What's Your Favorite Park Chan-wook Movie?

[One Armed Boxer]

I recently got through watching all of Park Chan-wook's movies again, and was reminded of what an amazing director he is. From the rich and dream like visuals, to the blacker than black humor that his movies are often filled with, it's a shame that most western audiences are only familiar with 'Old Boy' and 'Stoker'.

So I thought I'd propose the question, what's your favorite Park Chan-wook movie & why?

For me I'll go with 'Thirst'. I thought the tale of Song Kang-ho's man of God come vampire was a brilliant take on a genre which has been all but done to death in recent years. It displays all of Chan-wook's trademarks - the moments of shocking violence, the strong visual style, and a morally complex story.

[ToryK]

I tend to lean towards JSA and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, with Oldboy a close third. Mr. Vengeance is absolutely devastating; there are no good guys or bad guys, just pain. It's hard to watch, but it's beautiful in its own way. And JSA was wonderful. Really touching stuff and I still remember the night I watched it and fell in love with it. I freaking LOVE that movie. It's kind of a coin-toss. Guess I need to give it some thought.

[ToryK]

I recently got through watching all of Park Chan-wook's movies again, and was reminded of what an amazing director he is. From the rich and dream like visuals, to the blacker than black humor that his movies are often filled with, it's a shame that most western audiences are only familiar with 'Old Boy' and 'Stoker'.

So I thought I'd propose the question, what's your favorite Park Chan-wook movie & why?

For me I'll go with 'Thirst'. I thought the tale of Song Kang-ho's man of God come vampire was a brilliant take on a genre which has been all but done to death in recent years. It displays all of Chan-wook's trademarks - the moments of shocking violence, the strong visual style, and a morally complex story.

Oh, and I loved Thirst too. It's better than its reputation would have you believe and it's surprisingly funny. Song Kang-ho's a brilliant actor.

[Superfly]

Its basically a tie between Oldboy & Sympathy for Mr Vengeance But for the polls sake I went Oldboy. I just felt this film is so groundbreaking for Korean cinema.

BTW. I really did NOT like Stoker. I for the life of me cant understand the appeal.

[teako170]

I've only seen four of his films and have enjoyed them all. I've only watched Sympathy and Lady V once and need to re-watch, as well as, explore some of this other works (so thanks for the reminder OAB).

I realize Oldboy is his best known (and while, excellent) my vote would go for JSA. It has a compelling storyline and some great suspense but its the characters and writing that really drew me into this film.

[KUNG FU BOB]

This is a great thread! But a tough one to answer.

ToryK's answer was very similar to what I was going to say.

I tend to lean towards JSA and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, with Oldboy a close third. Mr. Vengeance is absolutely devastating; there are no good guys or bad guys, just pain. It's hard to watch, but it's beautiful in its own way. And JSA was wonderful. Really touching stuff and I still remember the night I watched it and fell in love with it. I freaking LOVE that movie. It's kind of a coin-toss. Guess I need to give it some thought.

Those three movies are all excellent and hard to put in an order for me.

I've only seen four of his films and have enjoyed them all. I've only watched Sympathy and Lady V once and need to re-watch, as well as, explore some of this other works (so thanks for the reminder OAB).

I realize Oldboy is his best known (and while, excellent) my vote would go for JSA. It has a compelling storyline and some great suspense but its the characters and writing that really drew me into this film.

Completely agree with T about JSA and it's impressive merits. But I would have to throw SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE into a "top four" that I cannot put in an order. LADY VENGEANCE gets better every time I see it, and I'm surprised I don't hear more people raving about it.

CYBORG is the only one that I haven't seen. I heard such harsh criticisms against STOKER, but enjoyed it a lot. And THIRST, though it's a good film, did not really grab me. I felt like something was missing the whole time I was watching it.

So these are my favorites of his:

SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE

SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE

OLDBOY

JSA

I wish I could choose just one and participate in the poll... but I simply can't.

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

One vote or Lady Vengeance? Come on!!!

[mpm74]

One vote or Lady Vengeance? Come on!!!

Either SFMV or JSA. Old Boy is a tad overrated. As for LV... a little too far out.

All his films are visual masterpieces though.

Stoker wasn’t a bad Hollywood first, but I can see why it was ignored.

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Either SFMV or JSA. Old Boy is a tad overrated. As for LV... a little too far out.

All his films are visual masterpieces though.

Stoker wasn’t a bad Hollywood first, but I can see why it was ignored.

Mia wachowski (sp?) is so dang hot in that film. Damn, big fan of her ever since I saw her in Stoker.

[Superfly]

Mia wachowski (sp?) is so dang hot in that film. Damn, big fan of her ever since I saw her in Stoker.

You found this hot? I guess we just have different tastes.

[One Armed Boxer]

You found this hot? I guess we just have different tastes.

