Gagman (1988), the debut by director Lee Myeong-sae, who was a unique cine-artist in domestic movie history, made viewers uncomfortable with its unfamiliar and unique style during the late 1980s when realism was popular. Evaluated as having “arrived too soon,” “a movie from the future,” and “the most unique debut film in Korean movie history,” Gagman used an artificial stage, sentimental mise-en-scene, ambiguous line between reality and imaginary space, and foolish play by three men and woman, which was criticized as being too shallow and lacking reality in an era when more serious movies were praised. However, the miserable fate of the third-rate comedian Lee Jong-sae and barber Moon Do-seok show emptiness and a sense of sorrow that is well hidden by the foolish play and criticizes the government in its own way.

Another factor that led to the success of Gagman was the actors An Seong-ki, Bae Chang-ho, and Hwang Sin-hae, who played the characters Lee Jong-sae, Moon Do-seok, and Oh Seon-yeong, respectively, in this film that dealt with dreams and love in its own way. The combination of exaggerated seriousness of Lee Jong-sae, who wears Charlie Chaplin-style makeup, Moon Do Seok, who is always chewing on something, and Oh Seon-yeoung, who is relatively bright and pretty, oddly match because of An Seong-ki’s serious acting, Hwang Sin-hae’s outstanding high-toned acting, and Bae Chang-ho’s amazing acting. In particular, Bae’s acting skills, such as making a speech to Lee in a comic book store while eating Samgang Ice Cream, and resisting the urge to commit murder by shoving several eggs in his mouth, come from the complete transformation from director to the character Moon Do-seok. 

This Blu-ray version is a re-mastered version with an improvement in color by Lee Myung-sae himself with the help of the Korean Film Archive, and images and sketches by photographer Ku Bon-chang are included in the appendix. The audio guide was scripted by Lee Myeong-sae, Kim Hong-Jun, and Bae Chang-ho, and tells the story of their relationship with the CEO of Tae Heung Films Company in Seoul, the story of how the actors were cast, and recollections of director Yoo of when all the staff members and actors ate and filmed together under the scorching sun. There is also a pamphlet that will help the viewer to understand the movie better with essays by movie critic Maeng Su-jin and renowned English film critic Tony Rains.