Oldeuboi (2003)

After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Garon Tsuchiya (story), Nobuaki Minegishi (comic),

Stars:

Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong Kang

Top 250 #83 | 17 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Min-sik Choi	...	Dae-su Oh
Ji-tae Yu	...	Woo-jin Lee
Hye-jeong Kang	...	Mi-do
Dae-han Ji	...	No Joo-hwan
Dal-su Oh	...	Park Cheol-woong
Byeong-ok Kim	...	Mr. Han
Seung-Shin Lee	...	Yoo Hyung-ja
Jin-seo Yun	...	Lee Soo-ah
Dae-yeon Lee	...	Beggar
Kwang-rok Oh	...	Suicidal Man
Tae-kyung Oh	...	Young Dae-su
Yeon-suk Ahn	...	Young Woo-jin
Il-han Oo	...	Young Joo-hwan
Su-hyeon Kim
Seung-jin Lee

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.

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Plot Keywords:

money | imprisonment | revenge | police station | friend | 

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Taglines:

15 years forced in a cell, only 5 days given to seek revenge.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence including scenes of torture, sexuality and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [ru] Tartan Films [us]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Oldboy

Filming Locations:

Busan, South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$85,351 (USA) (15 April 2005)

Gross:

$707,391 (USA) (2 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Egg Films, Show East

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The line on the painting of Dae Su's cell reads "Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." These are the first lines of Ella Wheeler Wilcox's famous poem, "Solitude".

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Goofs

When Dae-su enters the room of one of his nemises, his computer screen shows information about the stock exchange. The internet address on the screen is: C:/DocumentsandSettings/[...]/#OldBoy#/[...], thus a link to a folder on the computer, rather than an internet address

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Quotes

Dae-su Oh: You need not worry about the future, Imagine nothing.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.15 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Bring My Love"
by Starsailor

User Reviews

One step ahead of America

Oldboy takes a hammer and "batters" its American equivalents, leaving them as pulped as a chewed up squid. Park Chan Wook displays what America misses with his ultra-stylish, ultra-violent thriller. Why watch Ben Affleck fail spectacularly to summon any displayable talent, when Min sik Choi serves up a memorable role as the disturbed, vengeful Dae Su Oh, in the second of the Vengeance trilogy. Park skillfully creates a compelling plot that will have you guessing through the entire film, up until the final shocking revelation. The Cinematography expertly done by Jeong-hun Jeong, who also worked on the follow up to this film, Chinjeolhan geumjassi. Everything about this film is done in style and panache and creates a memorable experience, and has many memorable scenes.

Many people accuse this film of being "unrealistic". These people forget that this a film, not a documentary. No one complains About Star Wars being unrealistic, and rightly so. Films have a right to stretch out reality, don't forget the reason it does this is to be entertaining.

Although the film has strong violence of a graphic nature, I advise you to watch it, if only to broaden your perspectives of world and Asian cinema.