Oldboy (2013)

Obsessed with vengeance, a man sets out to find out why he was kidnapped and locked into solitary confinement for twenty years without reason.

Director:

Spike Lee

Writers:

Garon Tsuchiya (manga), Nobuaki Minegishi (manga)

Stars:

Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Brolin	...	Joe Doucett
Elizabeth Olsen	...	Marie Sebastian
Sharlto Copley	...	Adrian / The Stranger
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Chaney
Michael Imperioli	...	Chucky
Pom Klementieff	...	Haeng-Bok
James Ransone	...	Dr. Tom Melby
Max Casella	...	James Prestley
Linda Emond	...	Edwina Burke
Elvis Nolasco	...	Cortez
Rami Malek	...	Browning
Lance Reddick	...	Daniel Newcombe
Hannah Ware	...	Donna Hawthorne
Richard Portnow	...	Bernie Sharkey
Hannah Simone	...	Stephanie Lee

Storyline

An advertising executive is kidnapped and held hostage for 20 years in solitary confinement. When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on an obsessive mission to discover who orchestrated his punishment, only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy and torment.

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Plot Keywords:

father daughter incest | incest | male nudity | female nudity | cctv camera | 

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Taglines:

Ask not why you were imprisoned. Ask why you were set free.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, disturbing images, some graphic sexuality and nudity, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official tumblr

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Oldboy

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$885,382, 27 November 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,193,658

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,186,767

Company Credits

Production Co:

Good Universe, Vertigo Entertainment, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Spike Lee's brother, Cinqué, played the bellhop pictured on the wall in the prison room, and appeared as a hallucination. This may be an in-joke to the Jim Jarmusch film Mystery Train (1989), where he also played a bellhop. Spike Lee and Jarmusch are good friends, and are former film students at New York University. Jarmusch also directed Lee's siblings in Coffee and Cigarettes II (1989).

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Goofs

When reviewing the Evergreen Academy letters, the daughter's last name is spelled incorrectly - Amanda Price instead of Amanda Pryce.

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Quotes

Chaney: Shit, you might wanna think about what you're doing here!
Joe Doucett: I've been thinking about it for the last 20 years.

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Connections

Featured in Film 2017: Episode dated 3 December 2013 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Cancion Del Fuego Fatuo
From El Amor Brujo
Written by Manuel de Falla and Sierra Martinez
Performed by Asturias Symphony Orchestra
Courtesy of Naxos
By arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

A Remake That Will Divide The Audience

If the original version of "Oldboy" has a perfect 10 out 10, this one has a mixed 6 out 10.

At first, I just came back from the theater and I found this movie a very poor remake if I compare it with the excellence, the complexity and power of the Asian film. That film was purely brilliance. So this new version was really promising but had the bar raising too high.

From Spike Lee we could expect a truly mesmerizing movie or a very weak one. And in this case I say that this one is not so bad as it looks like here. It's obvious that some people is apparently going too far. It's a disappointing movie, but not a bad movie. It focuses too much in blood and gory instead of the script and the complexity of the characters and situations. The ending can be a bit upsetting for some viewers.

Josh Brolin is one of the better things of this version. His performance is as good as he always do his roles. The rest of the cast is between average or good. Nothing remarkable under my watch.

So, this "Oldboy" is not a brilliant movie or a powerful remake but it's an entertaining one. It's weird and bloody. Be prepared for that.