Film of the Week #1 - Oldboy

Karl Hungus

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

Film of the Week has had an excellent start in my opinion, Oldboy is an absolute masterpiece, quite easily one of my favourite films.

Discuss.

koneko

Agreed.
I have made so many people watch this, love to see their reactions when they tell me about it, thoroughly enjoyable film.

mickith

watched this film a few weeks back. thought it was pretty good alrite.
some of it was pretty mad as well from what i remember. i was under the influence while watchin it but remember that it was good to watch

Tusky

I absolutely adore Old Boy. I would echo Karls statements, easily one of my favourite films. The dark twisted storyline is mind blowingly good but perhaps not for the faint of heart. The soundtrack is also absolutely fantastic, as is the acting.

One of the things that most impressed me is the visual flare of the movie which I also found to be very original. It is also evident in Lady Vengeance (I have yet to see sympathy for mr vengeance).

Its one of those films that you need to watch twice, although I have watched it half a dozen times and I like it more each time I see it. It also features one of the best fight scenes in recent memory and some fantastic gore.

If you havent seen this movie yet, go buy it!

thewing

The ending makes my toes curl.....what a film

Goodshape

Great film allright. Powerful stuff, amazing action. Looks great and has that wonderful feel to it that only Asian films do.

Wouldn't mind seeing it again though (I've seen it once, and only recently). I remember the ending being a bit too off the wall.

c - 13

Fantastic film and a dark, disturbing, twisted ending.
Think ill give it another spin over the weekend !

BlitzKrieg

Oldboy is a masterpiece.

The 2nd in the revenge trilogy by Chan-wook Park it is certainly the most dark and twisted of the three (the characters in the other two come across more innocent then in this.).


I remember having to drag my friends to this film. But afterwards they wouldnt shut up about it.

For me its tied with Sympathy for mr vengence as the best of the revenge trilogy

monkeyfudge

It's a very good film. But I thought it was let down by the ending.

The whole hypnosis thing was very silly... Hypnosis simply doesn't work like that.

I enjoyed Smypathy for Lady Vengence too and it's really nicely shot. I have Mr. Vengence on DVD, but haven't got around to watching it yet... I might give it a go over the weekend if I have time.

tman

An absolutely fantastic movie, my favourite of all time in fact!
I couldn't recommend this movie highly enough.
You couldn't have chosen a better movie to kick off the film of the week series:)

johnny_ultimate

A fine film indeed.
Superbly made little motion picture, which has themes Hollywood wouldn't poke with a vey large designated pole for poking stuff with.
I dread the Hollywood version, which will clearly be a sanatised version of what is without a doubt a unique, disturbing, darkly comic film.

thewing

Please tell me this isn't getting the Hollywood treatment?Look what they did with Infernal Affairs.....

johnny_ultimate

thewing wrote:

Please tell me this isn't getting the Hollywood treatment?Look what they did with Infernal Affairs.....

The Departed was superb! Although that was directed by Scorcese...
Confirmed Hollywood remake. Although possibly, and hopefully, shelved
If this film comes into existence, I will weep for humanity.

shatners basoon

BlitzKrieg wrote:

Oldboy is a masterpiece.
For me its tied with Sympathy for mr vengence as the best of the revenge trilogy

I'd agree with that, though i probably prefer sympathy for mr. vengeance due to the whole ambience of the film, its a much rawer grittier film than oldboy. That being said the style of oldboy is fantastic and as said highly original. I hated Lady Vengeance, well hate is too strong a word but i was very disapointed with it in comparison with the other two.

They're making a hollywood version? Why? What the hell is the point? (Besides money obviously!)

Is JSA any good actually? Have always thought about renting it.

BlitzKrieg

I hated Lady Vengeance, well hate is too strong a word but i was very disapointed with it in comparison with the other two

I liked Lady...just not as much as olbdoy and Mre vengence.

Lady Vengence was like Amelie with serial killers and torture scenes...whats not to love?

shatners basoon

Well for one i thought the basic plot was lacking and a lot of the little (Ameliesque) touches did nothing for the plot in the end and were just pointless stylizations. I also thought it was very corny in the end and the music was awful. i also thought the lead was quite hollow and didnt suit the role. It was an average film in my opinion (maybe a bit above average!)

faceman

Oldboy is excellent. I remember reading a while ago (think it was aintitcool) that it was up for american remake?

The ending was clever, if a bit off the wall. I cant really see hollywood capturing the same feel as how the film was shot if it is remade.

Rabies

Loved the movie, I blame KH for getting me interested in Asian cinema over the years Most of the movies I have bought or watched have been because of Boards. This was one of my first.
Passed the movie on to some of my friends and they all thought the same.

Dont be at yourself

This came out at the time when every Asian movie under the sun was being shoehorned into a Tartan dvd case and released for 20-odd euro, and fresh after seeing the woefully disappointing The Eye, I was in no mood for what I figured to be another hackneyed, unimaginative Asian movie.

I finally watched it last night though, and I was very impressed. Very stylish direction, truly harrowing story, fantastic use of music throughout - it was quite a surprise!

It reminded me a little of Takeshi Miike's Audition - what with the man being held captive (though not in a sack, mercifully) for an unknown reason, later revealed to be as a result of a twisted childhood.

As someone mentioned above, the hypnosis plot device is really very weak, but it's the only black mark on an otherwise superb movie. Very few others manage to combine such extremes of love, horror, comedy and action in one film.

