Korean Movies On DVD (1 Viewer)

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

Kin Ho, can you expand on "Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance". Reading a few comments on us.imdb.com I get the sense it's a very bleak film, albeit well done.

 

[Kin Ho]

Brajesh Upadhyay - The beauty in the movie lies in the composition of frames and shots bringing a fresh look to tired cliches.

There are I must admit lots of reviews on the net saying this film is very bleak, violent and depressing. This maybe so depending on how hardened you are to such scenes but I feel that whatever happens on screen is justified and reasonable. Despite this its still compulsive viewing and there is a certain tragic awe to it.

Don't be put of by the bleakness stated in reviews or the violence everything makes sense and its refreshing to watch because of it.

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

Based on your thread & the 'Korean Film Recommendations' thread @ dvdtalk, I just ordered 4 DVDs to sample Korean cinema. The only one I've seen so far is "Shiri", which I liked, a B+.

I ordered "My Wife is a Gangster", "My Sassy Girl", "Christmas in August" & "Il Mare".

 

[Kin Ho]

Brajesh Upadhyay - The korean film recommendation thread is the same as this thread ... well me and cirrus888 are the same
Try www.koreanfilm.org for more info.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Great thread! I've seen most of these, thanks to the Koreanfilm.org. But still ended up ordering six titles I hadn't seen! Thanks.

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised to see this thread. I'm a big fan of Korean and HK films. I myself have most of these movies, but it's good to see I'm not alone here in liking this genre.

 

[Chris Xolotl]

Me too. Just watched 2009: Lost Memories over the weekend and was relieved to finally see/hear more bullets flying than all of the World Wars put together. Excellent movie. The dramatic/tension scenes were a little bit too close and too soon put together.

The Cinematography was beautiful. As with most Korean DVDs, the production qualities are top-notch.

I am about too see Nowhere To Hide (Spectrum Korean Version); but your review of the HK disc worries me..

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Anyone seen Yesterday and can comment on it?

 

[Kin Ho]

Chris Xolotl - Depends what you want from a Movie like Nowhere To Hide ... I couldn't forgive its pop video sensibilities and I don't believe there is a plot worth following.
It does look good technically however but don't expect it to be action packed ... you'll be disappointed.

 

[Kin Ho]

Holiday In Seoul
Holiday In Seoul 1997
Released by Universe Laser & Video Co. Ltd.
Hong Kong R3 (R0)
NTSC Colour
99 mins
OAR 1.85:1 Non Anamorphic
DVD-5 Korean DD2.0
English (good), Chinese (trad) and Chinese (simp) Subs.
Extras
- Star Files in English and Chinese
Good DD2.0 sound and a generally sharp clean picture for a DVD-5 non anamorphic disc.
Directed by Kim Yui-seok (Chinese Restaurant Peking, 1999) and staring Jang Dong-kun (Friend) and Jin Hee-kyung (I Wish I Had A Wife) the film involves a doorman, a taxi driver, a telephone operator and a leg model.
Like a Korean Chungking Express it tells the story of a handful of misfits centred round a hotel. Very watchable and compares very well with chungking express although it isn't as left field. Both stories in this movie is as strong as each other and each character is given time to flesh themselves out.
The dark seedy tone of the movie wraps itself up nicely at the end given every character a little hope to look forward to ...
I enjoyed the movie but it will be limited to those who like little stories about odd characters who can only find themselves at night ...

 

[Kin Ho]

Pusan Film Critics Award 2002
Best Film: SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE
Best Director: Park Chan-wook, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE
Best Actor: Sol Kyung-gu, OASIS
Best Acress: Bae Doona, TAKE CARE OF MY CAT
Jury Prize: THE WAY HOME
Best Scenario: Lee Chang-dong, OASIS
Best Cinematography: Jung Il-sung, CHIHWASEON
Lee Pil-woo Memorial Award: Kim Hyun (a veteran film editor)
Best Supporting Actor: Gong Hyung-jin, A PERFECT MATCH
Best Supporting Actress: Kim Yeo-jin, CHIHWASEON
Best New Director: Kim In-sik, ROAD MOVIE
Best New Actor: Hwang Jeong-min, ROAD MOVIE
Best New Actress: Kim Hye-na, FLOWER ISLAND
.................................................. .................................................. ...
Great to see Sympathy For Mr.Vengeance winning top honours and Bae Doo-na winning top actress prizes! :clap:

 

[Gary Tooze]

