Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I have no idea what this movie is, but when someone's this hot under the collar about something, I like to take the time to listen, especially since I've recently been turned on to what's going on in Korean cinema at the moment. You find more gems this way. Check out this guy's rant and see what you think...
Hi All,
Long time reader occasional contributor (I snapped the first Shark image from Deep Blue Sea). Anyway I run the popular DVD review site BulletsnBabesDVDS.com and have noticed that you haven't had an actual review as far as I can tell of the Korean Blockbuster Shiri.
So here's my review and a link to my even larger DVD Review of the 2 Disc R0 Special Edition and the R3 Edko Single Disc (which is nowhere near as good). Shiri opens in selected theatres across the USA in the Fall and has been rated R by the MPAA. However this is an exceedingly violent film so we do not know as yet if yours is cut!
"Have you ever seen Parents eat the flesh of their Dead Child?" - Park
Shiri is a freshwater fish found only in the clear waters of the Korean Peninsula. Shiri live in the cleanest rivers and cannot survive even in the slightest muddied waters. The way they glide looks like a graceful figure of a beautiful woman seducing a man, thus they are sometimes called Water Bride or Love Bride. But rather than still or shallow waters, Shiri live in pebbly rapids along the Dong Gang River across the demilitarised zone of a divided nation. It is characteristic that Shiri swim up the river against the swiftest currents during their spawning season. In the film, Shiri stands for the codename used by the Secret Agents of the 8th Special Forces of North Korea sharing destiny, life and a violently determined goal.
Shiri marked a new milestone in Korea's 100 year old film industry. Funded entirely within Korea the film was made using a script that had withstood three years of severe inspection, Korea's best crew and actors and significant support from Samsung Entertainment Group in terms of funding and distribution. In order to distinguish the pleasure and pathos for Shiri from other movies Director Kang Jegyu splits the film almost 51% Action/49% Love by weaving masculine into sensibility.
When it opened in Korea in 1999 Shiri recorded the highest ever Box Office in Korean History knocking down previous title holder Titanic. 5 Days before the opening all advance tickets had sold across the country! Made for just USA$2.9 million - although that made it the most expensive Korean film ever at the time - it earned back more than USA$17 million. A massive hit by Korean standards.
The film itself deals with the attempts of top Korean Agent Ryu (Han Suc Kyu) and his Partner Lee (Sung Kang Ho) to track down sexy but ultraviolent female assassin Hee. Hee's North Korean Training (so violently depicted at the opening of the film that we expect MPAA and BBFC Cuts) has allowed her to leave a terror trail of high profile Sniper Assassinations across Seoul in South Korea for no apparent reason.
When a newly developed, highly explosive liquid codenamed CTX is stolen by another band of North Korea Militia it's clear that Hee is under orders and that something big is going down. Foiled at every attempt by North Korean 8th Special Forces led by the brutal Park (Choi Min Sik who steals some Hannibal Lecter moves) Ryu and Lee suspect a leak in their organisation. As the body count mounts and the partners get no further forward Hee seems even further away from their grasp.
Into this mix is thrown Ryu's fiancée Hyun, a recovering alcoholic owning a Tropical Fish shop and deeply in love with Ryu. As the combatants draw nearer she's pulled into the fray with devastating results. With a final tragic twist of fate Ryu is forced into a deeply battle with the Terrorist group and a showdown with Hee and her final bullet...
One could argue that all the great films have already been made and I suppose one could also argue that all the great scenes within those films have also already been made. As you sit and watch Shiri you'll no doubt note similarities with numerous big budget Hollywood films, the female assassin of Besson's Nikita, the running assault rifle small arms battle of Mann's Heat, the tormented assassin of Woo's The Killer, and the terrorist structure of Purple Storm. Derivative? Perhaps but its the talent of the cast along with the slick ultraviolence of the film that pulls off Shiri to such an exciting degree.
And exciting it is, so much so that we think Shiri is one of the most important action movies for sometime. Consistently enjoyable the film mixes up the normal Hollywood clichés and delivers a fast paced, involved story superbly acted by the cast.
The stunning shoot-outs have a raw edge to them, littered with often sickening bloodshed (we're talking headshots and legs blown off at the knee here), that are a far cry from the recent slow motion action of The Matrix and John Woo. Guns (of which there are very many) fire fast and kill fast is the message here.
Action fans may be put off by the so called relationship between Hee - Ryu - Hyun yet this is central to the plot and helps drive the characters are their interaction with each other. Yes it's a major part of the film but without where is the motivation?
With assured direction resulting in a film that comes across as a cohesive whole rather than a string of set pieces and a riveting music score that at times is haunting as Hans Zimmer's The Morgue from The Rock this is one action movie you'd be foolish to miss...
In fact for us so far Shiri is our action movie of the year... Buy It. But which version? Shiri has been purchased for release in R1 and R4 (Latin America) by Columbia Tristar. We believe that Columbia Tristar also own the rights for it's European release although we do not have official confirmation of this yet.
Shiri has been passed Certificate R by the MPAA but it is not known at the time of writing if this includes cuts. As the film features significant scenes of gouging eyes, strangulation, throat chops, and possible perceived cruelty to fish we expect it to be questioned and possibly cut by the BBFC.
Finally there is one small cut to the Movie on the 2 Disc Special Edition. The murder by spike through the heart of a Police Officer by the Terrorist Park whilst running away with Hee. This has been removed by the Director (this is a director approved cut). The reason this scene was removed was because it did not make any sense during the scene before and immediately after. It was completely out of place. It is however included as a Deleted Scene on the 2nd DVD.
For the even larger review of the film, the DVD, the audio including DD5.1 and DTS, and all the extras see our complete review RIGHT FREAKIN' HERE!!
Just as a warning the full review features violent imagery.
As ever you may call me Jenz.
