| Yongary | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster |
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| Hangul | 대괴수 용가리 |
| Hanja | 大怪獸龍가리 |
| RR | Taekoesu Yonggary |
| MR | Taegoesu yonggari |
| Directed by | Kim Ki-duk |
| Written by | Kim Ki-duk Seo Yun-sung |
| Starring | Oh Yeong-il Nam Jeong-im |
| Music by | Jeon Jeong-geun |
| Cinematography | Byeon In-jib |
| Distributed by | Kuk Dong |
| Release date(s) | 13 August 1967 |
| Running time | 100 min (South Korea) 79 min (USA) 74 min (Japan) 64 min. (Germany) |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Yonggary or Yongary (대괴수 용가리 - Taekoesu Yongary lit. Great Monster Yongary), also known as Yongary, Monster from the Deep, is a 1967 South Korean Kaiju film directed by prominent genre-film director Kim Ki-duk (no relation to the art film director Kim Ki-duk). In 1999, a remake was made, released in Korea simply as Yonggary and released in the United States as Reptilian.
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In the Middle East, a bomb is set off that creates massive earthquakes. Meanwhile in South Korea, a young couple is about to get married and the tension builds when South Korea sends a manned space capsule to investigate the bomb site. The earthquake makes its way to South Korea, caused by a giant monster named Yongary (inspired by a mythical creature in Korean lore). Yongary attacks Seoul and makes his way to the oil refineries where he consumes the oil. A child related to the aforementioned couple turns off the refineries' oil basins; Yonggary, enraged, starts attacking until a chemical explosion at the refinery proves to have an effect on it. The Korean Government then uses oil to draw Yonggary to a local river, and kills it with a refined version of the ammonia compound.
In the United States, the original film is now widely available on DVD in various budget-DVD packs and single budget DVDs. MGM released the original Yongary, Monster from the Deep as part of their Midnite Movies series on September 11, 2007. It is paired as a double feature with the giant ape film Konga (1961).[1] James Owsley, a former Director of Technical Services for MGM, could not find the original Korean negative, and believes that it may no longer exist.[2]
The film was remade in 1999 by Shim Hyung-rae. To date, the Yonggary remake is the most expensive Korean film ever produced. The film was a moderate success and due to its success, a 2001 Upgrade Edition was produced a few months after it's initial release. This version was slightly different than the original 1999 cut. The 2001 Upgrade featured new additional scenes, a new soundtrack by Chris Desmond, and new effects. 60% of the original 1999 cut made it to the 2001 upgrade version. It first premiered at a Japanese film festival in 2000 then had it's worldwide release in January 2001, which flopped due to poor promotion. The original 1999 cut was never released on VHS or DVD and the only version of the film available is the 2001 upgrade edition, which is now known as Reptilian. It's been debated that prints of the original 1999 cut have been destroyed by the studio when at the time they believed that the 2001 upgrade edition would be a box office success.
An edited version of the film is featured in an episode of This Movie Sucks! where it is made fun of by Ed the Sock and Liana K, with regular contributor Ron Sparks only in the show occasionally as a voice with Ed telling him "you're not in this episode". Instead of being taped on the usual set the episode features Liana on the set of a giantess video that she is shooting, where (like Yongary) she is destroying a city. It also features a lengthy comparison by Ed of Yongary's rolling around to his dog when he has to go to the bathroom.
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