Asako in Ruby Shoes



FULL Review with screen captures is HERE
Released by Cinema Service
Region 3, Korea
NTSC, color
118 minutes
oar 1.85:1, 16:9 enhanced
Video-sourced
Average bit rate: 5.84 mbps
Japanese/Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
Japanese/Korean Dolby Digital 5.1 (384 kbps)
Korean or English optional subtitles
Extras (no subtitles):
- synopsis, cast & crew, production notes (text only)
- photo gallery (just captures from the film as far as I can tell)
- music video
- trailer
- highlights (selected scenes from the film)
- director interview (3 minutes, video-sourced)
- making-of (6 minutes, video-sourced)
First the good news: absolutely no edge enhancement, excellent 7.5 ire black level with plenty shadow detail, vibrant colors with true skin tones and good detail. Not sure about sharpness because I had to watch it in bob mode on the htpc. Which brings me to the bad news: it's video-sourced with major de-interlacing problems. When the camera is moving it actually looks like 24fps slow-motion, with terrible stuttering and flicker. I have no idea how this will look on an interlaced display because i don't have one, but on a progressive setup without faroudja dcdi de-interlacing (can't wait for my holo3dgraph, this disc will be my first torture test) it looks hideous. Oh there's also some minor chroma delay, and some dirt on the print here and there. Hardly a problem.
Seeing how it's a Japanese/Korean co-production I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a superior looking Region 2 Japanese DVD soon.
That said I'm sure that if you love the film as much as I do you simply stop noticing any picture quality problem after a few minutes. Not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure but if you like slow-moving drama with a touch of quirky humor and original visual style be sure to check it out. Parts of it reminded me of atom Egoyan's EXOTICA, and to a lesser degree Bernard Rose's PAPERHOUSE. Both stories really spoke to me and touched me, especially the one about the depressed Japanese girl. When towards the end the soundtrack plays jigsaw's SKY HIGH ('you've blown it all sky high') it's a really sad but perfect moment. The entire soundtrack is wonderful btw, subtly underlining sad moments but never in the foreground. Despite it's complicated structure of jumping back and forth between multiple storylines it's one of these films that (to my warbled little mind at least) just make sense start to finish. The ending where the two stories come together is far-fetched, but i like to think of it more as a fairy tale fantasy ending and thus it works. Loved the visuals! The use of freeze frame was brilliant. It only happens two or three times, but at just the right moment.
Highly recommended. ( review from Jeroen H. Komen )

 

[Kin Ho]

Bungee Jumping Of Their Own
Released by Atlanta
Korean R3 (R0)
NTSC Colour
100 mins
OAR 1.85:1 Non-anamorphic
DVD-9 Korean DD5.1 and DD2.0
Korean, Japanese, Chinese and English Subs
Extras (no Subs)
- Cast and Director Bios
- Synopsis
- Scenario
- Gallery (host of pictures inc. backstage)
- Trailer of film and of Fighters Blues
- Music Video
- Making Of Film (13mins)
Good clean sharp picture with bright colours even though it is not 16x9 enhance. A few flicks and flecks abound but only a few.
The DD5.1 sound is clear and makes good use of rears. I have no complaints about sound or picture.
The story begins on a rainy afternoon with So In-wu (Lee Byeong-Heon, JSA:Joint Security Area) meeting In Tae-hae (Lee Eun-Ju) by chance and offering her shelter under his umbrella while they wait for her bus.
A romance with a twist ending. The film reminds me of Ditto in that it will please the teen market ... more so than films from the likes of Hur Jin Ho (Christmas in August and One Fine Spring Day). This doesn't mean there is nothing for the mature viewer though ... far from it ...
The romance between the leads work and I enjoyed the character introductions during the 1st 30 mins of the movie but interest in the film dips during the middle section where the director (Kim Dae-Seung his feature debut) tries to introduce the 3rd character in the movie ... however the final moments of the film is some of the most daring I've seen for a romance and is worth sitting through the middle section just to see.
Its another excellent Korean romance!

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Doh! In my excitement to acquire some of these discs I forgot to check the specs for english subs! I bought the Korean R3 version of One Fine Spring Day and just tried to watch it. Beautiful 16:9 picture and DTS sound. Its a three disc set with disc 3 being a cd of the soundtrack.
If any of you korean speaking members would like this at a great price please let me know.

 

[Kin Ho]

Mark_Wilson I would suggest you pick up the cheap HK version of One Spring Day and watch it once because the film is not dialogue heavy and the magic lies in the reaction between the leads and beautiful landscape shots.

