Oldboy (2003)

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.

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Garon Tsuchiya (story), Nobuaki Minegishi (comic)

Stars:

Min-sik Choi, Ji-Tae Yoo, Hye-jeong Kang

Top Rated Movies #70 | 39 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Min-sik Choi	...	Dae-su Oh
Ji-Tae Yoo	...	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 (as Seung-Shin Lee)
Jin-Seo Yoon	...	Lee Soo-ah
Dae-yeon Lee	...	Beggar
Kwang-rok Oh	...	Suicidal Man
Tae-kyung Oh	...	Young Dae-su
Yeon-Seok Yoo	...	Young Woo-Jin (as Ahn Yeon-Seok)
Il-han Oo	...	Young Joo-hwan
Su-hyeon Kim	...	Chief Secretary
Seung-jin Lee

Storyline

Abducted on a rainy night in 1988, the obnoxious drunk, Oh Dae-Su, much to his surprise, wakes up locked in a windowless and dilapidated hotel room, for an unknown reason. There, his invisible and pitiless captors will feed him, clothe him, and sedate him to avert a desperate suicide--and as his only companion and a window to the world is the TV in his stark cell--the only thing that helps Oh Dae-Su keep going is his daily journal. Then, unexpectedly, after fifteen long years in captivity, the perplexed prisoner is deliberately released, encouraged to track down his tormentor to finally get his retribution. However, who would hate Oh Dae-Su so much he would deny him of a quick and clean death?

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Plot Keywords:

imprisonment | psychological torture | revenge | brother sister relationship | captive | 

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Taglines:

End of confrontation, one must die.

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Genres:

Action | 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 [Russia]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Oldboy

Filming Locations:

Songgye High School, Chinju, Kyongsangnam-Do, South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$68,957, 27 March 2005

Gross USA:

$707,481

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,999,673

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, Egg Films, CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Scenes at the police station with drunken and disorderly Dae-su Oh were the very last scenes the director scheduled to film. Min-sik Choi (Dae-su Oh) ad-libbed most of these "drunken" scenes, including the scene of him playing with toy wings that he bought for his daughter. He also ad-libbed many of his lines during the penthouse scene, including the anthem of his school.

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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.

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Quotes

Woo-jin Lee: Remember this: "Be it a rock or a grain of sand, in water they sink as the same."

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Alternate Versions

Chan Park Wook stated on his solo DVD commentary that there is an edited version of Oldboy for television broadcast. It omits some of the more extreme violence and the love scene between Oh Dae Su and Mido.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Another Top 10 What Have I Done Scenes in Movies (2019)

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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.