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Released by: Palisades Tartan
Released on: 6/15/2010
Director: Park Chan-wook
Years: 2002/2003/2005
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin,Du-na Bae, Ji-Eun Lim, Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong Kang, Dae-han Ji, Yeong-ae Lee, Min-sik Choi, Su-hee Go
The Movie:
Before Tartan films became usurped into Palisades Tartan, they released Park Chan-wook's three revenge films - Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy and Sympathy For Lady Vengeance - individually on DVD, while only Old Boy made it to Blu-ray. Thankfully, Palisades Tartan has corrected that with this excellent four disc Blu-ray release containing all three films and more extras than any release of these movies has seen anywhere else in the world.
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance:
Ryu's a young man who has had a rough life so far. Not only is he deaf and mute, but also his beloved sister lies on her deathbed desperately in need of a kidney transplant. His family doesn't have the money that they need to give her the life saving operation so Ryu does what he can working overtime in a grueling assembly line job in a local factory. He brings up the idea of donating one of his own kidney's to save his sister's life, but the sad fact of the matter is that his blood type doesn't match and as such it wouldn't do her any good anyway. To add insult to injury for the poor guy, the hospital finally has to tell poor Ryu that they're discharging his sister into his care due to the fact that he's unable to pay her medical bills any longer. He's essentially told to take her home and wait for her to die unless he can come up with the money he needs to pay for her surgery.
He decides to take matters into his own hands and try the underground illegal organ trade that he has heard whisper of. He tracks down a peddler in this rather repulsive trade and offers to exchange one of his own kidneys' for one that would match his sister's blood type, but again, this idea backfires and the only thing he gets out of this deal is one less kidney of his own.
Just as it's looking like the end of the game, Ryu gets a call from the hospital to let him know that if he can come up with the finances, they've finally found a suitable kidney that they can use for the operation. Ryu doesn't have the cash but he does have an idea - he and his friend decide to kidnap his boss' daughter and hold her for ransom. He figures the old man will pay up immediately to get his daughter back and that there won't be any complications in regards to the cops and of course, they don't intend to hurt the girl at all - they just need the cash to save his sister's life.
Ryu and his pal execute their plan and abduct the girl and it looks like things are going pretty smoothly at first as her old man has no problem whatsoever ponying up the cash to get her back. They release her, but for reasons that shouldn't be explained here for fear of spoiling the film, she doesn't wind up back in his possession immediately and because of this, he ends up going on the warpath to track down and take care of the kidnapping duo. Ryu has the life of his sister at stake, his boss has the life of his daughter at stake - both men are very desperate, and desperate times almost always call for desperate measures, regardless of intent.
A deliberately paced and incredibly bleak tale of revenge and conflict, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is not going to find a massive audience. This is a film that requires your complete and total attention to work - you can't just put this one on in the background while you've got company over and really get anything out of it. It's also a very different film from Park Chan-wook's better known Oldboy, not only in terms of pacing but in terms of characterization as well. Performance wise we're in pretty good shape. Ha-kyun Shin is excellent in the lead, completely sympathetic when he needs to be and very believable in the role. Ji-eun Lin, who plays his ailing sister, is also very good in her part. While no one in the film delivers anything on the level that Min-sik Choi does in Oldboy we're still treated to a very good cast making the most of their roles.
It should also be mentioned that because the film moves so slowly at times, the final half hour is all the more intense because when Park hits you over the head with some of the tricks he pulls in this film, you really don't see it coming and feel it all the more. There are a couple of truly cringe-worthy moments in this film that, if you haven't seen it before, come right out of left field and sucker punch you when you least expect it - and it's a great feeling when that happens. Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance relies much more on mood and atmosphere than on over the top action set pieces or tough talking dialogue. Long stretches of the film are quite quiet, mellow even, which really adds to the element of surprise that's brewing just underneath the surface of it all.
