The Movie Inchon

[Peter Daley]

Sept. 7, 1982: 'INCHON,' AT LAST (The New York Times)

Oct. 2, 1982: Scott's World: 'Inchon,' Moonies and Spectres (UPI)

Rarely has a relatively obscure movie been so costly or created as much controversy as 'Inchon,' a Korean War drama. In the past three years 'Inchon' has survived these controversies:

Its cost, $48 million.
The death of one of its stars, David Janssen, in 1980.
Its financing, partly by loans from the Unification Church.
The film's special advisor, Sun Myung Moon, the Korean savant of the moonies who is much embattled with the Internal Revenue Service and the target of parents claiming his church brainwashes their kids.
Picketing at its first showing in Washington, D.C., by anti-Moonie groups. ...

'Inchon' currently is in release more than two years after its completion. Its producer, Japanese-born Mitsuharu Ishii, is confident the picture will more than surpass its staggering cost. One reason for Ishii's confidence is the spectre of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, his boyhood hero and with whom Ishii says he remains in spiritual contact. To quote Ishii, 'He is behind me all the way.' ...

Ishii has personally pledged 50 percent of his producer's profits to veterans organizations in the 21 nations that came to the aid of South Korea under the United Nations resolution during the war. The profits may be a long time coming. Today a film must earn double its cost to break even. That means 'Inchon' must earn some $100 million at the box office, a feat accomplished by only a handful of films. ... To promote his film, Ishii has come up with the brilliant idea of a $1 million sweepstakes. To enter patrons need only pick up contest blanks at theaters playing 'Inchon.' First prize is a Rolls Royce with $100,000 in cash in the glove compartment. Other prizes include video recorders, TV sets and cameras. The drawing is scheduled for Dec. 31 in New York City.

Still, 'Inchon' opened weakly with $2.3 million in 1,291 theaters in Canada and the United States last weekend, doing almost as poorly as the infamous 'Heaven's Gate.' P.S. 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,' now in its third month, pulled in $3.2 million in fewer theaters -- without a door prize.

Sept. 2, 2012: Film Legacy Of Unification Church's Moon: One Of 1980s Worst Movie Bombs

The 1982 critically panned fiasco was mostly financed by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon — though he denied it at the time but received screen credit as the "Special Advisor on Korean Matters". It did so poorly at the box office that it posted the largest financial loss of that year and was one of the biggest bombs of the 1980s. Robert Standard, associate producer of Inchon, was a member of the Unification Church of the United States. Moon had considered making films about the lives of Jesus or Elvis Presley. But in 1978, so the story goes, psychic Jeanne Dixon communicated with MacArthur's spirit who endorsed Inchon as the film subject. She also reportedly chose James Bond film director Terence Young (Dr. No, Thunderball, From Russia with Love) as Inchon's helmer. Not the best way to put together a winning formula for a film.

Feb. 7, 2017: Inchon: How Psychics, the Moonies, & A Latex-Covered Laurence Oliver Made The Worst War Movie In History (The Telegragh/The Internet Archive)

Feb. 8, 2022: Raspberry Picking, Inchon (Alternate Ending)

It's a simple story, really: God, like he does, told Ishii and Moon to make a movie. They considered making a biopic of Jesus, or a biopic of Elvis, before God specified that he wanted a movie about General Douglas MacArthur, hero of World War II and the early part of the Korean War. Just to confirm that they were on the right path, Ishii and Moon consulted psychic Jeanne Dixon, who secured them MacArthur's endorsement from the spirit realm. 

Ishii and Moon then set about assembling an all-star team to help them bring God's plan to fruition. Dixon helped them choose Terence Young, acclaimed director of early Bond films and Audrey Hepburn vehicles, to direct the film. Robin Moore, hyperpatriotic author of The Green Berets and The French Connection, was commissioned to write the screenplay. Ten-time Best Original Score Oscar nominee Jerry Goldsmith was brought onboard for music.  Richard "Shaft" Roundtree and Jacqueline "Murder on the Orient Express" Bisset signed on in supporting roles. And finally, as the biggest plume in a very feathery cap, they coaxed Sir Laurence Olivier Himself into the lead role of General MacArthur with the promise of, to borrow Olivier's own famous words, "money, dear boy."

So, an overlong rah-rah-America war epic, directed by Very Prestigious Director, starring Extremely Prestigious Actor, playing Much Admired Historical Figure, with music by World Renowned Film Composer to the tune of A Whole Heckuva Lot of Dollars. It won forty-seven Oscars, right?

Wrong. Ishii and Moon went to extraordinary lengths to hide Moon's involvement in the film, including paying people in literal briefcases full of cash. But one can only hide the source of millions of dollars for so long, especially when that source insists on leading the promotional campaign for the film, and when said promotional campaign hinges on the ghostly endorsement from Douglas MacArthur. Yes, they actually promoted the movie by telling people that Douglas MacArthur had given it his blessing from beyond the grave. ...

2024: Inchon: The Notorious Flop Funded by a Cult & Endorsed By The Spirit Realm (Far Out Magazine)

Moon funnelled $30million of his own—or the Unification Church's—money into the film, with additional funding coming from the associate producer, wealthy benefactor, and church member Robert Standard. That being said, one major stumbling block in retelling the story of how Douglas MacArthur and the United States armed forces staged their assault during the titular battle hinged on the approval of its subject.

The downside was that MacArthur had passed away in 1964, but Moon would not be deterred. To get the OK from those on the other side of the mortal plane, famed psychic and astrologer Jeane Dixon was asked to communicate with the netherworld to make sure the former general was fine with a pivotal moment in his life and career being turned into a major motion picture.

Fortunately, not only did MacArthur endorse Inchon from the spirit world, but he also personally recommended Dr. No, Thunderball, and From Russia with Love director Terence Young as the ideal person to wield the megaphone, a decision both of them presumably ended up regretting.

Oct. 19, 2025: Revisiting 'Inchon,' Hollywood's Korean War Gamble (Matt VanVolkenburg for The Korea Times)

In mid-1979, Paul Courtright and Ben Bryan were Peace Corps volunteers working on tuberculosis and leprosy, respectively, who had arrived in Korea six months earlier. As Bryan told The Korea Times, "Our group was gathered in Seoul for training. I think it was Paul who mentioned to us that there was a movie being filmed somewhere in the area and extras were needed." ...

As Courtright remembered, "No one gave us any information about how the clothes should look or how we should carry the rifle, let alone shoot it. We stood around not knowing what to do, without any direction." This was because "no one seemed to be in charge. Different people were giving different instructions — people were being told to go here, do this, go there, do that." ...

Bryan remembered a rather conspicuous omission from those in charge: "We weren't told that there would be huge explosions taking place near and around us. I recall initially freaking out as several explosions went off around me, but kept running likely out of pure panic as I was firing my rifle. After about two shots, my rifle jammed, so I pretended to be shooting."...

Though production staff denied it during filming, the film had been conceived of and financed by Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church. It went wildly over budget and the full, 140-minute version of the film was only shown once, at a special screening in Washington, D.C. Though then-President Ronald Reagan enjoyed the film, when it was released in September 1982, with 35 minutes cut, it was a critical and box office failure. As a result, it lost over $44 million, making it one of the biggest flops in film history.