Korean Film Archive

[CR2]

The Romantic Comedies of the '50s set looks like a must buy, especially when you see what it looks like on the inside:



Lovely package.

[gselich]

"Aimless" was released as a DVD in Korea, but it's out of print: http://www.yesasia.com/us/the-aimless-b ... /info.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The film was also released on DVD in the USA as "Stray Bullet": http://www.amazon.com/Stray-Bullet-Kim- ... 0013D8LVI/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As far as I know the best surviving print of this film is actually an English hand-subbed copy sent to the USA for the San Francisco International Film Festival. That's where the Korean DVD comes from; I haven't seen the American one.

I believe there is only one surviving the print, the one you mention. I've seen both the Korean DVD and the US DVD, and they use the same print. In side by side comparison, they were so close in quality as to be indistinguishable. You can get the US copy and know the quality matches that of the out of print Korean edition.

[manicsounds]

All their boxsets look like that. Very attractive sets.

[CR2]

I should say so. They run a bit pricey for me for non-Blu at the moment. But I gotta grab that soon.

[manicsounds]

http://www.seoulselection.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has it at $34, probably the best price.

[manicsounds]

Seoul Selection also has "Bloodline" up now, for KRW15,400 (US$13.45), a cheaper option than Yesasia. K2DVD has it for $17.99

[manicsounds]

It sucks that KOFA did an amazing and extensive restoration on "Bloodline", but they decided not to quality-control the English subtitles. I found a lot of spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes this time. I thought their English-track record was getting better, but this release is a step back. I emailed a complaint to them about it.

Also an issue I had with my player, but the main feature for some reason squeezed the 16:9 image to 4:3 on my TV, although the company intro, the main menu screens were in 16:9.
On my computer, this didn't happen, so it must be a player-specific issue.

[Brvtality]

I wonder if anyone can help me locate a copy of CHILSU AND MANSU. It's really tricky to get hold of. Saw the film during a trip to Korea and liked it a lot. Does anywhere sell it now?

[Michael Kerpan]

Chilsu and Mansu was on subbed Korean DVD once upon a time.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I wonder if anyone can help me locate a copy of CHILSU AND MANSU. It's really tricky to get hold of. Saw the film during a trip to Korea and liked it a lot. Does anywhere sell it now?

It's been out of print for years. There's a seller on eBay flogging it for less than $10, but from what I've heard the Korean DVDs on eBay are more likely than not to be bootlegs (including the ones that swear up and down to be legitimate releases). Note this wasn't actually a KOFA release, which is a shame, since they seem to reprint their titles semi-regularly.

[PerfectDepth]

From my experience, the Wooridvd on Ebay is a reliable seller. I bought Chilsu and Mansu from them earlier this year. In fact, Seoul Selection had some copies as well. When looking for the disc, be sure to search for both "Chilsu and Mansu" as well as the hyphenated "Chil-su and Man-su" as I've seen it listed both ways.

It's a fantastic film that perfectly captures the era directly after Chun Doohwan's military dictatorship and touches on many of the anxieties about westernization, democracy, and consumerism through both popular culture and the current political landscape. Aside from that, it's quite funny and the performances are great.

It is also one of the titles streaming on KOFA's Youtube channel if that's an option for you.

[Michael Kerpan]

I keep hoping for films like A Petal and To the Starry Island to show up on DVD...

[PerfectDepth]

I keep hoping for films like A Petal and To the Starry Island to show up on DVD...

Same here. I am planning on watching them along with A Single Spark at the KOFA library the next time I'm in Seoul, which seems to be the only place to see otherwise unavailable Korean films.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

A Petal was released on DVD as part of an institutional-use box set. It's probably impossible to purchase a copy for individual use -- I doubt the set is available at all anymore -- but if you're in the U.S., there's a few dozen university libraries that have it, plus four outside the country. Korean Cultural Centers may have it as well.

[manicsounds]

Historical Films About the Korean Empire 4-DVD Boxset preorder at Yesasia. They have it for release on 7/16.

[Brvtality]

From my experience, the Wooridvd on Ebay is a reliable seller. I bought Chilsu and Mansu from them earlier this year. In fact, Seoul Selection had some copies as well. When looking for the disc, be sure to search for both "Chilsu and Mansu" as well as the hyphenated "Chil-su and Man-su" as I've seen it listed both ways.

It's a fantastic film that perfectly captures the era directly after Chun Doohwan's military dictatorship and touches on many of the anxieties about westernization, democracy, and consumerism through both popular culture and the current political landscape. Aside from that, it's quite funny and the performances are great.

It is also one of the titles streaming on KOFA's Youtube channel if that's an option for you.

Thanks for the info! I don't tend to watch movies online but at least I know I can see it somewhere now.

Sadly wooridvd has no more copies, but I shall keep looking.

[PerfectDepth]

This Korean etailer has Chilsu and Mansu listed here. Han Books also has it listed here, but that version apparently has no English subtitles. I have the disc with the white packaging that has the same image from Gmarket.

[htdm]

I have both versions and can vouch that the second doesn't have English subs.

[manicsounds]

I got the "Historical Films" boxset today. The extras consist of 3 films having an image gallery, and 1 film having a restoration demonstration. All films come with English or Korean subtitles (no Japanese this time).

[manicsounds]

I wish the "Historical Films" boxset included a bit more 'history' on the subjects. Background on the Imperial downfall, the independence movement, etc would have been a lot more helpful. I've watched 2 of the films so far and I'm a little lost on the happenings since I have no basic knowledge of the depicted time period in Korean history. This might be textbook stuff in South Korea, but not to the non-Korean viewers.

If they had included possibly Korean historian commentary tracks, or a featurette or documentary on the subjects depicted, I would appreciate this set more. (I'm thinking something similar to the historical featurettes or the lecture included on the "Young Indiana Jones" DVD sets)

The only other background info is a 6 page essay. Way too short for the material included.

[manicsounds]

Im Kwon Taek 4-disc boxset up for pre-order at Yesasia, 12/26, K2DVD has it for release on 12/18

Each film gets an audio commentary track.

The films (new official English titles) are as follows:
A Byegone Romance (Wangshibri) (1976)
Genealogy (Jokbo) (1979)
Pursuit of Death (Jagko) (1980)
Mandala (1981)

[manicsounds]

The Romantic Comedies of the '50s set looks like a must buy, especially when you see what it looks like on the inside:



Lovely package.

After watching 2 films in the "Romantic Comedies" collection, I must say that Koreans in the 1950s must have had a very different sense of 'humor' than what we are accustomed to. Neither "Holiday in Seoul" or "The Love Marriage" were funny at all. They were both dealing with themes like mental illness, murder, infidelity, unwanted pregnancy, etc. Nothing comical or silly here.

Maybe they took the French meaning "Comedie" instead? Good movies, but prepare to not laugh...

[feihong]

Im Kwon Taek 4-disc boxset up for pre-order at Yesasia, 12/26, K2DVD has it for release on 12/18

Each film gets an audio commentary track.

The films (new official English titles) are as follows:
A Byegone Romance (Wangshibri) (1976)
Genealogy (Jokbo) (1979)
Pursuit of Death (Jagko) (1980)
Mandala (1981)

Wow, Mandala on DVD? I missed this completely.

[manicsounds]

Korean Film Archive screens "The Street Of The Sun" for the first time in over 60 years, sadly the audio track is lost, and was screened without sound.

[htdm]

A new 3-DVD set entitled Shin Sang Ok's Melodramas From The 1950s Collection will be released 7/15 and includes the following titles:

Confessions of a College Student (1958)
Dongshimcho (1959)
Sister's Garden (1959)