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The Good, The Bad, The Wierd
Directed by Kim Ji-Woon
Set in Manchuria in the 1930's, this is Kim Ji-Woon's take on a spaghetti western with the three guys of the title chasing a treasure map across the deserts. Mix that up with all sorts of other groups after them - the Japanese Army, Korean Independant fighters, odd bands of other indigenous warriors and you get this mad high octane film!
Kim Ji-Woon has three of the best, and the most box office friendly Korean actors in Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-sung so it's no wonder this film was such a hit in Korea, but even if you didn't know anything about them this film would still score just for it's sheer energy.
A lot of the action takes place in a ramshackle wooden town and while the gunfights are taking place, the camera is weaving in and out of the pillars and shacks and up through the roofs giving such a great feeling of movement. There's several chases through the desert and a great opening sequence - a train holdup...classic! Talking of gunfights, well it just doesn't end - there's hardly time to draw breath before they're off again. Consequently the body count is pretty high and pretty bloody too.
It's a lot of fun, and a worthy addition to the directors list of films. In case you know nothing about him , you should definately seek out any of them. I've seen them all - The Quiet Family (which was remade as The Happiness of the Katakuris by Takeshi Miike) about a very weird family, The Foul King about a guy who aspires to be a wrestler, A Tale of Two Sisters - a really spooky, very visually rich horror film, and A Bittersweet Life - a great gangster film.
Directed by Kim Ji-Woon
Set in Manchuria in the 1930's, this is Kim Ji-Woon's take on a spaghetti western with the three guys of the title chasing a treasure map across the deserts. Mix that up with all sorts of other groups after them - the Japanese Army, Korean Independant fighters, odd bands of other indigenous warriors and you get this mad high octane film!
Kim Ji-Woon has three of the best, and the most box office friendly Korean actors in Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-sung so it's no wonder this film was such a hit in Korea, but even if you didn't know anything about them this film would still score just for it's sheer energy.
A lot of the action takes place in a ramshackle wooden town and while the gunfights are taking place, the camera is weaving in and out of the pillars and shacks and up through the roofs giving such a great feeling of movement. There's several chases through the desert and a great opening sequence - a train holdup...classic! Talking of gunfights, well it just doesn't end - there's hardly time to draw breath before they're off again. Consequently the body count is pretty high and pretty bloody too.
It's a lot of fun, and a worthy addition to the directors list of films. In case you know nothing about him , you should definately seek out any of them. I've seen them all - The Quiet Family (which was remade as The Happiness of the Katakuris by Takeshi Miike) about a very weird family, The Foul King about a guy who aspires to be a wrestler, A Tale of Two Sisters - a really spooky, very visually rich horror film, and A Bittersweet Life - a great gangster film.