LYON, France (August 9, 2023)—Today developer Chanko Studios and publisher AMC Games announced that It’s a Wrap! will be arriving later this summer on PC, followed soon after by a touch screen-enhanced version on the Nintendo Switch eShop. The 80s-cinema-inspired puzzle platformer has been selected for Gamescom’s Indie Arena Booth, where the team will exhibit their latest demo from August 23-27.Watch the It’s a Wrap! Nintendo Switch Trailer, showcasing never-before-seen gameplay and Hollywood-esque movie sets filled with a variety of brain-teasing puzzles and platforming problems to solve:
It’s a Wrap! is part puzzle, part 2D platforming, but one-hundred-and-ten percent 80s nostalgia inducing. Players take up the roles of director and actor, designing the scenes with a unique “timeline editing” mechanic, then jumping into the action as a movie star… to somewhat disastrous consequences. Talk about a double threat! No need to queue up the play-off music—Chanko Studios has perfected the art of acceptance speeches while winning awards from festivals around the globe. The game won the Critic’s Choice Award at Indie Game Fest 2023, Excellence in Design from BitSummit 2022, Most Innovative Newcomer at the Creative Gaming Awards 2022, and the award for Most Fun at Indie X 2022.More details on the game’s release will be revealed during the Future Games Show at Gamescom on August 23, 2023; set a reminder here. For puzzle connoisseurs itching to test their wits with its one-of-a-kind game mechanic, It’s a Wrap! has a playable Steam demo available now. For more information about the game, join the conversation on Discord or Twitter.
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Topple buildings, bash enemies, and cause chaos with split-screen co-op and deathmatch modes
STOCKHOLM – August 7, 2023 –Hammer of Virtue, the action game set in a fully destructible futuristic landscape from developer No Pest Productions, comes out swinging on PC via Steam today. A PlayStation 5 version will emerge from the rubble to bring down the house in 2024.
n the game’s narrative, humanity faces a grave threat from the rogue organization Scientific Freedom, which wields an extensive arsenal of force fields and cybernetic creatures. The protagonist, armed with an impressive hammer and virtually impenetrable suit of armor, emerges as Earth’s best hope for freedom.
Hammer of Virtue immerses players in a vibrant melee-action experience across 20 distinctive stages. It encourages creative gameplay through a physics-based environment, presenting opportunities to leverage elements such as launching trees at enemies, causing homes to crash onto adversaries, or catapulting defeated foes into distant threats.
Clobber club-wielding robots, armored bears, and hulking T-Rexs capable of toppling buildings in a single charge. Lock onto enemies and enter the fray by mastering timed directional attacks, blocking incoming attacks, and performing last-second parries leaving opponents open for crushing strikes that send them flying.
Call in reinforcements with a split-screen co-op featuring 10 additional maps. Bash baddies in chaotic harmony or turn teammates into improvised weapons of mass destruction by launching them into enemies. For those seeking competitive gameplay, head into split-screen deathmatches where each player commands a small army and battles against one another to settle the score.
“Hammer of Virtue combines the kind of action and emergent gameplay opportunities I’ve always appreciated in gaming,” said Jens Kolhammar, programmer and owner of No Pest Productions. “As a solo developer, creating a challenging and rewarding combat system with over-the-top physics interactions has been one of the hardest and best experiences in my career and I’m thrilled to share Hammer of Virtue with players on Steam today!”
Hammer of Virtue is now available on Steam for Windows PC for $19.99 with a launch discount. It features English, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese language support. A PlayStation 5 version will be available in 2024.
Easily on my Best of 2023 list. Granted my bias is to the type of games I personally enjoy, but except for parts where I said “That wasn’t fun”, a huge favorite. I tend to say “I didn’t like that part” with most of my favorite games. Games are designed for many people, inherently part or at least one level will feel so frustrating that there wasn’t fun… it was just get through it to get to what you liked. Dave the Diver tries to be a little bit of everything and by that I mean EVERYTHING. Almost the only thing “missing” is a point and click or word tree puzzle. Also, you can pet the cat. There is no dog, but if there was, you could pet it. For me the chance to appreciate seafood again since my allergies went so strong I can’t even eat a can of tuna, it was an absolute joy.
I wrote this just cause I wanted to say something about the game. I paid for my copy. I attempted a press copy and was denied as the too many outfits put in requests. The game sold many copies. It was super popular. Yet, I also worry it’ll be forgotten and it shouldn’t be, it has lots of life, lots of leg and even once “beaten” infinite playability from the visuals, concepts and I would think even after 100% the desire to maybe do even better then the last time you played.The story itself is strong enough for replays too even with certain frustrating parts… which actually are still forgiving as hell. The only issue is still a lack of accessbility options for some of the “fishing” but if you fixed those you’d need to fix the harder section which just rely on being good at gaming with no physicaly disabilities being a barrier and then it just becomes a different game alltogether. That’s a shame, but a fact.
I could see myself 5 years from now picking up this game and still finding it a pleasure because of its use of simple pixel graphics while being intensely visually stunning. Something about that simple graphic and animation I feel will be forever loved and a style used even 25 years from now.
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The Story of Hong Gil-dong ; Let’s Meet at Walkerhill; The Great Monster Yonggary; Special Agent X-7; and The Housemaid (Janus Films) New York, NY (August 2, 2023) – Film at Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema announce “Korean Cinema’s Golden Decade: The 1960s,” a sweeping retrospective that features 24 films from this remarkable period in Korean film history. The series will run from September 1–17 and is one of the largest retrospectives ever of 1960s Korean Cinema outside of Korea, including many rarely screened films, several presented on 35mm archival prints.
