My goodness, what a disappointment! And it could have been so good. I watched the original Korean version of that great movie shortly after it came out. I rarely watch a movie more than once, but I searched for it on my cable tv and was happy to find it, so recorded it on my DVR. I finally got around to watching it, and was shocked to see that it was an English remake, by Spike Lee no less! In now realize why I never heard about a remake. But most Spike Lee movies are pretty damn good, so decided to watch anyway.
It started off pretty good, besides a bit of over-acting. But then all kinds of things made no sense or were completely unbelievable. Does anyone know where I can find the original (with subtitles)? I need to wash my brain of the Spike Lee version.
I rarely quit movies, but this remake was so bad I stopped watching. It was a huge misfire.
I like the original, but am no fanboy or anything. The remake, though, is a big-time “do not watch” for me. Just check out the Korean one, which is so much better.
Don’t stop with Oldboy, watch the other two films in the “Vengeance Trilogy” series Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, as well as his other films. IMO, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is an even more powerful film than Oldboy with an amazing performance my Lee Young Ae
Trivia: Tofu is eaten after exiting prison as a sign of purity and redemption because of it’s color and nutritional value.
Edit: I haven’t watch it yet, but there’s a Director’s Cut “Fade to Black” version of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance what starts out in full color and ends in near B/W.
With all the various media/entertainment companies snapping up ownership rights, there ought to be a running list of who owns and how to watch, rent, buy every movie. Thanks for all the advice!
I’ve never even heard of Kanopy till I read your post. Checked it out and it looks like a great site so I created an account. Unfortunately the Chicago Public Library isn’t connected with them. Disappointed.
I’m curious: what is it about the Spike Lee version that people don’t like?
I’ve owned a copy of the original since it was released and have watched it maybe 4 times in its entirety. I find it brilliant but the villain is so over-the-top evil and the ending so bleak that it is huge downer to watch. I didn’t bother with Mr. Lee’s film because a) I didn’t think there was any way Spike Lee was gonna understand the story enough to do it justice, 2) the original is pretty much a perfect film and I don’t see the need to create jobs for millionaires by paying them to redo something someone else thought of and executed perfectly already and 3) if it was done right it would be a huge downer to watch, just like the original and if it was done wrong it would just plain be a bad movie.
But I’d love to hear what people specifically didn’t like about Spike Lee’s version, especially people who haven’t seen the original film.
I’m in the opposite camp in that I’ve seen the original and have no intention of watching the Western version.
Why? Because the original is so perfect in every aspect, direction, acting, story, (even with its plot holes) that I don’t want to tarnish that experience.
I feel the same way about Il Mare, the movie The Lake House was based on. And before someone jumps in and says “lingyi’s just an Asian film fanboy!”, I’ll add that I refuse to watch the Korean version of John Woo’s classic A Better Tomorrow for the same reason. Perfection was achieved and I’ll keep my memories of that perfection untainted, Thank You!
