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Dae-su, having gone and got drunk on the day of his daughter's
birthday, ends up in jail. Although his old friend, Joo-Hwan,
bails him out he mysteriously disappears only to wake up in
a cell that looks like a cheap hotel room. Imprisoned for
fifteen years, where he suffers madness and is framed for
his wife's murder, he vows revenge once he is released. But
who had him locked up and why? The first clues come when he
is given a mobile phone and a wallet, but fifteen years is
a long time and he strikes up a relationship with a local
sushi chef, Mi-do...
Tartan
has continued its new Blu-ray line with the release of the
brilliant, the disturbing and the 'must see' Oldboy
(2003). The story is as simple as it is twisted.
Oldboy,
based on a manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya,
is part of Parks revenge trilogy, which includes Sympathy
for Mr Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
The trilogy is the antithesis of the idea that revenge is
sweet as in each case the desire for revenge only brings more
misery to everyone concerned.
Park
Chan-Wook is a South Korean director of uncompromising power
and vision. Often his films make uncomfortable viewing though
they are never less than intriguingly entertaining. He has
quite justifiably been called the South Korean Quentin Tarrantino,
and it's easy to run out of superlatives when trying to convey
just how good the direction, stories and acting are.
The
film is mesmerising, a kaleidoscope of violence and horror
and that's not because of the number of stabbings, shooting
and tongue cutting - though that one is particularly gruesome.
The worst of the horror come from what individuals will do
in the name of love and in the name of revenge.
Choi
Min-sik rivets your eyes to the screen with his depiction
of the apparently innocent Dae-su, but this is Park territory
and here there are few innocents. His presence on the screen,
as one mass of brooding resentment, is relentless. Only in
his relationship with Mi-do, played by Kang Hye-jeong, does
he have any humanity left, but this humanity comes at a very
high price. Yu Ji-tae, who plays Lee Woo-jin the man who stole
fifteen years of Dae-su's life, is brilliantly played as a
warped, driven character out for a slice of revenge of his
own.
The
Blu-ray disc can hold an enormous amount of information and
this is reflected not only in the pin perfect picture but
also in the amount of extras and options that can be offered.
The disc holds an impressive range of audio options, including,
stereo, 5.1, 7.1 Korean tracks with optional English subtitles
and an English language stereo or 5.1 version. Whilst the
original Korean version is arguably the best, the English
dub is actually surprisingly good, allowing people who hate
subtitles to still enjoy this extraordinary film.
However,
what's even more impressive is that Tartan has included the
original DVD into the bargain. So, if you are contemplating
buying a Blu-ray player, but haven't quite managed to trudge
down the high street yet, you can rest assured that you are
slowly building your Blu-ray collection but can still watch
the film on your trusty DVD player.
On
the extras side you can enjoy three full length commentaries:
one from the director, one from both the director and cinematographer
and one from the director and cast - these are presented in
Korean with English subtitles. To round the disc off you have
the original trailer and some lengthy deleted scenes with
optional commentary.
So,
if like me, you already own Oldboy, why on earth should
you shell out for it again? Well you get to see the film as
Park intended, with richer colour and more detail in the picture,
and some audio options that will have your home cinema system
singing like a bird, plus great commentaries.
The
only fly in the ointment is that you will have to shell out
for a PS3 or a Blu-ray player to see the film as Tartan does
not support the HD standard. Still, with prices dropping all
the time that shouldn't be too much of a stretch for serious
lovers of film.
 
Charles
Packer
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£28.49
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£23.99
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£23.99
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£26.97
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£26.93
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All prices correct at time of going to press.
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