Understanding Varan’s True Aspect Ratio

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Varan The Unbelievable (Giant Monster Varan) is a 1958 black-and-white early kaiju film from the minds at Toho Studios. But we’ve been watching Varan totally wrong since its home media debut here in the States! How? Varan has the wrong aspect ratio!

Blogpost: “Varan: a 2:1 SuperScope Movie All Along?”

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  • 00:00 – Introduction
  • 01:54 – Widescreen Boom
  • 02:44 – Cinerama
  • 03:22 – Cinemascope & Anamorphic Widescreen
  • 06:21 – Tohoscope
  • 08:43 – VistaVision
  • 09:06 – Todd-AO & Super Panavision / Ultra Panavision 70
  • 10:49 – Matting & Techniscope
  • 12:12 – Superscope Widescreen
  • 15:22 – Varan’s complicated production
  • 19:52 – Varan’s aspect ratio
  • 26:14 – Conclusions

SOURCES

Clarke, Charles G. “The Techniques of CinemaScope Pictures.” American Cinematographer. 2001. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/page0-1.htm

Culvert, Brian R. “Toho in America: Varan.” Toho in America. 2005. https://www.historyvortex.org/tohoinamerica5.html

Foster, Frederick. “TECHNISCOPE – What It Is and How It Works.” The American Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingts2.htm

Hart. Brett A. “The Cinerama Camera & Lots of Production Stuff.” The American Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/cineramacam.htm

Hart, Martin. “Superscope: The Rich Man’s Poor Man’s Version of Cinemascope.” The American Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingss2.htm

Hart. Martin. “Super Panavision: The Inheritor.” The American Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingsp1.htm

Hart, Martin. “Todd-AO: 70mm Film Finally Makes The Big Time.” The Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingto2.htm

Kalat, David. A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series. 2nd Ed. McFarland Press. 2010.

Kalat, David. “Audio Commentary.” Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Criterion Collection. 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUl9uPoD5mE&t=1130s

Ryfle, Steve; Godziszewski, Ed. Ishiro Honda: A life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. Wesleyan University Press. 2017.

Vandenberg, Callum. ” What is Superscope? | The original Super 35 film.” May 9, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCDP_MbeX_k

“Varan” Academy Ratio Outtakes. The H-Man. YouTube Video. Jul 19, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwCVClvQf0

“VistaVision.” The American Widescreen Museum. Paramount Pictures Corp. 1954. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/vvbook2.htm

Blogpost: “Varan: a 2:1 SuperScope Movie All Along?”

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