Oldboy

A Korean counterpart to Brian De Palma's florid thrillers, Park Chan-wook's Oldboy is about a Seoul businessman named Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) imprisoned alone in a room for 15 years by an unknown enemy. After being suddenly released, he's determined to track down his abductor and discover the reason behind his incarceration--a commitment illustrated in several memorable scenes, including one in which he devours a live octopus, another involving crude dental extractions done without benefit of anesthesia, and a third in which our hero dispatches a gang of thugs with a hammer even though he's been literally stabbed in the back. While Oldboy succeeds as a brooding, bloody revenge fantasy--an Eastern version of Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns--it fails miserably in terms of character and plot. Everyone is basically a cardboard cliché, and the man's search proves little more than a string of absurd coincidences, incredible leaps of logic, and misleading games of one-upmanship that grow increasingly preposterous (even that hoariest of chestnuts, hypnotism, is wheeled out as a narrative device). Moreover, the villain is identified very early, and though his motive remains obscure until the last act, the final revelation proves to be a terrible letdown. Released with the imprimatur of Quentin Tarantino, the film is certain to please fans of visual razzle-dazzle and balletic violence, but the simple fact is that Oldboy suffers from an excess of filmmaking brawn and a distinct lack of brains. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Park Chanwook and cinematographer Jeong-hun Jeong, eight deleted scenes with optional commentary (22 min.), an interview with the director (7 min.), a photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a flashy but somewhat empty thriller.] (F. Swietek)[DVD Review—Nov. 28, 2006—Tartan, 3 discs, 120 min., R, $39.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, 2004's Oldboy (Collector's Edition) sports a great transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras on this three-disc set include three audio commentaries (the first by director Park Chanwook; the second by Chanwook and cinematographer Chung Chung-Hoon; the third by Chanwook and costars Choi Min-Sik, Yoo Ji-Tae, and Gang Hye-Jung), the mammoth 212-minute “The Autobiography of Oldboy” video diary chronicling each of the 69 shooting days, cast and crew interviews (41 min.), 10 deleted scenes with optional commentary (25 min.), five behind-the-scenes featurettes— “Flashback” (23 min.), “The Music Score” (17 min.), “Production Design” (13 min.), “Making the Film: The Cast Remembers” (11 min.), and a “CGI Documentary” (8 min.)—and the nine-minute featurette “Le Grand Prix at Cannes” (9 min.), as well as an original 35mm film cell, the 210-page Oldboy manga graphic novel, a decorative tin case, and trailers. Bottom line: a beautiful collector's edition with fine extras for a film that divided critics—some thought it was one of 2005's best, while others thought it was far more style than substance. If you're going to purchase, this CE version is one handsome presentation.]