Movielogr
Pulgasari (1985)
Directed by Shin Sang-ok, Chong Gon Jo
Twitter Facebook Google+Most recently watched by lolareels
Overview
In feudal Korea, a group of starving villagers grow weary of the orders handed down to them by their controlling king and set out to use a deadly monster under their control to push his armies back.
Length 95 minutes
Actors
Chang Son Hui | Ham Gi Sop | Jong-uk Ri | Gwon Ri | Gyong-ae Yu | Hye-chol Ro | Riyonun Ri | Kenpachirô Satsuma
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/18/2020 | TV | Streaming | Video on Demand | 5 stars |
| (Average) 5 stars |
Viewing Notes
Since KaijuPod is covering this movie on their next episode I figured I should give it a spin. Surprised I haven’t seen it given its notoriety (and I own it on VHS). The transfer on YT is the pits but at least it’s the Korean language version w/subtitles. But yeah it looks rather muddy at times esp. with all the action scenes and battle sequences. I turned on the TruMotion to smooth it out a bit and make it watchable on my tv.
Pretty sure they didn’t have any on-set safety organization monitoring this b/c it looks dangerous AF with hundreds of peasant warriors getting fireballs dropped on them. It’s bananas how many people/actors they used in this movie for both the peasant army and the emperor’s army.
I actually like the Pulgasari monster and his origin (baby Pulgasari is super cute!). Had this not been so violent it could be a kids flick similar to the Showa Godzilla films. Pulgasari is the hero for the peasants and fights with them as he grows bigger. Overall this is a *good* story saddled with some poor production values. And if a good quality print existed I’d definitely watch it again.
Given its wild history it’s rather shocking it was made. I know only a little about it but I’d love to read more as I’ve heard different interpretations of what Pulgasari symbolizes (ex. the Soviet Union).
No comments yet. Log in and be the first!