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The Good the Bad the Weird

Original title: Joeun nom, napun nom, esanghan nom
  • 2008
  • R
  • 2h 10m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
39K
YOUR RATING
Jung Woo-sung, Lee Byung-hun, and Song Kang-ho in The Good the Bad the Weird (2008)
The story of three Korean outlaws in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
Play trailer2:21
1 Video
99+ Photos
ParodyActionAdventureComedyWestern

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.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.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
    • Kim Jee-woon
  • Writers
    • Kim Jee-woon
    • Min-suk Kim
  • Stars
    • Song Kang-ho
    • Lee Byung-hun
    • Jung Woo-sung
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    39K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kim Jee-woon
    • Writers
      • Kim Jee-woon
      • Min-suk Kim
    • Stars
      • Song Kang-ho
      • Lee Byung-hun
      • Jung Woo-sung
    • 113User reviews
    • 140Critic reviews
    • 69Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 12 wins & 27 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Good, the Bad, the Weird
    Trailer 2:21
    The Good, the Bad, the Weird

    Photos104

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    Top cast95

    Edit
    Song Kang-ho
    Song Kang-ho
    • Yoon Tae-goo…
    Lee Byung-hun
    Lee Byung-hun
    • Park Chang-yi…
    Jung Woo-sung
    Jung Woo-sung
    • Park Do-won…
    Yun Je-mun
    Yun Je-mun
    • Byung-choon
    Ryu Seung-su
    Ryu Seung-su
    • Man-gil
    Song Young-chang
    Song Young-chang
    • Kim Pan-joo
    Son Byung-ho
    Son Byung-ho
    • Seo Jae-sik
    Oh Dal-su
    Oh Dal-su
    • Messenger for Kim Pan-joo
    Lee Chung-Ah
    Lee Chung-Ah
    • Song-yi
    Kim Kwang-il
    • Two Blades
    Ma Dong-seok
    Ma Dong-seok
    • Bear
    Kyeong-hun Jo
    • Doo-chao
    Hang-soo Lee
    • Kanemaru
    Kang Hyun-joong
    • Ghost Market Gang Leader
    Lee Sung-min
    Lee Sung-min
    • Chef
    Chang-sook Ryu
    • Granny
    Young-mok Yun
    • Chang-yi's Gang
    Cheol-ho Yeom
    • Chang-yi's Gang
    • Director
      • Kim Jee-woon
    • Writers
      • Kim Jee-woon
      • Min-suk Kim
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews113

    7.238.9K
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    Featured reviews

    8Tweekums

    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.
    7sitenoise

    Movies with lots of gun fights are....

    My expectations for this film were through the roof. It's basically a Korean all-star game: directed by Ji-woon Kim, he of A Bittersweet Life and A Tale of Two Sisters fame (not to mention The Quiet Family), and starring three of Korea's finest (or at least most popular) actors, Woo-sung Jung, Byung-hun Lee, and (one of my favorite actors, Korean or otherwise) Kang-ho Song.

    The production values are top notch, the direction creative and self-assured, the special effects worth the time and money spent on them. I love the kill scenes as directed by Kim, especially one of the first ones where a guy is running from train car to train car, bursting through doors like they don't exist and then BAM! He's five feet behind where he was. You have to see it to appreciate it, I guess. The timing and the focus on the result instead of the impact makes the impact seem more impactful. Whoever edited this film did a great job.

    Woo-sung Jung plays the Good, and he's a cute guy who oozes goodness, so that's good. His character is perhaps a bit under-played/under-developed but that's the nature of Good, isn't it? Byung-hun Lee as the Bad has a little bit too much contemporary in his swagger and look. He's more arrogant than Bad, but we're supposed to dislike him so that's good too. Not surprisingly, it's Kang-ho Song, as the Weird, who steals the show. He runs through this movie like a chicken or a turkey with its head cut off but never misses a beat. He's having a good time and makes sure that we do too. He's able to do things that many other actors are incapable of like delivering predictable lines with equal parts sincerity and irony so that we won't even think of groaning out loud. He's so adorably slightly plump and likable that even when ... well, I don't want to give it away ... we like him. We really do.

    Caught up in all the fun and excitement I almost forgot that, with very few exceptions, movies with lots of gun fights are stupid.
    9stefankorea

    There's Good, little bad and plenty of weird...

    I was lucky enough to see this film in a big cinema complex in the centre of Seoul, South Korea, yesterday. It is surprisingly difficult to find big Korean releases with English subtitles, so seeing Jin-Woon Kim's new film, which i have been looking forward to for well over a year, was a pleasant experience. Unfortunately everyone in the west will have to wait a little longer...

    As with all of Jin-Woon Kim's films i have very little criticism to give this film, from its fantastic and totally relentless action opening to the suspenseful ending, i was completely entertained.

    The cast, as expected from three of South Korea's most most talented actors were superb with in my opinion exceptionally notable roles from Lee Byun Hun and Song Kang-Ho. Lee Byung Hyun pulls off a villain superbly and fills this role with style and terror without fault. Song Kang-Ho in my opinion is the main force of the film, pulling it along with humour and perhaps the most interesting story as the film progresses. Woo-Sung Jung plays his 'good' role well but feels like the character with least depth. The film contains fantastic make-up and costume design, notably in my eyes, Lee Byung Hun's character, who looked fantastic and the on screen presence of this smart darkly dressed character set against the sandy desert was stunning.

    The cinematography in this film was superb with plenty of great flying panoramic desert shots, high octane action camera maneuvers, fast cuts and perfect editing as expected from the director of such fantastic action/thriller films.

