Daily News from New York, New York • 41

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9, 1992 NEW YORK'S BEST ENTERTAINMENT SECTION DJ JU 'Eii 4 KOREAN SCREEN QUEEN: Won Mi- kyung in "Because You Are a Woman" Seoul sisters It By PHANTOM OF THE MOVIES TILLAGE EAST CINEMAS, IN association with Asian Cine-XJ vision, is hosting a week-long sa-' lute to "Seoul Beauties: Legendary Actresses of Korean Cinema," starting Friday. Several of the films will be making their U.S. premieres. The series kicks off with two Films by director Im Kwon-taek, 1988's "Surro- gate Woman," starring Kang Soo-yeon (who won a Venice Film Festival Best Actress award for her performance) in a period tale of forbidden love, and 1980's "Ticket," a controversial portrait of prostitution, with KimJi-Mi as a caustic madam. The double bill will be repeated Tuesday.

Saturday sees a comic twin-bill salute to "Scheming Sirens." In 1985's "Mulberry," set during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Lee Mi-sook stars as a manipulative seductress, while 1990's "Gagman" finds teenager Hwang Shin-hye joining a ragged band of unlikely showbiz hopefuls in a Korean counterpart to the HopeCrosbyLamour "Road" comedies of yore. Both films screen again on Monday. Seoul Beauties' "Classic Legends" program revives one of Korea's best-received films, the 1961 drama "The Guest and My Mother with Choi Eun-hee as a young widow who vio- lates social mores by falling in love with the handsome guest of the title. The film shares a Sunday bill with 1988's "Hwang Chin-ee," a biographical drama based on the life of a famous 16th-century court entertainer (played by Chang Mi-hee). The fest takes an overt feminist turn in next Wednesday's program "The Cost of Survival: Crime and Injustice Against Women." Also, 1978's "The Story of the Double Red Gates" offers a vivid condemnation of Korea's sanctions against widows (represented by Kim Young-ae), while 1990's "Because You Are a recounts the contemporary case of the victim of a near rape (Won Mi-kyung) on trial for biting off her attacker's tongue.

"Seoul Beauties" wraps Dec. 17 with "Wedding Story," a 1992 comedy about newlyweds, starring Shin Hye-jin. For more info, call Village East Cinemas (181 Second Ave.) at (212) 529-6799. Tltf I fill I Ml UPTOWN RITZ: The Ritz on W. 54th as it appeared dunng 1989 renovations undertaken by former owner John Scher (inset) Mmm fm Eta It's the end of an era, as John Scher sells club to another promoter By DAVID HINCKLEY Daily News Staff Writer A CHAPTER IN NEW YORK club life ended this week as rock promoter John Scher sold his interest in The Ritz.

Cat Entertainment bought Scher's Felix Carcano, who will run The Ritz, plans to create a cabaret room to supplement the main theater and pre- sent a broader range of artists starting with a Dec. 16 Johnny Cash show and moving into full swing Jan. 17 after a two-week closure for renovations. Since Scher started booking the Ritz a decade ago, when it was on E. 11th it had been one of the most -active clubs in the country, averaging more than 150 shows a year.

Then, around mid-1991, it cut way back a deliberate decision, Scher says, trig-. gered by the recession and a lack of strong club acts. At the same time, however, Scher's long-time rival promoter Ron Del-sener began booking an increasing number of shows into other venues like Roseland. "Ronnie made the opposite decision," says Scher. "He decided the route to go was increasing his market share.

For us, that wasn't working. "You don't make money on most club shows. They're for artist development, moving acts up to the level See RITZ page 46 interest and will operate the W. 54th St club with continued input from Scher's associate, Neil Cohen. The Ritz had cut way back on shows this year and reportedly had been run ning up big losses.

Booker Walter Durkacz says Cat MARILYN PHANTOM OF fjBECK- inpiilVIEl i iiiiMiwiii-wi --ia 4 I to ir iriaimJMMML.