Woochi Blu-ray Review
The Magic Flute.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, March 21, 2013
Did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart somehow make a previously unknown journey to the Korean peninsula during his
childhood touring days? For years pundits have sought hidden meanings and barely concealed subtexts in Mozart's
The Magic Flute, with Mozart's apparent interest in Freemasonry regularly being mentioned as the overriding
idea behind the opera. But some might wonder if somewhere, somehow Mozart might have heard about the Korean
folktale that is twisted, turned and reshaped into a special effects laden martial arts comedy in
Woochi: The Demon
Slayer, an epic South Korean fantasy that was an incredible success in its native country during its theatrical
exhibition. Folktales and fairy tales may be a sort of universal language, but some of the finer points of these oft told
stories can sometimes get lost in translation, and some may feel that has happened here, especially since
Woochi:
The Demon Slayer deals with two different timeframes which include various characters appearing in different
guises, as well as a perhaps overall too convoluted conceit that occasionally hobbles the narrative flow and forward
momentum. But for those who are willing to be at least occasionally confused,
Woochi: The Demon Slayer can
be quite a bit of fun. It's unabashedly silly quite a bit of the time, combining a cartoonish ambience with a pretty
sumptuous physical production and some very appealing special effects to create a wondrous sensibility that is kind of
akin to (perhaps appropriately, given his rendering of
The Brothers Grimm) a Korean accented Terry Gilliam film. That's also true in a somewhat
more negative way, for the film, like some of Gilliam's work, is at times undisciplined and more than a bit haphazard,
positing some hoops for any potential viewer to jump through.
The flute in this case is a magically endowed instrument that has been able to keep a coterie of goblins and ghouls (if
not
outright demons) ensconced in a hellish lair for untold centuries. Unfortunately, the keepers of these creatures
miscalculate their prison sentence by a mere one day, releasing them early to wreak havoc once again in the Earthly
realm. In the ensuing mayhem, the magical flute itself falls into the hands of one of the evil ones, and suddenly the
stakes
have become considerably higher.
Woochi: The Demon Slayer is an incredibly manic entertainment and it frankly is not always the easiest thing to
follow. Our hero is of course Woochi (Kang Dong-won), a kind of trickster Taoist monk who has been tasked by his
Master (Baek Yoon-sik) with reclaiming the magic flute and restoring order to the universe. Woochi of course has other
things on his mind, not the least of which are women. Woochi pals around with his polymorphous sidekick Chorangyi
(Yoo Hae-Jin), whose original form is a dog, but who Woochi also utilizes as his horse when Chorangyi is not in his
human state. The villain of the piece is evil mastermind Hwadam (Kim Yun-seok), who wants the flute for his own
nefarious purposes.
Part of what makes
Woochi: The Demon Slayer a bit impenetrable is that it takes place in two timeframes and
also part of the film takes place within a painting where Woochi and Chorangyi have been imprisoned (although an
early scene shows Woochi entering and leaving another illustration without too much trouble). But this is a film that
may in fact make little sense but where that incoherence oddly only adds to its kind of goofy allure. The film is obviously
intentionally cartoonish, over the top and filled with crazy performances and some impressive stunt work. The action is
fairly nonstop and is often very well choreographed with some impressive hyperkinetic camera work wheeling in and out
of the battles.
Woochi: The Demon Slayer also benefits from some showy but highly effective CGI, especially with regard to a
couple of mutant beasts that Woochi battles at various times. One, a giant rat, has a spectacular fight sequence where
Woochi and the rodent are often sideways on parallel walls, with director Choi Dong-hun's camera cartwheeling in and
around the often vertical combatants. Another impressive giant comes in rabbit form, which is kind of interesting from a
psychoanalytical or even Jungian perspective, since the rabbit is often cast as the same sort of trickster that Woochi
himself seems to be.
This is bright, breezy and unabashedly frenetic entertainment that simply needs to be surrendered to in order to fully
enjoy. It is in places rather like a trip through a carnival fun house, where things are reflected in bizarrely distorted
ways and nothing is very rational. But like the best carnival attractions, this is one boisterous ride that's completely
unique and highly enjoyable.
Woochi Blu-ray, Video Quality
Woochi: The Demon Slayer is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer
in 2.35:1. This relatively recent vintage film's elements are in top notch condition, and the high definition presentation is a
largely very commendable affair. The film has been rather aggressively color graded throughout, but even the sequences
with the ever popular blue hues lack little if any fine object detail. More "normal" looking scenes really pop with excellent
vigor, and the film is
very colorful, with a panoply of bright primaries especially evident in some of the costumes.
Contrast and black levels are solid throughout. CGI is very artfully blended into the live action elements and looks
excellent. There were some
very minor stability issues with regard to some close cropped parallel lines in some of
the sets and costumes, but otherwise this is a sparkling and clear presentation that's a lot of fun to watch.
Woochi Blu-ray, Audio Quality
Woochi: The Demon Slayer features lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 mixes in both Korean and English.
Both sets of mixes are virtually identical save for the voice work, so choice basically comes down to whether or not you're
an original language purist or alternatively if you prefer not to read subtitles. The 5.1 mixes are
very robust, with a
really aggressive low end that offers some spectacular LFE in some of the special effects sequences. Even the Korean
language version appears to have been post looped (at least in part), so there are occasional mismatches between lip
movement and what's being spoken, but that said, dialogue is always crisp and clear and well prioritized, which is especially
important since the sound design of the film tends to be on the busy side at times. Fidelity remains excellent throughout
and dynamic range is extremely wide.
