While searching for any news on the pending release of the restored classic The Housemaid, I came across one article that asserts that the picture will be released in both DVD and Blu Ray formats, but I was unable to confirm the information anywhere. If true, it will be the first film from the Korean archives to get such treatment, and judging by the pristine print I was fortunate enough to catch at last year’s PIFF, it fully deserves to be preserved in high-definition. I was also surprised to learn that Kim Ki-young’s film will be getting the remake treatment, with Gina Kim (Never Forever) at the helm and a projected $2.5 million dollar budget. The news is already six months old, but it’s the first I’ve heard about it.
Update: Still no new word about Gina Kim’s project, but I did learn that a FULLY RESTORED print of The Housemaid will be shown here at the Jeonju film festival (the print screened last year at Cannes and at PIFF had two unrestored reels), so a shiny plastic disc can’t be too far off. KOFA hasn’t responded to my e-mail asking whether a Blu ray is in the cards…