WRT an american remake: I don't think that the storyline would ever get past a Hollywood studio without some significant changes.

Anyway, kudos to Oldboy: for restoring my faith in Asian cinema!

qwertplaywert

looks a good movie, might rent out soon

Winters

shatners basoon wrote:

Is JSA any good actually? Have always thought about renting it.

I have it here on DvD, along with Park Chan-Wook's vengance trilogy films and also his masterpiece from Three Extremes. I really enjoyed it, was worth the watch.

Oldboy is easily one of my favourite films ... the only thing I have a slight hangup with would be the hypnotism part of it. I just dont know about it, it really just didnt seem to fit in as smoothly as the rest of ut

S.M.B.

Every aspect of Oldboy oozes quality from its stylish direction right down to the excellent production design. It's my second out of the trilogy behind Mr. Vengeance but still up there as one of my favourite movies. The corridor scene is probably the most memorable scene I've seen over the past 5 years.

Galvasean

Thanks to Old Boy we now know that the hammer is one of God's greatest gifts to violence.

Sparky

This was on filmfour a few weeks back iirc. I only got to see the first 30 minutes of it, just then when he gets out. I have it on this weeks rental wishlist.

projectmayhem

absolutely stunning film. has some great pure violence, and some great comedic moments too (maybe i'm just sick & find them funny though...).

great way to start the film of the week thing though

Ho-Hum

Great idea starting up a film of the week (whoever it was) and Old Boy is a fantastic film with a superb ending.

spacecoyote

w00t, my recommendation made 1st film of teh week!!!

It really is superb. Agree with project mayhem, there definitely are some nice moments of humour mixed in with the rest of the mayhem. Some people migh see it as a movie looking to be sensationalist but I found the story gripping, the violence realistic (to the point of cringeworthy at some points). The soundtrack is beautiful and haunting (a friend of mine downloaded he ringtone from it off the net which always brings back memories when i hear it go off). I've given the DVD to many friends who aren't Asian cinema fans who all loved it, even if a few were a little disturbed by some of it! Its a great movie and one i'd recommend to everyone (of the appropriate age of course! )

JSA is definitely worth a look by the way. Its a total step in the other direction to the vengeance movies, but is a very heartfelt story, surprisingly enjoyable as I thought it might be a little dull

Ghost Train

Great film, been a while since I've seen it, but the fight scene in the corridor is just amazing the way it's done, very original, just like a side scrolling video game, mortal combat or something, very memorable.

CraggyIslander

yep, Oldboy deffo is one of my alltime favs and it takes some doing to get on that list, lol

Did watch sympathy for mr vengeance once, but couldn;t get into it.... maybe coz i was umm somewhat intoxicated

Other all time asian fav's are 'save the green planet' and the unforgettable 'ichi the killer' (last one is tied with oldboy on the all time fav's list)

ObeyGiant

This film has made a list of mine too. But not a good one.

Every so often, I'll be on a bus somewhere and I'll hear someone mention Oldboy. And what follows generally consists of variations of the sentence "it's the craziest film ever made", over and over again, for 15 minutes. Solid.

I personally don't think it's that 'crazy'. I personally don't think it's that remarkable either. I think that it should be commended for its slick visual style and for the way it manages to pull off an ending that everyone interprets differently. But apart from that, it's a mess. Which is a shame, because if we strip away the giant MacGuffin that represents much of the second and third act, it's a neat concept underneath.

Dont be at yourself

This film has made a list of mine too. But not a good one.

Every so often, I'll be on a bus somewhere and I'll hear someone mention Oldboy. And what follows generally consists of variations of the sentence "it's the craziest film ever made", over and over again, for 15 minutes. Solid.

I personally don't think it's that 'crazy'. I personally don't think it's that remarkable either. I think that it should be commended for its slick visual style and for the way it manages to pull off an ending that everyone interprets differently. But apart from that, it's a mess. Which is a shame, because if we strip away the giant MacGuffin that represents much of the second and third act, it's a neat concept underneath.

Perhaps a case of the (over-)hype surrounding the film ruining it? It seems to be the case with a lot of Asian cinema, where any above average film is heralded as a materpiece of the kind Hollywood can't even come close to.

That's why I was very wary before seeing Oldboy. But in the end, i was rewarded with a very well-shot, tense thriller, with some neat twists and a terrible hynosis plot device.

Pugsley

Great film to open up Film of the Week with, a true master piece of Asian cinema.

bjj-fighter

Oldboy is an amazing film.Its my second or third favourite ever

Karl Hungus

ObeyGiant wrote:

This film has made a list of mine too. But not a good one.

Every so often, I'll be on a bus somewhere and I'll hear someone mention Oldboy. And what follows generally consists of variations of the sentence "it's the craziest film ever made", over and over again, for 15 minutes. Solid.

I personally don't think it's that 'crazy'. I personally don't think it's that remarkable either. I think that it should be commended for its slick visual style and for the way it manages to pull off an ending that everyone interprets differently. But apart from that, it's a mess. Which is a shame, because if we strip away the giant MacGuffin that represents much of the second and third act, it's a neat concept underneath.

In fairness, as much as I love the film, I can see where you're coming from. Hype can often kill a film dead, and if you have unrealistic expectations then any film, no matter how good, could let you down. Or even if you're sick of people going on about it, you could perhaps have a predisposition to disliking it.