Blu-ray Collection
The Hut(1980)
The Korean Film Archive has released The Hut (Lee Doo-yong, 1980), a masterpiece in the history of Korean cinema, on Blu-ray. This is the 27th Blu-ray title planned by the archive and produced by Blue Kino. Depicting the story of a family’s clandestine tragedy and revenge set in an era when pre-modern and modern times overlapped, The Hut is one of the representative films in the history of Korean cinema and is also included in the top 100 Korean films selected by the archive in 2013. The film won for Best Actor at the 20th Daejong Film Awards and Best Director at the 17th Baeksang Arts Awards. It was screened at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won a special award, putting the film at the forefront of the advance of Korean films onto the world stage since the 1980s.
The Hut is an exceptional film, which appears to follow a narrative and characters that embody the horror based on shamanism, resentment of women, and revenge. These were features often reproduced in the Korean cinema of the 1960s and ‘70s, but it actually has a more complicated nature, as the narrative structure is better endowed with the components of mystery than in any other films of this genre of the time. The Hut clearly indicates the awareness structure of the time, when the pre-modern and modern periods were shifting. The film demonstrates more achievements than were expected, not only in the reproduction of the social atmosphere of the era, but also through the inner quality and novelty of the genre.
The Special Jury Prize that The Hut won at the Venice International Film Festival was the first award given for a Korean film at an international film festival in 20 years, since director Kang Dae-jin won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize with The Coachman at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1961. It is also remarkable that Lee Doo-yong did not even know the film had been submitted for the festival. The Korean Japanese husband of the film production company’s CEO had submitted the film to the festival and Lee Doo-yong found out after his invitation to the festival had been finalized. Having promoted his true value with this film, Lee Doo-yong was invited to the Un Certain Regard section for Spinning the Tales of Cruelty towards Women (1983) at the Cannes Film Festival, the first entry to the Cannes film festival in the history of Korean cinema. Lee Doo-yong’s lead in the advance of Korean films onto the world stage resulted in visible achievements, including Kang Soo-youn winning awards at foreign film festivals with The Surrogate Woman and Come, Come, Come Upward, and an acknowledgement of Im Kwon-taek by international film festivals. In this respect, this film can be considered the herald of the Hallyu of films.
Director Lee Doo-yong and film critic Ju Sung-chul provided the commentary. Answering Ju Sung-cheol’s diligently researched and in-depth questions, Lee Doo-yong reveals the background and circumstances of the production, inside facts about the invitation to the Venice Film Festival, the theme and style of the film, his views about directing and other episodes in abundance. Their conversation will become a great guide for a better understanding of The Hut. The images on the Blu-ray were sourced from the outcome (4K) of the intensified restoration, which was completed by the archive over two stages in 2016 and 2020, and supervised by the director. The outstanding beauty of the images that were reborn through restoration will give an opportunity for us to reassess this Korean film from the early 1980s once again.
The Hut is an exceptional film, which appears to follow a narrative and characters that embody the horror based on shamanism, resentment of women, and revenge. These were features often reproduced in the Korean cinema of the 1960s and ‘70s, but it actually has a more complicated nature, as the narrative structure is better endowed with the components of mystery than in any other films of this genre of the time. The Hut clearly indicates the awareness structure of the time, when the pre-modern and modern periods were shifting. The film demonstrates more achievements than were expected, not only in the reproduction of the social atmosphere of the era, but also through the inner quality and novelty of the genre.
The Special Jury Prize that The Hut won at the Venice International Film Festival was the first award given for a Korean film at an international film festival in 20 years, since director Kang Dae-jin won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize with The Coachman at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1961. It is also remarkable that Lee Doo-yong did not even know the film had been submitted for the festival. The Korean Japanese husband of the film production company’s CEO had submitted the film to the festival and Lee Doo-yong found out after his invitation to the festival had been finalized. Having promoted his true value with this film, Lee Doo-yong was invited to the Un Certain Regard section for Spinning the Tales of Cruelty towards Women (1983) at the Cannes Film Festival, the first entry to the Cannes film festival in the history of Korean cinema. Lee Doo-yong’s lead in the advance of Korean films onto the world stage resulted in visible achievements, including Kang Soo-youn winning awards at foreign film festivals with The Surrogate Woman and Come, Come, Come Upward, and an acknowledgement of Im Kwon-taek by international film festivals. In this respect, this film can be considered the herald of the Hallyu of films.
Director Lee Doo-yong and film critic Ju Sung-chul provided the commentary. Answering Ju Sung-cheol’s diligently researched and in-depth questions, Lee Doo-yong reveals the background and circumstances of the production, inside facts about the invitation to the Venice Film Festival, the theme and style of the film, his views about directing and other episodes in abundance. Their conversation will become a great guide for a better understanding of The Hut. The images on the Blu-ray were sourced from the outcome (4K) of the intensified restoration, which was completed by the archive over two stages in 2016 and 2020, and supervised by the director. The outstanding beauty of the images that were reborn through restoration will give an opportunity for us to reassess this Korean film from the early 1980s once again.
Subtitles: Korean, English, and Japanese
Screen: 1080P FULL HD 16:9
Audio: Korean LPCM Mono
Rated 15: Ages over 15 admitted.
Special Features
- Commentary: Lee Doo-yong(Director) Ju Sung-chul Chung(Film Critic)
- Digital Restoration: Before & After
Booklet
- “The Prelude to K-Movies, The Hut” Kim Hyung-seok(Film Critic)
Miscellaneous
- Three Film Postcards
Screen: 1080P FULL HD 16:9
Audio: Korean LPCM Mono
Rated 15: Ages over 15 admitted.
Special Features
- Commentary: Lee Doo-yong(Director) Ju Sung-chul Chung(Film Critic)
- Digital Restoration: Before & After
Booklet
- “The Prelude to K-Movies, The Hut” Kim Hyung-seok(Film Critic)
Miscellaneous
- Three Film Postcards