After the success of the Americanisation of Gojira, US TV Network ABC commissioned another Kaiju Eiga (giant monster movie) from it's makers, Toho. They were going to put up a lot of money towards it, and it was going to bypass cinemas and go straight to TV in both America and Japan. However, shortly after production begun, ABC pulled out, but Toho, with it's full strength Kaiju filmaking force behind it, decided to soldier on with the movie anyway, and release it to theatres.
The film was slightly impaired from the get-go, due to the fact it was being shot in Black and White, so to suit TVs. Toho had just went into Colour with Kaiju Eiga with Rodan, so they were actually taking a step back, however, they did have the team behind their 2 most accomplished Kaiju Eiga, director Ishiro Honda,composer Akira Ifukube and effects man Eiji Tsuburaya on board, all of which had proven themselves possible of making great B&W films with Gojira, so the project couldn't totally be written off.

The movie opens as a Doctor at a Tokyo science institute tells his students of a find of a mysterious butterfly in Siberia, that is supposed to be native to Japan. For some reason, two of his aides go to where the butterflies are supposed to be native to, which is nearby a lake in the wilderness of Japan.
Shortly after, the pair are found dead, crushed in their jeep, and the Doctor, Dr.Sugimoto (Koreya Senda - Tora!Tora!Tora!), sends out two more of his scientists, Kenji (Kozo Nomura - Godzilla Vs. Mothra) and Horiguchi(Fumito Matsuo - The Three Treasures) out to find out what happened. Accompanying them is the sister of one of the men, Yuriko(Ayumi Sonoda - The H-Man), who works for a film company that focuses on mysteries, so she is also looking for a potential movie.

The three head off to the lake, where they encounter the suspicious locals who tell them to clear off before their god 'Baradagi' kills them, as he did their friends. The local's ceremony to please Baradagi is cut short when a young boy chases his dog off past the gate which leads to the forbidden path to the forbidden lake. Dismissing the locals beliefs as superstition, Kenji convinces them to help he and his friends find the boy. They agree, and they discover him and his dog at the edge of the lake. They also discover more than they bargained for when Baradagi get outs of the lake and destroys their village.

Back in Tokyo, Horiguchi shows Dr.Sugimoto a picture of the monster, which he declares is a species of dinosaur known as Baran. The military begin using him as an expert on Baran, and an expedition to the lake is arranged, which once again causes Baran to rise. The military try to kill him, which proves to be an exercise in futility, and he shocks everyone by developing membrane under his arms and taking flight. He comes down in the sea, where he begins to make an advance towards Tokyo. In the meantime, another scientist, Dr.Fujimora(Akihiko Hirata - Godzilla: King of the Monsters) has been developing an advanced new gunpowder, which he volunteers for use against Baran. When this proves to hurt him, but not all that much, the army find themselves with a great dilemma, how do they stop this monster as it makes its way through Haneda airport and towards downtown Tokyo?

As you may have guessed, the plot of Daikaiju Baran isn't really anything special, standard creature feature fare. There really isn't anything to distinguish it plot wise from the hordes of other Giant Monster movies, and this really does hurt the film quite a bit. While the scene of Baran taking flight is pretty cool, it's almost forgotten about 10 minutes after it happens, which really does do the film damage, this could have been a really interesting element, but it seems introduced for the sake of making Baran less than Godzilla's crappy little cousin.
The movie suffers from generally not being all that engrossing. It doesn't have the inventive and superbly done destruction of Gojira, nor the suspense of Rodan, so its left as being 'just another monster movie'. Even Mothra at least had a pretty distinct looking monster, unlike Baran, who is essentially a cross between Godzilla and his first foe Anguirus, He can walk bi or quadrupedal, has a head not too dissimilar to Godzilla's but with Anguirus style spikes, and a single row of spines down his back.
The movie also fails to exploit the human element at all. For the first half hour or so, we are expecting a romance story between Kenji and Yuriko, but instead, they are just forgotten about for most of the movie, only to reappear at the end. While the space between is filled with scenes of the army attacking Baran, something I would usually be very for, the fact that none of the scenes are very inventive or even all that exciting makes for a less than stellar viewing experience. With that said, the movie is leagues ahead of the US version which was absolutely sodomised by American distributors, half of the Baran footage removed, the story horribley altered and Myron Healey being onscreen far too long.
However, it must also be pointed out that Baran's demise is pretty stupid, especially when compared to the ways Rodan and Godzilla were offed.

If you are a regular reader of my reviews, chances are you know that Im not keen on ripping people I have to watch subtitled or dubbed, due to my feel that the vocal delivery of lines is an important part of a performance. Thakfully, Daikaiju Baran doesn't really present the viewer with any clear bad acting, although it also doesn't have anyone who appears to be performing overly well. Kozo Nomura doesn't really have the edge to be a leading man, and the fact that Akihiko Hirata is squandered in a decidedly minor role just pains me.
My version of the movie is a Japanese import VHS with English subs, and while the subs are decent enough, you can tell there are some errors, a few cases of 'what' being where 'that' should be, but nothing that will really alter your enjoyment of the picture.

One thing that cannot be doubted in terms of quality is Akira Ifukube's wonderful score, which was so good it got altered a little and used in a healthy dose of Godzilla's movies, which isn't something that can be said about any other content of Baran. In fact, I actuallty prefer the score in the format it appears here, possibly because more emphasis is put on it than in the Godzilla pictures. An interesting note, is that on my copy, before the movie, we are treated to a still picture of Baran while the theme tune plays in full. Odd, but quite cool at the same time.

The special effects in Daikaiju Baran are a bit of a mixed bag. While all the military and building miniatures are excellent, and of the standard you would expect from award winner Tsuburaya, the Baran suit is what annoys me.
In some scenes, he looks awesome, his head is certainly well designed and exectuted, and I love how his spines almost seem to glow. However, in some scenes, the suit looks atrocious. From the far too plain underbelly to the fact his detailed back flaps up, this was probably used to cover where Haruo Nakajima or Katsumi Tezuka got into the suit, an effect which is quite off putting.
It should also be noted that some of the military footage I just mentioned was stock from Gojira, but it really isn't all that obvious that it's stock.

On the whole, while Daikaiju Baran certainly isn't the worst Kaiju Eiga movie out there, or even Toho's worst ever, out of the 4 solo monster movies they produced, it's easy to see why Baran never became as famous as Godzilla, Rodan or Mothra. This movie generally lacks the invention that those movies had to make them stand out, and it strikes me as just another Kaiju flick. I don't regret watching it, it's even moderately entertaining if it's being used to waste time. But it really is a movie I would only recommend to genre enthusiasts.
If you are a fan of Japanese monster movies, Daikaiju Baran is a decent enough movie to watch, but it certainly isn't up to the standards that Toho had set up until that point. It's definitely on par with anything Daei put out in the original Gamera series, but you certainly shouldn't be expecting anything of the quality of Gojira or Rodan.

Year: 1958
Titles: Daikaiju Baran
Varan


Toho Sci-Fi Related Reviews
Movies
Gojira
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Rodan
The Mysterians
Mothra
King Kong Vs. Godzilla
Atragon
Dogora
Godzilla Vs. Mothra
Invasion of the Astro Monsters
Godzilla's Revenge
Rebirth of Mothra
Godzilla

Games
Godzilla: Domination for Gameboy Advance
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for XBox
Godzilla: Save The Earth for XBox

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4