Pulgasari
| Pulgasari | |
|---|---|
 Japanese poster |
|
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 불가사리 |
| Hancha | 不可殺而 |
| MR | Pulgasari |
| RR | Bulgasari |
| Directed by | Shin Sang-ok Chong Gon Jo |
| Produced by | Kim Jong-il Shin Sang-ok |
| Written by | Kim Se Ryun |
| Starring | Chang Son Hui Ham Gi Sop Jong-uk Ri Gwon Ri Gyong-ae Yu |
| Music by | So Jong Gon |
| Cinematography | Cho Myong Hyon Pak Sung Ho Kenichi Egami |
| Editing by | Kim Ryon Sun |
| Distributed by | Korean Film Studio (朝鮮芸術映画撮影所) |
| Release date(s) |  North Korea:1985  Japan:1998, July 4 |
| Running time | 95 min |
| Country | Template:Film North Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Pulgasari is a North Korean feature film produced in 1985, a giant-monster film similar to the Japanese Godzilla series. It was produced by South Korean director Shin Sang-ok, who had been kidnapped in 1978 by North Korean intelligence on the orders of Kim Jong-il, son of the then-ruling Kim Il-sung.
Teruyoshi Nakano and the staff from Japan's Toho studios, the creators of Godzilla, participated in creating the film's special effects. Kenpachiro Satsuma – the stunt performer who played Godzilla from 1984 to 1995 – portrayed Pulgasari, and when the Godzilla remake was released in Japan in 1998, he was quoted as saying he preferred Pulgasari to the American Godzilla.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The film is about a doll made of rice by a prisoner, which on coming into contact with blood, grows to become a giant metal-eating monster. Jonathan Ross stated that the film is intended to be a propaganda metaphor for the effects of unchecked capitalism and the power of the collective.[2][not in citation given]
The film is based around a legendary creature called the Pulgasari. The original story was set in the city of Songdo (now Kaesong, North Korea).[3]
[edit] See also
- Culture of North Korea
- List of North Korean films
- List of films set in or about North Korea
- Propaganda in North Korea
[edit] References
- ^ First NK Monster Faces Hollywood-Born Godzilla in Japan. The People's Korea.
- ^ Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion: Korea. BBC.
- ^ Choe, Sang-Hun; Torchia, Christopher (2002). "Eat, Eat: Rice Is Everything". How Koreans Talk. pp. 024–025. ISBN 8987976955. "He ate like a Bulgasari eating metal."
[edit] External links
- First NK Monster Faces Hollywood-Born Godzilla in Japan (with synopsis and images) at The People's Korea
- N Korean movies' propaganda role. BBC.
- Pulgasari at the Internet Movie Database
- Goo Movies (Japanese)
