Oldboy (2003 film)

Oldboy
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
올드보이
Revised RomanizationOldeuboi
McCune–ReischauerOldŭboi
Directed byPark Chan-wook
Screenplay by
  • Hwang Jo-yun
  • Lim Jun-hyung
  • Park Chan-wook
Based on
Produced byLim Seung-yong
Starring
CinematographyChung Chung-hoon
Edited byKim Sang-bum
Music byJo Yeong-wook
Production
companies
Distributed byShow East
Release date
  • 21 November 2003 (2003-11-21)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Budget$3 million[2]
Box office$17.1 million[3]

Oldboy (Korean: 올드보이; RR: Oldeuboi; MR: Oldŭboi) is a 2003 South Korean action-thriller film[4][5] directed and co-written by Park Chan-wook. A loose adaptation of the Japanese manga of the same name, the film follows the story of Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), who is imprisoned in a cell resembling a hotel room for 15 years without knowing the identity of his captor or his captor's motives. When he is finally released, Dae-su finds himself still trapped in a web of conspiracy and violence as he seeks revenge against his enigmatic captor (Yoo Ji-tae). His quest becomes tied in with romance when he falls in love with a young sushi chef, Mi-do (Kang Hye-jung).

Oldboy attained critical acclaim and accolades worldwide, including winning the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it garnered high praise from Quentin Tarantino, the president of the jury. In the United States, film critic Roger Ebert stated that Oldboy is a "powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare". The film's action sequences, particularly the single shot corridor fight sequence, also received commendation for their impressive execution.

The film's success led to two adaptations: an unauthorized Hindi remake in 2006 and an official American adaptation in 2013. As part of Park Chan-wook's The Vengeance Trilogy, it serves as the second installment, following Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and preceding Lady Vengeance (2005).

The film is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time and has been included in numerous "best-of" lists by many publications.[6][7][8][9] In 2008, Oldboy was placed 64th on an Empire list of the top 500 movies of all time.[10] In 2020, The Guardian ranked it number 3 among the classics of modern South Korean Cinema.[11]

  1. ^ "Oldboy". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Oldboy (2003) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Oldboy (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  4. ^ "OLDBOY (2003)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. ^ "From Mind-Numbing Thrillers To Refreshing Rom-Coms, 15 Korean Movies You Need To Watch ASAP!". Indiatimes. 30 March 2019. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  6. ^ "/Film's Top 100 Movies Of All Time". /Film. 22 May 2023. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  7. ^ "The 100 greatest foreign-language films". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  8. ^ "The 100 Greatest Movies Of The 21st Century". Empire. 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  9. ^ "The 100 best films of the 21st century (so far)". Time Out Worldwide. 6 February 2022. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  10. ^ Sciretta, Peter (5 October 2008). "Empire Magazine's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time". /Film. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  11. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (13 February 2020). "Classics of modern South Korean cinema – ranked!". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.