Another interesting aspect of the film is that it doesn't ask you to pick sides in the conflict. It's a brave move to place the lead character in a role where he isn't necessarily the good guy, against another character who may in fact be just as noble if not more so than his opponent. It calls into question your own views on the situations that the two men find themselves in, and depending on that view it's very possible that you'll take away from the film something completely different than the person sitting beside you at any given time. While the ending doesn't leave much open to interpretation, the way that we get there does pose some interesting questions to the viewer, resulting in a pretty thought provoking and fairly unique (especially by average revenge movie standards) film experience.
Old Boy:
Pak Chan-Wook's best known film, Old Boy, teams him with Korean actor Choi Min-Sik (of Shiri and The Quiet Family), this time on an adaptation of the Japanese Manga of the same name by Tsuchiya Garon and Minegishi Nobuaki. The results are nothing short of amazing in one of those rare films that lives up to the hype surrounding it.
Oh Daesu (Choi Min-Sik) finds himself in a very unusual prison after waking up from a bender one night. He was on his way home to his wife and daughter, but never makes it there. No one will tell him where he is, why he's there, or how long he's expected to stay. While in prison, he's routinely subjected to gassings, and forced to eat the same meal every day. All he has for companionship is his notebooks, which he fills with his confessions, and the television, which he uses to stay current with world events and news. It's through the local news one night that he hears of his wife's death, that she's been murdered, and that he is the police's prime suspect. He vows revenge against whoever set him up once he escapes, which he does, fifteen years later.
Once he's in the outside world, he sets about trying to piece his life back together and figure out what exactly happened. He revisits some old connections and, with the help of a young female sushi chef named Mido (Kang Hye-Jeong) that he meets seemingly be chance at a restaurant one night, begins to figure why he was setup and by whom. Or at least he thinks he does.
And I'm not going to go into any more detail on the plot than that. Knowing anything else before going into the film would be a grave disservice to the viewer as it would be way too easy to spoil it for those who have yet to see this minor masterpiece.
Pak Chan-Wook does an excellent job of bringing this movie to life. If some of the elements sound implausible, once the movie gets going it's plenty easy to overlook them as the film pulls you deeper into it as it progresses. Some of the stylistic choices are slightly reminiscent of the look David Fincher conjured up for Fight Club but without the gratuitous morphing from scene to scene. Old Boy has a gritty, stylish look that suits the shocking, punctuating violence of the story quite appropriately. The grays and greens of the hallways contrast nicely against the reds of the cells during the prison scenes while the cool green and blue hues of the water stand out against the blacks of the finale.
The cinematography is also interesting, as are some of the techniques used in telling the story such as a DePalma-esque split screen effect and montage of events such as the World Trade Center attacks and the death of Prince Diana set aside footage of Oh Daesu in prison to show how much has happened in the world since he was locked up. Camera movements are very fluid and natural, but also slick and pleasant to watch, aided by some unusual computer graphics for a few of the scene transitions.
Choi Min-Sik is exceptional in the lead. He plays his part with equal amounts of pathos and intimidation, lending his jowled looks and unusual physical attributes to the role and creating a wonderful sense of menace. Seeing as he did all his own stunts for the film, the fight scenes have an air of believability to them lacking in a lot of modern films, and sadly for animal rights activists, so does the scene where he chows down on an all too real squid (though this isn't considered all to unusual in Korean culture). He's able to brilliantly portray all the physically and emotionally demanding aspects the script requires with realism, and he makes it look easy.
Make no mistake, Old Boy is a dark and depressing film that, although it has a few instances of effective black comedy, hits like a punch to the groin. It is also incredibly well made and extremely compelling.
Sympathy For Lady Vengeance:
After Park Chan-wook made a name for himself with J.S.A. and later with Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, a hard-edged and emotionally involving tale of revenge. He followed that film with the second in his 'revenge trilogy,' the masterful and very popular Oldboy. A year or so later, he finished the trilogy with the release of Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, a film which shares some of the same basic themes and principals of the two earlier entries but definitely stands on its own as a truly unique and gripping work of cinema. Needless to say, with the international popularity and critical acclaim that was lauded on Oldboy, expectations were high for this film - thankfully, Park delivers.
