Min-sik Choi, Yu Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong, Dae-han Ji, Seung-Shin Lee

An ordinary man named Oh Dae-su, who lives with his wife and adorable daughter, is kidnapped and later wakes up to find himself in a private makeshift prison. Dae-su makes numerous attempts to escape ...( read more  read more... )and to commit suicide, but they all end up in failure. All the while Dae-su asks himself what made a man hate him so much enough to imprison him without any reason. While suffering from his debacle, Dae-su becomes shocked when he watches the news and hears that his beloved wife was brutally murdered. At this very moment, Dae-su swears to take revenge on the man who destroyed his happy life. Fifteen years later Dae-su is released with a wallet filled with money and a mobile phone. An unknown man calls Dae-su and asks him to figure out why he was imprisoned.

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95% liked it

100,807 ratings

R, 1 hr. 59 min.

Directed by: Park Chan-wook

Release Date: March 25, 2005

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DVD Release Date: August 23, 2005

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  • February 4, 2010
    ''Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.''

    After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.

    Min-sik Choi: Dae-su Oh

    Ji-tae Yu: Woo-jin Lee

    ...( read more)

    Oldboy(2003); Now this is the ultimate mind-fucks of revenge stories. You can honestly see that director Chan-wook Park outshines Quentin Tarantino when creating the most violent revenge scenes. The film itself a witty revision and re-mix of Alexandre Demas's The Count of Monte Cristo, Takashi Miike sadism and the David Lynch imaginings/dream surrealism.

    Compelling, dark, twisted, and gory, carrying with it a strong lesson of what imprisonment and revenge will do to a man. Dae-su was a sleazy, gossiping fool who let his mouth get the best of him, resulting in a huge mess. He became a cold, bloodthirsty killing machine after 15 years of being locked up alone in a solitary room, completely changing from the verbally clumsily young man he had been before. Oldboy is about the effects and limitations of revenge, showing us the consequences for lusting after justice or revenge. A very brutal, stripped down view of human emotions.
    Oldboy is overly violent, hallucinogenic and drenched in bloody revenge.

    Whats more compelling than a man trapped within a room for 15 years, slowly eaten up by madness and seething for vengeance? Well, the answer is simple: Seeing the man attempt to carry out the task, and Oldboy affords us this luxury.
    Oldboy has some intricate, slick cool music which is a mix of modern and classical to set the mood and tone.
    It all adds up to a fascinating study, and evolution of a character who after this ordeal is let go by his captors after nearly escaping, then plots to find his kidnappers.
    The acting is good all around, especially by Choi Min-sik, who played Oh Dae-su. Very emotive, very angry, and a very powerful and convincing actor. Marvellous. Kang Hye Jeong and Yu Ji-tae did very well as Mi-do and Lee Woo-jin respectively.

    Highly surreal director Chen Wook Park Oldboy is epic and vast. The two men behind the Oldboy material: Garon Tsuchiya(story) Nobuaki Minegishi(comic).
    There's something ethereal and dreamlike to proceedings that the screenplay writers hit on the head with their cleverly constructed scripting.
    Jo-yun Hwang, Chun-hyeong Lim and Director Chan-wook Park were behind the screenplay while Joon-hyung Lim the writer.
    As a consequence fight scenes, shootouts roar with energy and power. One of the most famously recognized scenes being of the corridor brawl showing us Dae-su against a great number of henchmen. What makes the scene so impressive is the fact it feels reminiscent of a 2D platformer and uses a unique way of using cinematography and camera techniques.

    The effects also featured some very imaginative ideas; Ants being creatures of groups that lonely people see to deflect the former feeling of being alone. It all results in being highly engaging viewing especially when you throw in some mind bending dialogue which makes one ponder and reflect with it's deeper analogies. Who was to thank for the effects? Jeon-hyeong Lee was the man behind the visual effects and he did a grand job.
    There is a love for storytelling at it's beating adrenaline pumping heart; Oldboy is ironically as hypnotic as it's subject matter and upon first viewing may not be fully understood by it's audience. Repeated viewings give a taste of the details, intricacies and heavily drenched psychological warfare which isn't just restricted to being physical.

