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Oldboy
(2005) Suspense Themes: Prison, Solitude, Revenge, South Korea
Director: Chan Wook Park Starring: Choi Min-Sik, Bo-Kyeong Kim, Yoo Ji-tae Rating: R (MPAA) for strong violence including scenes of torture, sexuality, and perverse language
Description: It would be a sin to reveal too much about this riveting and bizarre thriller from Korean director Chan Wook Park, except to say that it's about a man named Dae-Su (Choi Min-Sik) who is locked in a hotel room for 15 years without knowing his captor's motives. When he is finally released,...
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Description (continued...)
Dae Su finds himself still trapped in a web of conspiracy and strangeness. His own quest for vengeance becomes tied in with romance when he falls for an attractive sushi chef (Gang Hye-Jung), who feeds him live octopus and who may or may not be involved with the bizarre mystery. This is all served up in a striking palette of purples and dark reds; oozing with post-neo-noir style, and stuffed with insanely malicious twists and turns. Choi Min-Sik is terrific in the lead, counterbalancing over-the-top hysterics with deadpan cool to run the gamut of Asian antihero traits. There are intense fight scenes (Dae Su's favorite weapon is a hammer), look-away moments of torture and self-mutilation, sex, and gallons of black humor. Not for the squeamish, but for those seeking something wholly original and daring, this cinematic entree is alive--it's hard to imagine a better slice of psycho-shock sensationalism.
Country of Origin: Korea
Reviews "A master of composition, Mr. Park makes some of the snazziest-looking pulp fiction going." New York Times | 03/25/2005 | p.E14
"The brio and glee that Koran bad-boy filmmaker Park Chanwook brings to the gaudy psycho-shockeroo OLDBOY is undeniable, even impressive."
Entertainment Weekly | 04/01/2005 | p.51
"OLDBOY ventures to emotional extremes, but not without reason." Chicago Sun-Times | 03/25/2005 | p.28
"[With] rigorously inventive direction and an emotional undertow that builds to a startling level of intensity."
Sight and Sound | 05/01/2005 | p.86
"[A]n explosively exciting psychosexual revenge drama from Korean powerhouse Park Chanwook that makes movies feel alive again."
Rolling Stone | 04/07/2005 | p.78
"Park Chan-Wook is a tremendous craftsman....He ratchets up the sadistic suspense in a variety of fruit flavors."
Premiere | 09/01/2005 | p.129
"Park's direction is bristlingly inventive, and his themes are ancient Greek in scope."
Movieline's Hollywood Life | 09/01/2005 | p.101
Full Cast and Crew Director: Chan Wook Park Starring: Choi Min-Sik, Bo-Kyeong Kim, Yoo Ji-tae Screenwriter: Chan Wook Park
Release Information Color: Color Runtime: 115 min. Original Language: Korean Subtitled Language: Spanish Subtitled Language: English © TLA Releasing
DVD Features Region 1 Keep Case Anamorphic Widescreen Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - Korean, Dolby DTS-ES Surround 6.1 - Korean, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - Korean Additional Release Material: Deleted Scenes , Audio Commentary - 1. Director & Cinematographer, Production Interview , ,
Production Notes THEATRICAL RELEASE: MARCH 25, 2005 (LIMITED) OLDBOY is based on a Japanese manga of the same name.
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DVD: Oldboy
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