Varan the Unbelievable
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DVD details
Actor: Clifford Kawada, Derick Shimatsu, Kôzô Nomura, Myron Healey, Tsuruko KobayashiBrand: MBL
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 70 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-05-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Tokyo Shock
DVD Reviews of Varan the Unbelievable
DVD Review: Oh no, there goes Tokyo, go go Godzi...er Baran!
Summary: 3 Stars
Well, someone screwed up here, and it wasn't me (for once)...the film is listed here as Varan the Unbelievable (1962) but what is actually on the DVD is a different film titled Daikaijû Baran (1958), also known as Baran: Monster from the East or The Great Monster Baran...the plots for the two films are very similar (giant monster running amok...gee, that's plot for most any of these films), but the film with the creature Varan features the American actor Myron Healey while the film actually on this DVD does not...directed by Ishirô Honda (Godzilla, Rodan! The Flying Monster), the film stars Kôzô Nomura, Ayumi Sonoda, and Koreya Senda, all of whom, along with much of the supporting cast, also appearing in Varan the Unbelievable, further adding to the confusion...I wouldn't doubt if footage from Daikaijû Baran was spliced together with footage shot at a later date to create Varan the Unbelievable, as this practice was not an unusual one, hacking up Japanese films of the time to make them more palatable to American audiences.
All right, now that is cleared up, I can proceed...the film begins with Japanese text scrolling across the screen, none of which I can read, so I'm wondering how much of the story I just missed...this goes on for about a minute and a half and then we see scenes of a rocket taking off from Earth (I'm not sure why, as this seemed to have nothing to do with the rest of the film). After this we cut to a university where Dr. Sugimoto (Senda) is teaching a class, talking about butterflies...apparently some especially rare ones have been found in a remote area, so they sent a couple of researchers to find more. The researchers have arrived in a village near the area, but the locals don't seem all that friendly...weird, but not friendly...after a brief search of the area the do find one of the butterflies (conveniently attached to a string), but they also find something else, something that causes an avalanche, killing the two men. A second team is sent, a trio of individuals including Yuriko (Sonoda), a reporter whose brother was one of the two original researchers killed (is she going for the scoop, or her dead brother?), Kenji (Nomura), a university representative who's got the hots for Yuriko, and some portly, bespeckled psuedo comic relief type you hope (and pray) dies quickly but never does...anyway, the trio arrive at the village and find the locals praying to a god named Baradagi, hoping to avoid his divine wraith (which is coming soon, or so my gut tells me). Kenji mocks their belief system and there's a boring bit about a lost boy and his dog (the boy is so amazingly annoying I would have left him lost) which all equates to an awakening of a prehistoric beast living at the bottom of a nearby lake. Well, I guess the Japanese aren't partial to giant beasts, so they send the army in and there is a confrontation, but the creature escapes and its learned conventional weapons are pretty much useless...oh yeah, this seemingly land/sea based creature also has wings and can fly...a monster of all seasons, if you will. Anyway, from Anti-Varan Headquarters (no foolin') we learn, after a few skirmishes with stock footage and miniature ships, the creature is seriously honked off headed directly for Tokyo (oh no!) and probably not in an effort to make friendly nice nice...
While I did enjoy certain elements of this film a lot like the effects, the music, various shots, overall it just felt kinda...boring...a very cut and dry Japanese monster film...one that's very well done, but still lacks zing. The way I see it, the story is a perfect example of a situation where everyone's interests might have been best served by leaving well enough alone. Here we've got a creature in a highly remote area, content to live at the bottom of a relatively isolated lake, prayed to by idiotic local villagers...until the army learns of its existence, to which not only do they book up there with all kinds of weapons, but they actually use chemicals to drive the creature from the lake and soon find out they bit off more than they could chew. Were the Japanese really so eager to instigate a giant creature to thrash and trash their cities, especially on the heels of Gojira aka Godzilla? As I said, the movie is really well done, and I think my favorite aspect was the music, provided by legendary composer Akira Ifukube. One thing I felt while watching the movie was a sense that a whole lot of effort was put forth in nearly every area of the film, right down to the highly detailed miniatures. The film does move slowly at times, lurching forward on the heels of predictability. During the film I questioned Dr. Sugimoto credentials, as he seemed to offer little in terms of useful information and/or assistance, but his unwillingness towards speculation appears to be something written in as a desirable, inherent quality of the character...but I didn't see it that way. Sure, I could sit on the sidelines keeping a tight lip while others try to mitigate a dangerous situation, learning from their mistakes enough to finally propose a solution and looking like a hero, but that equates to just taking credit for the work of others. I think my favorite scene had to be the one where Baran took to the sea, and came across a small fishing boat occupied by three men despondent about the lack of fish...that is until Baran sticks his head out of the water, and the men go wacky-do-nuts...the confrontation in the sea was also pretty cool, especially when the ships were dropping depth charges try to force Baran to the surface. I also thought the creature looked decent, about as good a man in a rubber suit can...
The wide screen (2.35:1) picture on this Media Blasters DVD release looks very clear and sharp to me, and the audio come through cleanly, available in Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital stereo, Japanese 3.0 Dolby Digital mono, and Japanese mono. There is no English dub, but there are English subtitles, which I prefer over English dubbing as its usually done so poorly it distract from the film, but to each his/her own...special features include a restored Japanese television broadcast version, trailers for the film, a lecture from monster suit sculptor Keizo Murase, along with providing an audio commentary for the film. There are also some previews for other releases including One Missed Call (2003), The Mysterians (1957), Mantango aka Attack of the Mushroom People (1963), and Sky High (2003).
Cookieman108
By the way, did you know that when rocket-launching vehicles are inadvertently tipped over (especially the miniature ones), they explode spectacularly? They do...and they do a heck of a lot more damage than that of the rockets they actually fire...
Description of Varan the Unbelievable
First time UNCUT Wide Screen Presentation! From The Creators of the GODZILLA Series! In an effort to find an economic means of purifying salt water, a joint U.S.-Japanese military command is set up on an isolated Japanese island where an unusual salt-water lake is situated. However, their purifying experiments arouse the flying prehistoric monster "Varan" (Destroy All Monsters) from hibernation at the lake?s bottom, and it proceeds to attack Japan. Extras Uncut and TV versions, New Eng. Dub and 5.1 mix, original Japanese language English Subtitles, Video lecture and Commentary by production Designer of "VARAN", Original Trailers and More!Bestsellers in DVD
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