Long before Bong Joon Ho, Hong Sangsoo, and Park Chan-wook catapulted South Korean cinema onto the world stage, the foundation of their country’s film industry formed in the aftermath of the Korean War. The period kickstarted a wealth of eclectic and innovative filmmaking that culminated in the 1960s. Closer inspection of this decade, now widely considered Korea’s premier film renaissance, reveals the arrival of seminal works from auteurs such as Kim Ki-young, Shin Sang-ok, Yu Hyun-mok, Kim Soo-yong, and Lee Man-hee, alongside a meteoric rise and reinvention of genres—from melodramas and period epics to action, horror, war, and giant monster movies. Although the military dictatorship still imposed tight constraints throughout this era, what these filmmakers managed to accomplish under such conditions, in arthouse fare and unabashed popular entertainment alike, continues to reverberate and inspire to this day. This September, Film at Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema are thrilled to showcase this rich period and its remarkably varied films, encapsulating a generation’s collective endeavor to define a national cinema.
Highlights include Kim Ki-young’s The Housemaid, one of the unquestionable masterpieces of Korean cinema which tells the story of a bizarre ménage à trois formed between a music teacher, his wife, and their increasingly assertive housemaid; Kang Dae-jin’s The Coachman, the first Korean film to win a major overseas award, the Silver Bear (Special Jury Prize) at the 1961 Berlin Film Festival; Hong Eun-won’s A Woman Judge, the second Korean feature to be directed by a woman and considered lost for more than 50 years until a 16mm print was recovered in 2015; Special Agent X-7, a highly entertaining and beautifully shot color spy film from Chung Chang-wha (The King Boxer), which was also long considered lost until the 35mm print was discovered in 2013; Kim Kee-duk’s The Great Monster Yonggary aka Yongary, Monster from the Deep, Korea’s first monster movie and an entertaining take on Godzilla and Gamera “that’s long on rampages and short on sensible behavior”; Shin Dong-hun’s The Story of Hong Gil-dong, South Korea’s very first animated feature film which follows the iconic Robin Hood-like figure Hong Gil-dong and was considered lost until 2008; and A Day Off, Lee Man-hee’s spare, lyrical film concerning the strained relationship of a poor young couple, belatedly recognized as one of the decade’s masterpieces after censors refused to allow its release.
The series will also include conversations following select screenings. After the September 2 screening of Yu Hyun-mok’s seminal Aimless Bullet, audiences will be treated to a discussion about the growth of the Korean film industry and major trends and filmmakers in Korean cinema in the 1960s—a not to be missed primer for the series as a whole; and on September 3, a conversation will follow the international premiere of the newly restored The Marines Who Never Returned, and how Lee Man-hee’s breakthrough feature became the first Korean movie to gain national theatrical distribution in the U.S.
Organized by Young Jin Eric Choi, Goran Topalovic, and Tyler Wilson. Co-presented by Subway Cinema in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Center New York and the Korean Film Archive.
Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, August 3 at 2pm, with an early access period for FLC Members starting at noon. Tickets are $17; $14 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $12 for FLC Members. See more and save with a 3+ Film Package ($15 for GP; $12 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $10 for FLC Members) or All-Access Pass: $125 for General Public and $99 for Students. Add dinner at Café Paradiso, located in FLC’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, with our $30 Dinner + Movie Combo.
Enjoy two films for the price of one at select double features! Valid on September 2 & 17 with The Story of Hong Gil-dong + Hopi and Chadol-bawi , September 9 & 16 with The Great Monster Yonggary + Space Monster Wangmagwi, and September 14 with A Swordsman in the Twilight + Special Agent X-7. Discount automatically applied when adding both tickets to your cart; double features excluded from 3+ Film Package.
“Korean Cinema’s Golden Decade: The 1960s” is sponsored by MUBI GO. With MUBI GO, you can get a free ticket every week to see the best new film in a theater near you, plus a wide selection of films to stream any time, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. All carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.
Opening September 1, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will present Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970 s, the first North American museum exhibition dedicated to Korean Experimental art (silheom misul) and its artists, whose radical approach to materials and process produced some of the most significant avant-garde practices of the 20th century.
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
Films will screen at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St).
