Blu-ray Collection
The Marines Who Never Returned(1963)
The Marines Who Never Returned is the 33rd Blu-ray title planned by the Korean Film Archive and produced by Blue Kino.
What makes The Marines Who Never Returned distinctively different from previous Korean war films is that it re-creates the Korean War as an x-object of entertainment. This may mean that the Korean War became something that people could enjoy from a certain distance, as a decade had passed since the war ended. This does not mean that the film deals with the Korean War lightly, in fact, it is quite the opposite. The spectacle of the battle scenes, including the initial sequence of the Incheon Landing, which was made possible with large-scale support from the Marine Corps, provide visual pleasure that is difficult to achieve, even in today’s war films. On the other hand, it allows viewers to experience the violence of war realistically. In addition, the mascot girl, Yeong-hui (Jeon Young-seon) and the marine played by Koo Bong-seo, who can be considered the de facto or hidden protagonists of the film, keep the overall tone of the film relatively bright and light, but they are the characters who powerfully convey the tragic irony of war. In short, the film is an excellent blend of experiential re-creation of the Korean War, an examination of meaning of war, emotional tone and entertainment. This is an aspect that shows Lee Man-hee’s extraordinary talent as a (popular) film director.
The value of the Blu-ray is the inclusion of 17 minutes of unreleased footage, which has not been seen in the Korean version, in the supplement. This footage was found in the U.S. export version of the film, Marine Battleground, which the Korean Film Archive acquired from an Archive in New Zealand in 2017. This version features newly-filmed intro and outro footage of grown-up Yeong-hui, who was participating in the Vietnam War, talking about her Korean War experience to a journalist. This appears to have been the distributor’s strategy to take advantage of the issue of the Vietnam War, which was a hot topic in American society at the time. In any case, approximately 67 minutes of the 85-minute running time of the overseas version are the re-edited version of the original film, and 17 minutes of these were not in the original film, which was found after the discovery of the overseas version. The largest portion of the unreleased footage was the approval of Yeong-hui joining the squad by the Battalion Commander (approx. 3 min. 49 sec.), and the scene of the Lucky Club workers preparing to open for Business, and 6 minutes of unreleased footage from each of the battle scenes are also included. Unfortunately, the source of this unreleased footage has not yet been identified.
The commentary was provided by film critic Huh Namwoong, and Cho Jun-hyoung, senior researcher at the Korean Film Archive. The commentary by director Choi Dong-hun and film critic Ju Sung-chul from the previous DVD is also included. The two commentaries, the introduction of the director and the review in the booklet provide a friendly guide to understanding and appreciating the film. In addition, a column by Young Jin Eric Choi, a programmer at the archive, who himself collected and did research into the U.S. export version, has also been included in the booklet. It is a very interesting column that contains an explanation of how the U.S. version was made under what circumstances, how the film was distributed and screened overseas, including in America, and over 34 pieces of unreleased footage, with their individual running times. The images on the Blu-ray were sourced from the restored version in 4K resolution by the Korean Film Archive in 2022. The restored version of the film in ultra high definition will make the value of the film even more apparent.
What makes The Marines Who Never Returned distinctively different from previous Korean war films is that it re-creates the Korean War as an x-object of entertainment. This may mean that the Korean War became something that people could enjoy from a certain distance, as a decade had passed since the war ended. This does not mean that the film deals with the Korean War lightly, in fact, it is quite the opposite. The spectacle of the battle scenes, including the initial sequence of the Incheon Landing, which was made possible with large-scale support from the Marine Corps, provide visual pleasure that is difficult to achieve, even in today’s war films. On the other hand, it allows viewers to experience the violence of war realistically. In addition, the mascot girl, Yeong-hui (Jeon Young-seon) and the marine played by Koo Bong-seo, who can be considered the de facto or hidden protagonists of the film, keep the overall tone of the film relatively bright and light, but they are the characters who powerfully convey the tragic irony of war. In short, the film is an excellent blend of experiential re-creation of the Korean War, an examination of meaning of war, emotional tone and entertainment. This is an aspect that shows Lee Man-hee’s extraordinary talent as a (popular) film director.
The value of the Blu-ray is the inclusion of 17 minutes of unreleased footage, which has not been seen in the Korean version, in the supplement. This footage was found in the U.S. export version of the film, Marine Battleground, which the Korean Film Archive acquired from an Archive in New Zealand in 2017. This version features newly-filmed intro and outro footage of grown-up Yeong-hui, who was participating in the Vietnam War, talking about her Korean War experience to a journalist. This appears to have been the distributor’s strategy to take advantage of the issue of the Vietnam War, which was a hot topic in American society at the time. In any case, approximately 67 minutes of the 85-minute running time of the overseas version are the re-edited version of the original film, and 17 minutes of these were not in the original film, which was found after the discovery of the overseas version. The largest portion of the unreleased footage was the approval of Yeong-hui joining the squad by the Battalion Commander (approx. 3 min. 49 sec.), and the scene of the Lucky Club workers preparing to open for Business, and 6 minutes of unreleased footage from each of the battle scenes are also included. Unfortunately, the source of this unreleased footage has not yet been identified.
The commentary was provided by film critic Huh Namwoong, and Cho Jun-hyoung, senior researcher at the Korean Film Archive. The commentary by director Choi Dong-hun and film critic Ju Sung-chul from the previous DVD is also included. The two commentaries, the introduction of the director and the review in the booklet provide a friendly guide to understanding and appreciating the film. In addition, a column by Young Jin Eric Choi, a programmer at the archive, who himself collected and did research into the U.S. export version, has also been included in the booklet. It is a very interesting column that contains an explanation of how the U.S. version was made under what circumstances, how the film was distributed and screened overseas, including in America, and over 34 pieces of unreleased footage, with their individual running times. The images on the Blu-ray were sourced from the restored version in 4K resolution by the Korean Film Archive in 2022. The restored version of the film in ultra high definition will make the value of the film even more apparent.
Special Features
- Commentary by Cho Jun-hyoung(Korean Film Archive) Huh Nam-woong(Film Critic)
- Commentary by Choi Dong-hoon (Film Director), Ju Sung-chul (Journalist) - DVD Commentary Ver.
- Unreleased Footage
- Digital Restoration : Before & After
- Image Gallery
Booklet
- Blu-ray Restoration Note: The Marines Who Never Returned (Lee Man-hee, 1963)
- Director, Who Captures the Atmosphere of the Times: Lee Man-hee, Cho Jun-hyoung(Senior Researcher, Korean Film Archive)
- War and People: Lee Man-hee’s War Films and The Marines Who Never Returned, Cho Jun-hyoung
- New Discoveries Within the International Version of The Marines Who Never Returned, Young Jin Eric Choi (Film Curator, Korean Film Archive)
- Commentary by Cho Jun-hyoung(Korean Film Archive) Huh Nam-woong(Film Critic)
- Commentary by Choi Dong-hoon (Film Director), Ju Sung-chul (Journalist) - DVD Commentary Ver.
- Unreleased Footage
- Digital Restoration : Before & After
- Image Gallery
Booklet
- Blu-ray Restoration Note: The Marines Who Never Returned (Lee Man-hee, 1963)
- Director, Who Captures the Atmosphere of the Times: Lee Man-hee, Cho Jun-hyoung(Senior Researcher, Korean Film Archive)
- War and People: Lee Man-hee’s War Films and The Marines Who Never Returned, Cho Jun-hyoung
- New Discoveries Within the International Version of The Marines Who Never Returned, Young Jin Eric Choi (Film Curator, Korean Film Archive)