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
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DVD Release Date: August 23, 2005
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Stats: 10,821 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (10,821)
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December 27, 2009The 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)
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October 27, 2009I 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.
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September 16, 2009The second film in Chan-wook Park's vengeance trilogy is an explosive one. There are so many layers to pull back in this one that you'd be excused if you feel a little dizzy before the end. Hollywood wishes it was this good, so they will remake it and pass it off as their idea no...( read more)
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September 2, 2009A good Korean film, if quite odd at times. However it is a great tale of revenge with some surprising twists. Well worth checking out.
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January 1, 2010My introduction to the magic of South Korean cinema, and Park Chan-Wook's magnum opus to date. Beautiful camera work, epic score and a screenplay that springs so many surprises, and takes you to so many dark places, your jaw will drop and your head just might explode. Amazing.
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December 27, 2009This movie is probably the first great achievement of modern cinema in the 21st century. Don't believe any reviewer, don't pay attention to your friends' comments. Watch it and be ready to be taken to another level in cinema watching and moviemaking.
If cinema can be considered ...( read more) -
December 26, 20093 stars just for the style and being not too boring.Brother-sister, father-daughter relations, revenge or altered characterizations are going nowhere.
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December 23, 2009Old Boy (2003)
I know I'm going to get some flack for this, especially from my Flixster friends, because "Old Boy" is such a cult classic. A Korean movie based on the Japanese graphic novel, it tells an elaborate story of vengeance, violence, incest, and just being able to keep...( read more)
Critic Reviews
May 9, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
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
Comments
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April 1, 2009... I knew it was his daughter the moment he walked into that g@#damned sushi bar.
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February 18, 2009Brilliant!!!
One of the best movies about incest...
...and the last soundtrack is so cool!!!
The Last Waltz:)))
I recommend this movie to everyone -
November 7, 2008I 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.
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February 11, 2008i'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? -
June 25, 2007It 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. -
May 13, 2007Oldboy 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. -
May 2, 2007The 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!!!
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January 31, 2007So 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. -
January 25, 2007my wifey got me the 3 disc set for Xmas. Color me overjoyed. Best movie of 2005.
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November 27, 2006Fans of Oldboy should definetely get the Deluxe 3 disc DVD, it's packed with Greatness.
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