french fan

I was surprised that this film was included 'in competiton' at Cannes, only due to the fact that it's been about 6 mths since it opened in it's homeland and now the dvd is out already. I loved SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and i hope this lives up to expectations. Please post your reviews after seeing the film.

slop101

From Chud:

Korean director Chan-wook Park’s acclaimed thriller Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is hypnotically bleak and full of the bad kind of surprises, and if that film wasn’t enough to shock your trousers into another county, he followed it with an even more staggering and graphic work, the dizzying and brutal revenge tale Old Boy (both of which you should seek at all costs). But what’s next for the man who makes some of the most affecting and uncompromising films today?

It looks like he may have been slightly influenced by Kill Bill. In an interview with the director by The Hollywood Reporter conducted at Cannes, Park had this to say about upcoming projects:

"The only thing I have decided on is the movie's title, which will be Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. Following Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Old Boy, this will be the concluding chapter in my "Vengeance" trilogy and will feature a woman in her mid-30s mercilessly dealing with vengeance. It will have a story consisting of a sharply contrasting variation from the kidnapping motif in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and the imprisonment motif of Old Boy. I am planning to write the script in a hotel in Cannes. Following that, I am planning to start shooting Live Evil, a movie involving vampires, at the end of next year."

Sounds great!

RichC2

And as I figured, Ebert ol' boy didn't like the flick. He seems to have a thing against brutal films

BabyBuddha

Except, of course, The Passion, which he was over the moon about. (Much more brutal than Old Boy!)

BabyBuddha

Has anybody been able to get to the Easter Egg on disc 2 of the Old Boy DVD? I did it once....and have not been able to repeat it.

From the main menu, choose Manual. There are 8 boxes on the lower half of the screen, numbered 1-8. The only places you can navigate to are MAIN and NEXT. (NEXT goes to another screen with 6 boxes.) Somehow, I did something to get to the 5 box, but I haven't been able to do it again. I wasn't even trying -- when I picked up the remote, my fingers slipped on a few buttons and there I was.

Once the 5 was highligted, I pressed ENTER, and the Easter Egg began. First was a black screen that said Vicious Feedback Easter Egg. Then there were some scenes in the hotel room with dumplings. Then some hands being dippied in some food. Then another menu appeared, with a bunch of options flying by on the right. I think you are meant to do something at this point. I hesitated, and wound up back at the main menu.

I realize the above description is a bit weird, but it's the best way to describe it.

Anybody else found this yet? (There is some writing in Korean on the MANUAL screen, maybe there's something there about how to do it.)

Thanks!

ehonauer

OK, maybe this is petty, but can a moderator fix the thread title to correct the name of the film? It should be "Oldboy" not "Old Boy". It's kind of like calling Superman Super Man.

Here's the cover of the original manga...



... and the Cannes footage of Oldboy - some clips and an interview with the director.

http://www.festival-cannes.fr/perso/...04&cmedia=5550

koy50

Congratulation!! "OLDBOY" won the grand prize of jury in Cannes film festival.

flashburn

THANKS! We tried our hardest!

marty888

I guess his excitement and enthusiasm for KILL BILL was for the non-violent edit, then....

DrGerbil

Yes, and he probably saw the 10 minute cut of Last House On The Left...

beefjerky

After such a long wait, I finally saw Oldboy tonight.

My expectations were incredibly high for this movie, and surprisingly they were met. I loved everything about it. The look, the acting, the settings, the plot, the stylish dialogue, the pacing... I'm surprised that Park Chan Wook managed to take the powerful punch of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and make it faster, tighter, and more entertaining. I'm really glad that it won Grand Prix at Cannes.

My only gripe with the DVD is that the colors looks too washed out. The colors in the trailers looked fantastic, so I'm a bit disappointed in the DVD. Hopefully the ultra release will fix the colors.

beefjerky

I wasn't trying too hard to find any Easter Eggs, but the writing on the Manual screen just tells you what's what in the Music Channel (video screen, track name, etc). So there's nothing there about a Easter Egg.

I just found this and thought it was pretty cool: http://www.galienni.com/article254.html

A painting by a French artist who was inspired by Oldboy.

BabyBuddha

Drats.

Still, it's weird that I can't seem to access the easter egg again.

Thanks for the link though.

Giles

so what the best online store in terms of pricing to buy this from?

should I buy this? or wait to see if Nicheflix might rent it out?

beefjerky

It's an excellent movie, and at 20.99 plus shipping at Yesasia, it's worth the buy. Buy another movie and you'll easily get free shipping.

beefjerky

I was able to get the Easter Egg. Go to "Manual," and on the first screen, keep pressing the right (left works too I think) button until the 5 box becomes highlighted. It should be noted that the first time that I tried to get the easter egg, I pushed down a whole bunch of times and then up a whole bunch of times before pressing right. However, after I watched the easter egg once, I was able to select the 5 box by just pressing right or left.

The easter egg isn't much. It's a video of some dumplings and then the credits flying by really fast.

harosa

Just got this from a seller in Korea off of Ebay, I was supposed to wait for my friend to watch it together but I said F- it, he hadnt heard anything about the movie except what i told him and i just dove in, man, what a jarring experience, this movie keeps piling it on all the way to the end and I was pleasently suprised the movie lived up to the hype. Definite recommendation.

DVD Smurf

I just finished watching this film which offers a brilliant cinematic experience. I must say, the story is truly Shakespearian, and cinematography is utterly poetic.

10/10!!!

If you do not have it... this should be your next purchase!!!!


Cheers

DVD Smurf

Review coming soon.

squint

yes i ordered a copy from koreandvds.com at a good price, and have just finished watching it too..

i think it's one of the best foreign movies i've seen, certainly the best korean films (i lived there for a year and saw quite a few!)

Looking forward to the LE to see the extra stuff :-)

harosa

At first I didnt bother even thinking of getting the LE but if it gets enough praise for offering more content to the movie besides fluff Ill definitely get it.

flashburn

I am definitely going to get the LE, if it indeed has a different cut of the movie. That alone will do it for me. This is one of the best foreign films I have ever seen. Especially after watching 'Sympathy for Mr Vengeance' for the first time a few hours before Oldboy. I am looking forward to Chan-Wook Park's third film in his trilogy of revenge.

ehonauer

Anybody hear anything about the LE release date? IIRC it was September 2004 originally. Don't know if the Cannes win will move that up or push it back...

Damfino

I just watched Oldboy last night. It's a great movie and the DTS track totally rocks. It would be a shame if they drop it for the LE.

I'd love to see this again on the big screen, hopefully a Hollywood studio gives Oldboy a theatrical release in the US. I'm not holding my breath though.

slop101

If anyone doesn't have Park's Sympathy For Mr. Vengance, an R2-UK version just came out that has extras subtitled, not to mention, sub-titles for the notes in the film that aren't subbed on the Korean dvd.

flashburn

Shit, are you serious? That was the one thing I disliked about the Korean dvd, no subtitles on some of the notes. I just bought the R3, I might have to just get the R2 and replace it then.