VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE (1958)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *sociological*


In this essay I cross-compared the Japanese monster-film GOJIRA to its Americanized version, and found that there were numerous differences between them. Many of the comparisons placed the original version in the better light, though I pointed out that GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS had some touches that validated its existence.

I read a little about the original Japanese version of VARAN, though, and got the impression that it didn't offer much more than the Americanized version. Both movies are largely concerned with re-using the most basic motif of the first Godzilla film-- that of having a prehistoric beast, worshiped by a Japanese tribe, awaken from a submerged slumber and take on the forces of modern military warfare. In the Japanese version, as in GOJIRA, Japan's "self-defense" force contends with the monster, while in the Americanized reboot, some or all of the military forces apparently stem from American occupation-forces.

In some ways, the intrusion of the American characters may have improved on the overly simple story. The formal American occupation of Japan ended in 1952, but in the English-language VARAN, Americans still seem to have absolute authority. Naval commander Jim Bradley, married to a Japanese wife, decides that there's only one lake in Japan where he can conduct his experiments in desalinization. Near the lake dwells a small tribe of Japanese people, who worship the god of the lake and really don't want the ugly Americans messing with their livelihood. But Bradley gets his way, and starts bombarding the lake with shells, because as we all know, that's a good way to shake the salt out of the water. (Or something.) This apparently wakes up the slumbering Varan, who may not be a real pagan god but begins tearing into the impious outsiders nonetheless.

Varan, who alternates between walking on all fours or standing erect, gets the best scenes, ignoring tank-shells and smashing houses with his tail. But whereas various reviews complain of little character-conflict in the Japanese version, Bradley and his wife Anna (Myron Healey, Tsuruko Kobayashi) sustain some slight tension as he goes about imposing his will on the tribe-- originally Anna's own people-- "all for their own good," of course. I'm not saying that there are outright arguments between the two characters, for Anna, who dresses both in traditional Japanese costume and in modern outfits, is largely deferential to her husband. But even the possibility that she might be at odds with Bradley over his ambition offers a little more potential than what I've heard about the original. And though the couple don't have children, one local kid, Matsu by name, hangs around them. He's sort of the "Dondi" of the story: the adorable foreign kid whose affection for the American military-man implies that America can do no wrong on foreign shores.

As most monster-fans know, the giant reptilian originally had leathery wings that allowed him to fly, but the Americans filmmakers cut all such scenes out of their version. Varan didn't get another outing as such, though he was given a couple of quick cameos in 1968's DESTROY ALL MONSTERS--  both of which showed him flying.