This South Korean thriller from 2003 defies the conventions of the standard cat-and-mouse detective flick with an unlikely but ultimately successful blend of blunt-force comedy and serious investigation. Inspired by South Korea's first (and still unsolved) serial killer case in 1986, the film pairs an inept rural flatfoot with a sharp detective from Seoul, and together they forge a mutually beneficial partnership as they track an elusive killer. But the film is not merely a procedural crime-solving mystery like an episode of CSI; in fact, the forensic approach to crime scenes is still very new, and much of the film's appeal comes from the contrasting styles of the rural cop's approach to gathering facts vs. the city cop's more measured, intellectual assessment. Offering an interesting portrait of Korean culture as it enters the modern era, Memories of Murder (directed by Bong Joon-ho) is occasionally quite graphic and the subject matter places it in the same basic territory as The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, albeit from the unique perspective of a South Korean filmmaker. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews of the cast and crew (37 min.), deleted scenes (15 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid thriller.] (J. Shannon)
[Blu-ray/DVD Review—April 26, 2021—Criterion, 131 min., in Korean w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95, Blu-ray: 2 discs, $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 2003’s Memories of Murder is presented with a new 4K digital restoration. Extras include two 2009 audio commentaries featuring Bong and members of the cast and crew, a new audio commentary with critic Tony Rayns, a new program featuring filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, a new interview with Bong about the real-life serial killer who inspired the film, a 2004 “making-of” documentary, deleted scenes (with optional audio commentary by Bong), a new featurette on the use of sound in Bong’s work (with film scholar Jeff Smith), Bong’s 1994 student film Incoherence (with a new introduction by the director), and a booklet with an essay by critic and novelist Ed Park. Bottom line: in the wake of Bong’s Oscar-winning Parasite—also available in a Criterion edition—many will be interested in seeing this fine earlier thriller.]