Well, this is one bit of pleasant news that many have been patiently waiting for. The high-profile Korean film THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (2008) is now up for DVD pre-order at yesasia and dvdheaven.

Yesasia is showing a release date of March 11 while dvdheaven shows March 5th. From the early specs, it appears to be a 3-disc release, and like almost all Korean DVD releases it is English-friendly.

It looks like we will be getting two different cuts of the film: Korean version running 136 minutes; International version running 129 minutes. The third disc will be home to the extras. Of course the pricing is a little higher than your standard Korean set with yesasia listing at $35 and dvdheaven listing at $29 (not including shipping).

Following are the pre-order links for YesAsia and DVDHeaven:

Pre-order at YesAsia:
http://www.yesasia.com/us/the-good-t...0-en/info.html

Pre-order at DVDHeaven:
http://www.dvdheaven.com/dvd/dvd_detail.php?idx=25802

Just to be more thorough, the DVD is also listed at k2dvd.com for a March 5th release priced at $23.42 (not including shipping).

Some specs at K2DVD:
Audio Commentary
Making Film
Interview
Sound Making
Production Design
Deleted Scenes
Alternative Ending (Multi-angle supported)
Trailer

Pre-order at K2DVD.com
http://www.k2dvd.com/default.asp

No blu-ray annouced?

Anybody know what is the blu-ray market like in S. Korea nowaday? other than the four or five blu-ray titles (of Korean movie) they released a year or two ago, seems it has been long time since there's any additional release...?

I watched this one as "in-flight movie" last year. So, it is not fair for me to comment it as I watched on a 10" screen (and properly censored) so I have to watch again... It has plenty of (gun) action and stunt... and the plot has double/triple-cross/Korean-vs-Japanese nationalism... other than for obivous homage to Sergio Leone, I actually find it more close to Sammo Hung's Millionaire's Express.

Krikey, K2DVD site design really is the same as the former DVDFromKorea. It has the same annoying lack of direct linking.

Oh well, looks like this will be my first order with K2DVD. I wonder what price WooriDVD will come with (on eBay).

And as far as DVDHeaven is concerned, as those familiar will already know, proceed with caution ...and only use as a last possible option.

The Korean DVD market is virtually dead thanks to illegal downloading and streaming (the inevitable price to the Korean film industry of being based in the most connected country on earth), so Blu-Rays are increasingly unlikely unless outside distributors pick up the titles. Premium items like THE GOOD, THE BAD might get Blu-Rays at home, but I wouldn't hold my breath . . .

And the rest of us have to buy 2 disc SEs with useless English-unfriendly extras that try to compete against the downloaders! Or, hope it gets picked up for an HK release that isn't just the pits.

Interesting. I'm somewhat technically illiterate with computers and I'm not sure how you were able to make it work. Not sure if it's my browser, but there's obviously a way to circumvent the framing (if that's what is causing it) and I just don't know how. After I click on the DVD links the homepage url reference does not change but the page does.

Has anyone in the U.S. pre-ordered this from K2DVD yet? I've never ordered from them so I'm a little curious as to what they are charging for shipping on this release.

Shipping to the US was about $11.50. I ordered from Yesasia because I trust them. Really, what is $5 extra?

I'm using Firefox under Linux, but I think it's the same under Windows.
On the homepage, right click on the cover, then "copy link location" or "open link in new tab".

Using Firefox under Win XP and the right click button has been disabled.

If you sign up and log in, then you can use right click functions. And also copy/paste will do work. This is also the limitation from the old DfK-template the web developer used for our site. We're now talking about the renewal of the site, some minor changes. We considerate to remove this hassle completely.

Thank you
K2DVD.com

did this ever get a us theatrical showing?
also how is the movie too?

The movie is very entertaining. If Quentin Tarantino directed a loose remake of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, it might look a little like this. It borrows the basic plot and characters from Leone's film (although the Eli Wallach character is much more likeable), and adds modern touches like martial arts and hip-hop. There's also a fair amount of comedy, much of it pretty funny.

i wonder if the extras will have english subtitles? doubtfull right?

Very doubtful.

My pre-order is in so now it's just a matter of waiting...with fingers-crossed that THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD turns out to be a lot better than the mediocrity of SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO.

While I think this movie might have been a little different had Tarantino never come upon the scene, I think Kim Ji-woon is a far more original filmmaker, even if he generally works in (and with) familiar genres. Taratino's films are a lot of fun, but they're basically compendiums of stuff he's seen, well shot. Kim's works don't require near-constant references to make them cool. His biggest Tarantino-ism in THE GOOD might be the delightfully anachronistic use of the strident melody from Santa Esmerelda's big hit "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" to underscore virtually the entire climactic action sequence (the flamenco "dance-off" bridge from song intro'd the swordfight between Lucy Liu and Uma Thurman in KILL BILL), and even then I'm not sure I'd call it a Tarantino-ism because the song predates his use of it by more than two decades. Also, I didn't find the martial arts to be a modern touch because martial arts have been an integral part of Asian cinema--including Korea's--from the very beginning. The nod to Leone is, of course, obvious from the title and the look of the film, and the triumvirate of lead characters, but beyond that, Kim's movie moves much more briskly than a lot of Leone's pictures, thus requiring more intricate plotting, which was well-handled.

SUKIYAKI is more like something that Tarantino would direct, if he were Japanese. Miike's films are every bit the reference-fests that Tarantino's are. Both of them are masters at it, which makes their films seem more original than they really are, especially if you're unfamiliar with their (many) points of reference.

THE GOOD THE BAD THE WEIRD is one of the best-written, "popular" genre films to come out of Korea in some time. It's long but never feels it, and the money's on screen. It's a much better and more epic film experience than SUKIYAKI.


Big big hit in Korea (how could it not be with those three stars alone?). Played the fests in North America, and I believe IFC Films has picked it up. Why they're sitting on it is beyond me, as the delay only means more oppotunities for pirates and uploaders.

Same here, I took a chance on K2dvd.com.

Please, report back how reliable they are.

I read on another site that the reason IFC is sitting on it currently is that MGM won't allow them to use the title (claiming it is too close to the Leone film).

I guess the martial arts aren't really a modern touch, but a departure from Leone. When I first saw the guy from A Bittersweet Life, I expected some butt kicking. I thought the scene near the end where "The Trio" meet up was actually parodying TGTB&TU.

Anyone think we can expect a Blu-ray release of this?

Considering its the director of Bittersweet Life, I am willing to blind buy.

I have this on a one disc Bonzai Media release. From Cine-East. $18.99 with shipping. It looks great-better than some blu rays. It plays on region 1 players and is uncut.

What country is that one made in?