 

[Gary Tooze]

Chunhyang


A wonderful film but not a totally perfect DVD. I reviewed this on a Panasonic 28 inch tube, a Sony 53 inch rear-projection and a 19 inch Viewsonic monitor with pretty much the same results. I do see there is some validity to the complaints regarding horizontal movement and blurred images, BUT during all three normal screenings I did not notice it. It did not hinder my enjoyment of this film at all. Only when grabbing screen captures and/or reducing the speed did this problem blatantly arise. What I can guess is that although this DVD is enhanced for 16X9, it may prove to show much better on a 4:3 system. I didn't have any problem with this on any of my systems, but I do not own a widescreen television. The blurriness exhibited when screen caps were obtained is quite unusual. I understand that there is speculation that it is caused by the conversion from PAL to NTSC. This could be accurate, but right now it is still speculation.
Otherwise this DVD has glorious colors, minimal edge enhancement and is very film-like in its presentation. I can recommend it strongly as it is the only version available in NTSC and the only version with English sub-titles available anywhere. This is a fabulous film, but for those who own widescreen TV's ,interested in the perfect visual experience, I would be leery. For those of us interested in a wonderful exploration of a cultural experience that they may not have been exposed to previously, I say drink deeply from New Yorker's well and purchase this DVD. With the lack of extras I give this out of 4/5.
New Yorker Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime 1:54:48
Video 1.85:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / anamorphic
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
Audio Korean (2.0 Surround)
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: New Yorker Films
Theatrical Release Date: January 1, 2000
Extras:
Non-anamorphic Trailer (1:50)
DVD Release Date: October 16, 2001
Transparent Keep Case
Chapters: 20
My full review with screen captures is HERE.
Cheers,

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

Anyone care to comment on Phantom: The Submarine? I watched it a couple of weeks ago. I thought it had good production values, but could have been much better. Its an enjoyable movie, just not real memorable.

 

[Kin Ho]

Happy End
Release by Universe Laser & Video Co. Ltd.
HK R3 (only)
NTSC Colour
100 Mins
AR 1.78:1 Non-Anamorphic (OAR 1.85:1)
DVD-9
Korean DD5.0 + DD2.0
English (Good), Simplified Chinese and Trad Chinese Subs
Extras (English)
- Trailer
- Cast and Director bios
A nice cleanish picture with decent blacks and contrast levels. No DVD-5 limitations visibly apparent. A good non-anamorphic print with clear sound. This is a HK exclusive no other version is available as of date.
Debut for director Jung Ji-woo and starring Choi Min-sik (Failan) as the husband, Jeon Do-yeon (No Blood No Tears) as the wife and Jin Mo-joo (Wanee and Junah) as her passionate lover. The film caused a sensation when it was released due to Jeon Do-Yeon's sensational sex scenes which I must admit enjoyed ... no fast stylish editing here just pure unadulterated sex. :norty:
OK before you get carried away with naked thoughts of the curvy Jeon Do-yeon who incidentally look like she has lost weight in comparison to her No Blood No Tears role, the movie has some fine performances of yearning, despair and hopelessness to lift this way above the usual "having an affair" movie. Daily routines similar to our own mundane/content livelihoods are played out on screen for us to relate too. You can't help but feel sorry for everyone and the situations we all share or hope never to experience ... but it happens ...
The film hasn't been talked about much simply because its not widely available on DVD and everyone seemed to have missed it on the big screen with only Darcy naming it in his favourite movie list that I happen to seek this one out ... a Cat III DVD in my eyes automatically means silly soft core porn be it made in HK or Korean so I would have probably ignored it.
The ending to this movie has the question "Happy End?" come up before the credits roll ... a fitting description as it leaves you pondering about what you just saw ...
... sorry to those people who may think I gave away the ending but I don't think you can really call that a spoiler ...
Buy it on cheap-ie HK DVD ...

 

[YANG]

Just recently added another korean popcorn action flick to my collection...VOLCANO HIGH.
HONGKONG release by MEGASTAR MULTIMEDIA with DTS surround sound.
A two disc set release like SUPERBIT deluxe,main film in a disc,extras on another.

Fellow members who like "bullet time" martial arts action comedy will like this korean blockbuster as well.

 

[Kin Ho]

My Korean Movie Top 10:
1. Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance
2. Christmas In August
3. Il Mare
4. My Sassy Girl
5. Barking Dogs Never Bite
6. Failan
7. Take Care Of My Cat
8. Oasis
9. Art Museum By The Zoo
10. One Fine Spring Day