The movie follows the story of Geum-ja (Young-ae Lee who appeared in Park's J.S.A. as well), a very pretty young woman who has been imprisoned since the age of nineteen for the murder of a young boy. Thirteen years after she was convicted, she's released from jail and back into the general population where she winds up with a job at a small bakery. Before she left prison, however, she made some friends thanks to the fact that she was, with one major exception, very kind to her fellow inmates and would go out of her way to help them when they were down. The exception? Well, there's the small matter of murder, but the victim had a tendency to rape her fellow prisoners anyway, so she kind of had it coming to her.
What we soon learn though is that Geum-ja's kindness was all simply a means to an end for her. It wasn't born out of concern or love for her fellow inmate, it was simply a way to ally herself with a few people on the outside world so that she could put into motion the wheels of her plan for revenge. It seems that Geum-ja wasn't actually responsible for the murder of the boy, it was Mr. Baek (Min-shik Choi of Oldboy), her former high school teacher. At a young age, Geum-ja became pregnant and if she didn't take the fall for Baek, he'd have harmed her daughter - so she had no choice but to do the time for Mr. Baek's crime.
With her daughter less than a year old, she was put up for adoption. Now out of jail, Guem-ja has tracked her down in Australia where she's been raised by a nice, albeit, rather odd, couple who care about her very much. Guem-ja simply wanted to apologize and, in addition to getting her revenge on Baek, she knows she needs to redeem herself in the eyes of her daughter, but it isn't going to be that easy.
And we'll leave it at that.
What's interesting about Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is that it manages to fall squarely in between the cold, calculating revenge of Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and the completely over the top pre-meditated revenge of Oldboy and it works out quite nicely. As a whole, the trilogy stands as a very unique take on one of cinema's oldest and most reliable genres but it takes the formula for the standard revenge movie and dissects it, exploring new ways to deliver that dish best served cold. It's this unique take on what can be done with a rather simple premise and the many layers on which the three stories function that makes the trilogy not so much an exercise in style over substance but an exercise in style and substance. Admittedly, the visuals in all three films and specifically in Sympathy For Lady Vengeance are very flashy and definitely meant to impress but the stories hold their own and completely validate each and every excessive frame.
Through a multitude of minor subplots and interesting flashback sequences, Park fills us in as we go along with just enough information that it all makes sense but still manages to keep us guessing and keep us thinking throughout the duration of the film. It might seem a little confusing at first but if you stick with it and pay attention you're well rewarded for your efforts from about the half way point on, where the reality of Guem-ja's situation becomes more evident and the loose ends start to tie themselves up. When the end credits hit after one of the most memorable closing shots in recent years, you're quite simply left in awe and just how well done the film really is in terms of technique, performances, and narrative.
The cinematography and the way that the scene transitions are handled in the film are both top notch. The movie flows so incredibly well in terms of what you see on the screen that even if nothing happened in the storyline it would still be a completely hypnotic film. To call the look of the film smooth would be an understatement but it really is so fluid that it's hard to come away any less than completely impressed. The contrast, the color scheme, the use of shadow and the little touches like the hues in the costumes and the eye shadow Guem-ja wears all add up to one of the prettiest movies to come out in quite some time.
Young-ae Lee is absolutely fantastic in the lead. While she lacks the ferocious intensity that Choi Min-sik had in Oldboy, the part doesn't need it as the story really is more about the development of the revenge rather than the execution. Not only is she striking in her appearance here, particularly when she wears the red eye shadow, but she's completely believable whether playing the calm but driven woman out for blood or the mother so saddened by what has happened to her relationship with her daughter. She's quite mesmerizing and completely capable of sucking you right into her story. Speaking of Choi Min-sik, he's very good here, this time playing the villain. He makes a very good counterpart to Choi's performance, he's a little more manic and a little more off the wall here. The scene where he's dancing and singing with the children in his classroom demonstrates a serious contrast to what we know he's guilty of and later on, when we see the videotaped evidence of his crimes, the scene delivers quite a heavy blow.
