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Oldboy

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Oldboy (2005)

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Reviews Counted:118

Fresh:96

Rotten:22

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: A strange, powerful tale of revenge.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence including scenes of torture, sexuality and pervasive language.

Runtime: 2 hrs 25 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Mar 25, 2005 Limited

Box Office: $637,778

Synopsis: It would be a sin to reveal too much about this riveting and bizarre thriller from Korean director Chan Wook Park, except to say that it's about a man named Dae-Su (Choi Min-Sik) who is locked in a... It would be a sin to reveal too much about this riveting and bizarre thriller from Korean director Chan Wook Park, except to say that it's about a man named Dae-Su (Choi Min-Sik) who is locked in a hotel room for 15 years without knowing his captor's motives. When he is finally released, Dae Su finds himself still trapped in a web of conspiracy and strangeness. His own quest for vengeance becomes tied in with romance when he falls for an attractive sushi chef (Gang Hye-Jung), who feeds him live octopus and who may or may not be involved with the bizarre mystery. This is all served up in a striking palette of purples and dark reds; oozing with post-neo-noir style, and stuffed with insanely malicious twists and turns. Choi Min-Sik is terrific in the lead, counterbalancing over-the-top hysterics with deadpan cool to run the gamut of Asian antihero traits. There are intense fight scenes (Dae Su's favorite weapon is a hammer), look-away moments of torture and self-mutilation, sex, and gallons of black humor. Not for the squeamish, but for those seeking something wholly original and daring, this cinematic entree is alive--it's hard to imagine a better slice of psycho-shock sensationalism. [More]

Starring: Choi Min-Sik, Bo-Kyeong Kim, Yoo Ji-tae

Starring: Choi Min-Sik, Bo-Kyeong Kim, Yoo Ji-tae

Director: Chan Wook Park

Director: Chan Wook Park
Screenwriter: Chan Wook Park
Studio: Tartan Films

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Release:

Aug 23, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Oldboy

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
12/27/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

As played by Choi Min-shik, Dae-su attains tragic stature. He's like a shaggy King Lear undone by his own foolishness.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
04/19/07
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

There's a lot less here than meets the eye.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/17/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Definitivamente no para todos los gustos, esta violenta y asombrosa película coreana promete convertirse en una de las verdaderas sorpresas del año.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
05/23/06
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

Park has a strong visual style and a near-surrealistic noir touch, but unraveling the mystery scarcely repays sitting through his relentless rounds of gut-wrenching violence.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment 2 Comments
05/12/06
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Not to everyone's tastes, but if you have a strong stomach, OldBoy is sure to impress.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
N/R

Quite an achievement then, and well worthy of its Cannes prize.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
01/17/06
Sydney Morning Herald

Be amazed at my cruel virility. Feel the pain. Oh yeah.

Full Review Source: Film Experience | comment 1 Comment
11/22/05
Nathaniel Rogers
Nathaniel Rogers
Film Experience

Its tentacles are still wriggling in my memory, as if I just ate something that should never have been served in the first place.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment 3 Comments
10/31/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

That Park has talent in the technical department is a given; that he's a good filmmaker is debatable.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/14/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's hard to make an argument for Oldboy based on anything other than pure cinematics, but when the style speaks this loudly, it's an argument worth making.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

This is absolutely not a film for all tastes, but it's a masterpiece of pitiless power whose audacious, ambiguous climax strikes a note of insane romanticism as haunting as it is perverse.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/24/05
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Three couples were talking out loud as the film started. But before I could give them the traditional New York 'Shut the #%*& Up,' the movie shut them the #%*& up for me.

Full Review Source: Offoffoff | comment 1 Comment
08/07/05
Joshua Tanzer
Joshua Tanzer
Offoffoff

Wow!

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
07/21/05
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The buzz was right: Oldboy confirms Park as one of the best filmmakers working today.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/16/05
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

If you can handle what Park Chan-wook dishes, you'll discover a tragedy that isn't easy to shake.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
07/08/05
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/05/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Oldboy

June 29, 2009: Oldboy Remake Slowed by Legal Battle Opens in new window
Despite a behind-the-scenes legal tangle involving a pair of production companies that no longer exist, Will Smith and Steven Spielberg's planned "Oldboy" remake continues to... More...

May 24, 2009: Cannes 2009: The Tomato Report - Haneke's The White Ribbon Scoops Palme d’Or
Michael Haneke took Cannes' top honour tonight as his film, The White Ribbon, won the prestigious Palme d'Or. It's Haneke's third major Cannes prize but his first Palme d'Or.... More...

May 15, 2009: Cannes 2009: The Tomato Report – Thirst’s Vampires Descend on the Croisette
Park Chan-wook is best known for his exceptional Vengeance Trilogy -- Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance -- three blood-soaked, expertly drawn films that... More...

May 10, 2009: Cannes 2009: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
The Cannes Film Festival will screen nearly 100 films as part of its Official Selection and associated sidebars when it kicks off next week in the Southern France town. The... More...

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