The Housemaid / Hanyo Kim Ki-young, 1960, South Korea, 108m Korean with English subtitles One of the unquestionable masterpieces of Korean cinema, The Housemaid tells the story of Dong-sik, a married music teacher living in a working-class area. One of his students arranges for another young woman to work as the housemaid for Dong-sik and his family; meanwhile, the student expresses her own physical desires for Dong-sik, who rebuffs her. But the whole episode is witnessed by the housemaid, who launches her own, ultimately more successful effort to seduce Dong-sik. The housemaid becomes pregnant, and thus a bizarre ménage à trois is formed between Dong-sik, his wife, and their increasingly assertive housemaid. The Housemaid is an emotional roller coaster; characters’ stated desires so often contradict their actions that roles and positions are constantly in flux. Restored in 2008 by the Korean Film Archive (KOFA) and the World Cinema Foundation at HFR-Digital Film laboratory. Additional funding provided by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways, and Qatar Museum Authority. Saturday, September 2 at 9:00pm Saturday, September 9 at 6:00pm Thursday, September 14 at 4:00pm
Aimless Bullet / Obaltan Yu Hyun-mok, 1961, South Korea, 107m Korean with English subtitles Banned in 1961 for its scathing critique of postwar reconstruction but now widely hailed as one of the greatest Korean films ever made, Yu Hyun-mok’s breakout feature was this unrelentingly bleak, noir-tinged melodrama set in the aftermath of the Korean War. The film follows the tragic bond between two brothers living with their surviving family in a Seoul slum called Liberation Village. While Cheol-ho, an accountant suffering from a toothache he can’t afford to treat, struggles to scrape together a meager existence, the senseless consequences of the war gradually tear at the seams of his family and push his younger brother, Young-Ho, to a desperate measure. An on-location tour through the traumatized atmosphere of Korea’s capital, Aimless Bullet artfully blends expressionist and neorealist styles within a grimly introspective portrait of a nation left shattered by hatred and fear—touching on everything from military prostitution and economic inequality to the exploitations of the film industry itself. Restored in 2015 by the Korean Film Archive. Saturday, September 2 at 6:00pm (post-screening discussion on the growth of the Korean film industry and major trends and filmmakers in 1960s Korean cinema) Wednesday, September 6 at 6:15pm Tuesday, September 12 at 4:00pm
The Coachman / Mabu Kang Dae-jin, 1961, South Korea, 98m Korean with English subtitles An aging widower with two sons and two daughters makes a living operating a horse-drawn cart but, in a city that is modernizing after the destruction of the Korean War, automobiles are quickly rendering such carts obsolete. The Coachman is a drama told with warmth and sympathy about a family trying to lift its way out of poverty and into the middle class. The father, played by the iconic Kim Seung-ho, represents many older residents of the time who were not able to cope with the rapid social changes of the era. The Coachman was the first Korean film to win a major overseas award, receiving the Silver Bear (Special Jury Prize) at the 1961 Berlin Film Festival. Although now somewhat overshadowed by its contemporaries The Housemaid and Aimless Bullet, The Coachman remains a crowd-pleaser and a revealing portrait of a society in transition. Restored in 2021 by the Korean Film Archive. Tuesday, September 5 at 8:30pm Saturday, September 16 at 2:15pm
A Woman Judge / Yeopansa Hong Eun-won, 1962, South Korea, 86m Korean with English subtitles The second Korean feature to be directed by a woman, A Woman Judge is a revelatory directorial debut from Hong Eun-won that is loosely inspired by a true story. The film revolves around Jin-sook, a newly appointed judge who is facing mounting pressure from her jealous husband and his family to conform to the traditional expectations of a housewife. As compelling as this family melodrama is in itself, the film is particularly remarkable for its sudden tonal shift in the third act, transforming seamlessly into a detective procedural before culminating in a riveting courtroom climax. It was considered lost for more than 50 years (the fate of Hong’s two subsequent directorial efforts), but then a 16mm print was recovered by the Korean Film Archive in 2015. Though the film is plagued with severe deterioration and missing footage, the story of a fearless woman who fought against societal norms, told by a director who herself broke the boundaries of her time, bursts through the noise and resonates to this day. Digitally mastered in 2015 by the Korean Film Archive. Tuesday, September 5 at 6:30pm Monday, September 11 at 8:45pm
Goryeojang Kim Ki-young, 1963, South Korea, 89m (Film Festival Version) Korean with English subtitles Set in a famine-inflicted village that practices the custom of abandoning the elderly in the mountains once they reach the age of 70, the story follows the trials of Guryong (Kim Jin-kyu) as he goes through life with a disability due to an incident that happened in childhood, while trying to maintain his humanity in an environment filled with fear, greed, and superstition. Likely influenced by Keisuke Kinoshita’s The Ballad of Narayama (1958), Goryeojang is another masterpiece from Kim Ki-young (The Housemaid ) that works as both a dark fairy tale and a reflection on South Korea’s April 1960 Revolution (protests that led to the resignation of president Syngman Rhee). With flawless mise-en-scène, elaborate sets, and atmospheric black-and-white cinematography, the film effectively brings to light the inherent corruption of human society, and the disastrous consequences of fear-based politics. Restored in 2019 by the Korean Film Archive. The original screenplay has been utilized to provide on-screen description of the missing scenes (the third and the sixth reels), for which only audio remains. Sunday, September 3 at 6:00pm Wednesday, September 6 at 4:15pm Saturday, September 9 at 8:30pm
