History Film / VaranTheUnbelievable

!!This film contains the following examples of the twentieth century:

After preparatiosn are made, a helicopter takes off and drops the flares, bombs in tow, into Varan's mouth. Varan successfully swallows one bombs, but the next one detonates prematurely before he can swallow it. Varan then demolishes one more building in throws of pain before retreating to the ocean, where the first bomb finally goes off, ending Varan's rampage. A statement about mankind being victorious over the mysteries of the world is made by the narrator, and the movie ends.

Varan is a [[KaijuKaiju kaiju]] movie produced by Toho Co, Ltd. in 1958. The film originally began life as a made-for-TV movie developed by Toho for American audiences. When the American producers backed out, Toho took what was left and decided to make a theatrical film out of it, while filming new sequences and removing soem other ones of little consequence. Because the film was originally intended for television, and this being the 1950's, the film was shot in black-and-white. To make sure everything matched, the new footage for the film was also shot in black-and-white, making this the last theatrical monster movie to be released by Toho in black-and-white.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: After the opening credits, which are set against the backdrop of the mountainous area where the first half of the movie takes place, the audience is treated to an opening narration about the mysteries of the twentieth century, set against the backdrop of rocket ships launching off into space. This has absolutely no impact on anything that takes place in the movie and is only refernced at the end of the film when the narrator says that Varan vanished in "a viel of mystery."

* GetOffMyLawn: Just stay out of Varan's forest and lake, and you should be fine, but does anyone listen? ''Noooooo.''

* GetOffMyLawn: Just tay out of Varan's forest and lake, and you should be fine, but does anyone listen? ''Nooo.''

Also of note is that, because the film was intended for television, it was filmed in the aspect ratio of 4:3, and so the theatrical verison of the film features a cropped image, being the world's first and only instance of a movie released in ''Toho-Pan Scope''.

* IntrepidReporter: Yuriko Sinjo, who, after Steve Martin, helped establish the character found in monster films afterwards.

The story begins with two scientists venturing into a mountainous region of Japan, where a rare butterfly has been discovered. The two men are warned by the residents of Iwata Village to not go beyond the borders of the village, as the land beyond, near a large lake, is guarded by the fierce god Baradagi. Ignoring the villagers, the two men venture forth. While collecting specimens, a loud roar is heard and what seems to be a landslide kills them and crushes their jeep. Days, or perhaps weeks, later, the sister of one of the deceased scientists, a journalist named Yuriko Sinjo (played by Ayumi Sonoda), and two of her companions, Kenji Uozaki (played by Kozo Nomura) and Motohiko Horiguchi (played by Fumindo Matsuo), travel to the mountain region where her brother died in order to find out what happened.

Less than a day or two later, the military, led by Colonel Kusama (played by Akio Kusama), arrives in what's left of Iwata Village, along with our trio from earlier and some more scientists, including Kenji's mentor, Dr. Sugimoto (played by Korenari Senda). The military sets up a perimeter around the lake and soon begins firing charges into the lake, which contain water-dissolvant chemicals. Apparently this is so that Varan can be killed, but the scientists will still have a body to examine. After twenty-five minutes, the chemicals succeed in killing everything in the lake ''except'' Varan. Having his home violated, and his food supply ruined, Varan rises from the lake and retaliates against the military. Conventional weapons prove useless against Varan, as the beast takes several direct hits from tanks and machine guns, yet he keeps on kicking. Several tanks and other vehicles are destroyed by a royally pissed off Varan, who then proceeds to establish that the mountain is his territory by chasing anything that moves.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: After the opening credits, which are set against the backdrop of the mountainous area where the first half of the movie takes place, the audience is treated to an opening narration about the mysteries of the twentieth century, set against the backdrop of rocket ships launching off into space. This has absolutely no impact on anything that takes place in the movie.

The story begins with two scientists venturing into a mountainous region of Japan, where a rare butterfly has been discovered. The two men are warned by the residents of Iwaya Village to not go beyond the borders of the village, as the land beyond, near a large lake, is guarded by the fierce god Baradagi. Ignoring the villagers, the two men venture forth. While collecting specimens, a loud roar is heard and what seems to be a landslide kills them and crushes their jeep. Days, or perhaps weeks, later, the sister of one of the deceased scientists, a journalist named Yuriko Sinjo (played by Ayumi Sonoda), and two of her companions, Kenji Uozaki (played by Kozo Nomura) and Motohiko Horiguchi (played by Fumindo Matsuo), travel to the mountain region where her brother died in order to find out what happened.

On their way to the village, the trio encounter a small boy, name Gen, who tells that that his father is a priest in the village. They all hear the roar of Baradagi, and Ken leads them to the village. They meet the village's high priest, and explain their reasons for beign there. After the boy goes chasing after his dog, named Chibee, who ran off into Baradagi's territory, Yuriko and her companions go to look for the boy, ignoring the warnings of the high priest. While searching for the boy, a fog descends. Kenji and Horiguchi return to ask the villagers help them search for the boy and Yuriko. After Kenji convinces them that Baradagi isn't real, the villagers decide to throw their beliefs to the wind temproarily and help search for the boy and Yuriko, after Chibee returns with a note attached to his collar from Yuriko.

