Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death
1 Blu-ray disc
Label: Mondo Macabro
Prebook: 9/10/19 Street: 10/8/19
MSRP: $29.95
UPC: 843276019792
Catalog #: MDO197
Genre: Horror
Color, 117 minutes, in English and Korean with English subtitles
Region A.
Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1
PCM Mono
Production year: 1978 in Korea
Director: Kim Ki-young
Cast: Kim Ja-ok, Nam Kung Won, Kim Man, Am Park, Hyang Lee, Po Yeo, Lee Hwa-si
As a kind of crazy cinematic ghost train ride, WOMAN CHASING THE BUTTERFLY OF DEATH takes us on a journey deep into the darkness of one man’s fears and fantasies. That man is Young-gul, a lonely and rather morbid student in the late 1970’s South Korea. Narrowly surviving a murder-suicide attempt by a woman wearing a butterfly pendant, he next finds himself besieged by a seemingly insane bookseller who claims he can never die. Even after Young-gul burns the man’s body his skeleton comes back to taunt him. As if that weren’t enough, the poor student then finds himself the victim of a beautiful thousand-year-old woman (she looks about 25) who says she is hungry and wants to eat his liver!
The director, Kim Ki-young, was one of Korea’s most successful filmmakers. His 1960 production THE HOUSEMAID is now a recognized classic of world cinema. With this film, he goes far beyond the bounds of the real and takes us into a world where anything seems possible, a world where a kind of dream logic rules. Almost impossible to summarize, the film is nevertheless insanely enjoyable. A real one-of-a-kind production that opens our eyes to the limitless possibilities of cinema.
SPECIAL FEATURES: •4k transfer from the film negative.
•Digitally restored.
•Interview with actress Lee Hwa-si.
•Interview with producer Jeong Jin-woo.
•Interview with cinematographer Koo Jong-mo.
•Interview with Darcy Paquet.
•Audio commentary by Kenneth Brorsson and Paul Quinn of the “What’s Korean Cinema?” Podcast.
•Mondo Macabro previews.