The Marines Who Never Returned / Dora-oji Anneun Haebyeong Lee Man-hee, 1963, South Korea, 110m Korean with English subtitles International Premiere of the 4K restoration Lee Man-hee’s breakthrough feature, The Marines Who Never Returned, is simultaneously among his most acclaimed films and one of the greatest Korean War films ever made. Produced within 10 years of the armistice, the film centers on a squad of marines who happen across a newly orphaned girl in the battlefield, Young-hui. Taking her under their wings, the marines form a heartwarming bond with Young-hui that lifts their spirits as they take on increasingly dangerous odds. The Marines Who Never Returned was a gargantuan production with the full support of the Korean military and the use of live ammunition and explosives that lend the combat sequences a rarely achieved level of authenticity. But what elevates the film as a classic is its warmth and humor, brought to life by the heartfelt camaraderie amongst the soldiers and their newly adopted daughter. The first Korean film to achieve a nationwide commercial release in the United States, the film is presented here in a beautiful 4K restoration version for the first time outside of Korea. Restored in 2022 by the Korean Film Archive. Sunday, September 3 at 3:00pm (post-screening discussion on Lee Man-hee’s breakthrough feature and how it became the first Korean movie to gain national theatrical distribution in the U.S.) Thursday, September 7 at 4:00pm Friday, September 15 at 4:00pm
The Devil’s Stairway / Ma-ui Gyue-dan Lee Man-hee, 1964, South Korea, 110m Korean with English subtitles With the Diabolique-tinged The Devil’s Stairway, featuring a striking setting and superbly executed black-and-white photography, Lee Man-hee (A Day Off) added to the list of Korea’s most accomplished psychological thrillers. The film takes place in a gothic-looking two-story hospital and focuses on an ambitious doctor who stands on the verge of becoming chief surgeon by marrying the hospital owner’s daughter. However, a clandestine affair the doctor is having with one of the nurses puts his plans in jeopardy. When the doctor’s lover becomes jealous and events start spinning out of control, he takes drastic measures to cover up the affair. Actor Kim Jin-gyu as the doctor and Moon Jeong-sook (one of Lee Man-hee’s favorite actresses) as the nurse both excel in their roles, completely convincing in their depictions of betrayal, revenge, and guilt-induced paranoia. Restored in 2015 by the Korean Film Archive. Friday, September 8 at 6:30pm Friday, September 15 at 8:45pm
The Red Muffler / Ppalgan Mahura Shin Sang-ok, 1964, South Korea, 105m Korean with English subtitles Shin Sang-ok, a pivotal figure in the South Korean film industry—as a prolific director, producer, and a studio mogul running Shin Films—had a soaring box-office hit on his hands with The Red Muffler. Taking place near the end of the Korean War, the story is centered around a tough but kindhearted air force major, his mentorship of a rookie pilot, and his relationship with a hostess working at a local bar (star Choi Eun-hee and director Shin’s wife) with whom he has a history. Featuring exciting battles in the air (the first-ever application of aerial cinematography in Korean cinema), heartbreaking romance on the ground, and even a musical number, this precursor to Top Gun is a blockbusting, rousing, and romanticized tribute to South Korea’s jet-fighter pilots, and a perfectly packaged piece of popular entertainment of its time. Restored in 2012 by the Korean Film Archive. Tuesday, September 5 at 4:00pm Sunday, September 10 at 8:00pm Wednesday, September 13 at 4:15pm
The Barefooted Young / Maenbal-ui Cheongchun Kim Kee-duk, 1964, South Korea, 116m Korean with English subtitles A new genre emerged in South Korea in the 1960s. This was the first decade in which youth culture- strongly influenced by the West- clearly distinguished itself from the values and lifestyle of older generations. Of the ”youth films” that emerged depicting and celebrating this culture, Kim Kee-duk’s The Barefooted Young is by far the best known. Mixing humor and social critique in its story of a poor young troublemaker who falls in love with a wealthy ambassador’s daughter, the film highlights not only Korea’s stark class divisions, but also its widening generation gap, with increasingly wild youth and ever more alarmed parents. Nearly banned by censors, the film enjoyed huge commercial success, turning lead actors Shin Sung-il and Eom Aeng-ran into the decade’s most famous on- and off-screen couple. Digital mastered in 2011 under the supervision of the Korean Film Archive. Friday, September 1 at 6:15pm Tuesday, September 12 at 8:30pm
The Empty Dream / Chunmong Yu Hyun-mok, 1965, South Korea, 71m Korean with English subtitles A young man and woman under anesthesia for oral surgery meet in a shared dream and fall into an increasingly bizarre love triangle with their dentist. So begins Yu Hyun-mok’s lusty and sinister headtrip of a film, which takes Tetsuji Takechi’s pink film Daydream as its jumping-off point and playfully nods to Yu’s own tooth-ached protagonist in Aimless Bullet while becoming something altogether unclassifiable. A nearly wordless mashup of Freudian ideas played out on strikingly stylized sets, loosely connected by a referential, oddball soundtrack ranging from Johann Strauss’s “On the Blue Danube” to the theme song of René Clément’s pulpy Joy House, The Empty Dream is a wildly imaginative surrealistic gem ripe for rediscovery. Digitally mastered in 2022 by the Korean Film Archive. Wednesday, September 6 at 8:30pm Sunday, September 10 at 6:00pm Wednesday, September 13 at 8:30pm
