Oldboy (2003)
"Oldeuboi" (original title)

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

revenge | money | imprisonment | birthday | police | 

---

Taglines:

Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia] Tartan Films [United States]

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".

---

Goofs

Main character states that lack of sunlight has left him depleted of Vitamins A and E. These are obtained through diet. Sunlight is only responsible for the production of Vitamin D. Thus, the character should only be depleted of Vitamin D.

---

Quotes

Dae-su Oh: Can 10 years' worth of imaginary training... be put to use?
Dae-su Oh: [Dae-su beats up his assailants] Apparently, it can.

---

Connections

Follows Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)

---

Soundtracks

"Winter"
from "The Four Seasons"
Written by Antonio Vivaldi

User Reviews

Amazing Movie

Yes this is a twisted movie with plots that unravel slowly and sometimes there are scenes that are slow. But over all it's incredible. Some of the symbolism behind the scenes are stunning. You have to go deep to appreciate it. There is a lot of gore and violence that can turn you off, but I was simply amazed by the depth and width of some of the scenes.

Without giving anything away, once the main character is released he meets a man with a dog. It's seems to be an irrelevant scene, but put yourself in a cage for 15 years and think about how you would act? What happens to that man? Isn't he also in a cage? Aren't we all? What is the symbolism of that man? How about the dog? Revenge to the main character in this movie is his life. Why? And you don't question it because you know what happened to him. He doesn't question it either.

To me this was one of the greatest depictions of Oedipus or other Greek characters I've seen this decade in a movie. Nothing is new. If you liked "Requiem for a Dream" or "Blue Velvet." Consider this one.