Monster of the Day #840

Flangepart

Only the yakuza could run a monster union.

bgbear_rnh

I heard Russell Johnson died :(

Ken_Begg

Yes, best known here as the scientist marooned on an isolated island in Attack of the Crab Monsters.

bgbear_rnh

Sorry guys, I thought it was OK to bring your kids to the class reunion

Reed

I love this more than yesterday’s shot. Does someone sell these stills, because WANT!
Damn, that guy to Godzuki’s left could stand to go on a moster diet.

bgbear_rnh

Maybe it is Mrs. G. You know what having kids does to you.

zombiewhacker

Who’s that to the right of Ghidrah, under his wing and just above his heads… is that another monster or merely a crew member?

Ken_Begg

That’s Varan. The suit was in such bad shape it was only used in a single shot in the movie, and clearly wasn’t up for a clear shot in stills, either.

Rock Baker

Actually, a suit version of Varan doesn’t appear at all. The form seen here and in the film is a smaller model of the ‘flying’ form. It gets one close-up during the film’s wrap-up, although it can be glimpsed coming in for a landing during the scene where the monsters are gathering at Mt. Fuji. It’s such a background element that it isn’t very clear, it likely had many in the audience asking “what’s that thing?”

Rock Baker

Really? When I think of him it’s from IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. Chiefly, two lines come to my mind. “Yes, the sun.” “Don’t be afraid.”

bgbear_rnh

and his self sacrifice in “This Island Earth”

bgbear_rnh

thanks, I thought it was a flying Godzilla with long legs.

Rock Baker

I was never clear if he made a sacrifice or was trying to save his own skin and paid for it. The scene plays both ways.

Rock Baker

More or less, actually….

bgbear_rnh

OK “self sacrifice” then ;)

Flangepart

Poor Varan/Baran. A cool design really. That film could use a remake. He did get a good use in the GODZILLA comic by IDW.

Ken_Begg

He’s pretty scrappy in Giant Monsters All Out Attack.

Rock Baker

He was in that one? I know he was planned for it, but I thought he and Angillas got replaced by Ghidrah and Mothra.

Ken_Begg

Ooops, man, I’ve got to keep my head straight. Baragon is the final monster, not Varan. Baragon’s pretty sweet in it, though.

zombiewhacker

Noticably absent was any scene of Minya on the rampage when the Kilaaks were in control. Maybe because citizens would be struggling to keep a straight face while they were, um, running away. “Ooooh, Minya, I’m SCARED. Come on, I could blow bigger smoke rings that!”

The Rev.

You need more head-straightening, buddy; Godzilla runs into Baragon first, after which Baragon sadly sits the rest of the movie out.

That being said, Varan seems to be one of those select handful of monsters doomed to never make a comeback, for reasons I cannot fathom.

Rock Baker

I understood the fans wanted the trio of Baragon, Angillas, and Varan, and that’s what the producers planned to provide, but the studio figured that Mothra and Ghidrah were better choices due to the box office of their earlier films. I guess we’ll never know how the numbers might have been different if the original plan went through.

Cullen Waters

Sure would have been a different film, to say the least.

The Rev.

That was my understanding as well, Rock. It made a kind of sense; three quadrupedal monsters with nothing but physical attacks to rely on. (Baragon had some sort of heat ray in his original appearance, but considering “Frankenstein” barely seemed to notice it, it might as well not have existed. I notice it was gone in GMK.) They would work together as a trio of guardian monsters, I think. I don’t know how it would have fared financially to the version we got, but I think Kaneko would have made it work.

Rock Baker

It stands as one of the great “what if” movies of the Toho universe.

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