Korean Film Archive Releases IM Kwon-taek DVD Boxset
The Korean Film Archive has released a DVD Box Set containing four of director
IM Kwon-taek’s masterpieces. The films included in the collection were made from the mid-1970’s to the early 1980’s, namely
Wang Sib Ri, My Hometown (1976),
Geneology (1978),
The Pursuit of Death (1980) and
Mandara (1981). The films belong to the period when IM began to express his ideas on the big screen.
Wang Sib Ri, My Hometown, with its melodramatic and action genre elements has commercial qualities but it also has the spirit of an auteur film as it focuses on the topic of one’s hometown. Geneology was the film in which you can find traces of director IM striving hard to make his own mark in cinema. The Pursuit of Death was made officially as an anti-communist film but it bears IM's personal history and Mandara, which was invited to the competition section of the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, was IM's first work to gain international recognition.
In the 'IM Kwon-taek Collection', director IM himself as well as more junior film professionals took part in an audio commentary. Also included in the DVD box set is the trailer for Wang Sib Ri, My Hometown as well as an image gallery comparing footage from before and after it was restored. The box set became available at internet bookstores and the Korean Film Archive today (December 18th).