A Bloodthirsty Killer / Sal-inma Lee Yong-min, 1965, South Korea, 94m Korean with English subtitles Classic Korean horror films tend to spring from certain templates, the most common being a story about a woman who is deceived, betrayed, and killed before coming back as an angry ghost to exact her revenge. A Bloodthirsty Killer sticks to this formula, but in all other respects it is unique among its contemporaries. This is thanks in part to director Lee Yong-min’s distinctive style, exaggerated and slightly absurd, with characters behaving in bizarre and unpredictable ways, and the plot lurching quickly from one supernatural twist to the next. Lee also possesses a talent for producing striking visual imagery, despite the difficult conditions under which the film was shot. Korean audiences in the 1960s were surely more impressionable than the horror fans of today, but there is much in this film that will catch even contemporary viewers unawares. Restored in 2021 by the Korean Film Archive. Friday, September 8 at 9:00pm Sunday, September 17 at 5:30pm
The Seashore Village / Gaenma-eul Kim Soo-yong, 1965, South Korea, 35mm, 94m Korean with English subtitles The prolific Kim Soo-yong (who directed 109 films between 1958 and 2000) brings a meditative and frank sensuality to his screen adaptation of Oh Yeong-su’s novel of the same name, which trains its focus on the women of a remote fishing island commonly left widowed by its dangerous surrounding sea. After one newlywed loses her husband during a fishing expedition, she falls into another relationship with a predatory suitor that leads to their exile to the mountains. A deep and searching exploration of community that sneaks in gestures of sapphic desire, The Seashore Village offers a fascinating, radical examination of postwar Korea’s fractured sense of identity and unfolds in sumptuous, on-location black-and-white cinematography. Restored in 2011 by the Korean Film Archive. Monday, September 4 at 4:15pm Friday, September 8 at 4:15pm Sunday, September 17 at 8:00pm
Let’s Meet at Walkerhill / Wokeohileseo Mannapsida Han Hyeong-mo, 1966, South Korea, 96m Korean with English subtitles Two country bumpkins (Twist Kim and Seo Yeong-chun) meet on a train bound for Seoul. One of them is hoping to locate his long-lost daughter in the big city, and the other is looking for a former sweetheart who may now be an up-and-coming nightclub singer. During their search, fish-out-of-water hijinks ensue that stitch together music and dance performances at various Seoul nightclubs and dance halls featuring top stars of the time, including the Park Chun-seok Orchestra, Hyeon Mi, Lee Geum-hee, and Lee Mi-ja. Han Hyeong-mo, one of Korea’s leading filmmakers of the 1950s and known for “women’s pictures” (e.g., Madame Freedom), delivers this charming musical comedy during the late stage of his career. Ultimately, this film is a loving time capsule that gives a front-row view of the music scene of South Korea of the mid-1960s, long before K-pop would take over the world. Digitally mastered in 2013 by the Korean Film Archive. Sunday, September 3 at 12:45pm Tuesday, September 12 at 6:15pm
Special Agent X-7 / Sunganeun yeongwonhi Chung Chang-wha, 1966, Hong Kong/South Korea, 106m No sound, with English subtitles Legendary action filmmaker Chung Chang-wha (The King Boxer) lights up the screen with his own take on the spy genre. The Korean Intelligence Agency dispatches its top agent, X-7 (Nam Koong-won), to put a stop to a gold-smuggling operation run by North Korean spies in Hong Kong. During his mission, X-7 meets a mysterious woman (Jang Jung-moon) who offers to deliver North Korean secret documents in exchange for 50,000 dollars. Beautifully filmed on locations in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, Special Agent X-7 is full of car chases, spy gadgets, secret lairs, and surprising plot twists—all under the impeccable direction of Chung. After seeing this film, Sir Run Run Shaw (founder of the Shaw Brothers Studio) didn’t think twice about signing an exclusive contract with Chung. Long considered lost, the 35mm print of Special Agent X-7 was discovered in 2013 in Hong Kong, without the sound. Digitally mastered in 2014 by the Korean Film Archive. Sunday, September 3 at 8:00pm Thursday, September 14 at 8:30pm
The Goddess of Mercy aka The Great Tyrant / Daepokgun Lim Won-sik, 1966, Hong Kong/South Korea, 97m Korean with English subtitles A reimagining of the tale of princess Miao Shan, an incarnation of Bodhisattva Guanyin in Chinese Buddhist teachings, this second collaborative project between the Shaw Brothers Studio and Shin Films marked a high point in Hong Kong-Korea coproductions. Featuring grandiose battles, heavenly miracles, and even song-and-dance numbers, the film spares no expense in delivering sheer spectacle. Two separate versions of the film were shot simultaneously, with Hong Kong actress Li Li-hua and Korean actress Choi Eun-hee each appearing in the titular role. Only the Hong Kong version was known to exist until 2017, when the Korean Film Archive discovered the Korean version, titled The Great Tyrant, among the Shaw Brothers collection. This will mark the first time the Choi Eun-hee version has ever been screened outside of Korea. Digitally mastered in 2017 by the Korean Film Archive. Due to the incomplete nature of the sound elements, 10 minutes of audio is missing from the feature. Monday, September 4 at 8:30pm Monday, September 11, at 6:30pm
The Great Monster Yonggary aka Yongary, Monster from the Deep / Daegoesu Yonggari Kim Kee-duk, 1967, South Korea, 35mm, 79m English-dubbed version Born out of a nuclear explosion, Yonggary, another misunderstood monster destroying everything in its path, appears on Inwangsan mountain and drives everyone in Seoul into a panic! The authorities are helpless. Can anyone stop Yonggary?! Inspired by kaiju (giant monster) movies, director Kim Kee-duk (The Barefooted Young) set out to make the first Korean monster movie, and enlisted the aid of technical experts from Japan—making this the first collaboration of its kind between South Korea and Japan. The film was released in the United States in 1969 by American International Pictures under the title Yongary, Monster from the Dee p; later it received the Mystery Science Theater 3K treatment, where it was described as a “monster film that’s long on rampages and short on sensible behavior.” What better way to experience this landmark in Korean kaiju cinema than by seeing Yonggary’s lack of sensible behavior on the big screen—and on the only surviving 35mm print. Friday, September 1 at 4:15pm Saturday, September 9 at 2:15pm Saturday, September 16 at 8:30pm
