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Oldboy Discussion (1 Viewer)

EvanB

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/

Watched it last night, and all I can say is WOW. This movie rocked my world. Pulled no putches to say the least. Top notch direction, acting, cinemaphotograpghy, soundtrack. This movie is not for the young or faint of heart. Definetly one to see....Thought this movie deserved a topic because it is a Korean movie with not much press. What are others thoughts on this movie?
 

Eric.

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What a great idea for a thread.I had my world rocked as well about 3 weeks ago evan.I have come to the conclusion it's the best movie i have seen in at least a decade.This is what i posted in another thread.
 

MichaelPR

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Just watched this again on DVD tonight. I just felt compelled to post about it in case anyone has not heard of this film. This is a truly incredible and inovative film. Do you think we will get a region 1 dvd for this flick?
 

Adam_S

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Yes and we'll get an R1 release of Sympahty for Mr. Vengeance is my guess (which got an MPAA rating a month or so ago)

There's a bit of discussion and reviews on this film in the 2005 alternative, independent, and foreign thread, it might be better if this thread were folded into that one.

I liked the film, but it's not tonally perfect as the Psycho bending Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. I don't mind they're doing an American remake because they could tweak out a few of the problems with the film (the over-the-top-fifteen-minute-Bond-villain-explanation-of-way-too-many-convolutions-and twists at the end of the film that grinds the pace to a halt and almost made me lose the thread of the film).

Still this is a film that grows on you and one I'd like to see again, but probably won't own. :)

Adam
 

David Lawson

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August 23 is the release date for the R1 edition. I haven't seen any further details. The American remake is slated for 2006.

There is a discussion of the film (with numerous spoilers) in the Regional DVD Area, and I tend to agree with the original poster of that thread.
 

Kirk Tsai

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Finally saw this movie. I've seen Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, and I prefer Oldboy. They are big jolt movies, completely unforgettable, but I'm not sure I like them at this point. Choi does go for broke though, very impressive.


To me, the idea behind the ending is similar to Memento. That is, the main characters willfully deceive themselves in order to live on.
 

Adam_S

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i don't remember a specific final shot, but I remember the final scene was pastoral, winter I think.
 

Kirk Tsai

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The final shot of the movie depends on what you mean. The movie itself ends with a closeup on Choi, "crying and laughing at the same time," as the director says on the commentary. This occurs after the main female character says "I love you" to him.

But after a short dark screen with the credits running up, the screen goes back to a shot of the mountain and the sun behind it. It's a beautiful image. The camera pans left until the end of the credits.

Lady Vengeance has a very different sort of pacing, though some many of the stylistic choices are similar.
 

Seth Paxton

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I agree, though obviously he has kept the truth hidden from her, so only he needed to have it "erased".

I was pretty torn because no matter what kind of punk kid he was, this situation wasn't his fault and he was made to suffer well beyond any harm he had directly done, yet I couldn't help but feel that the director disagreed and saw this as a karmic balance in the end, simply based off of how he portrayed the final pieces.


"What's in the box"
"Don't look in the box"

Tell me this didn't have a strong Se7en vibe to it down the stretch.


I was really blown away by the quality of the direction though. There were endless creative shots and edits, lots of metaphorical images and in general just great editing. Favorite shot of the film, the tracking shot in the hotel lobby crossing in front of the pillar and ending with the elevator door opening to reveal that "brawl" scene's resolution.

It's a case where the shot selections, the timing of the edit, and the choice of movement by the camera in conjunction with the movement in the mise-en-scene (the doors opening) are perfectly connected. That sort of direction is in my opinion very sophisticated work.
 

teapot2001

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Thi

That was my favorite, too. Very simple idea that I've never seen been done in film before. I think the director got it from playing video games. :)

~T
 

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