    Original Music by Hyun-jung Shim with classical modern resonance, Cinematography by
    Chung-hoon Chung with power, originality and style, lastly Direction from the clever, talented Chan-wook Park.
    This film has sex and violence, incorporating those themes into the plot, instead of constricting them to the plot alone. The incest is a touchy subject, but it's used as a plot point, not playing against personal sick delusions with the audience. If you judge the movie based on this then you're missing out.
    This movie does not glorify incest or the numerous acts of violence Oh Dae-su commits throughout the film's 2 hour duration. Oh Dae-su is a tormented character; this is especially seen in his line "After my revenge...will I be able to be Oh Dae-su again?" He's not evil and he's not enjoying the things he's doing; he wants to be his oldboy self again! Not to mention the schizophrenic tendencies he gained in those 15 years alone. Oh Dae-su is not a hero, just a man who wants his peace of mind, and his revenge. You don't have to sympathize with him if you don't want to, that's not what the movie strives for. What it does strive for is answering and indeed raising questions regarding revenge, emotions and the ripple effect of one's actions; Not to mention fleshing out it's respective characters hand in hand.

    Question is, what will Dae-su do when he finds his kidnapper? Will his enemy kill himself as promised or is there more to this than meets the eye? Oldboy will set tongues wagging.

    ''Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live? ''

  • January 3, 2010
    Dae-su Oh: Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.

    I guess flixster messed up and erased everyone's Oldboy reviews, so here it is again...

    Dae-su Oh: If they had told me it was going to be fifteen years, would it have been easier to endure?

    The se...( read more)cond part of Chan-Wook Park's vengeance trilogy, this film centers on Oh Dae-su, played by Min-sik Choi. We are first introduced to him as a man in a police station, drunk, and babbling. Probably not a bad guy, but in some trouble. After being bailed out by his friend, Oh Dae-su is suddenly kidnapped and put in a prison designed to look like a cheap motel room.

    Od Dae-su is forced to stay in this room for 15 years. During that time he learns that his wife has been murdered, and his daughter has been given to a family in Europe. Oh Dae-su goes understandably a little crazy during his time spent in this room, learning how to fight through shadow boxing, dying to get revenge if he is ever released.

    Woo-jin Lee: Remember this: "Be it a rock or a grain of sand, in water they sink as the same."

    Once Oh Dae-su is released, he has plans for revenge, but the games is not over for him, as his capture soon meets up with him, and gives him 5 days to find out the real reason why he was imprisoned. This leads to the reveal of questionable pasts and the truth of certain matters.

    Dae-su Oh: Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live?

    This film is impeccably made. Skillfully crafted. Wonderfully acted. Beautifully scored. And has an awesome story.

    Park's direction is wonderful. The film is not paced slow per se, but the plot is revealed over time. The visual style is completely fitting and works well with set ups for each character. And the score is wonderfully appropriate and classy.

    Dae-su Oh: Revenge is good for your health, but pain will find you again.

    Min-sik Choi as Oh Dae-su is amazing. He completely embodies this character, giving it his all to create a tour de force performance.

    Then you have some of the stunning and memorable scenes. One involving a live octopus and the other involving a single take of an excellently executed fight scene.

    The story is also very layered, making it perfect for repeated viewings, and giving the viewer multiple ways to interpret things.

    Dae-su Oh: Can the imaginary training of fifteen years be put to use?
    Dae-su Oh: [Dae-su beats up his assailants] Yes. It can.

    It also helps that there is a sweet cool vibe running throughout this wonderful story that combines a Hitchcock setup, sweet visuals, and some unruly violence to make an awesome film overall.

    Dae-su Oh: [after a very messy beating] Anyone here with an AB blood type, raise your hand.
  • December 27, 2009
    The film is a hyper-violent revenge fantasy that chronicles the bizarre odyssey of Oh Dae-su, a derelict alcoholic who is abducted for fifteen years, eats an octopus, commits incest and kills people with a hammer to discover the reason for his plight. Vengeance is hardly new cine...( read more)matic territory, but it throbs with new vigor and creative energy when seen through the eyes of Korean filmmaker Chan-wook Park.
  • October 31, 2009
    Incredible film, brilliant story, brilliant twist, brilliant action.
  • October 27, 2009
    I felt as if the film needed to watched while on mind-altering drugs. I may have enjoyed it a bit more. It wasn't bad to watch, but just a little out there for me. It was alright with an interesting story.
  • February 6, 2010
    WOW!! This movie impressed me so much that really left me wordless, i don´t know what to say O.o
  • February 2, 2010
    Okay, I guess... it was different, which is always a plus. On the other hand, it didn't really make a lot of sense, and was a bit over dramatized.

