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Oldboy

stephen129

By stephen129,
in Film, TV & Radio

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V3zna

V3zna

Posted
Posted
I was somewhat mislead as to the violence in it though. I had the impression it was going to be pretty shocking in the violence stakes and I also had the impression the hammer would play a bigger part, that he would use it for a longer time through the movie. The hammer fight actually did nothing for me at all. I did like the set up of the fight and the fixed camera perspective, but other than that, it left me cold.

Same here. Oldboy was nowhere near as violent as it was made out to be. For example Kill Bill 1 was far, far more violent.

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Tom*

Tom*

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yeah I think it's just down to the promotional material of the film. Alot of promo shots are of his with the hammer, or with the gang in the corridor. The actual plot doesn't hint to constant violence, just that it's a revenge movie and that's bound to involve some fighting somewhere.

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mr.miffed

mr.miffed

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"Very believable or as sick or potent as Auditon or Ichi, or as important as Battle Royale. "

Feel free to explain why two throwaway films like audition or ichi are "potent" and neither are even remotely believable... also since when has being sick been a good thing?

Justify, kids!

Ichi is not throwaway, its an absolute feast for the eyes. A true manga in motion filled with violence so pornographically OTT that it's reached new zen like heights of artistry. People will be ripping it off for years to come but that's probably true of all miike's films, highly stylized as they are.

Audition is also an amazing movie in terms of psychological thrillers, nothing I've seen except maybe irreversible has been so oppressive and unpleasant.

Though Stu's clearly wrong about Oldboy which was the absolute dogs bollocks, I wasn't that disgusted by the twist, it's not his fault like and he fixes it at the end.

I thought it felt like a western a lot of the way through.

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Ben

Ben

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I just did a search for Old Boy on eBay and it seems very cheap... are they pirates or just the fact that genuine asian discs are dirt cheap.

I'd advise against buying foreign DVDs from ebay, I've bought a few and 50% of the time they're pirate copies.

Just buy it from PlayAsia if you're after a Asian version, at least you're 100% of what you're getting.

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  • 2 weeks later...
cassidy

cassidy

Posted
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Finally watched this last night and I have to say it impressed me a huge amount.

Now I was told it was a sicker film than Ichii, well its not in the violence stakes granted, but boy oh boy, thats a doozy of a twist at the end and now I understand the statement.

Never saw it coming in the slightest. My only issue is not to happy about the final shot and its ethical stance still to be expected really.

Its only the second Korean movie I've seen since the eye. Recommend me more please.

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kerraig UK

kerraig UK

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Finally watched this last night and I have to say it impressed me a huge amount.

Now I was told it was a sicker film than Ichii, well its not in the violence stakes granted, but boy oh boy, thats a doozy of a twist at the end and now I understand the statement.

Never saw it coming in the slightest.  My only issue is not to happy about the final shot and its ethical stance still to be expected really.

Its only the second Korean movie I've seen since the eye. Recommend me more please.

MEMORIES OF MURDER

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kerraig UK

kerraig UK

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hahaha I SO know the wallpaper you mean.

Another amazing Korean film is Joint Security Area. From the guy who made Oldboy. It was his second film but it has the emotional sophistication of someone whos been making films for years. I prefer it to oldboy and sympathy for mr vengeance

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cassidy

cassidy

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hahaha I SO know the wallpaper you mean.

Another amazing Korean film is Joint Security Area. From the guy who made Oldboy. It was his second film but it has the emotional sophistication of someone whos been making films for years. I prefer it to oldboy and sympathy for mr vengeance

Cheers for the recommendations, this thread will prove most useful in the future :(

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Meh

Meh

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hahaha I SO know the wallpaper you mean.

Another amazing Korean film is Joint Security Area. From the guy who made Oldboy. It was his second film but it has the emotional sophistication of someone whos been making films for years. I prefer it to oldboy and sympathy for mr vengeance

Out on R2, no? If so, it's getting bought today. Along with Save the Green Planet. Which was the best film I watched last year in an empty cinema.

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CrispinG

CrispinG

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Well, from what I've watched so far, it does :o

People rave about Jap films a lot, but most of it's just hot air.

The topic's veering in the wrong direction, innit.

That's only because there's a current obsession in the West with Asian horror movies, which aren't all that great for the most part. Korea has some interesting cinema too, but the only reason people are paying attention is because they've cultivated a reputation for 'extreme cinema'. But as great as this stuff is, it won't be remembered in sixty years. You know who Akira Kurosawa is, right?

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cassidy

cassidy

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seconded for spring, summer....

Beautiful beautiful film.

Thats twice in 2 threads on 2 seperate forums this film has been described as thatmentioned and aint even heard of it before. How come no topic. We cant be expected to find these things out for ourselves you know :o

Anyway

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Meh

Meh

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That's only because there's a current obsession in the West with Asian horror movies, which aren't all that great for the most part. Korea has some interesting cinema too, but the only reason people are paying attention is because they've cultivated a reputation for 'extreme cinema'. But as great as this stuff is, it won't be remembered in sixty years. You know who Akira Kurosawa is, right?

Yes, yes.

I was only basing my opinion on what I've seen/heard about so far, and what I've seen from Korea just seems a lot fresher in the ideas department.

I'm not saying Jap cinema is shite at all, there's some great stuff out there, but Korea seems to have a creative "edge" at the moment, from what I've seen/heard.

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blackakira

blackakira

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Well, I've just finished watching Oldboy for the first time. Someone told me it was a kind of Korean Fight Club, but I don't know about that really. Like Fight Club, it looks very nice and plays little tricks on you as it edges closer to it's inevitable "twist" conclusion. Overall, a really entertaining if somewhat {/possibleunderstatement} twisted movie.

I really didn't like the end where he begs for his life and kisses his shoes and all that. That just made me feel kind of sick. Then again, if it was you and you realised what the damn box was about and all the implications that it had on the life you had led, the people you had...slept with...ugh. Just, no. Also, did anyone else laugh when the guy dropped his sister from the top of the dam? Seeing him cry reminded me of a scene in Battle Royale for some reason. I think it was meant to be moving, but I honestly found it hilarious.

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