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Old Boy (2003) First Time Watching! Full Movie Reaction!!

Old Boy (2003) First Time Watching! Full Movie Reaction!!

Comments

You want some cheese with that w(h)ine?

Shehab Dawoud

It's not useful to introduce people to a film by telling them it has a twist. I'd even consider that a kind of spoiler, and I wish people would have the consideration to not do that. I haven't seen Incendies, but wanted to, and I'd rather not have read that going in.

Trepanation21

Totally did not live up to the hype. It's just so convoluted and so over the top, but it tried to be profound and I was just not feeling it. Some great cinematography and the beginning had me a little excited, but I dunno it just fell apart for me. Edit: I want to emphasize, it wasn't actually the subject matter or it being incredibly dark that turned me off this film. One of my favorite films is "Requiem for a Dream" which I would argue is one of the darkest endings you'll see in a mainstream US film.

Jeffrey Miller

Such a great villain! The entire revenge plot and the planning that had to have gone into it is something else! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Thank you for making this possible, Sharon! We'll definitely be checking these out! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Oh no way! I hope everyone is able to stream it then! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

This is the movie that gained the most traction of his films in the US, but Park Chan-Wook has made several films that are worth checking out. I think his recent film The Handmaiden is a masterpiece, although it definitely has some content in it that will not be suitable for YouTube (even if it's not nearly as disturbing as Oldboy). He made a movie just last year I haven't watched yet but is reportedly also excellent, called Decision to Leave. He also made a lengthy English-language miniseries based on John Le Carre called "The Little Drummer Girl" starring Michael Shannon and Florence Pugh that I started watching and which is great so far, and he has a new one coming to Max called "The Sympathizer" with Robert Downey Jr. that will be released sometime next year. I will also agree that it's worth checking the other two movies in the thematic "Vengeance Trilogy" out (the first "chapter" is Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and the last is [Sympathy for] Lady Vengeance, with Oldboy in the middle; note that no characters or plot is shared, just the theme of "vengeance"). I have recommended it before, but I think the next South Korean film you should very strongly consider checking out is the 2003 film Memories of Murder, directed by Bong Joon Ho (Parasite). It is a murder mystery/thriller heavily inspired by a series of real-life killings over there, and I think anyone who likes David Fincher's Zodiac really ought to give it a shot. (Also, if you haven't seen Parasite, that's amazing too, but I think you've said -- and may still say in the outro here that I paused to write this comment -- that you've both already seen it.)

Tyler Foster

Woo-jin is a such a great villain. his calm but slightly cocky mannerism is not only entertaining to watch, but also portrayed really well by the actor. It's interesting to analyze his psychology, like how he dedicated his whole life to seek vengeance for his sister's death, because otherwise he'd have to blame himself. His suicide scene in the elevator is also really powerful. The way he cocks the gun in his flashback is really cool.

Carlos Hurtado

Worth noting -- maybe it's mentioned in the video -- 35 minutes of Spike Lee's remake were taken out against his will, which is why it's the only movie in his filmography that is not "A Spike Lee Joint." I don't think the Lee Oldboy is on par with the original, but it's interesting, and I hope someday Lee's original version of the movie gets released.

Tyler Foster

Thank you so much. Will certainly check this out!

PIG

My favourite of the trilogy is Lady Vengeance

Odd Thomas

Mentioned it last week but if you want another fucked up foreign film with a sick twist, please watch β€˜Incendies’. It is Denis Villenueve’s best film, I’ll die on that hill.

Shehab Dawoud

For me a great Week!!! Over The Top was one of my favorite Childhood Films and now this disturbing Masterpiece !!! I recommend "Fatal Attraction" from 1987 and "Basic Instinct" from 1992 for the next Weeks !!! 2 All Time Classics from Michael Douglas

Florian Meier

Also, I just realized... you guys started off this week with 'The Sopranos' finale, Stallone's 'Over the Top', and concluding on 'OldBoy'. That's quite the range of fictional fathers you went through πŸ˜…

Look out, Arbogast!

Thank you guys so much for doing this reaction (and sorry Sam for that traumatic twist)! There are a ton of analysis on youtube about this movie, so I'll just leave these two links here in case anyone's interested: OldBoy: Making of - A THREE AND HALF HOUR fly-on-the-wall production diary detailing how every scene of the movie was shot in production order. You get to see the first day of filming all the way to the last day. The interesting stuff in between like actors struggling to get into character, costume/camera baggage lost in New Zealand, how it took 17 takes to get the one-shot hallway fight scene perfect, voting to film for 24 hours straight for the 3rd Act, etc. It's subtitled with English option. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVlJR84pmAo YMS: Oldboy - analyzing beat for beat why the Korean film worked and why the remake by Spike Lee starring Josh Brolin didn't (It was also supposed to be directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Will Smith) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR8sRjBJgQ8 Cheers!

Look out, Arbogast!

just an FYI, the 20th anniversary remaster of Oldboy is being released on august 16th

StarChild

This movie was so fucked up, I'm psyched to see what you guys thought of it.

Tostito Buddy


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