Space Monster Wangmagwi / Ujugoein Wangmagwi Gwon Hyeok-jin, 1967, South Korea, 82m Korean with English subtitles Dastardly aliens initiate an invasion of Earth by releasing an enormous creature, Wangmagwi, in the middle of Seoul and waiting as the monster demolishes everything in its path. The incident disrupts the wedding plans of an air force pilot (Nam Kung-won) whose fiancée (Kim Hye-kyeong) is waiting at the wedding hall. The bride-to-be ends up being captured and carried away by Wangmagwi, King Kong–style. Space Monster Wangmagwi, which opened before The Great Monster Yonggary and was accused of plagiarism by Yonggary’s production company, is a bit of a silly hodgepodge. It is part allegory on the Korean War, part kids’ movie, and part comedy, with skits performed by popular comedians as they encounter the monster. In addition to its historical importance, and with a poorly designed rubber suit that is anything but convincing, this film can best be enjoyed as a fun and campy low-budget genre romp. Saturday, September 9 at 4:00pm Wednesday, September 13 at 6:30pm Saturday, September 16 at 6:30pm
The Story of Hong Gil-dong / Hong Gil-dongjeon Shin Dong-hun, 1967, South Korea, 70m Korean with English subtitles Hong Gil-dong is an iconic figure in Korean literature and pop culture who first appeared in the mid-19th century as the protagonist of an adventure novel, The Story of Hong Gil-dong. So it’s no surprise that South Korea’s first animated feature film would center on Gil-dong, in this case in an adaptation by director Shin Dong-hun of his younger brother Shin Dong-woo’s popular manhwa (comic) Lucky Adventurer, Hong Gil-dong (serialized from 1965 to 1969 in Children’s Chosun Ilbo). Born the illegitimate son of a government official—which automatically makes him a social outcast—Gil-dong leaves home, spends time training in martial arts under Master Baekwun, and becomes a leader of a group of bandits who steal from corrupt officials in order to punish them and help the poor. The film was considered lost until a 16mm print was discovered in Japan in 2008; it was blown up to 35mm before undergoing digital restoration. Restored in 2021 by the Korean Film Archive. Saturday, September 2 at 2:15pm Sunday, September 17 at 2:15pm
Hopi and Chadol-Bawi / Hopiwa Chadolbawi Shin Dong-hun, 1967, South Korea, 70m Korean with English subtitles After the enormous success of Shin Dong-hun’s The Story of Hong Gil-dong, a sequel was planned, but the director ended up parting ways with the original production company due to creative disagreements. This in part explains why, for his second animated feature, he focused on Hopi and Chadol-Bawi, the two supporting characters from the Hong Gil-dong manhwa. A companion piece to The Story of Hong Gil-dong as much as a delightful standalone adventure, the film tells the story of a tiger-skin-wearing thief, Hopi, who turns over a new leaf after being trained in martial arts by Master Sakpung and ultimately defends the country from an attack by a Jurchen general. Building off the big trial-and-error learning experience of making The Story of Hong Gil-dong, Shin and his animation team let loose with Hopi and Chadol-Bawi, creating a gorgeously colorful mixture of hand-drawn art styles that feels more confident and experimental than its precursor, but no less rich with humor and sword-and-magic thrills. Restored in 2021 by the Korean Film Archive and the Image Power Station. Saturday, September 2 at 4:00pm Sunday, September 17 at 3:45pm
Mist / Angae Kim Soo-yong, 1967, South Korea, 78m Korean with English subtitles An atmospheric work by an immensely talented filmmaker, Mist has taken its place as one of the high points of 1960s South Korean cinema. Based on a famous 1964 modernist novel by Kim Seung-ok titled Journey to Mujin, Kim Soo-yong’s film tells the story of a middle-class office worker in Seoul who takes a trip to his rural hometown. As he revisits the place of his youth, familiar locations and people trigger flashbacks of his troubled past. At the same time, he meets a young schoolteacher who yearns to escape from the confines of her everyday life. Powered by magnetic performances from Shin Sung-il (the most prolific actor in Korean film history) and Yoon Jeong-hee (who years later would play the lead in Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry), Mist offers experimental blurring of past and present that captures the restlessness and disappointment of an entire generation of dreamers. Restored in 2011 by the Korean Film Archive. Friday, September 1 at 8:45pm Sunday, September 10 at 4:00pm
Burning Mountain / Sanbul Kim Soo-yong, 1967, South Korea, 80m Korean with English subtitles Burning Mountain is set in a southwestern rural village during the Korean War in the early 1950s.Partisan soldiers fighting on the side of North Korea are hiding out in the mountains. Meanwhile, the village is filled with widows and single women, having lost the entire male population to war or forced conscription. One day, a deserter from the North Korean People’s Army begins hiding out in a nearby bamboo forest. A widow, Jeom-rye (whose husband fought for the South), brings him food, and they start a sexual affair. However, another widow, Sawol (whose husband fought for the North), soon discovers their secret. Shot in widescreen with sharp black-and-white visuals, this 80-minute film is dramatically tense and visually stunning, despite the limited resources available to director Kim Soo-yong. A completely unique perspective on the Korean War, as well as a timeless fable about human instinct and desire. Restored in 2021 by the Korean Film Archive. Sunday, September 10 at 2:00pm Saturday, September 16 at 4:30pm
