score was gone and the acting was just.......ugh. The special effects (which were taken from the Japanese version) are this version's saving grace. While the Japanese version isn't anything great it is somewhat watchable while the US version is just unwatchable for the most part (except for the effects from the Japanese version)

[The Dark Uniter]

I only have the crappy American cut on a blank DVD. I really need to see the Japanese cut....

[jdownham]

I didn't find either versions to be really enjoyable. The Japanese version is an okay film, but no where near as good as Godzilla (1954), Rodan (1956), and Mothra (1961). Yes, the US version is pretty deplorable, but not quite as bad as the Americanized Half Human. It's too bad Toho didn't make more Varan films as there definitely was potential.

[Showa Gyaos]

I thought the movie was boring. It's easy to see why he wasn't given another active role in a Godzilla movie.

[Grayshot954]

I would say it was okay. I got the film with Japanese language, English subtitles so I was spared the poor american version. I liked Varan as a monster though and always hoped they would re-introduce him. Sadly, that never came.

[TokyoVigilante]

As a film that was intended as a TV mini-series and rushed to theaters instead, it shows; what could have been a briskly paced monster thriller in a TV incarnation is instead a slow-as-frozen-molasses mediocre theatrical film. At least Varan is an interesting monster, and Ifukube's main theme for this film is one of my favorite scores of his.

[Showa Gyaos]

Was the movie profitable during its initial release?

[Legionmaster]

ZzZzZzzzz....ZzZzZzzzz...ZzZzZzzzz...A-wha? There's a monster in this movie? People are doing things? Oh it died. So sad. Not really. ZzZzZzzzz...

[therealmccoy]

Never saw the American version. I heard it sucked really bad, and the only copy I can find is on VHS. The Japanese version was better, but still suffered. I didn't think the acting was really that good in the Japanese version. They all seemed kind of bland to me. Varan was an awesome monster; like others have said, I wished he would've been in another movie (even though he was in DAM, but he just flew around for about 2 seconds).

[Tohosaurus]

It's quite mediocre, to be kind. It's obscure next to Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and later films for a reason.