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Oldboy (2003)

Oldeuboi (original title)
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in five days.

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Writers:

(story), (comic) | 3 more credits »
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656 ( 69)
Top Rated Movies #67 | 28 wins & 16 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
Dae-han Ji ...
...
...
...
Yoo Hyung-ja (as Seung-Shin Lee)
...
Dae-yeon Lee ...
Kwang-rok Oh ...
Tae-kyung Oh ...
Yeon-Seok Yoo ...
Young Woo-jin (as Yeon-suk Ahn)
Il-han Oo ...
Su-hyeon Kim
Seung-jin Lee
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Storyline

An average man is kidnapped and imprisoned in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. He then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, Oh Dae-Su soon finds out that his kidnapper has a greater plan for him and is set onto a path of pain and suffering in an attempt to uncover the motive of his mysterious tormentor. Written by Jacksrevenge

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone See more »


Certificate:

15 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

8 October 2004 (Poland)  »

Also Known As:

Oldboy  »

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$44,465 (Hong Kong) (15 October 2004)

Gross:

$2,181,290 (USA) (20 December 2013)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Suk-kyu Han was considered of the role Woo-Jin Lee at the recommendation of Min-sik Choi, but turned it down due to movie's depiction of graphic violence. See more »

Goofs

Despite having been imprisoned and isolated from the outside world for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is shown to be familiar with the operation of a modern cell phone, something that would have been very rare (and completely different from the flip-top handset Dae-Su has) in South Korea when he was imprisoned in the late 80s. However, Dae-Su watched television for 15 years and it is highly likely that at some point he saw a modern cell phone being used. See more »

Quotes

Dae-su Oh: Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live?
See more »


Soundtracks

Bring My Love
by Starsailor
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Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
One of most well-made films I've ever seen
21 April 2007 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

I decided to check this movie out after Ebert's 4 star rave review, and the cult status this movie has received (and was also intrigued by the sexy-looking Ultimate Edition), so I decided to rent it. I was VERY surprised at how different it was than I expected it to be - I expected a ton of violence and not much in the way of writing or acting. The first time I saw it, I wasn't blown away, just kind of like whatever.

When I watched it for the second time, however, I really started to notice how well it's made, in addition to liking it more. Every shot is bursting with background detail, a great amount of attention on the production design (the theme of a certain color in a scene was restrained, yet perfectly balanced). The actors really gave it all, especially the 2 male leads who really blew me away. The music is a varied mix of beautiful classical music and some pretty cool techno. The screenplay is brilliant; the characters are developed very well, extremely complex, and the plot is not only ingenious, but the payoff and twists are 1000x better than any Shamaylan movie.

Simply put, from a technical point of view, it's one of the best movies ever. From a critic's point of view, it is a very well-done movie that goes a little overboard in sex and violence, and is just a little strange.


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