A Swordsman in the Twilight / Hwanghonui Geomgaek Chung Chang-wha, 1967, South Korea, 35mm, 80m Korean with English subtitles Before he started working for the Shaw Brothers Studio and kicked off the martial arts movie craze in the West with The King Boxer, Chung Chang-wha built the foundations for action and genre filmmaking in South Korea. Set during the Joseon Dynasty period, A Swordsman in the Twilight introduces us to a lone bamboo-hat-wearing swordsman (Nam Koong-won) who appears in a lawless village. And while what follows may be a standard revenge story, Chung employs long shots to film action sequences that—in contrast to the more acrobatic and energetic style of Hong Kong wuxia—consist primarily of graceful and restrained movements of swordsmen in hanbok facing off against each other. Action is framed against the backdrops of Korean landscapes and palace architecture, the meetings of the swords ever brief, and ultimately deadly. Confidently directed and tightly edited, this film is a rare example of a distinctly Korean-style sword-fighting film that only Chung could have made. Monday, September 4 at 6:30pm Thursday, September 14 at 6:30pm
A Day Off / Hyuil Lee Man-hee, 1968, South Korea, 74m Korean with English subtitles Heo-wook and Ji-youn are a young couple, desperately poor, who can meet only on Sundays. Without any money to go to a cafe, they wander the windswept streets and parks of Seoul. Their future is bleak and their relationship appears strained. And they face a crisis: Ji-youn is pregnant. Unable to support a child, she tells Heo-wook that she wants an abortion. Forgotten in storage for 37 years after censors refused to allow its release, A Day Off was belatedly recognized as one of the decade’s masterpieces. Clearly influenced by European auteurs such as Antonioni and Resnais, Lee Man-hee’s spare, lyrical images express everything that the film’s physically and spiritually exhausted heroes struggle to put into words. Poetic and rich, A Day Off is, for all its bitter pessimism, a kind of love letter to the expressive potential of cinema. Restored in 2017 by the Korean Film Archive. Monday, September 4 at 2:30pm Thursday, September 7 at 6:30pm Monday, September 11 at 4:30pm
Eunuch / Naesi Shin Sang-ok, 1968, South Korea, 35mm, 93m Korean with English subtitles A tale of doomed romance and palace power games, Eunuch follows two forlorn lovers who end up in the service of the king: one after being forced to become a eunuch, and the other after being sent away by her father to the royal harem. Set in the Joseon Dynasty era, with beautiful cinematography and production design, Eunuch stands out among Shin Sang-ok’s costume dramas as an especially lush widescreen technicolor entertainment that takes a step into exploitation cinema with sprinkles of sensuous eroticism and bursts of violence. At the same time, it also serves as a critique of the oppressive social structure of the past, especially when it comes to the role of women. Living within the suffocating confines of the royal palace, the queen and the court ladies have only two choices: to suppress their need for fulfillment, or to be punished for excesses that go against Confucian social norms. Thursday, September 7 at 8:15pm Friday, September 15 at 6:30pm
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Posted inTV and Movies|Comments Off on FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER AND SUBWAY CINEMA ANNOUNCE “KOREAN CINEMA’S GOLDEN DECADE: THE 1960s,” SEPTEMBER 1–17
I could write an entire essay about Pee-Wee Herman. About all three films, the HBO specials, the TV show, the television and other film cameos (you ever see Back to the Beach?) and equally about Paul Reubens himself. I shall keep this short though and use the words from my two tweets on the subject (although with one small additional paragraph):
Feeling slightly numb over the passing of Paul Reubens. Pee-Wee was childhood, letting adults be children, holding on to the nonsense and never let it go. Paul also was just a fine actor and one of the few to ever play the same role in a Batman vehicle twice. A master comedian.
Obviously I adored Pee-Wee. Chairy was life, but it was this moment in Buffy The Vampire Slayer in which Paul Reubens broke out pure improv that was so good that the Kuzuis kept it in. Movie (or legacy) wouldn’t have the same magic without it.
Roles like Buffy are just part of an amazing amout of roles that cement that he be remembered as Paul Reubens in whole. His turns on Murphy Brown, a prolific voice acting career, dramatic turns in the film BLOW and the tv series The Blacklist as well as HBO’s Mosaic. Paul Reubens created an instituitional character that should be forever part of our mental ether while also developing an amazing career. Also, he co-starred in this David LaChappele directed Elton John video as John Reid to Justin Timberlake’s Elton.
I have been a member of SAG since 1989 and thefore SAG-AFTRA since the merger. I wholly support our current strike against the AMTP. As a pop-culture journalist this makes certain things quite difficult though. In solidarity and care of requests of the union I am not sharing trailers of struck productions. I am not speaking of them unless crypitcally. It makes creating content therefore quite difficult. While I can focus on video games, the niche I play is quite niche. I could also post more street art, but the heat wave across America has made the idea of walking the streets unbearable.
Cartoon series are fair game it seems. So I can safely state that the FUTURAMA return was highly entertaining. It’ll be curious to see how they go forward. I have not yet watched the very anticipated Venture Bros. film as I wanted the full blu-ray experience and shipping for that has gotten very weird despite the July 25th release date.
I may have to resort to music, but a lot of that is also distributed by subsidiaries of Struck studios, so I’ll have to do some thinking. Posts will continue, but what they will be outside of comics and video games? I don’t know.
Posted inCulture, TV and Movies|Comments Off on Creating Content during the SAG-AFTRA Strike
Before attending the One Division Pro Summer Showdown as an invited guest I appeared on The Shannon Show to do a off the cuff shoot interview. Not everything said made it to the final Shannon Show, but I definitely expressed where I felt 1DP should go, has been and more. My opinion isn’t anything of the direction they went, other than a few points, but it was cool to express these views with no problems or fear of backlash.
