North Korea, 1999
95m
35mm film, colour, 1.33:1
mono, Korean
A North Korean science fiction film directed by Sang-okk Shin and Go-jo Chong. Shin, a South Korean director, was abducted by the forces of then North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-il in 1978 and this would be the last of the films he made before he and his wife Choi Eun-hee were able to escape while on a supposed research trip to Vienna in preparation for a film about Genghis Khan.
Plot Summary
Villagers in a 14th Century Korean village use the giant monster Pulgasari to help them fight back against their oppressors.
Credits
Crew
Directed by: Shin Sang-okk, Chong Go-jo
Korean Film Studio, Shin Film Productions
Executive Producer: Kim Jong-il
Director of Photography: Hyon Cho-myong, Kenichi Eguchi, Pak Sung-ho
Editor: Kim Ryon-sun
Special Effects Supervisor: Kenpachiro Satsuma
Art Directors: Do Ik Ri, Yoshio Suzuki
Cast
Son Hui Chang (Ami)
Ham Gi Sop (Inde)
Ri Jong-uk (Ana)
Gwon Ri (Takse (Ami’s father)
Gyong-ae Yu (Inde’s mother)
Ro Hye-chol (Inde’s brother)
Tae Sang-hun, Kim Gi-chon, Ri In-chol (rebel forces)
Ri Riyonun (General Fuan)
Pak Yong-hok (the king)
Pak Pong-ilk (the governor)
Kenpachirô Satsuma (Pulgasari)
Alternative Titles
Bulgasari – alternative English title
Pulgasar! – USA (video)
Purugasari: Densetsu no daikaiju – Japan
Пульгасари – Soviet Union
プルガサリ 伝説の大怪獣 – Japan
Links
Remake of
Bulgasari (1962)
Remake
Galgameth (1996)
Extracts included in
Great Man and Cinema (2009)
References
Periodicals
- Asian Cult Cinema no.24 (1999) pp.40-42 – illustrated review (Pulgasari – The Giant Monster by Steve Puchalski)
- Fangoria no.203 (June 2001) p.52 – illustrated video review (Video eye of Dr Cyclops)