    Also, I wasn't a fan of the ending... which is kind of lame.
  • January 31, 2010
    slick. sick. Masterful genius.
  • January 31, 2010
    Yes, thank you very much.
  • January 30, 2010
    fine(insert ellipsis here)

Critic Reviews


May 9, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Argues for its own pointlessness. full review

April 15, 2005
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

For a while, though, this is as invigorating -- and as darkly funny -- as modern rogue moviemaking gets. full review

March 26, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

It's a grand, gritty, indelible experience. full review

March 25, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Oldboy is a powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare. full review

March 24, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

Oldboy is a movie where you think you're in hell from the first frame -- but have no inkling of the infernal circles to come. full review

March 24, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

An explosively exciting psychosexual revenge drama from Korean powerhouse Park Chanwook that makes movies feel alive again. full review

March 22, 2005
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

Oldboy has the fatal air of wanting so desperately to be a cult movie that it forgets to present itself as a coherent one. full review

View more Oldboy reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • itbegins2005
    April 1, 2009
    ... I knew it was his daughter the moment he walked into that g@#damned sushi bar.
  • ekaniki
    February 18, 2009
    Brilliant!!!
    One of the best movies about incest...
    ...and the last soundtrack is so cool!!!
    The Last Waltz:)))

    I recommend this movie to everyone
  • 115b
    November 7, 2008
    I hear they're making a remake where Will Smith is involved. Perhaps an americanized version? Either way I think the original is going to be better. I personally don't see Will Smith cutting out his own tongue.
  • showbiz101
    February 11, 2008
    i'm not usually one to agree when feminists cry misogyny ... but i thought the way that women were depicted in this movie was really disturbing

    obviously its not the only fkked up thing about the film, but disregarding the purposely disturbing stuff ... it still left a sick feeling in my stomach because of this

    anyone else agree?
  • waynechriss
    June 25, 2007
    It wasn't the trapping of the man that excecuted brilliances, it was the events following that, especially the end.

    But I thought the movie was deftly prepared, and I was "wowed" at the end. It the movie is a tad slow paced, but I kept watching because I was trying to dicern the wacky scenes and parts of the film.
  • mjgildea
    May 13, 2007
    Oldboy is one of the most overrated pieces of crap I've ever seen and I hate it more than life itself. Taking up a heroin habit would actually be more constructive than watching this movie. I won't dispute that it started off strong enough and had me intrigued for the first hour, but once the hammer came down it didn't even make a dent for me.

    I don't know if there were some cultural differences that didn't translate well ot what, but it started off brilliantly and ended in the most pathetic of ways. And I understand and appreciate that it didn't follow a formula, but you've got to understand as a filmmaker that if you lock someone in a room for 14 years there won't be a reason on earth that's going to leave an audience paralyzed with brilliance.

    And this is all just my opinion. I say this because everyone on this site seems to have a boner for this movie and I can't understand why.
  • ThaSoulSurvivor
    May 2, 2007
    The second film in the Revenge Trilogy, Olboy pacts a punch! The key is identifying the actual protagonist... only then will you understand the meaning of vengeance in this movie. A must see!!!
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    January 31, 2007
    So far the only review of the film i had read that sums up everything about it:

    http://www.thegline.com/dvd-of-the-week/2004/05-24-2004.htm

    Must read, for both fans and detractors of the film.
  • ozarksavage1977
    January 25, 2007
    my wifey got me the 3 disc set for Xmas. Color me overjoyed. Best movie of 2005.
  • DrZeek
    November 27, 2006
    Fans of Oldboy should definetely get the Deluxe 3 disc DVD, it's packed with Greatness.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Oldboy Trivia


  • Which movie is this quote from? "Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live?"  Answer »
  • What live animal does Dae-Su Oh eat in Oldboy?  Answer »
  • What movie features someone eating a live, wriggling octopus?  Answer »
  • What famous quote was used in the movie Oldboy:  Answer »

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