Pretty Packaging: CINEMA PARADISO Gets Korean-Pimped!
(Always good when nostalgia pays off, and we get to see the return of a fine tradition...)
Just over a decade ago, DVD-collection became a bit of a thing, and the "Special Edition" format which had been so special to Laserdisc became pretty common on the new platform.
Some countries got famous among collectors for creating fantastically lavish sets, like France, Japan, but mostly... Korea!
People in Korea weren't much into collecting DVDs, but with low labor costs it was pretty easy to decorate a release to the point where it became an attractive object. And so the name "Korean Pimping" was born, a term with which we described the excessive packaging of Special DVD Editions.
But that was once upon a time. The practice went out of fashion in Korea, and gorgeous releases became a rarity. Collectors still speak of "Korean Pimped", but these days with a sad nostalgia attached.
As of late though, it seems there is a bit of a resurgence. And what film is better suited to link with this type of bittersweet remembrance, than Giuseppe Tornatore's Oscar-winning 1988 film Cinema Paradiso?
Clad in a velvet slipcase and a wooden box, Cinema Paradiso discs have never looked better. And not only is the Korean Special Edition sumptuously packaged, it contains English-friendly Blu-rays for both the theatrical cut and the far longer Director's Cut. In this case it's nice to not just have the longer version, as most people say the shorter version is far better. Having said that, as a fan of the film it's sure nice to have both!
Cinema Paradiso is now back in my collection, and so is Korean Pimping. Feast your eyes on the packaging in the gallery below. You can click the sides of the pictures to go the next (or previous) slide, or click in the center for a larger version:
Just over a decade ago, DVD-collection became a bit of a thing, and the "Special Edition" format which had been so special to Laserdisc became pretty common on the new platform.
Some countries got famous among collectors for creating fantastically lavish sets, like France, Japan, but mostly... Korea!
People in Korea weren't much into collecting DVDs, but with low labor costs it was pretty easy to decorate a release to the point where it became an attractive object. And so the name "Korean Pimping" was born, a term with which we described the excessive packaging of Special DVD Editions.
But that was once upon a time. The practice went out of fashion in Korea, and gorgeous releases became a rarity. Collectors still speak of "Korean Pimped", but these days with a sad nostalgia attached.
As of late though, it seems there is a bit of a resurgence. And what film is better suited to link with this type of bittersweet remembrance, than Giuseppe Tornatore's Oscar-winning 1988 film Cinema Paradiso?
Clad in a velvet slipcase and a wooden box, Cinema Paradiso discs have never looked better. And not only is the Korean Special Edition sumptuously packaged, it contains English-friendly Blu-rays for both the theatrical cut and the far longer Director's Cut. In this case it's nice to not just have the longer version, as most people say the shorter version is far better. Having said that, as a fan of the film it's sure nice to have both!
Cinema Paradiso is now back in my collection, and so is Korean Pimping. Feast your eyes on the packaging in the gallery below. You can click the sides of the pictures to go the next (or previous) slide, or click in the center for a larger version:
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