Oldboy (2003) Oldeuboi (original title)

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Garon Tsuchiya (story)
Nobuaki Minegishi (comic) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

15 years of imprisonment, five days of vengeance

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Money | Imprisonment | Revenge | Police Station | Friend

Awards:

17 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

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
Su-kyeong Yun
Myeong-shin Park
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dae-han Chi
Yi Yong	...	Delivery Boy
Joe Cappelletti	...	Young Dae-su (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Mari Devon	...	Beautician (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Crispin Freeman	...	Woo-jin Lee (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Steve Kramer	...	Newscaster / Cop 1 (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Sherry Lynn	...	Mi-do (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Michael McConnohie	...	Dae-su Oh (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Stephanie Sheh	...	Lee Soo-ah (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Kirk Thornton	...	Park Cheol-woong (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Kari Wahlgren	...	Hypnotist (voice: English version) (uncredited)

Directed by
Chan-wook Park

Writing credits
Garon Tsuchiya		(story)
Nobuaki Minegishi		(comic)
Jo-yun Hwang		screenplay
Chun-hyeong Lim		screenplay
Joon-hyung Lim		writer
Chan-wook Park		screenplay

Produced by
Dong-Joo Kim	....	producer
Dong-ju Kim	....	executive producer
Seung-yong Lim	....	producer

Original Music by
Hyun-jung Shim

Cinematography by
Chung-hoon Chung

Film Editing by
Sang-beom Kim

Production Design by
Seong-hie Ryu

Costume Design by
Sang-gyeong Jo

Sound Department
Alex Gordon	....	adr engineer
Seung-cheol Lee	....	sound

Visual Effects by
C. Jin Im	....	main titles supervisor
Jeon-hyeong Lee	....	visual effects
Ju-won Lee	....	digital compositor
Il Hwan Na	....	digital compositor

Music Department
Seung-hyun Choi	....	composer: theme music
Yeong-wook Jo	....	director of music
Ji-soo Lee	....	composer: theme music

Other crew
Damien Saccani	....	development executive

Production Companies

• Egg Films
• Show East

Distributors

• 3L Filmverleih (2004) (Austria) (theatrical)
• 3L Filmverleih (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• ArtCam (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Bac Films (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Bazuca Films (2006) (Chile) (theatrical)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Filmhouse (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Lucky Red (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Show East (2003) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Tartan Films (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• Tartan (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Toshiba Entertainment (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Europa Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Fundamental Films (2009) (China) (TV)
• Future Film (2004) (Finland) (all media)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2010) (Finland) (TV)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2003) (USA) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Rialto Distribution (2005) (Australia) (all media)
• Rialto Distribution (2005) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Rialto Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Starmax (2004) (South Korea) (DVD)
• Tartan Video USA (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Tartan Video (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• HFR  dailies

Also Known As:

"Oldeuboi" - South Korea (original title)
"Old Boy" - International (English title) (DVD title)
"Old Boy" - Japan (English title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Argentina:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Portugal:M/18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (tv rating) | Brazil:18 | Italy:T | Norway:18 (unrated) | Norway:15 (DVD) | Belgium:16 | Israel:18 | Chile:18 | Belgium:KNT | Argentina:16 (DVD rating) | Mexico:C | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Poland:15 | Denmark:15 | Czech Republic:18 | Peru:18 | Canada:R (Manitoba)

Filming Locations:

Busan, South Korea

Company:

Egg Films

Trivia:

The anthem of Oh Dae Su's and Lee Woo-Jin's school is that of Choi Min Sik's school.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): 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:

Woo-jin Lee:You want to torture me, but I can simply kill myself first. Do you want revenge, or do you want the truth?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Chuck: Chuck Versus the Tango (#1.3)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Waltz

Pass by the "Boo" comments.

After going through the comments, i must say i'm impressed how many people out there don't have a slightest clue of beauty or intelligent screenplays. there are so many comments from people that totally disliked the movie. which is plain and simple not possible, if you got an open mind and a open heart (and are not drunk). I would compare it to chocolate. You may find it too sweet and prefer bitter chocolate. or you like white chocolate more. Or you got diabetes and can only sometimes eat one. But people that totally dislike chocolate scare me to death. Same goes for Oldboy, you gotta admit some of the genius art-form it contains. Its everything in there. Its heartwarming , disgusting, intelligent, beautiful and lead with outstanding performance of any actor . You HAVE to like something, cause it wont get much better. Its chocolate. If you disliked the movie so much and on a constant basis, why even bother to write a comment? My guess is you just could not follow the movie at all. which is my only guess actually. well enough rambling.

:::::::::: Bottom Line :::::::::

If you call common sense, and a human heart your own and like "challenging" movies, go and see it NOW.(i recommend the original korean version with subs)I also recommend the pre- and sequel to this movie. (just browse Chan Wook Park) If you think "The Fast and the Furious" is the best movie ever made, please do not even bother to watch Oldboy, and spare others your "brilliant" reviews.