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Pulgasari

  • 1985
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
Pulgasari (1985)
KaijuActionDramaFantasySci-Fi

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 armi... Read allIn 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.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.

  • Director
    • Shin Sang-ok
  • Writer
    • Se Ryun Kim
  • Stars
    • Son Hui Chang
    • Ham Gi Sop
    • Jong-uk Ri
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.2/10
    1.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Shin Sang-ok
    • Writer
      • Se Ryun Kim
    • Stars
      • Son Hui Chang
      • Ham Gi Sop
      • Jong-uk Ri
    • 20User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos71

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    Top cast14

    Edit
    Son Hui Chang
    • Ami
    Ham Gi Sop
    • Inde
    Jong-uk Ri
    • Ana
    Gwon Ri
    • Takse (Ami's Father)
    Gyong-ae Yu
    • Inde's Mother
    Hye-chol Ro
    • Inde's Brother
    Sang-hun Tae
    • Rebel Forces
    Gi-chon Kim
    • Rebel Forces
    In-chol Ri
    • Rebel Forces
    Riyonun Ri
    • General Fuan
    Yong-hok Pak
    • The King
    Pong-ilk Pak
    • The Governor
    Kenpachirô Satsuma
    Kenpachirô Satsuma
    • Pulgasary (suit actor)
    'Little Man' Machan
    • Baby Pulgasari
    • Director
      • Shin Sang-ok
    • Writer
      • Se Ryun Kim
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews20

    5.21.4K
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    Featured reviews

    6Bernie4444

    Bambi Meets Godzilla redux

    In the days of feudal Asia, the crops are not so good, and farmers are facing a takeover by Jong-Un Kim ... oops the self-proclaimed king (Yong-hok Pak.)

    The farm Jugend becomes rebels and with the help of the local blacksmith physically challenges the king.

    The king offers the blacksmith employment by supplying his army with weapons. Naturally, the blacksmith refuses. While he is imprisoned his last dying, wish is to make a revengeful "iron eating" Pulgasari.

    Eventually, the king may meet the same fate as Bambi Meets Godzilla .

    The big question is will any of the good guys survive?

    Or will the world go to the peasants?

    The film was loosely based on the legend of the Bulgasari.

    The value in the movie is not the movie it is self but the historical value.

    On the orders of Kim Jong-il, the South Korean film director Shin Sang-ok (1926-2006) and his wife, famous actor Choi Eun-hee, was kidnapped to North Korea.

    After three years in prison, Shin was united with Choi, and the two were instructed by Kim Jong-Il to make films for him to gain global recognition in the film industry. After making various films for Kim Jong-Il, including Pulgasari in 1985, in 1986 Choi and Shin escaped from North Korean caretakers to a US embassy while in Vienna.

    The Lovers and The Despot.
    5ericstevenson

    Behold, the evils of dictatorship!

    A lot of people here might not be familiar with one of my favorite pages on the entire Internet, Wikipedia's list of unusual articles. It's just a collection of weird stuff that this very movie happened to be featured on. I actually first heard about this film when watching a segment with Lewis Black on "The Daily Show". It's very hard to talk about this film at all without explaining its backstory. It was actually made when Kim Jong-Il kidnapped a movie director. Yep, this guy was actually a fan of movies and probably would have himself made a good Bond villain in real life. For a propaganda film, this didn't really have that much that was offensive in it.

    It's still a pretty dumb movie as it features a toy monster that comes alive when blood gets on it. The monster grows when eating iron. It's very silly, but it's really no dumber than most of the films in the Gamera series. North Korea is known for knockoff products, but this really wasn't one. It seems like every country has done a kaiju movie. Pulgasari is actually a mythical figure so it's no Godzilla ripoff. The colors in this film are just plain gaudy. Some of the action scenes really aren't that bad. It is very hard to enjoy something that was forced. Imagine if people could kidnap those who worked on their favorite franchises like "Pokémon" or "Doctor Who". George Lucas would be cliché. It's still a shame the Kim family has yet to be put to justice. Oh, and this is all the fault of religion, according to Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher. Yeah, it's hard not to get political when talking about this. **
    6Leofwine_draca

    The world's only North Korean kaiju flick?

    PULGASARI is a hoot for lovers of demented, low budget cinema. It's the one and only North Korean kaiju movie out there, a film that's been inspired by the likes of GODZILLA and YONGGARY, although I think plot-wise it has most in common with the Japanese DAIMAJIN trilogy.

    The story is a straightforward one in which the poor are presented as a righteous, oppressed people and an evil general and his army are the out-and-out villains. A humble blacksmith is captured and starved to death by the villains, but not before he's created Pulgasari, a tiny humanoid creature who eventually grows into a lovably, Baby Godzilla type beastie.

    After a time, Pulgasari becomes the city-stomping giant monster that kaiju cinema loves, although given the budget there's little destruction on offer here and the effects are lacking to say the least. But the story with its uniquely North Korean slant is a solid one and the novelty value alone is enough to keep you watching. It's good fun!
    6franciscowendell

    Funny monster movie with great battle scenes.

    I like to watch Kaiju films and this Korean monster movie it's a funny monster movie with great battle scenes. In the beginning I supposed that will be other bad movie, but after some scenes you'll be invited to appreciate the story about poor villain people that fight against a bad king and his cruelty governor. Besides the poor special effects, most of them inside the atmosphere behind the Pulgarasi monster, other great battle scenes with hundred extras acting and fighting, You'll like all the crew efforth to create power and big scenes. This movie was produced by Jong-il Kim and directed by Sang-OK Shin. This is the first movie that I watch directed by Sang-OK Shin, but I felt interested in watch other movies directed by him.
    Dethcharm

    "What A Horrible World!"...

    PULGASARI is a North Korean film, directed by an abducted South Korean. It's plot concerns villagers forced by their Overlord to turn all of their iron tools into weapons for the war effort. Instead, the villagers hide their tools, causing their oppressors to round them up.

    Through supernatural means, the titular creature is conjured. To be honest, the story of the monster is interesting, as is its way of enlarging itself. The motive for the monster's arrival is completely different than in the original, lost film, BULGASARI. Here, instead of simple revenge, the monster arises in order to conquer the devilish king and his minions, for their oppression of the masses.

    Fans of giant rubber monster movies should enjoy this one. There are also some big, human battle sequences. As with all such films, it takes quite a while before the monster really gets going.

    This movie is also worth seeing for its historic and political value...

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    Related interests

    Haruo Nakajima in Godzilla (1954)
    Kaiju
    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    Fantasy
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Although the film is a North Korean production, director Shin Sang-ok is South Korean. North Korean dictator Jong-Il Kim was a huge fan of Shin's. At the time this film was made, North and South Korea were at war (which eventually ended in 2018 thanks to the Panmunjom Declaration). Thus, Kim had him kidnapped. Shin eventually escaped back to South Korea, but not before he had been forced to make this movie for the erratic North Korean leader.
    • Connections
      Featured in Great Man and Cinema (2009)

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    FAQ13

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1985 (North Korea)
    • Countries of origin
      • North Korea
      • Japan
      • China
    • Official sites
      • Japanese distributor for Pulgasari (Japanese text only)
      • Official South Korean Homepage
    • Language
      • Korean
    • Also known as
      • Pulgasar!
    • Production companies
      • Korean Film Studio
      • Shin Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 35m(95 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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