Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: South Korea, 1978
Director: Ki-young Kim
Writer: Mun-woong Lee
Cast: Ja-ok Kim, Jeong-cheol Kim, Man Kim, Kung-won Nam, Hwa-shi Lee

Release Date: October 22nd, 2019
Approximate Running Time: 117 Minutes 36 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Korean
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Young-gul, a lonely and rather morbid student in late 1970’s South Korea. Narrowly surviving a murder-suicide attempt by a woman wearing a butterfly pendant, he next finds himself besieged by a seemingly insane bookseller who claims he can never die. Even after Young-gul burns the man’s body his skeleton comes back to taunt him. As if that weren’t enough, the poor student then finds himself the victim of a beautiful thousand year old woman (she looks about 25) who says she is hungry and want to eat his liver…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this transfer, "4K transfer from film negative."

Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.6 GB

Feature: 28.6 GB

The source looks great; any print debris is minor. Colors look very good, the image looks crisp, black levels are strong, compression is solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Korean with removable English subtitles. Though dialog always comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced, there is some mild background hiss.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Mondo Macabro preview reel, an interview with author and film critic Darcy Paquet (14 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Hwa-shi Lee (11 minutes 22 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Korean with removable English subtitles), two interviews with producer Jin-woo Jeong – part one (16 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Korean with removable English subtitles) part two (12 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Korean with removable English subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Jong-mo Koo (6 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Korean with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Kenneth Brorsson and Paul Quinn of the “What’s Korean Cinema?” podcast.

Summary:

Ki-young Kim directed Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death. He is also known for directing The Housemaid (1960), The Insect Woman and Io Island. Jin-woo Jeong produced Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death. He’s a director known for The Secret Meeting, Ran’s Elegy, and Student Boarder.

At the heart of Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death is a poignant tale about the human condition. The plot revolves around a protagonist who has lost the will to live after near-death experience. And the further he gets away from that tragic event, his will to survive increases.

Though Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death has many fantastical moments, there’s so much more to it than a series of fantastical moments. Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death features a walking skeleton that torments the protagonist, a skeleton that comes back to life as a 25-year-old woman, and grave robbers who remove corpse skulls.

Without a doubt, the visuals are Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death’s greatest asset. The Gothic-infused visuals are overflowing with atmosphere, and they do a superb job reinforcing the foreboding mood. Another strength of Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death is how effectively she uses symbolism.

Performance-wise, the cast is all very good, especially Hwa-shi Lee’s haunting portrayal of a 2,000-year-old skeleton that comes back to life. Other notable performances include Jeong-cheol Kim, who portrays Young-gul, and Ja-ok Kim in the role of Kyungmi, the suicidal daughter of a professor who collects human skulls.

From a production standpoint, Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death is an extraordinary film that succeeds despite its limited resources. The narrative effectively brings the premise to life, and it pays sufficient attention to significant moments. That said, Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death’s weakest link is its primitive special effects. Ultimately, Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death is a one-of-a kind cinema oddity that's overflowing with imagination.

Mondo Macabro gives Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death a first-rate release that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer