AaronCapenBanner Ishiro Honda directed this Japanese monster film that sees a giant reptilian monster emerge from a lake, having been re-awakened by an undersea earthquake(or some such thing!) It was a local legend to the primitive people who live nearby, but the creature(called Varan) causes havoc before it decides to attack Japan. The military and scientists unite to defeat this creature any way they can. Obvious copy of Godzilla isn't bad, but is just too unoriginal and unremarkable to be at all memorable. Best viewed in the original Japanese language version, which is on the DVD, rather than the re-edited American version, which is seldom seen now.

jerekra Varan came out after the successes of the films Rodan and Godzilla. Would it continue the success of Toho MOnster flicks? The answer is, for the most part no. Varan is not one of the better Toho Films and it is one of those films that many people have only seen once.Varan himself is based off of both Godzilla and Rodan. He is a large lizard like monster with sharp spines on his back and skin that runs from his arm to his legs like a flying squirrel. This allows him to fly around in the Japanese version but not the American version. Watching him fly around is ridiculous but worth watching in the same way that watching Godzilla fly in Godzilla vs Hedorah. It defies the rules of physics.So they tried to combine Rodan and Godzilla and they got Varan. Varan though seems to be missing something. He does not really stand out, he does not do anything that no other monster can do. I guess that is why they do not bring Varan back much later. Other monsters are significant, Rodan can fly fast, Ghidorah has three heads, Mothra is stunningly beautiful (despite being my least favorite monster), and Baragon can burrow. But Varan does not stand out and has no special abilities or powers besides being able to fly like a squirrel. I guess Toho was hoping that the idea would make Varan stand out but it did not work really.OK enough about the monster, time to talk about the film. It is OK, not that bad. IT is just that I have seen similar films to this one before in Godzilla and Rodan. So watching this film did not create any new thrills or moments to me. It is not bad, just ordinary and nothing spectacular. So is this film awful, no. Is it one of the best Toho Monster films, no. Is it a movie that you will always remember, probably not. But are there worse monster films, yes! Check it out on a rainy day or a lazy Saturday. It is worth watching once.Further note, I had not seen the Japanese version of the film when I reviewed it. The above review is about the American version. A lot still holds true tho when watching the Japanese Version. The Japanese version I would say is quite better than the American version. I would say the American version is not worth seeing per say, but the Japanese version is good. Mainly because in the Japanese version Varan has a cool roar he emits and in the American version he does not. Also the Japanese version is longer.

TheUnknown837-1 I hate this terrible version of a pretty good kaiju movie. It is just pathetic and boring. Uninteresting and a waste of time. It's so bad it's hard to find and purchase and it's not even worth that. It's THAT bad.There are several reasons to why this version is bad. First of all, the plot has been changed badly and once again, American actors and cast are cut in. And most of them don't even have any good acting talents at all. Myron Healy was the only good one. The others were lame.And here's a big thing. Why is the title called 'VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE' when the monster is never called by that name. The only thing he's ever called is 'Obaki.' His true name is never mentioned.The other actors in the film are pretty bland and uninteresting at all. Captain Kishi was pretty annoying throughout the movie and he repeatedly called Varan "the beast". In just about every line. "The beast is at Oneda" "Do you think the flares distracted the beast?" "The chemical stopped the beast."....and so on. Oh, and by the way, that footage of the soldier speaking into the radio was used over and over and over and over again.Not only was Varan ruined in this movie by having his name changed to 'Obaki', but they ruined his voice. In the original version, Varan sounded kind of like a cross between Rodan and Baragon and sometimes also kind of like Godzilla. But in this terrible wasted version, he sounds like a tire rubbing across the ground.My advice is to order the original version on DVD, now that it's available. Note, it's also titled 'VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE', but you can tell it's the Japanese version because it has a yellowish picture with an image of Varan towering over a group of people. The DVD cover for this terrible version has Varan's head appearing out of a lake.

csdietrich VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE was pretty scary stuff when I first saw it as a kid in 1962. A few years ago I picked the original Japanese version and the must say it proceeds at a ponderous pace and is much longer than the Crown International Pictures release. There are more battle scenes and Varan even flies in the Japanese version. The American distributor shortened the film considerably and added scenes with Myron Healey and maybe even Tsuruko Kobayashi. The monster is a neat-looking reptilian creature that one critic referred to as appearing like "a squirrel with jet propelled nuts." In any event, not bad stuff but it's not great either. For better Japanese sci-fi GODZILLA, RODAN, ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE and THE MYSTERIANS are much better. But VARAN deserves a break and was never seen again (except for a brief appearance in one of the GHIDRAH sequels). VARAN was meant for television release originally but never made it. See it anyway for its fun moments, and there are a few. With Katsumi Tezuka in a rubber suit as Varan. Also, catch the original Japanese version if you can!