Swiri (1999)

Director:

Je-gyu Kang

Writer:

Je-gyu Kang (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1999 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

North Korea's 8th Special Forces hijacks a shipment of CTX, a potent new liquid explosive, and threatens...

Plot Keywords:

Korea | Secret Intelligence Service | Sniper | Explosive | Agent

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Suk-kyu Han	...	Jong Won Yu
Min-sik Choi	...	Mu-young Park
Yunjin Kim	...	Myung-hyun Lee / Bang-hee Lee (as Yoon-jin Kim)
Kang-ho Song	...	Jang-gil Lee
Johnny Kim	...	Dae-Ho Jung (as Derek Kim)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeong-min Hwang
Hyeong-seong Jang
Su-ro Kim
Seung-Shin Lee
Yong-woo Park	...	Sik

Directed by
Je-gyu Kang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Je-gyu Kang		writer

Produced by
Moo-Rim Byun	....	producer
Kwan-hak Lee	....	producer

Original Music by
Dong-jun Lee

Cinematography by
Sung-Bok Kim

Film Editing by
Gok-ji Park

Sound Department
Patrick Giraudi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Thanos Kazakos	....	adr recordist

Stunts
Doo-hong Jung	....	stunt coordinator

Other crew
Johnny Kim	....	advisor (as Derek Kim)

Production Companies

• Kang Je-Kyu Film Co. Ltd.
• Samsung Entertainment

Distributors

• Cinequanon (1999) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Tartan Films (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Amuse Video
• Cine Qua Non Films (Japan)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2002) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Force Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)
• Multimedia Pictures (Singapore)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Samuel Goldwyn Films (2002) (USA) (subtitled)
• Steward (France)
• Tartan Video (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Video Junkie (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Yet World Ltd. (Hong Kong)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Shiri (Hong Kong: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and some language.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | South Korea:15 | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) (cut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

"The Hill of Shiri", Joongmoon-Dong, Seogwipo, Cheju Island, South Korea

Company:

Kang Je-Kyu Film Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

German film fans were astonished when this film passed the ratings board FSK (known for its extensive dislike of excessive violence) uncut with a "Not under 16" rating. It was expected that the film would not get a rating at all and had to go for a JK approval from SPIO (Head organization of German film business).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Choi Min-sik (actor Mu-young Park) keeps using the term "Nam Han" (which translates to 'South Korea') instead of the term "Nam Chosun" (which translates to 'South Chosun' - a term used by North Koreans)

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Eodiseonga nugungae museunili saengkimyeon teulrimeobshi natananda Hong Ban-jang (2004)

Soundtrack:

Mack the Knife

Slick, action-packed Korean political thriller

Security agent Ryu stumbles upon a plot by North Korean fanatics (led by terrorist Park and assassin Hee) to disrupt peace and re-unification efforts by North and South politicians using high tech explosives and the hunt is on to stop them. Much gun play follows, as well as much talk about the politics and sociology of possible Korean re-unification. Given North Korea's history of selling weaponry to anyone with hard currency and South Korea's position as an important diplomatic and military ally of the U.S., such discussions are actually of worldwide interest. Since emerging in the mid-90s as a distinct cinematic power, South Korea has become filmdom's leading edge for cult actioners and this movie shows why. It is fast paced, uberviolent, with a polished look, tightly crafted plot line and strong performances by its ensemble cast.