Varan (1958)
October 14, 1958Release Date
Varan (1958)
October 14, 1958Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Varan is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Criterion Channel
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Kōzō Nomura
Kenji Uozaki
Ayumi Sonoda
Yuriko Shinjô
Koreya Senda
Dr. Sugimoto
Akihiko Hirata
Dr. Fujimora, bomb expert
Fuyuki Murakami
Dr. Majima, Sugimoto's aide
Yoshio Tsuchiya
Military Officer Katsumoto
Minosuke Yamada
Secretary of Defense
Hisaya Ito
Ichiro, Yuriko's brother
Yoshifumi Tajima
Captain of Uranami
Nadao Kirino
Yutaka Wada
Akira Sera
Village High Priest
Akio Kusama
Military Officer Kusama
Noriko Honma
Ken's Mom
Akira Yamada
Issaku
Fumindo Matsuo
Horiguchi
Yoshikazu Kawamata
Jiro
Yasuhiro Shigenobu
Sankichi
Takashi Itô
Ken, the boy
Takuzō Kumagai
(as Jirô Kumagai)
Shōichi Hirose
Fisherman
Hideo Shibuya
Cameraman
Toshitsugu Suzuki
Fisherman (as Kôji Suzuki)
Yasumasa Ônishi
(as Yasuo Ônishi)
Yōichirō Kitagawa
(as Ryûichi Hosokawa)
Tsurue Ichimanji
(as Tazue Ichimanji)
Katsumi Tezuka
Varan
Haruo Nakajima
Varan / Stunts
Eiji Tsuburaya
Visual Effects / Special Effects / Visual Effects Director
Ishirō Honda
Director
Akira Watanabe
Special Effects / Visual Effects Art Director
Kazuji Taira
Editor
Keizô Murase
Costume Design / Modeling
Ken Kuronuma
Story
Akira Ifukube
Original Music Composer
Kiyoshi Shimizu
Production Design
Wataru Konuma
Sound Recordist
Sadamasa Arikawa
Special Effects / VFX Director of Photography
Teizô Toshimitsu
Costume Design / Modeling
Tomoyuki Tanaka
Producer
Shôtarô Kawakami
Production Manager
Hajime Koizumi
Director of Photography
Shinichi Sekizawa
Screenplay
Masanobu Miyazaki
Sound Recordist
Kuichirô Kishida
Lighting Technician / VFX Lighting Artist
Hiroshi Mukoyama
Visual Effects Compositor / Visual Effects
Ichirô Minawa
Sound Effects
Masanobu Deme
Special Effects / Special Effects Assistant
Koji Kajita
First Assistant Director
Mitsuo Kaneko
Lighting Technician
Eizo Kaimai
Costume Design / Modeling
Shuzaburo Araki
VFX Director of Photography / Special Effects
Takashi Nakao
Assistant Camera / Still Photographer
Rinsaku Ogata
Jun'ichirō Mukai
Masaki Shinohara
Eisuke Nakanishi
Takashi Narita
Toku Ihara
Satoko Taira
Kô Hayami
Haruya Sakamoto
Keiichirô Katsumoto
Mitsuo Tsuda
Toshiko Nomura
Media.
Details.
Release DateOctober 14, 1958
Original Name大怪獣バラン
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 27m
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Varan the Unbelievable (Japanese: 大怪獣バラン, Hepburn: Daikaijū Baran, lit. 'Giant Monster Varan') is a 1958 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it stars Kōzō Nomura, Ayumi Sonoda, and Koreya Senda, with Haruo Nakajima as Varan. In the film, a reporter's investigation into two mysterious deaths in Japan's mountains leads to the discovery of a giant lake monster, wrecking its way towards civilization.
In 1957, Toho was approached by American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (AB-PT) to co-produce a new kaiju film for television. It was intended to be a three-part film, each 30 minutes with fade-in/outs for commercial breaks. However, AB-PT collapsed during production and Toho altered the film's status from a television film to a theatrical feature. As a result, the crew faced difficulties and filming lasted 28 days.
The film was theatrically released in Japan on October 14, 1958. A heavily localized version, with new footage starring Myron Healey in the lead, was released in the United States on December 12, 1962 by Crown International as Varan the Unbelievable. Varan would later be briefly featured in Destroy All Monsters.