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nchristi Profile
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Registered: 03-2004
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K-Movie: Duelist


class float-left ImageDirected by: Lee Myung-se
Starring: Ha ji-won, Kang Dong-won, Ahn Seong-gi
Distributed by: Korea Pictures
Released: September 8, 2005
(South Korea)
Running time: 111 min.
Language: Korean (Eng subs)
Official Homepage: Korean]




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I saw this movie last night. I am rather speechless. I must watch it a couple more times in order to absorb everything—on so many levels. Since my mind is in a state of utter overload on this film, I'm quoting Wikipedia instead. class blockquote In southwest central Korea sometime during the Choseon dynasty, perhaps a couple of centuries ago, an elegant young masked master of the sword fascinates the people of the market-place. In order to steal a gold Buddha, he sends a horse-drawn cart plunging through the narrow passage-ways, finally crashing and disgoring a mass of coins. The distraction is a success, and the duelist (Kang Dong-won) escapes; though not without a chase by the rough-hewn young woman detective Nam-sun (Ha Ji-won), herself a master of armed conflict in the form of paired long-knives.

[...]

The movie is quite impressionistic, with extensive use of slow motion, freeze frames, multiple images, and varying perspectives. The film is shot in brilliant, saturated hues, with strong reds perhaps predominating. Black, white, blue and a smaller amount of yellow are all present in concentrated form. Although the movie is about a duelist, its sword-fight scenes are highly stylized and choreographed more as dance than conflict. Little blood is shown in spite of the obvious killings in some scenes. There are long stretches in the movie where there is no talking -- only action, suspense, dance, or humor. Much of the movie involves the duelist and the female protagonist in stylized individual combat against each other.... While the movie is a love story involving an outlaw and a woman on the side of the police, humor is continually brought in. Although the film is rich in historic details, it is not intended to be a strictly accurate period piece. Thus, certain details, e.g., of clothing and color as well as accompanying music, are not strictly accurate.
My initial review... class ul class li Equally a "guy" and/or a "chick" flick. The room was silent, as all of us were mesmerized (one way or another) the entire 1 hr. 51 min. class li Don't expect a martial arts movie. This one is more like an afternoon in an awesome sensory gallery. Big on art; not so big on plot. class li The female character has some personality quirks reminiscent of Kim Sam Soon (though Kim Sun-Ah would have been better in the role) class li I purchased the limited edition DVD set, containing three discs: 1) the movie; 2) a documentary on the director and his style/requirements in the making of this particular movie; and 3) the usual supplementary disc on the making, cast interviews, trailers, and so forth. (The English version trailer was especially great.) Surpisingly, the documentary disc was also E-subbed. However, as is usually the case, the supplementary disc was not. Still, very interesting to see. class li My only complaint is not with the movie but with the DVD set. All the instructions are in Korean, with nary a tiny word pointing toward E-sub feature. The guys struggled for 10 minutes trying to find the English subtitles, only to give up, thinking I had purchased a set without E-subs. I took the controller as they left the room and fooled around with all the choices (very difficult to navigate—didn't seem to remotely follow the pattern I'm used to in selecting subtitling). Aja Aja Fighting! Success! But the path is so convoluted that I'm nervous about being able to find it again. (I'll have to practice when I'm alone! emoticon) class li Music is outstandingly effective and hits your senses as forcefully as the visuals. Runs gamut from traditional to traditional/rock fusion—not to mention the tangos that could come straight out of a steamy French café).

Last edited by nchristi, 2/28/2006, 3:59 pm
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Tangpriest Profile
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I think to really enjoy this film, you need to see it on the big screen. It is one of the most visually stunning films I've seen in a long time. With Peter Pau and Chris Doyle doing the cinematography, it's no wonder. They are two of the best in the business. Peter Pau was the cinematographer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Chris Doyle works with Wong Kar Wai. The best description of this film I've read is that it is a martial arts opera. Personally, I didn't really enjoy it that much, although it was stunning to watch.

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대 한 민 국!
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nchristi Profile
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Re: K-Movie: Duelist


I agree with you, Tangpriest. If I thought it so visually stunning on a TV, I can't imagine how great it must be in Cinemascope. (Next problem is finding a theater that can do justice to Cinemascope. LOL!)
3/3/2006, 3:08 pm Link to this post Send Email to nchristi   Send PM to nchristi AIM
 
rambutan Profile
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Re: K-Movie: Duelist


Nchristic I absolutely agree with your review and that's why this movie will remain as one of my all-time favourite. The OST is fab too.
4/17/2007, 10:33 pm Link to this post Send Email to rambutan   Send PM to rambutan
 
theanonymousafro Profile
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Registered: 12-2006
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Re: K-Movie: Duelist


I saw this movie. It was pretty good. I agree that it's more artistic than having a great plot. However for this film that was ok so it was still pretty good.

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-A aka: 無名アフロ,Nebuta Stalker
6/8/2007, 5:19 pm Link to this post Send Email to theanonymousafro   Send PM to theanonymousafro
 


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