You know, finally Nick comes in to post something and it’s to say he’s closing the thread for being in the wrong forum
Anyways, here’s the link to the previous fun thread (per your instructions Nick):
http://chud.com/board/ubbhtml/ultima...;t=000265;p=11
Looking forward to more enlightening posts, from all Chewers who are fans of Asian cinema, directors, actors, etc.
Heh, I was waiting for him to comment on the thread somewhere along the line but not to close it. Ah well. Makes sense either way. Shoulda done it far earlier as it was never my intention for the thread to go beyond, I don’t know, three posts.
So anyone else think my assessment on Korean films is on the money, or the race hasn’t finished yet, or the horse I betted on finished last via a DNF?
Interesting points, CT, but I think Korean film students watch more American movies than you’d think. Korean film schools aren’t anything new. I think what’s instigating the change toward better quality domestic outout is the emphasis that is being placed now on creating more films with international and commercial appeal.
When Korean films started gaining popularity in world cinema sometime in the late 90s, it influenced the Korean studios, with generous financial backing from conglomerates like Samsung, to constantly push the envelope (thematically and artistically) within their own films, as it was impossible to compete with Hollywood in terms of production and budget.
Shiri may have been the first to break thru the international barriers and make it big in Hong Kong, Japan, Russia and some other parts of Asia. In Japan alone, the film made back its budget and its surprise phenomenal success made the Japanese distributors hungry for more Korean imports, realizing the potential for a future profitable market.
Now there’s a stream of Korean blockbusters just waiting to get released over there, and the demand (and mainstream visibility) is getting greater, whereas before it was relegated to arthouse theaters, similar to the US lifecycle of most foreign films.
However, I fear that the freshness and creativity that’s evident in a lot of Asian and world cinema today, while it is a welcome change from most recent pasteurized Hollywood product, will start to wear off once the foreign studios realize a “proven” formula and beat it to death. While the number of risky ventures like Volcano High (which wasn’t as huge in Korea as you’d suspect) and Resurrection of the Little Match Girl (which flat out bombed) will start to dwindle.
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| khitcher: Looking forward to more enlightening posts, from all Chewers who are fans of Asian cinema, directors, actors, etc. |
Hmm, I guess that means me saying poop, poop, fart is unwanted. Damn.
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| Andre Dellamorte: Quote: |
Say it in a foreign language and I’m sure it’ll sound more enlightening
Poop poop, fart.
Waco and I had the opportunity to see Visitor Q at Dellamorte’s this weekend and, well, it blew my f’ing mind. Miike seems like a director for whom pushing boundaries is routine, and I cannot recommend this film highly enough to those who think they might be able to endure him at the farthest ends of his spectrums for sex, violence, absurdity and outright slapstick comedy. Faint-hearted? Thought Audition was ‘going to far’? Don’t even think about it. Visitor Q takes the archetypal family sitcom and tears it to shreds. Insanely hilarious and insanely fucked-up film-making at it’s finest.
AD, what region encoding was that dvd? I think I must have it if it’s reg1.
dvdpricesearch.com has it listed as:
“Genre: Anime”
Hah!
What really blew my mind about Visitor Q was how heartfelt and sympathetic Miike was able to paint these nutjobs to be as.
I try to imagine Miike doing something along the lines of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and I get all giddy inside (and genuinely concerned at the same time).
I’ve never laughed as loud (for as long as I can remember) as when the father grabs the wrench, screams:
“OK, Come ON!!!” (In Engrish)
And charges his son’s bullies eek!
Then again, up until I saw this, Kung Pow was my favorite comedy that I’d seen this year so I may be a little fucked in the head to begin with.
Cool insight, Khitcher.
Don’t think I’ve seen many Korean flicks… Tell Me Something was Korean wasn’t it? Excellent movie. I actually preferred it to Fincher’s Seven.
Hey I liked Kung Pow too!
Quick question Khitch, in FTK, was that the actors themselves speaking English or were they dubbed? Cause it sounded weird.
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| khitcher: What really blew my mind about Visitor Q was how heartfelt and sympathetic Miike was able to paint these nutjobs to be as. |
Oh I definitely agree - as lost as I was in the outright madness of it all (and there is PLENTY) there’s a definite undercurrent of something else Entirely going on. Very very cool movie.
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| Blunt: Hey I liked Kung Pow too! Quick question Khitch, in FTK, was that the actors themselves speaking English or were they dubbed? Cause it sounded weird. |
I’ve been ostracized by friends and family for liking it, but damnit, I was hooked once Leo Lee as young Master Pain (aka Betty) says in Steve Oedekirk’s voice: “Open his mouuuuuuth…” in that perfect 70’s kung fu dub job
And yup, that’s Andy Lau, Simon Yam, and Lam Suet themselves speaking English in FTK.
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| Adam L. Blacksmith: Tell Me Something was Korean wasn’t it? Excellent movie. I actually preferred it to Fincher’s Seven. |
I STILL haven’t seen this, and I’ve had it for over a year. Thanks for reminding me, back on the To Watch queue it goes.
And Big Black, I have the Region 1 Visitor Q from Media Blasters. Great looking presentation, given its Shot on Video roots. Nice looking slip case, a few trailers, and film/director notes round out a perfect Christmas stocking stuffer
Well I haven’t heard a better recommendation for a movie better then “I actually prefered it to Fincher’s Seven.”
Looks like after Musa and the like (which I am sworn to get at MusicPlaze) I will be looking into this one.
Visitor Q has been made availble stateside through Media Blasters. R1 style.
Mystical magic double sandwinching posts!
How the hell did you do that?
Ten bucks says this thread is gonna be as long as the previous one in only a few days
Don’t want people thinking Tell Me Something was superior to Seven… That’s just a personal opinion. I’m sure most would prefer Fincher’s unique style and devilish plot twists.
Only other Korean film I’ve seen is Ring Virus. Couldn’t hold a candle to the Japanese original, although I enjoyed RV’s equivalent of the Takayama Ryuji character. Just a totally antisocial bastard.
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| khitcher: How the hell did you do that? |
Edited because I know what you’re talking about now…
I have no idea Khitch. I must have the magic fingers.