Swiri (1999)

South Korean agents Ryu and Lee are tracking a female assassin from North Korea who has mysteriously disappeared. With new killings and the theft of a deadly bomb, time is running out to catch her.

Director:

Je-kyu Kang (as Je-gyu Kang)

Writer:

Je-kyu Kang (as Je-gyu Kang)

Stars:

Suk-kyu Han, Choi Min-sik, Yunjin Kim

8 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

North Korea's 8th Special Forces hijacks a shipment of CTX, a potent new liquid explosive, and threatens South Korea as part of a plot to re-unify the two countries. Ryu and Lee, special agents of O.P.--South Korea's secret intelligence service--attempt to track down the terrorists and find the CTX. Meanwhile Hee, the 8th's ultra-bad female sniper, resurfaces to wreak havoc and haunt Ryu.

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Plot Keywords:

man murders a woman | woman with a gun | murder of an innocent person | shooting a soldier | threat to murder | 

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Taglines:

No clues. No leads. No time.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and some language

Did You Know?

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).

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Goofs

For the hijack of the CTX, the hijackers are waiting for the truck as it emerges from a tunnel. This tunnel is there in shots from the ground, but the shots from the helicopter before it lands were clearly filmed elsewhere, as there is no tunnel in sight behind the hijacked truck.

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Alternate Versions

One scene was removed by the director from the 2 disc Korean special edition DVD: whilst running away with Hee, Park murders a Police Officer by spike through the heart. This cut was made because the murder did not make any sense during the scene before and immediately after. It is included in the deleted scenes section on the second disc.

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Connections

Spin-off Ailiseu (2009)

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Soundtracks

Always You
Written by Andy Goldmark and J.D. Martin
Performed by Jennifer Paige

User Reviews

Korean movie out HK's Hong Kong!

Awesome, but violent film. I've only got it in the original Korean with Chinese subtitles, so I didn't get much of the plot, but it surpasses typical Hong Kong Action Flick genre stuff. Special effects are more than realistic, and it keeps interest going even if you don't understand it. The intro is one of the most violent I've ever seen, more action and death in the first 30 seconds than most other movies combined.

In summation, if you're a fan of Hong Kong action genre, this takes it to a whole new level.

As for the Shiri, there are plenty of them in the film. Fishtank's are featured heavily in the early part of the movie.

Details

Official Sites:

film.ru (Russia) Imagine Pix

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

13 February 1999 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Shiri

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,187, 10 February 2002

Gross USA:

$98,452

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$135,892

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics, Frontier Works Comic

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1