Syndication21 Oct 2010
Wiki of links to samples of the oldboy comic from which the film was adapted. Elements of manga can be seen in the cinematography-
20 Oct 2010
1) "Numerous times I lie in bed at night and imagine the cruellest
torture. I imagine the most miserable ruining of that person's life.
After that, I can fall asleep with a smile on my face. As long as it
stays in the realm of imagination, the crueller the better - that's
healthy. I'd like to recommend it to you all as well. I hope my films
can help in any small way to help your imagination become at least a
little bit crueller."PCW
2) In a later interview for Lady Vengeance, Park listed Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Aldrich, Ingmar Bergman, Sam Fuller, Roman Polanski and Kim Ki-young as cinematic influences.(Wikipedia)
3) Thirst -
Elements of film noir
Borrows elements from a french novel called "Therese Raquin" by Emile Zola
4) Thirst and Oldboy, including some background on his life
5) Underlying messages - walk in somebody elses shoes
6) Park Chan Wook's biography
(biography)
2) In a later interview for Lady Vengeance, Park listed Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Aldrich, Ingmar Bergman, Sam Fuller, Roman Polanski and Kim Ki-young as cinematic influences.(Wikipedia)
3) Thirst -
Elements of film noir
Borrows elements from a french novel called "Therese Raquin" by Emile Zola
4) Thirst and Oldboy, including some background on his life
5) Underlying messages - walk in somebody elses shoes
6) Park Chan Wook's biography
(biography)
20 Oct 2010
1) Full book, explores characteristics and how society is portrayed in Korean Cinema-
2) Book on new korean cinema, some focus on the horror genre, includes an interesting chapter on 'tell me something' and 'sympathy for mr vengeance' and their containment in the horror genre-
3) Book on the horror genre in Asia -
4) Wikipedia on Korean Cinema, contains a lot on the history and the restrictions Korean Cinema has faced-
5) Quote from wiki-
"From the late 1990s, South Korean cinema has grown rapidly with many local films attaining box office success exceeding that of Hollywood blockbuster movies."
6) Quote from one of the above books -
"The majority of South Korean films seem to cluster around 2 main genres - melodrama and social commentary"
7) Quote from a book 'New Korean Cinema'-
"On the one hand, changes in the political sector were promising the birth of a freer society. For socially conscious directors... this meant a new found freedom to explore themes and ideas that had been banned for decades."
"The state of affairs of the Korean film industry in 1993 [is] more than just a depression. It's a slump so serious that the industry may collapse completely... The Korean film industry [has been brought] to the edge of the cliff, where it is about to fall."
8) Very useful article on new korean cinema, makes reference to a common theme of family values -
2) Book on new korean cinema, some focus on the horror genre, includes an interesting chapter on 'tell me something' and 'sympathy for mr vengeance' and their containment in the horror genre-
3) Book on the horror genre in Asia -
4) Wikipedia on Korean Cinema, contains a lot on the history and the restrictions Korean Cinema has faced-
5) Quote from wiki-
"From the late 1990s, South Korean cinema has grown rapidly with many local films attaining box office success exceeding that of Hollywood blockbuster movies."
6) Quote from one of the above books -
"The majority of South Korean films seem to cluster around 2 main genres - melodrama and social commentary"
7) Quote from a book 'New Korean Cinema'-
"On the one hand, changes in the political sector were promising the birth of a freer society. For socially conscious directors... this meant a new found freedom to explore themes and ideas that had been banned for decades."
"The state of affairs of the Korean film industry in 1993 [is] more than just a depression. It's a slump so serious that the industry may collapse completely... The Korean film industry [has been brought] to the edge of the cliff, where it is about to fall."
8) Very useful article on new korean cinema, makes reference to a common theme of family values -
10 Sep 2010
I currently have 3 directors in mind to explore but am interesting in finding out a bit more about their work before choosing one.
The first is Darren Aronofsky who wrote and directed 'Requiem for a dream'. This follows 4 different stories of addiction and uses some interesting techniques such as 'hip-hop montage', a series of short duration shots to demonstrate drug taking, and a snorriecam to follow characters action. Another film of his I was interested by was 'The Wrestler' which tells the story of a fading wrestler, trying to pull his life together after suffering a heart attack. The film used a fascinating combination of long duration mid shots in which the characters face is not seen to close ups as the story becomes more intimate. Aronofsky also used a level of improvisation in many of the scenes where extras were not used in order to increase the realism. After reading about some of his other work, other films I am interested to see are 'Black Swan' and 'The Fountain'.
The second director I have been researching is Shane Meadows, most famous for 'This is England' which he wrote and directed. Meadows is a fascinating director who began producing work at a young age after leaving school early during his O-levels. As an English director, Meadows stays very true to his roots and has made many films set in England, often representing the 'working class'. He has been a huge influence on British film in recent years and adopts a gritty realism in his films that I admire. Other films of his I would like to include are 'Dead Mans Shoes' and 'Once Upon a Time in the Midlands'.
The last director I was considering is Chan-wook Park, a South Korean director who has a very individual style and whom directed 'Oldboy' which is one of my favourite films. Some of his most famous work is the Revenge Triology in which 'Oldboy' is the second. He uses some amazing techniques in this film such as a three minute fight sequence shot in one take from the same angle. Another of his films I would like to study is 'Sympathy for Mr Vengance' which follows a deaf and dumb man who kidnaps his ex-bosses daughter in order to save his sister. His latest film 'Thirst' was also interesting following a bizarre storyline and as many of his films, essentially demonstrates the relationship between two people. I am keen to see some more of his work as I love the beauty in his films and how they're shot, the messages he conveys and black humour he tends to adopt.
The first is Darren Aronofsky who wrote and directed 'Requiem for a dream'. This follows 4 different stories of addiction and uses some interesting techniques such as 'hip-hop montage', a series of short duration shots to demonstrate drug taking, and a snorriecam to follow characters action. Another film of his I was interested by was 'The Wrestler' which tells the story of a fading wrestler, trying to pull his life together after suffering a heart attack. The film used a fascinating combination of long duration mid shots in which the characters face is not seen to close ups as the story becomes more intimate. Aronofsky also used a level of improvisation in many of the scenes where extras were not used in order to increase the realism. After reading about some of his other work, other films I am interested to see are 'Black Swan' and 'The Fountain'.
The second director I have been researching is Shane Meadows, most famous for 'This is England' which he wrote and directed. Meadows is a fascinating director who began producing work at a young age after leaving school early during his O-levels. As an English director, Meadows stays very true to his roots and has made many films set in England, often representing the 'working class'. He has been a huge influence on British film in recent years and adopts a gritty realism in his films that I admire. Other films of his I would like to include are 'Dead Mans Shoes' and 'Once Upon a Time in the Midlands'.
The last director I was considering is Chan-wook Park, a South Korean director who has a very individual style and whom directed 'Oldboy' which is one of my favourite films. Some of his most famous work is the Revenge Triology in which 'Oldboy' is the second. He uses some amazing techniques in this film such as a three minute fight sequence shot in one take from the same angle. Another of his films I would like to study is 'Sympathy for Mr Vengance' which follows a deaf and dumb man who kidnaps his ex-bosses daughter in order to save his sister. His latest film 'Thirst' was also interesting following a bizarre storyline and as many of his films, essentially demonstrates the relationship between two people. I am keen to see some more of his work as I love the beauty in his films and how they're shot, the messages he conveys and black humour he tends to adopt.