At the show itself, the story results weren’t exactly to my liking but the in-ring action was great and it was wonderful seeing wrestlers I’ve worked with who are also friends outside the ring, some for many years such as CMC. I also got some fantastic photos.
Posted inWrestling|Comments Off on 1DP’s Summer Showdown 2023 (Pre-Show & Post)
The HULU Animation off-site is visually stunning. Seeing The Wall from Solar Opposites as a real thing? Going behind the counter of Bob’s Burgers? Walking through the office factory Futurama’s Planet Express? Wowsa and they free give-away?!?!?
The off-site for Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe is immersive performance and art piece ala the level of Meow Wolf with its details. I’ve only seen one video of it but what I saw… experience bar none.
New comic company DSTLRY’s con debut with special preview books, signings and more.
LEGO’s Brickbuster based on old VHS/DVD rental store Blockbuster is a dazzling activation of fun. Between Lego charactering IPs not seen before in LEGO, displaying classic hard to find LEGO sets and new ones and just the entire concept. Awesomesauce.
Nickelodeon’s activation for AVATAR/KORRA really caught my attention in videos.
Dazed & Confused and That 70’s Show anniversary pop-ups at Petco Park.
and I am sure so much more on the show floor, but so far no videos I have seen have done a really grand tour. There’s lots of toys and figure displays which after all the original non mainstream IP stuff I’ve seen at shows like 5 Points Festival doesn’t hold my interest.
The experiences though, that is what I feel the most FOMO for and the first two I mentioned seem to have been truly great ones. I am sure there were others as well but I have not seen footage of them.
Heads up! TwitchCon tickets for Las Vegas have gone live!
Love AREA15 being the site for the official Twitch After Party. I wonder if Meow Wolf are gonna get in on the Twitch game.
BTW, you can nominate people for a press pass! https://www.twitchcon.com/en/las-vegas-2023/tickets/
Attend the Amazing School Where Rangers Are Trained and Honed in October 2023
Los Angeles, CA (July 18, 2023) — If you had a chance to join the Power Rangers, would you?
This is the question at the very heart of a brand new ongoing series from BOOM! Studios, under license by Hasbro, Inc., writer Maria Ingrande Mora (The Immeasurable Depth of You), artist Jo Mi-Gyeong (Eve: Children of the Moon), and colorist Fabiana Mascolo (Alice Ever After) as they chart a bold new expansion of the Power Rangers Universe!
13-year-old Sage lives on an isolated lunar colony with her adoptive father, but her days on the farm will change forever when she comes across a wreckage with wounded passengers, people from an academy training to be something called… POWER RANGERS. For the first time, discover the amazing school where Rangers are made!
Maria Ingrande Mora (they/she) is a content designer and Florida native. Their queer YA debut, Fragile Remedy, was selected as Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Their contemporary debut, The Immeasurable Depth of You, received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal and Booklist. Find them on Instagram at @mariamorawrites.
“It’s such an honor to introduce Sage and her friends to a new generation of Power Rangers fans,” said writer Maria Ingrande Mora. “Jo is a dream to collaborate with, and her love for these characters is clear in every panel and expression. Welcome to Ranger Academy!”
Jo Mi-Gyeong is a comic artist living in Seoul, South Korea. She’s an artist on the EVE series for BOOM! Studios. She’s also participated in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance comics for BOOM! Studios, Beastlands for Dark Horse Comics, and the storyboards of STAR-CROSSED comics for Riot Games.
“Creating the details of this new world for Ranger Academy was a lot of fun for me. If there was anything more enjoyable than that, it would have been to portray the characters’ rich sensibilities and expressions of emotions,” said artist Jo Mi-Gyeong. “I hope everyone will love them just as I fell in love with them.”
RANGER ACADEMY #1 features a main cover by Miguel Mercado (Magic) with variants by Jo Mi-Gyeong and Ejikure (Mighty Morphin Power Ranger/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II).
“Ranger Academy is what you get when Power Rangers meets My Hero Academia,” said series editor Dafna Pleban. “Teenage angst, romance, super powers, and high action adventure! It is my new favorite Power Rangers series, hands down.”
RANGER ACADEMY is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora; Eve by Victor LaValle and Jo Mi-Gyeong; The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V and Filipe Andrade; Wynd by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas; Grim by Stephanie Phillips and Flaviano; Briar by Christopher Cantwell and Germán García; Stuff of Nightmares by R.L. Stine and A.L. Kaplan; The Approach by Jeremy Haun, Jason A. Hurley, and Jesus Hervas; Damn Them All by Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard; Behold, Behemoth by Tate Brombal and Nick Robles; Specs by David M. Booher and Chris Shehan; Once Upon a Time at the End of the World by Jason Aaron, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Leila del Duca, and Nick Dragotta; Know Your Station by Sarah Gailey and Liana Kangas; A Vicious Circle by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo; Mosely by Rob Guillory and Sam Lotfi; Harrower by Justin Jordan and Brahm Revel; The Neighbors by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Letizia Cadonici; The Seasons Have Teeth by Dan Watters and Sebastián Cabrol. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties, including Dune: House Harkonnen from Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Michael Shelfer; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice; Magic from Jed McKay, Rich Douek, and Ig Guara; and The Expanse: Dragon Tooth by Andy Diggle and Rubine.
RANGER ACADEMY will be available in comic shops October 4, 2023. It is available for pre-order at your local comic shop. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.
For continuing news on POWER RANGERS and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to boom-studios.comand follow @boomstudios on Twitter.
