Oldboy (2003)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Garon Tsuchiya (story)
Nobuaki Minegishi (comic) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

15 years of imprisonment, five days of vengeance

Plot:

After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.

Plot Keywords:

Imprisonment | Revenge | Police Station | Cell | Exposed Breast

Awards:

17 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Min-sik Choi	...	Dae-su Oh
Ji-tae Yu	...	Woo-jin Lee
Hye-jeong Kang	...	Mi-do
Dae-han Ji	...	No Joo-hwan
Dal-su Oh	...	Park Cheol-woong
Byeong-ok Kim	...	Mr. Han
Seung-Shin Lee	...	Yoo Hyung-ja
Jin-seo Yun	...	Lee Soo-ah
Dae-yeon Lee	...	Beggar
Kwang-rok Oh	...	Suicidal Man
Tae-kyung Oh	...	Young Dae-su
Yeon-suk Ahn	...	Young Woo-jin
Il-han Oo	...	Young Joo-hwan
Su-hyeon Kim
Seung-jin Lee
Su-kyeong Yun
Myeong-shin Park
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dae-han Chi
Yi Yong	...	Delivery Boy

Directed by
Chan-wook Park

Writing credits
Garon Tsuchiya		(story)
Nobuaki Minegishi		(comic)
Jo-yun Hwang		screenplay
Chun-hyeong Lim		screenplay
Joon-hyung Lim		writer
Chan-wook Park		screenplay

Produced by
Dong-ju Kim	....	executive producer
Seung-yong Lim	....	producer

Original Music by
Hyun-jung Shim

Cinematography by
Chung-hoon Chung

Film Editing by
Sang-Beom Kim

Production Design by
Seong-hie Ryu

Costume Design by
Sankyung Cho

Sound Department
Seung-cheol Lee	....	sound

Visual Effects by
C. Jin Im	....	main titles supervisor
Jeon-hyeong Lee	....	visual effects

Music Department
Seung-hyun Choi	....	composer: theme music
Yeong-wook Jo	....	director of music
Ji-soo Lee	....	composer: theme music

Production Companies

• Egg Films
• Show East

Distributors

• 3L Filmverleih (2004) (Austria) (theatrical)
• 3L Filmverleih (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• ArtCam (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Bac Films (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Bazuca Films (2006) (Chile) (theatrical)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Filmhouse (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Lucky Red (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Show East (2003) (Korea) (theatrical)
• Tartan Films (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• Tartan (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Toshiba Entertainment (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Europa Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Fundamental Films (2009) (China) (TV)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2003) (USA) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Rialto Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Tartan Video USA (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Tartan Video (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• HFR  dailies

Also Known As:

Old Boy (International: English title) (DVD title)
Oldeuboi (South Korea)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including scenes of torture, sexuality and pervasive language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Portugal:M/18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (tv rating) | Brazil:18 | Italy:T | Norway:18 (unrated) | Norway:15 (DVD) | Belgium:16 | Israel:18 | Chile:18 | Belgium:KNT | Argentina:16 (DVD rating) | Mexico:C | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Poland:15 | Australia:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Busan, South Korea

Company:

Egg Films

Trivia:

Min-sik Choi trained for six weeks and lost twenty pounds to get in shape for the role of Dae-su, and did most of his own stunt work.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Main character states that lack of sunlight has left him depleted of Vitamins A and E. These are obtained through diet. Sunlight is only responsible for the production of Vitamin D. Thus, the character should only be depleted of Vitamin D.

Quotes:

Woo-jin Lee: And now... now, what joy will I have left to live for?

Movie Connections:

References Un chien andalou (1929)

Soundtrack:

Bring My Love

If only we were all living in Asia....

Too start off; This is the one and only film that kept me quiet for a whole 5 mins after seeing it. I literally couldn't close my mouth, and yet there wasn't any sound coming out of it. Oldboy had such an impact on me that words are too little to describe that impact. Therefore this film is definitely in my top 3 film ever made. It belongs there because it has a massive ingredient that a lot of films seem to miss out on; a divine plot. Even though the acting and screenplay are world class, the plot is really the cherry on the cake.

When it comes to screenplay Park Chan-Wook is unique (at least for western standards) in his way of filming. The colours are so vivid and it seems like he wanted every shot to be a piece of art. One tip: If you like the shooting in 'Oldboy', have a look at 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance', the third part in Park's revenge-trilogy. It's even superior to the camera-work in 'Oldboy'. Don't, however, expect a story like Oldboy's, because you would be very disappointed.

When it comes to acting and the music, this film is also one of the better films ever made. The music sticks in your head and every time I put in my Oldboy-DVD and the theme-song comes up, I'm just flooded with good memories (eventhough the plot doesn't have a single reason to be happy about). The characters are also presented very well by the outstanding cast. Especially Choi Min-Sik and Yu Ji-Tae set a very convincing performance.

I really appreciate this film being respected as it should be, by having a place in the top 250. If, however, it was up to me it would be even higher in the ranking. I don't see why films like 'The Usual Suspects' or 'Memento', which are fantastic pieces of film-making and which without a doubt deserve a place in the top 250, are higher in the top 250 than 'Oldboy'. They serve the same cause; a fantastic plot. But those plots can't stand in the shadow or even come close to the plot of 'Oldboy'. The one and only reason is that those two films are better known and from a western production company. If we were all living in Asia, no doubt 'Oldboy' would be in the top 20 of all time.

My advice to people who haven't watched this film yet: Go see it! This is definitely a must- see. If you have a weak stomach, pull yourself together and still watch it. Don't be as shallow as a lot of people here tend to be. Look beyond the violence and see the things I mentioned before: world class acting, cinematography, music and last but certainly not least the plot. Once you've opened yourself up you'll find a whole new world of cinema. Enjoy!