The Fade To Black And White Version: The two disc release that came out in Korea a few years back featured an alternate version of the film where the color slowly faded to black and white. That version was not included on the first standard definition domestic release from Tartan. That's been corrected with this new boxed set release, which thankfully includes both versions of the movie.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Each of the three films in the set arrives on Blu-ray in their original 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Although the transfer used for the Old Boy disc appears to be the same as the previous Tartan Blu-ray release, the other two films appear in high definition in North America for the first time and the upgrades that they offer in picture quality are quite substantial. Old Boy does show a bit of noise here and there and probably could have looked better but the other two film in the collection are nice and sharp and show off some absolutely beautiful color reproduction. Detail is generally pretty impressive throughout each of the three films in the collection though occasional soft shots are present (as they've always been). Skin tones generally look pretty nice though there are spots where contrast runs a little on the hot side (mostly noticeable in the third film) and where the director's grim and gritty aesthetic results in some less than perfect looking imagery (Old Boy, being the guilty party in that regard). Palisades Tartan has generally done a very nice job here, however, and fans should be quite pleased even if there will be some who wish Old Boy had looked just a little bit cleaner than it does.
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy For Lady Vengeance gets Korean Language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio tracks with subtitles in English. Both films sound excellent, with nice, rich musical scores and clear, succinct dialogue. Levels are always balanced ensuring that the score comes through well without burying the performers and that the sound effects carry just the right amount of punch. Mr. Vengeance doesn't have quite as much surround activity as Lady Vengeance does, but both films use the rear channels effectively and spread things out to nice effect.
But here's where this release stings a bit. Old Boy is advertised as having Korean language tracks in DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio, Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo as well as English language dubbed tracks in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Subtitles for Old Boy are again in English only. Those specs are almost right - but sadly, the DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio track is nowhere to be seen, meaning that there's no lossless option provided for the most popular film in the set. The 5.1 tracks that are included here aren't bad, but knowing that the 7.1 track was included on the previous Blu-ray disc is reason enough to be a bit annoyed at the lack of a lossless option in what should have been the definitive release.
The extras are spread out in the set as follows:
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance:
First up in terms of supplements is a commentary with the director of the film, Park Chan-wook, which his presented in Korean with English subtitles. Park is joined by Seung-wan Ryu, another director who also has a small role in the feature. This is a pretty active track and the two obviously have a good relationship together as they're quite enthusiastic about the discussion. Park covers a lot of technical details about the making of the film, certain locations used, and provides some anecdotes about things that happened during the production, while Ryu offers some 'friendly criticism' of Park's film and directing style which adds some humor to the track that makes it flow a little better than it probably would have otherwise. Park's comments about the climactic scene in the river towards the end of the movie are quite interesting as he explains why that scene was shot the way it was and what he was going for with that stand out moment in the film.
From there we move on to a couple of featurettes, the first of which is The Process Of Mr. Vengeance, a thirty-two minute documentary that shows us what the performers had to endure to create their characters for this film. We learn about how they developed and evolved and how they felt about some of the film's subject matter in addition to more generic problems such as harsh shooting conditions. It's quite interesting and well worth checking out. Also decent is the My Boksu Story segment, which is seventeen minutes of interviews with Kang-ho Song, Doona Bae, Ha-kyun Shin, Ji-eun Lim, and Bo-bae Han who discuss without any hesitation some of the reasons they came on board and, more interestingly, some of their misgivings with the project. This is complimented nicely by an additional forty minutes of Crew Interviews where we delve deeper into the technical side of the production and learn about the cinematography, set and sound design and special effects work. Some rather telling and revealing behind the scenes footage sits in with the interview clips to really flesh this out into quite a detailed look at the making of the film. The last featurette is Jonathan Ross On Park Chan-wook, which is a good seventeen minute piece in which England's most beloved film critic discusses the director's work and quite aptly dissects them for us.
Rounding out the supplements for the first film are a trailer, ten minutes worth of storyboards, a soundtrack and photos section, animated menus and chapter stops. All of the extras for the first movie are in standard definition.
