Choi Min-sik

Yoo Ji-tae

Kang Hye-jung

Kim Byeong-ok

Ji Dae-han

Oh Dal-su

Lee Seung-shin

Yoon Jin-seo

Oh Tae-kyung

Yoo Yeon-seok

You Il-han

Lee Young-hee

Kim Yeong-ae

Lee Mi-mi

Han Jae-duk

Kwak Jung-ae

Kim San

Jang Chae-soo

Im Seol-a

Syd Lim

Choi Chang-hak

Shin Bi-joon

Seong Seok-jae

Choi Jae-sup

Yoon Jin-yul

Mun Seong-bok

Park Jae-woong

Oh Soon-tae

Lee Hong-pyo

Park Geun-seok

Heo Myeong-haeng

Kim Won-jung

Park Sung-gyu

Lee Jung-pil

Han Seon-rang

Shin Beom-sik

Han Jung-ok

Baek Dong-hyun

Ju Myeong-cheol

Park Ji-hun

Choi Choon-beom

Seo Myeong-seok

Jeon Woo-jae

Cho Sang-kyung

Oh Young-joo

Lee Ji-hye

Ji Joong-hyun

Moon Sang-moo

Oh Kwang-rok

Lee Dae-yeon

Park Myung-shin

Kim Su-hyun

Yong-ih

Chung Chung-hoon

Hwang Jo-yoon

Lim Joon-hyung

Kim Sang-bum

Park Chan-wook

Choi Seung-hyun

Woo Seung-mie

Lee Sang-wook

Kim Jae-beom

Jeon Ro-bin

Ji Jung-hyeon

Shin Jae-ho

Ryu Seong-hie

Yang Hong-sam

Garon Tsuchiya

Nobuaki Minegishi

Lee Seung-chul

Shim Hyun-jung

Kim Dong-joo

Seok Min-u

Jung Sik

Ju Sung-lim

Yu Eok

Lee Kae-byeok

Kim Jang-wook

Song Jong-hee

Han Jang-hyuk

Lee Ji-soo

Lee Yong-gi

Han Jae-min

Kuk Su-ran

Lee Jeon-hyoung

Park Hyun-won

Yang Gil-yeong

Jung Sung-jin

Baik

Jung Hoon

Cho Young-wuk

Lee Jeong-su

Ji Young-jun

Vengeance Trilogy

Drama

Thriller

Mystery

Action

올드보이

Show East

Egg Film

Cineclick Asia

South Korea

한국어/조선말

Oldboy

daughter

rage and hate

hostility

transformation

imprisonment

dark comedy

hypnosis

sushi restaurant

notebook

time

alcoholism

flashback

revenge

loneliness

torture

based on manga

urination

rage

anger

catholic

incest

shocking

aggressive

captivity

neo-noir

father daughter relationship

asian origins

remade

south korea

hammer

driven to suicide

suspenseful

tragic

I’m sure that all of you can always spot a film with good acting, superb plot and great cinematography easily but when it comes to a thriller that possesses all those above quality, it would be such a rarity. OldBoy here, second installment from The Vengeance Trilogy directed by  Park Chan-wook (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, OldBoy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) really have them all, good story, powerful acting and the most horrifying and clever end twist if not genius. In fact no matter how many times you see this, the twist would still be awesome. The theme of revenge here is taken to the next level, to its supremacy for it’s really carefully-planned. OldBoy has a mind-bending assortment of drama, thriller, romance and beautifully spiced up with sadistic plot, shocking elements, ultra violence and clever psychological twist. Imagine yourself captured, locked in a room for 15 years, not knowing why and who did it and when you finally escaped and thought it’s all over, you were wrong and here’s the punching line, the direct punch to your stomach. Min-sik Choi as Oh Dae su really acted well, he really got us carried away by dragging us into the mystery that surrounds his life, into the depression he’s been feeling and into the deep well of his curiosity. Once again, OldBoy is a way too remarkable, when “revenge” isn’t merely knife-chopping or gun-battling. Enough said.

This is definitely one of the films to see before you die. It's seat-squirmingly unsettling, shocking and very violent. 

It's a journey into a truly disturbed mind; a mind, which - like yours will be - is unable to cope with what it discovers.

This film is brilliantly twisted. It has a thread of the most wonderful, blackest humour running through it, a sense of complete disorientation and enough plot twists and turns to sustain your interest.

Not one of the best revenge thrillers I've seen - simply THE best!

Just about everyone I’d spoken to about this film recommended it to me.

I watched this film with the original Korean-language soundtrack, with English subtitles.

Oh Dae-su (Chi Min-sik) is a bit of a flirt (whether he is a womaniser is not made clear) with a wife and young child, who has turned two years old on the day we start the film. Dae-su is in a prison waiting room having insulted a woman he was flirting with. A friend comes and eventually gets him out, but while he’s making a call to his wife to explain he will be home soon, he is kidnapped.

Incarcerated in a small room, with only a TV for company, he is fed and looked after, but not allowed his freedom. He unsuccessfully attempts suicide several times. He keeps himself fit by doing exercise programmes he sees on TV and he starts to dig his way out with chopsticks. He sees a TV report that shows he’s been framed for the murder of his wife. Fifteen years later, without a word of explanation, he is released.

The rest of the film follows his attempts to find out why he was imprisoned, who did it, and where his daughter is.

The film is frenetic, highly charged, and very emotional on several levels. It is also bloody in places, but Dae-su’s obsession for seeking revenge on whomsoever imprisoned him and on finding out where his daughter is drives this film along. There are psychological aspects to the film as well, and the film does eventually resolve itself – it is not one of those open-ended “I wonder who did it” type films. Follow the film through and you will get all the answers.

I would recommend it, but I wouldn’t call it light entertainment.

Official 20th Anniversary Re-Release Trailer

Explaining the Ending of OLDBOY by Park Chan-wook

Official UK Trailer

The New Canon: 'Oldboy'

Oldboy( 2003)

Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.

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Top Billed Cast

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A review by Eky

Written by Eky on Sat Jun 16 2012

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