Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom (2008)

The story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.

Director:

Jee-woon Kim (as Kim Jee-woon)

Writers:

Jee-woon Kim (screenplay) (as Kim Jee-woon), Min-suk Kim (screenplay)

Stars:

Kang-ho Song, Byung-Hun Lee, Woo-sung Jung

10 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kang-ho Song	...	Yoon Tae-goo / The Weird
Byung-Hun Lee	...	Park Chang-yi / The Bad
Woo-sung Jung	...	Park Do-won / The Good
Je-mun Yun	...	Byung-choon (as Jae-moon Yoon)
Seung-su Ryu	...	Man-gil (as Seung-soo Ryu)
Young-chang Song	...	Kim Pan-joo
Byung-ho Son	...	Seo Jae-sik
Dal-su Oh	...	Messenger for Kim Pan-joo (as Dai-soo Oh)
Chung-Ah Lee	...	Song-yi
Kwang-il Kim	...	Two Blades
Dong-seok Ma	...	Bear (as Don Lee)
Kyeong-hun Jo	...	Doo-chao (as Kyung-hoon Cho)
Hang-soo Lee	...	Kanemaru
Hyun Joong Kang	...	Ghost Market Gang Leader
Sung-min Lee	...	Chef

Storyline

A guksu western. Three Korean gunslingers are in Manchuria circa World War II: Do-wan, an upright bounty hunter, Chang-yi, a thin-skinned and ruthless killer, and Tae-goo, a train robber with nine lives. Tae-goo finds a map he's convinced leads to buried treasure; Chang-yi wants it as well for less clear reasons. Do-wan tracks the map knowing it will bring him to Chang-yi, Tae-goo, and reward money. Occupying Japanese forces and their Manchurian collaborators also want the map, as does the Ghost Market Gang who hangs out at a thieves' bazaar. These enemies cross paths frequently and dead bodies pile up. Will anyone find the map's destination and survive to tell the tale?

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Plot Keywords:

map | treasure | manchuria | franz jager | japanese occupation | 

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Taglines:

One map. Three villains. Winner takes all.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for nonstop violence and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [South Korea]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean Mandarin Japanese

Release Date:

17 July 2008 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Dobar, loš, čudan

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,775, 25 April 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$128,486, 27 June 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Barunson, CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics, CJ Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 130 min 135 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the gunfight for Man-gil, the bounty hunter sees a glint of reflected light and immediately shoots an enemy rifleman through the bad guy's telescopic sight. Supposedly, Carlos (Gunny) Hathcock made that very shot during the Vietnam War, taking out the enemy sniper who was hunting him.

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Goofs

When Park Chang-yi throws the knife and impales the centipede, he is wearing modern boxer brief underwear.

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Quotes

Man-gil: The bounty on your head is 300 won.
Yoon Tae-goo: What? I'm only worth a piano?
Man-gil: A used one at that.

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Crazy Credits

Be sure to watch the credits, as they show great movie stills as well as behind the scenes movie stills.

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Alternate Versions

After the release in Cannes the film got two final versions, a Korean and an international one. The international version is shorter and has better pacing and the music changes slightly in some scenes. The main difference in the Korean version is the ending, which adds a few more scenes after the Mexican standoff giving (some rather vague) explanation for the film's epilogue.

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Connections

References Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

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Soundtracks

Moonlight Serenade
Composed by Glenn Miller
Published by EMI Music Publishing
Courtesy of Sony BMG

User Reviews

Hilarious eastern western

As a fan of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" I was intrigued when I saw a film entitled "The Good, The Bad, The Weird", when I saw it was a Korean western set in the deserts of Japanese occupied Manchuria I just had to see it even though I was sure it wouldn't be as good as it sounded... thankfully I was wrong, the plot may have been slight but the action was relentless and frequently very funny.

While it was obviously inspired by "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" it was not a remake, the main similarities where the three main characters; Once again The Good was a bounty hunter, The Bad was a sadistic killer and The Weird replaced The Ugly as the comic relief. The plot involves The Weird robbing a train, amongst the items he steals is a map... a map The Bad was planning to steal as well although he is interrupted when The Good arrives with the intent of collecting the bounty on him. In the confusion The Weird escapes and the rest of the film follows the attempts of The Bad, a group of bandits and the Imperial Japanese Army trying to get their hands on the map.

The action is spectacular and well done with numerous gunfights, knife fights and chases on foot, horseback, motorbike and car. While there is a focus on action the characters are fun too, especially The Weird who stole the show. While it is a comedy it does feature a few violent scenes which some viewers expecting only laughs might not like, I know I winced when one character tried to cut off another's finger with a knife.

I'd definitely recommend this to fans of westerns who are looking for something different as well as to fans of Asian cinema.