Less than a day or two later, the military, led by Colonel Kusama (played by Akio Kusama), arrives in what's left of Iwaya Village, along with our trio from earlier and some more scientists, including Kenji's mentor, Dr. Sugimoto (played by Korenari Senda). The military sets up a perimeter around the lake and soon begins firing charges into the lake, which contain water-dissolvant chemicals. Apparently this is so that Varan can be killed, but the scientists will still have a body to examine. After twenty-five minutes, the chemicals succeed in killing everything in the lake ''except'' Varan. Having his home violated, and his food supply ruined, Varan rises from the lake and retaliates against the military. Conventional weapons prove useless against Varan, as the beast takes several direct hits from tanks and machine guns, yet he keeps on kicking. Several tanks and other vehicles are destroyed by a royally pissed off Varan, who then proceeds to establish that the mountain is his territory by chasing anything that moves.

!!This film contains the following examples of the twenttieth century:

The military soon devises a plan to use special bombs to blow up the monster from the inside. The problem is figuring out how to get the explosives inside Varan. Before anyone can think of a plan, Varan is spotted at Haneda Airport, where the military begisn setting up a for a showdown that night. Varan soon gets close enough for the tanks and mortars to fire their guns, and he soon makes his way onto land. As this happens, the tanks start retreating, and a truck full of explosives is hijacked by Kenji as a special gift for Varan. Kenji drives toward Varan while the detonator and wire attached to the explosives in the truck are prepared. After getting close enough, Kenji leavse the truck and runs away, leading to one of the least suspensful chase scenes in a monster movie since ''The Giant Gila Monster''. The truck is detonated, but again this fails to stop Varan.

After the planes fail to stop Varan, the Navy begins searching for the monster. Varan soon ambushes a battleship, which defends itself using its guns to...well, ''absolutely no effect'' except to put distance between itself and Varan. Generic, standard procedure. A quick cutaway to Yuriko and her companions asking each other about a helicopter for...some reason offers a brief break from the standard monster action. Returning to the hot, wet Navy action, the military is using depth bombs on Varan...again, to absolutely no effect. And, for some reason, our heroes are on one of the battleships. After the military operations fail to stop the monster, Varan is still heading for Tokyo, so the city is evacuated, complete with some stock footage from Godzilla (1954).

Varan is a [[KaijuKaiju kaiju]] movie produced by Toho Co, Ltd. in 1958. The film originally begtan life as a made-for-TV movie developed by Toho for American audiences. When the American producers backed out, Toho took what was left and decided to make a theatrical film out of it, while filming new sequences and removing soem other ones of little consequence. Because the film was originally intended for television, and this being the 1950's, the film was shot in black-and-white. To make sure everything matched, the new footage for the film was also shot in black-and-white, making this the last theatrical monster movie to be released by Toho in black-and-white.

Follwing the gliding sequence, after an unspecified period of time, although probably less than a few days at the most, the military is searching for Varan in the ocean, using planes and boats. Another scientist is introduced in the military meeting, Dr. Fujimara (played by none other than [[GodzillaGojira Akihiko Hirata]]). Soon, Varan soon begisn wreaking havok on the high seas, attacking fishing boats, and is moving towards Tokyo, as many monsters instinctually do. The military sends out fighter planes to stop Varan, and after a lengthy sequence, Varan knocks one the planes into the water after it gets too close.

Less than a day or two later, the military, led by Colonel Kusama (played by Akio Kusama), arrives in what's left of Iwaya Village, along with our trio from earlier and some more scientists, including Kenji's mentor, Dr. Sugimoto (played by Korenari Senda). The military sets up a perimeter around the lake and soon begins firing charges into the lake, which contain water-dissolvant chemicals. Apparently this is so that Varan can be killed, but the scientists will still have a body to examine. After twenty-five minutes, the chemicals succeed in killing everything in the lake ''except'' Varan. Having his home violated, and his food supply ruined, Varan rises from the lake and retaliates against the military. Conventional weapons prove useless against Varan, as the beast takes several direct hits from tanks and machine guns, yet he keeps on kicking. Several tanks and other vehicles are destroyed by an extreemly pissed off Varan, who then proceeds to establish that the mountain is his territory by inadvertantly chasing our heroes (''he's actually going after the retreating military vehicles, since he doesn't even notice our heroes until they inadvertantly draw his attention with their screaming'')

Less than a day or two later, the military arrives in what's left of Iwaya Village, along with some more scientists, including Kenji's mentor Dr. Sugimoto (played by Korenari Senda). The military sets up a perimeter around the lake. The military soon begins firing charges into the lake, which contain water-dissolvant chemicals. Apparently this is so that Varan can be killed, but the scientists will still have a body to examine. After twenty-five minutes, the chemicals succeed in killing everything in the lake ''except'' Varan. Having his home violated, and his food supply ruined, Varan rises from the lake and

Less than a day or two later, the military arrives in what's left of Iwaya Village, along with some more scientists.

