Weekly commented, "Varan attacks Haneda Airport, but it reminds me of the conclusion of any other old Godzilla. There's nothing new. It's really about all they can do with a monster movie." For the American version, author David Kalat noted that Bradley sees himself as a misunderstood figure who has lent his time and efforts to helping a foreign country, only to be attacked by the people he's trying to help. Kalat alluded this to the Occupation of Japan and noted how the Japan film industry considered it taboo to touch the subject, concluding that the American version "deserves a passing nod for its unusually politicized content." Years later, Honda admitted to being disappointed with the film, stating, "This is not a work I am happy with. If we could have restarted from the beginning, scenes such as those with the Self-Defense Forces might have been more grand. Everything was pretty much shot on [a small] set, with maybe a tiny bit of location filming. The entire film would have turned out a little [better]." Home media Varan the Unbelievable was one of Toho's last films released on VHS in the 1980s. Film historians Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski deduced that Toho may have withheld on releasing the film on VHS to possibly avoid potential controversy due to the film briefly alluding to Burakumin. Scenes referring to the village as "unexplored and secluded" (code words for buraku enclave) were cut from early home video releases but restored on the DVD release. Tokyo Shock released the original Japanese version on DVD in the United States on May 10, 2005 under the title Varan the Unbelievable. References Sources Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties (covers films released through 1962), 21st Century Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009 (First Edition 1982). External links 大怪獣バラン (Daikaijū Baran) at Japanese Movie Database 1950s monster movies Films set in Tokyo Kaiju films Giant monster films Toho tokusatsu films Films directed by Ishirō Honda 1958 films Crown International Pictures films 1950s fantasy films 1950s science fiction films 1958 horror films Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Japanese black-and-white films Films scored by Akira Ifukube Films with screenplays by Shinichi Sekizawa 1950s Japanese films