Varan the Unbelievable (1962) on Netflix
On a remote Japanese island, a joint American-Japanese military team tries to purify salt water cheaply. Their experiments awaken the prehistoric monster Obaki, which heads for Japan.
- Netflix2.2/5
- IMDb4.4/10967 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
A remote Japanese island contains an unusual saltwater lake. A joint American-Japanese military command establishes a base on that island because it wants to find an economical method for purifying salt water. During purification experiments, the team awakens a prehistoric monster named Obaki, which had been hibernating at the bottom of the lake. Once awake, Obaki moves to attack Japan.
Cast
- Fumito Matsuoas Paul's Friend
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Varan the Unbelievable (1962)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Haruo Nakajima, the suit actor who played the monster Varan, suffered burns while filming the climax scene of Varan the Unbelievable.
- The American version of Varan the Unbelievable features only 15 minutes of the original Japanese footage and does not credit any of the Toho crew.
- Film historians Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski deduced that Toho may have withheld a VHS release of Varan the Unbelievable to avoid potential controversy over the film's allusions to Burakumin. Scenes calling the village "unexplored and secluded", code words for a buraku enclave, were cut from early home video releases but restored on DVD.
- In the American version of Varan the Unbelievable, Ifukube's music was replaced with cues from another film, The Amazing Colossal Man.
- When certain scenes could not be filmed at Toho, the crew rented a cheap soundstage and open set; the evacuation scenes were shot on the Toho lot, with some offices and sound-stages visible onscreen.
- Honda noted that they could not start over and had to resort to "blowing up" Varan the Unbelievable to widescreen format, a method that had been used for the Japanese release of Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
- The monster Varan was later added to the Godzilla franchise, first appearing in Destroy All Monsters, and went on to appear in other Godzilla-related media.