Old Boy:
For this release, Palisades Tartan have carried over the extras that were on the previous Blu-ray release and included the amazing documentary that was previously exclusive to the out of print collector's tin release. Let's start with the first commentary track with director Park Chan-wook and actress Lee Young-ae that really gets into her character. This is a good discussion about the central relationship that drives the film and what it was like for Park to direct the picture and for his actress to play the role.
A second commentary joins Park with cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung, and art director Hwasung Cho. As you could imagine, this one is considerably more technical than the first track and it does a really solid job of elaborating on the set design and camera work used to give the film its unique atmosphere.
A third commentary track is also here, courtesy of Richard Pena who is an Associate Professor of Film at Columbia University. The only English language commentary on the disc (the other two are in Korean with English subtitles), it's a critical examination of the film, its influences and influence, the performances and it's style. It does tend to get a little long in the tooth in spots and those not into high brow film criticism may not appreciate it but Pena knows what he's talking about and quite often makes some very interesting points and comparisons.
The most impressive extra feature in the entire boxed set collection, however, is The Autobiography Of Old Boy, which runs for a mammoth three and a half hours and covers gives us a 'you are there' look at Park Chan-wook's directing style and what it was really like on set. Devoid of any narration, this lengthy on set segment is never the less quite interesting as all the context we need to 'get it' is right up there on the screen for us to soak in. It turns out to be a fascinating and very honest look at the trials and tribulations of filmmaking from all angles, both in front of and behind the camera.
An additional seventy-two minutes of behind the scenes documentary segments are also included here, covering the film's use of Flashbacks, CGI work, the Cast's memories, the film's score and the movie's production design. These get a bit more specific in regards to their individual subjects than the monster Autobiography piece does and are much more condensed, if not as thorough or as interesting, though when combined with the nearly fifty minutes of cast interviews that are also included here, there are few stones left unturned.
Closing out the extras for Old Boy are twenty four minutes of deleted scenes available with or without an optional commentary from the director, the film's theatrical trailer, a nine minute segment on the film's theatrical exhibition and reception at the Cannes Film Festival, menus and chapter selection. All of the extras for the this movie are also in standard definition.
Sympathy For Lady Vengeance:
Let's start with the trio of commentary tracks included here, culled from previous releases (you can enable these commentaries over whichever version of the movie you prefer, which is a nice touch). These commentaries are the only extras on the first Lady Vengeance disc aside from some classy menus and chapter selection. The commentary that Park Chan-wook provided with cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung and the film's art director, Hyeon-seok Choi, that was on the Korean DVD has been ported over and subtitled for this domestic release. This is an extremely technical commentary; in fact it's almost completely technical, so if you're into hearing about how certain shots were set up and how certain effects were pulled off then you'll probably really enjoy it. On the other hand, if you want stories about life on set, interaction with the performers or interpretations of what is happening on screen then this isn't one you'll want to bother with.
That being said, there are some interesting stories in here alongside the bombardment of technical details (many of which are also quite interesting). They discuss Park's 'specific demands' on set and his use of split screen. They talk about the impact of some intentionally sad scenes and what makes them effective and how they experimented a lot with the various backgrounds used in the movie and the importance of the color red. They also talk about how they tried to show the passage of time in the film by using a few interesting tricks and how certain scenes didn't necessarily go as planned but worked out in spite of themselves. This might seem dry to some, but again, if you're into the technical side of filmmaking this is a smart, intelligent and well paced discussion and dissection of the movie.
Also ported over and subtitled from the Korean release is the commentary that features Park Chan-wook and actress Young-ae Lee. This is a fairly observational commentary with the two spending a fair amount of time talking about what's happening on screen but they do delve into some interesting stories here and there. Park talks about how a woman's looks can make her crimes seem to be an even bigger deal and he also spends a fair bit of time discussing the score that's used in the movie. Lee isn't as active in the talk as her co-conspirator but she gets a few words in edgewise and seems to enjoy talking about the parodies of her character in the film that have emerged since it was released. These two definitely have a good relationship, it comes through very nicely in their interaction and they seem quite comfortable here, almost too relaxed at times in that there are more than a few moments where things slow down a little too much which results in some dead air. Hearing Lee explain her motivations as an actress is interesting, however and if you're a big fan of the movie you'll definitely take something away from this track even if it really would have benefited from having a moderator around to keep the pacing tight.
