The Film
For better or worse, whenever I hear the word "Korea" two things leap to mind: Kim Jong-il and the 1988 Summer Olympics. (I'm not proud.) What I don't think of when I hear "Korea" is horseback riding, train robberies, motorcycle side-cars and six shooters. But more on that in a minute.
Lest you worry I was sick the day they taught social studies in middle school (probably in 1988 now that you mention it), let me attempt to redeem myself and my Ugly American worldliness. As we all know - yes, even me - Kim Jong-il is the communist dictator governing the country of North Korea. He has nothing to do with the 1988 summer games, which took place in Seoul, capital city of the (entirely different country of) South Korea. Never mind North Korea. I'm here to talk about South Korea and why I'm now going to keep a close eye on their cinematic output, particularly the works of Director Kim Jee-Woon.
I mentioned the Ugly American. As it turns out, Kim Jee-Woon decided to leave him out of it, but he did bring us The Good, The Bad, and The Weird. Nominated for eight Asian Film Awards and an "Official Selection" at the Telluride, Toronto and Cannes Film Festivals, The Good The Bad The Weird is a vigorous, breathless, brilliant, and blessedly CGI-free action spectacular. Yes, it has subtitles - move on. You won't mind reading the occasional dialogue after you choose your favorite of the film's three titular outlaws. Which one will obtain the elusive map and discover Manchuria's legendary buried treasure? (Hint: I'm not telling.)
The Picture
We have MPI to thank for bringing The Good The Bad The Weird to Blu-ray and, not surprisingly, the film's technical presentation is often good, only rarely bad, and once in a while a little weird. First, the good. The film's 2.35:1 aspect ratio is preserved nicely here giving this "Ramen Western" a truly cinematic vibe. Most of the film features bright, exterior action and there are plenty of lovely blue skies over desert browns to behold. There is a pleasant layer of film grain visible and fine image detail is often quite impressive. Facial close-ups benefit the most in this department, though Weird's perfect, actor-white teeth can't escape the magnifying lens than is 1080p on Blu-ray Disc. Colors and skin tones are warm and natural though blacks waver now and then, occasionally losing detail in the shadows. Overall, this is a solid effort from the folks at MPI.
The Sound
Now we're talking. Watch the trailer for this film and it should be quickly evident that it boasts a loud, energetic, fun-filled soundtrack. Thankfully MPI has given it the appropriate treatment on Blu-ray. Although the box states that the disc is encoded with "Dolby 5.1" sound, there are in fact two soundtrack options - and neither one of them is Dolby 5.1. The first option is a 2.0 Dolby Stereo track in the film's native Korean. That one's OK, but you'll want to stick with the default option: a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, also in Korean with available English subtitles (they're engaged by default on this U.S. release). Dialogue is perfectly intelligible throughout, wood splintering and bullets landing have a superb crispness and those same bullets often zing from every corner of the theater. Explosions can occasionally sound a bit on the thin side, but the cannon fire during the film's exhilarating final chase is thunderous and more than makes up for it. In the end, this is a great-sounding disc.
The Extras
Here's where we get to the aforementioned weird. And to be fair, the disc's extras aren't so much weird as they are different - or at least, different from what we're used to seeing. Unlike your average Hollywood DVD or Blu-ray, where even the most inane of featurettes gets edited to within an inch of its life, complete with glitzy on-screen graphics, corny interviews and professional voice-overs, the extras here are decidedly more no-frills.
This no-frills approach begins with the names. First, there's "Trailer." It's a good one, so be sure to watch it. Next up there's "Making Of #1" and "Making Of #2." The latter is rather short, serves no discernible purpose and what little footage it has could easily have been integrated with #1. "Making Of #1" and "Behind the Scenes" are definitely worth a look, although we get no discussion of what we're looking at - before, during or after. These featurettes have the feel of a set visitor's personal camcorder footage - someone who doesn't like to talk about it as he's recording. That said, most of the footage is self-explanatory and gives us a unique look at how some of the film's creative camera work was accomplished. For example, there's a neat shot in the film where one of the actors is somersaulting in a train car. In "Behind the Scenes" you get to see the wooden camera apparatus they built to achieve the shot. Cool stuff.
Final Thoughts
Every once in a while you discover a movie that's just a ton of fun and you're amazed to learn that no one you mention it to has heard of it. The good news is you're then given the joy of sharing your new found treasure with those people and watching them get as excited as you are. This is one of those movies.
Product Details
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