Blockbuster 'The Great Battle' tells 88-day Ansi siege

Cast members of action blockbuster “The Great Battle” pose in a celebratory event during pre-production of the film in this August 2017 file photo. / Courtesy of NEW

By Park Jin-hai

The blockbuster “The Great Battle” dusts off less talked-about ancient history and brings one of its greatest stories to the big screen this fall.

The 22 billion won budget action period film tells the story of a famous 88-day battle at Ansi Fortress between Goguryeo and Tang forces on the Korean peninsula, part of the First Goguryeo―Tang War. The confrontation lasted about 3 months from 20 June 645 to 18 September 645.

“It is siege warfare, and I wanted to tell the story of the people who had their lives taken trying to protect the fortress against those were determined to overtake it,” said the film director Kim Kwang-sik during a press conference at a local theater in southern Seoul, Tuesday.

Since it is a part of ancient Korean history, when the land of Goguryeo (37 BC―668 AD) stretched into parts of Manchuria as one of the great powers in East Asia, the director said he had difficulty in doing historical research. “We have done great research on the part of government's central forces. For the parts featuring the border area where Yang Man-chun was the commander of Ansi Fortress, I added more of my imagination, assuming that they might have some autonomy in border areas.”

The Tang attacked the fortress with catapults and battering rams but Goguryeo repelled the attacks and repaired the ramparts each time. Tang had built an earthen rampart mobilizing forces of about 500,000 and attacked Ansi with the earthen rampart as a steppingstone. However, the fierce battle eventually ended with Goguryeo's victory and Tang retiring.

Zo In-sung will take the role of Yang Man-chun, the commander of Ansi Fortress. “So many dramas and films are set in the Joseon Dynasty. Since this film features less told Goguryeo and the commander of the fortress, I wanted to take on this project,” said Zo, who said the battle scenes where he had to fight the blowing sand dusts and smoke was one of the hardest moments.

Large scale spectacles of lively battle scenes will make action film fans excited. “Among the Korean action films, I think it might top the list in the number of action scenes. Although the shooting process has been hard, I'm proud of the outcome. It is an action blockbuster people should watch on the big screen,” said the director upping the expectation for the upcoming film.

He said although it is a period drama he wanted to express it in a “modern” way, hiring modern equipment that are seldom used in shooting period films. “I wanted to deliver the liveliness of the ferocious battle scene. So I used devices often used for broadcasting sports games and robot arms to catch fast movements of the scenes,” said the director.

“The Great Battle” will premiere on Sept. 19.