OKFC has a propensity for girls who have violent inclinations, further evidence for this case can be found here -

http://kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21619

But I would have to throw SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE into a "top four" that I cannot put in an order. LADY VENGEANCE gets better every time I see it, and I'm surprised I don't hear more people raving about it.

One vote or Lady Vengeance? Come on!!!

The funny thing is when I first watched 'Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance' and 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance' I wasn't actually that into them.

I watch them now and probably would say they have the edge over 'Old Boy'. SFLV in particular is fantasitc, and I have no idea how I failed to grasp that the first time I saw it!

I heard such harsh criticisms against STOKER, but enjoyed it a lot.

Stoker wasn’t a bad Hollywood first, but I can see why it was ignored.

I was a big fan of 'Stoker', it's like a trippy version of a Hitchcock movie in some ways, and I loved the way it explored the underlying theme of hereditary insanity.

[KUNG FU BOB]

The funny thing is when I first watched 'Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance' and 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance' I wasn't actually that into them.

I watch them now and probably would say they have the edge over 'Old Boy'. SFLV in particular is fantasitc, and I have no idea how I failed to grasp that the first time I saw it!

When I first saw SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, I had bought it as a blind buy from HKFlix.com right when the Korean DVD first went up for pre-order. There was something about that title and the synopsis that made me think it was going to be special. Talk about following your instincts! This was among the earliest South Korean films that I had seen, and nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Over the years I've watched it several times, usually showing it to others, and it hasn't lost it's edge. This film is like a rusty knife to the senses.

By the time I saw SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE I was a big fan of Park Chan-Wook's films. My friend Dan had lent me J.S.A. (2000, Joint Security Area), and in his typical understated fashion, told me "It's pretty good." It floored me. I immediately bought it, and have tried in vain over the years to get my wife to watch it. Though it was only a segment, his short piece NEVER ENDING PEACE AND LOVE, in the fascinating, but often hard to watch film IF YOU WERE ME (2003) is top-notch. Then OLDBOY(2003) came along and knocked my socks off. Again, I was compelled to show this film- quite unlike anything else- to as many people as I could. His segment CUT from THREE... EXTREMES (2004, aka. Three 2; 3 Extremes) was intense and nightmarish. When I walked into the Toronto Film Festival screening of LADY I was expecting a lot. I got to meet Park before the film and he seemed very frazzled, nervous about how the film would be perceived. Even with my elevated expectations I found the film to be exquisite. It managed to be all at once beautiful, tragic, horrifying, funny, and always intriguing. Each time I watch it it gets better and better. Highly recommended to those that haven't seen it.

I was a big fan of 'Stoker', it's like a trippy version of a Hitchcock movie in some ways, and I loved the way it explored the underlying theme of hereditary insanity.

Ah, perfect description of it!

After having been introduced to Park's films by me, my son bought STOKER on DVD the day it came out. After watching it, he discovered that the BD had special features on it that the DVD didn't. So he promptly bought the BD, lent it to me (with a strong suggestion to watch the features after the film), and gave me the DVD copy to keep. We all found it to be a mesmerizing little film.

[Omni Dragon]

 I've only seen The Vengeance Trilogy and JSA at this time but still I'd put the ones I've seen in this order:

1. Old Boy
2. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
3. JSA - Joint Security Area
4. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance 

Old Boy; certainly was an experience, an unique one for me the first time I saw it. Made me see Korean cinema in a new light.

Mr. Vengeance; I love the style of almost tranquillity like stillness meets extreme violence in some scenes. I had sympathy for the two opposing characters.

Lady Vengeance I'd agree with @mpm74's sentiment on this one:

On 6/9/2014 at 7:38 PM, mpm74 said:

As for LV... a little too far out.

 

All his films are visual masterpieces though.

 

On 6/10/2014 at 6:16 AM, KUNG FU BOB said:

My friend Dan had lent me J.S.A. (2000, Joint Security Area), and in his typical understated fashion, told me "It's pretty good." It floored me. I immediately bought it, and have tried in vain over the years to get my wife to watch it.

@KUNG FU BOB did you ever convince your wife to watch it?

I personally feel like most audiences who aren't appose to subtitles can enjoy it. As an anecdote, I managed to convince my mother to watch it. She enjoyed it and was maybe even impressed by it. For reference she's not seen many Asian movies and made it clear that she didn't like City on Fire. I had this silly idea COF might be of interest to her after showing her Infernal Affairs. 

 

Edited January 14, 2020 by Silver and Gold Dragon

[JJBINKS]

Only seen old boy and that was pretty boring . So did not see any after that. but if old boys is his  best,  I will pass  on rest of his films. Many Korean films are overrated  because they are violent but usually the violence, action scenes &  directing are 2nd rate . There are only an handful of descent Korean films, like Man from nowhere , a hard day etc.