On their way to the village, the trio encounter a small boy, name Ken, who tells that that his father is a priest in the village. They all hear the roar of Baradagi, and Ken leads them to the village. They meet the village's high priest, and explain their reasons for beign there. After the boy goes chasing after his dog, who ran off into Baradagi's territory, Yuriko and her companions go to look for the boy, ignoring the warnings of the high priest. While searching for the boy, a fog descends, and soon a loud roar is heard, and our monster makes his first appearance. Baradagi (Varan hasn't received his name yet) makes landfall and chases after our heroes, for no particular reason.

After escaping Baradagi, the trio, boy in tow, make their way back to the village. however, Baradagi is not far behind them, and he proceeds to destroy the village, killing the high priest and anyone who doesn't get away. Horiguchi takes pictures fo the monster, wheere-upon it is discerned that Baradagi is

The story begins with two scientists venturing into a mountainous region of Japan, where a rare butterfly has been discovered. The two men are warned by the residents of Iwaya Village to not go beyond the borders of the village, as the land beyond, near a large lake, is guarded by the fierce god Baradagi. Ignoring the villagers, the two men venture forth. While collecting specimens, a loud roar is heard and a landslide kills them and crushes their jeep. Days, or perhaps weeks, later, the sister of one of the deceased scientists, a journalist named Yuriko Sinjo (played by Ayumi Sonoda), and two of her companions, Kenji Uozaki (played by Kozo Nomura) and travel to the mountain region where her brother died in order to find out what happened.

After a small boy goes chasing after his dog, who ran off into Baradagi's territory, Yuriko and her companions

The story begins with two scientists venturing into a mountainous region of Japan, where a rare butterfly has been discovered. The two men are collecting specimens when a loud roar is heard and a landslide kills them and crushes their jeep. Days, or weeks, later, the sister of one of the deceased scientists, a journalist named

The story begins with two scientists venturing into a mountainous region of Japan, where a rare butterfly has been discovered. The two men are collecting specimens when a loud roar is heard and a landslide kills them and crushes their jeep.

The film had already had a television score composed by Akira Ifukube, but with the movie being refit for theaters, he was given the chance to go back and rework the score to make it fit for a theatrical film. The result is one of Ifukube's most influencial and recognizable scores ever...if you've seen the Japanese version of the film, that is. The American version, released in 1962, absolutely butchered the score...and everything else. Ifukube would reuse pieces of this score in countless other movies, with modified varations of certain pieces found in ''Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster'', ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'', ''Mothra vs. Godzilla'', ''Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', ''Battle in Outer Space'', ''Godzilla vs. Gigan'' (although all of the music in that film was stock music, except for one piece at the end) and many more.

Varan is a Kaiju movie produced by Toho Co, Ltd. in 1958. The film originally begtan life as a made-for-TV movie developed by Toho for American audiences. When the American producers backed out, Toho took what was left and decided to make a theatrical film out of it, while filming new sequences and removing soem other ones of little consequence. Because the film was originally intended for television, and this being the 1950's, the film was shot in black-and-white. To make sure everything matched, the new footage for the film was also shot in black-and-white, making this the last theatrical monster movie to be released by Toho in black-and-white.

Varan is a Kaiju movie produced by Toho Co, Ltd. in 1958. The film originally begtan life as a made-for-TV movie developed by Toho for American audiences. When the American producers backed out, Toho took what was left and decided to make a theatrical film out of it, while filming new sequences and removing soem other ones of little consequence. Because the film was originally intended for television, and this being the 1950's, the film was shot in black-and-white. To make sure everything matched, the new footage for the film was also filmed in black-and-white, making this the last theatrical film to be released by Toho in black-and-white.

The film had already had a television score composed by Akira Ifukube, but with the movie being refit for theaters, he was given the chance to go back and rework the score to make it fit for a theatrical film. The result is one of Ifukube's most influencial and recognizable scores ever...if you've seen the Japanese version of the film, that is. The American version, released in 1962, absolutely butchered the score...and everything else.

The synopsis provided below will detail the Japanese theatrical version of the film.

Varan is a Kaiju movie produced by Toho Co, Ltd. in 1958. The film originally begtan life as a made-for-TV movie developed by Toho for American audiences. When the American producers backed out, Toho took what was left and decided to make a theatrical film out of it, whiel filming new sequences and removing soem other ones of little consequence. Because the film was originally intended for television, and this being the 1950's, the film was shot in black-and-white. To make sure everything matched, the new footage for the film was also filmed in black-and-white, making this the last theatrical film to be released by Toho in black-and-white. Are you tired of that part yet? Are you bored?