A third commentary track is also here, courtesy of Richard Pena who is an Associate Professor of Film at Columbia University. This is essentially a critical commentary and it gets a bit dry at times but he really does have a knack for dissecting the film and he does a really good job of pointing out some of the more subtle techniques that used throughout the movie as well as some of the obvious and not so obvious symbolism that is scattered throughout the movie. He also covers the connections between the three films in the 'Revenge Trilogy' but states how Sympathy For Lady Vengeance stands on its own. He also covers the technique and the visual style that plays such an important part in the movie and contrasts this movie to Pick Pocket and other films that use spiritual enlightenment as an important plot device. He also covers some of the more unusual comedic aspects that are used in the movie, as well as the subversion of power that is an important part of the storyline. Periodically there are moments of silence, which go on for a little bit too long, but overall this is a satisfying examination of the movie.
Disc two starts off with The Making Of Sympathy For Lady Vengeance that was on the Korean disc, this time in Korean with English subtitles. This is essentially just under eleven-minutes worth of behind the scenes and on set footage that show the cast and crew members in a more jovial mood than you might expect given the heaviness of the film that they're making. There are some interviews in here but they're brief and conducted on set amongst the chaos - the real reason to watch it is for the behind the scenes footage of which there is quite a bit and which also happens to be pretty interesting. More impressive is the thirty-seven minute The Style Of Lady Vengeance piece, which is a five part look at the making of the film in considerably more detail that explains how the film's look was created using traditional pre-production techniques as well as some fancy computer graphics.
In the Park Chan-wook section we're treated to an excellent forty-plus minute interview with the director who speaks at length about this film and the two that lead up to it, a second interview entitled Park Chan-wook: Mr. Vengeance that covers a fair bit of the same ground, a look at the director's still photography skills and a segment in which he recommends a Korean short film called The Freaking Family. Anything you've ever wanted to know about Park Chan-wook but have been afraid to ask is probably answered here. There is also twenty-six minutes worth of cast interviews with the actors and actresses who star in the film. Here they talk about what it was like getting into character, who they responded to their respective roles, how they feel about the film and what it was like working with Park Chan-wook.
There are also fourteen minutes worth of deleted scenes included on this disc, but they appear with a forced commentary from Park and Lee. The subtitles translate the commentary, not the dialogue and since there's no way to tell what's being said in the actual deleted clips, it's tough to elaborate much. Closing out the set are a trailer, a teaser, a few TV spots, a still gallery, and some menu screens. All of the extras for this movie are, again, in standard definition.
Note: The back of the packaging claims that this Blu-rayr release, like the standard definition offering, is an eight disc set, and it's not, it's a five disc set. That said, all of the extras that are supposed to be on the standard definition release appear to be included here so we're not missing anything. Palisades Tartan have confirmed that it's simply a typographical error.
If that weren't enough, inside the packaging is a nice thirty-two page full color booklet containing essays from Palisades Tartan representative Rick Stelow, filmmaker Eli Roth, producer Don Murphy, stunt coordinator and author John Kreng, and writer and director Susan Montford as well as an interview with Park Chan-wook conducted by Giant Robot Magazine's Martin Wong.
The Final Word:
Nit picking aside, the only real problem with this release is the omission of the DTS-HD track for Old Boy - here's hoping that issue gets fixed so we don't have to hold onto the previous Tartan Blu-ray release. Aside from that, Old Boy looks good while the other two look great and feature excellent uncompressed audio as well. As far as the extras go? There's an entire day's worth of supplemental features here, making it one ridiculously extensive package. The film's themselves are just as good as their reputation would have you believe and the set is being offered at a very fair price considering how much you get for your money. It's not the perfect release some wanted, but it's definitely damn close.