Edited January 15, 2020 by JJBINKS

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

11 minutes ago, JJBINKS said:

Only seen old boy and that was pretty boring . So did not see any after that. There are a few good Korean movies but if old boys is his  best,  I will pass  on rest of his films. 

No don't say that!  I still think Lady Vengeance is Park's best film. Check it out if you haven't. 

[JJBINKS]

17 minutes ago, OpiumKungFuCracker said:

No don't say that!  I still think Lady Vengeance is Park's best film. Check it out if you haven't. 

I may check it out but seen a few Korean film.On alot  of them, they really struggle to shoot the action scenes. Choppy editing ,Swirling &  shakey camera. It just puts me off. Have you seen the suspect ?. The action was so bad. What did you think of old boy , It just seems highly rated because it's violent.lt was a  bit of a  chore to watch it.

Does lady vengeance have an annoying little brat that you want to shoot? Even the good films like man from nowhere , no tears for dead and train to busan have this . 

Edited January 15, 2020 by JJBINKS

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

52 minutes ago, JJBINKS said:

I may check it out but seen a few Korean film.On alot  of them, they really struggle to shoot the action scenes. Choppy editing ,Swirling &  shakey camera. It just puts me off. Have you seen the suspect ?. The action was so bad. What did you think of old boy , It just seems highly rated because it's violent.lt was a  bit of a  chore to watch it.

Does lady vengeance have an annoying little brat that you want to shoot? Even the good films like man from nowhere , no tears for dead and train to busan have this . 

I liked old boy but I don't think it's his best film. Lady Vengeance is amazing, especially the lead actress. You don't have to worry about any annoying characters, this film has a very serious tone. A bit dark at times too! It has some element of comedy in it but not enough to like throw you off or anything. Let me know if you decide to check it out. 

[Rodolphe Dux]

As weird as it may seem, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is my favorite, mainly because of the fantastic writing. The feeling of anger of revenge has rarely been so vividly described. The characters are realistic but, at the same time kind of epic. Without mentioning the splendid sceneries of an era. Old Boy is a good action movie, Lady vengeance a good satire but none of them has the subtleties of Sympathy for Mr Vengeance.

Edited January 15, 2020 by Rodolphe Dux

[KUNG FU BOB]

On 1/14/2020 at 11:27 AM, Silver and Gold Dragon said:

@KUNG FU BOB did you ever convince your wife to watch it?

I personally feel like most audiences who aren't appose to subtitles can enjoy it. As an anecdote, I managed to convince my mother to watch it. She enjoyed it and was maybe even impressed by it. For reference she's not seen many Asian movies and made it clear that she didn't like City on Fire. I had this silly idea COF might be of interest to her after showing her Infernal Affairs. 

 

Nope. 20 years later, and still a no go on that one. 🙄 She doesn't mind subtitles at all, she just isn't drawn to films about the military or war. I told her it is a deep, human drama, not really a "military film", but she always opts for something else over J.S.A.. She's a fan of Park's other films, so of course I thought I could interest her in it by repeatedly mentioning that... but, no. 😋 I'm not complaining though- she's watched more Asian films with me than the average person has watched films in general. And she was the one that said "Did you see the ads for PARASITE? It looks great; we've got to go see it."

 

On 1/15/2020 at 4:20 PM, Rodolphe Dux said:

As weird as it may seem, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is my favorite, mainly because of the fantastic writing. The feeling of anger of revenge has rarely been so vividly described. The characters are realistic but, at the same time kind of epic. Without mentioning the splendid sceneries of an era. Old Boy is a good action movie, Lady vengeance a good satire but none of them has the subtleties of Sympathy for Mr Vengeance.

Not weird at all, for all the reasons you mentioned. Sometimes this one is my favorite too, which is why I can't choose one for this poll.

Have any of you picked up the Arrow release of OLD BOY, which basically became a "VENGEANCE TRILOGY box set? Originally it was an OLD BOY only release, but then they had problems with some rights holder over some of the extras they had advertised, so they decided to include SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and LADY VENGEANCE basically as extras to make up for not being able to include the previously promised features. My son ordered one for each of us. But then soon afterward they released a different version where they changed a few things including the packaging to a "THE VENGEANCE TRILOGY" set.

[One Armed Boxer]

On 6/10/2014 at 3:24 AM, KUNG FU BOB said:

CYBORG is the only one that I haven't seen.

I was in the same camp until very recently! It may have taken 14 years, but I've now seen all of Chan-wook's filmography, and this one is well worth checking out! I gave it the full review treatment over at COF - 

https://cityonfire.com/im-a-cyborg-but-thats-ok-2006-review/

[J.J. Hayden]

It's a very tough one and the decision between the final two was the worst. I love both JSA and Oldboy, they're both part of my favs list. But I did find myself leaning slightly towards Oldboy for overall entertainment.