    The soundtrack is fun and reminiscent of old western films with a new, modern twist to keep things up to pace. Although the story has been noted as being weak, the film really does not offer itself as an in depth period drama in the first place. The film is exactly what it calls for... Fun, fast and funny entertainment and what you can expect from some of the finest noted stars and workforce in South Korean cinema.
    6colinrgeorge

    "The Good, the Bad, the Weird"

    Off-kilter Korean neo-western "The Good, the Bad, the Weird," is a frenetic genre mash-up packed with visceral, loopy violence. That isn't a complement so much as it is a description.

    Suffice it to say, if you're into a modernist, freewheeling foreign take on Leone's "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," with cartoony characters and outrageous action, you're going to have a blast; if you're looking for a substantive or meditative reflection on the period or the original film, you're in the wrong line.

    Personally, I'm caught between the two perspectives. I appreciate the pure Peckinpah punch of the gunplay, but was in equal parts bored and bewildered by the overall film. Perhaps the principal flaw in writer/director Ji-woon Kim's script is that he indulges in too much of a good thing. His action sequences are a lot of fun, and the über-stylized retro/modern aesthetic delivers bizarre and inventive visuals like a gunslinger in a deep-sea diving helmet.

    But the deafening sound effects and quick cutting style wear thin if not appropriately paced, and "The Good, the Bad, the Weird," is almost relentless in its drag race to the final showdown. I'm loathe to draw a comparison to "Transformers" here, but Kim proves that even good action has a threshold, and there are times in his film where it's easy to let your eyes glaze over.

    In its more quiet moments, the story, a very loose retelling of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" follows a band of misfit thieves who come into possession of a treasure map sought by both Chinese thugs and the Japanese military. What's maybe most interesting about the film is seeing the conventions, chronology, and geography of the western customized to fit eastern ideology, and China's Taklimakan desert stands in for Manchuria circa 1940.

    The tone is played as loose as the history, however, and Kim is never bogged down by self- seriousness or the oft-stringent requirements of a period piece. "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" is closer to a gleeful "Kill Bill" in tone than South Korea's own operatic, ultraviolent "Oldboy," and benefits from it. Kim easily leapfrogs from hard-hitting shoot-outs to charming comedy, a phenomenon that has everything to do with his incredible cast. Each of the title characters, Park Do-won (Good), Park Chang-yi (Bad), and Yoon Tae-goo (Weird), brings with him a distinct tonal octave that lends the film some much-needed variety. My lone gripe in this department is that it would have been nice to get to know them a little bit better. As it stands, their rifles seem to have far more to say.

    And for many, that won't be an issue. I've no question that there exists a very appreciative audience for this film—I'm just not it. Nevertheless, I'm only too happy to report that everything basically works. The cinematography is frequently gorgeous, the performances are stellar, and the action is kinetic—There's just too much of it. By the end of the two-hour engagement, what should be a satisfying, visceral finale comes off as extravagant hoopla.

    As viewers we shouldn't be conditioned to expect non-stop action, because once you pass the threshold, there's a diminishing return on adrenaline, impressive as any sequence that follows may be. "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" gets all its forward momentum right, but could benefit from applying the brakes more frequently.

    Then again, maybe that reckless pace is what made it such a fast, fun ride to begin with.
    Beginthebeguine

    Reworking of the Leone theme

    This is a stunning visual film to watch. The cinematography is exceptional through-out the movie. The framing, the lighting and the colors are outstanding. This alone makes the movie a joy for me to see.

    The problem with the film is that it lacks depth. The director uses archetypes from the Italian Westerns of the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the dialogue and action is lifted directly from Sergio Leone's "man without a name" opus. Most obviously The Good, The Bad and the Ugly; but also a heavy splattering of the others. The problem is not the reworking of Leone's work, but I do not think the director quite understands how to work subtext into his script. In fact, the director leaves far too much exposition to the end which makes the movie drag at the end of the epic battle scene (I thought this might be a cultural issue, but I do not know if it is).

    Another thing that bothers me (and here comes my western sensibilities), I know stunts.... and there were horses hurt during the filming of the battle scene. The reason I say this is that I could see trip wires. So for the photography I give this film 6 points out of 10. I also suggest that the director rent some of the Ford Westerns. As good as Leone was Ford was better.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Kim Jee-woon says he'd like this to be called a "kimchee western", after the Korean food made with fermented cabbages. He says he thinks the plot and film are spicy and vibrant, like the Korean culture and people.
    • Goofs
      When Park Chang-yi throws the knife and impales the centipede, he is wearing modern boxer brief underwear.
    • 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.

    • Crazy credits
      Be sure to watch the credits, as they show great movie stills as well as behind the scenes movie stills.
    • Alternate versions
      The UK release was cut, cuts were required to remove sight of real animal cruelty, in this instance three cruel horse falls, in line with the requirements of the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, in order to obtain a 15 classification. An uncut classification was not available.
    • Connections
      Featured in Kain's Lists: Top 12 Favorite Westerns (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
      Composed by Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell and Sol Marcus (uncredited)

      Published by Warner/Chappell Music Inc.

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    FAQ22

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    • What are the differences between the International Version and the Korean Version?
    • What about the British Version? Does it contain the Uncensored International Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 17, 2008 (South Korea)
    • Country of origin
      • South Korea
    • Languages
      • Korean
      • Mandarin
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • The Good, the Bad, the Weird
    • Filming locations
      • South Korea
    • Production companies
      • Barunson E&A
      • CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics
      • CJ Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $10,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $128,486
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,775
      • Apr 25, 2010
    • Gross worldwide
      • $44,261,209
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 10 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital EX
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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