And in completely fucking awesome news, over at Twitch I found the goods on Palisades Tartan's official release for the super duper 8 disc box set of Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy!! It is set to come out on November 24th which is way sooner than I expected, and it will certainly be on my Christmas list, but chances are I will not be able to wait that long! This is the definitive set of the holy revenge trilogy and will feature everything found on all other releases of the three films plus a slew of added awesomeness! In case you do not know, the trilogy consists of: Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), and the third film Lady Vengeance (aka Sympathy For Lady Vengeance 2005). A trilogy of films in theme only, and that theme is VENGEANCE!
Here are just some of the extras announced for this über set...
Here are just some of the extras announced for this über set...
Each film is recorded in their original language (Korean) and offer English and Spanish subtitles. Each title is presented in anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS Surround Sound 5.1.Special features include an essay on each film by celebrated filmmakers, actors and writers, including Eli Roth... Additional features include but are not limited to Audio commentary by Park Chan-Wook and actor Ryoo Seung-wan (SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE), Behind the Scenes, The Process of Mr. Vengeance, My Boksu Story, Storyboards, Photo Gallery, Filmographies, Film Notes, Crew Interviews, Three Audio Commentaries (OLDBOY), 5 Behind the Scene featurettes, Le Grand Prix at Cannes, Deleted Scenes with commentary, Regular and Fade-To-White versions (LADY VENGEANCE), Character Interviews - Lee Geum Ja, Prof. Baek, Prisoners, Families, Lady Vengeance at the 62nd Venice Film Festival, Trailer, Film Notes, Making of and Deleted Scenes.
And that is just what they are telling us for now - who knows what surprises we have in store! I cannot wait to see every little extra to be found on this amazing set, and I will happily spend the time to engulf myself in every detail of some of the finest cinema ever put to celluloid, for as long as I can before I start seeing ants of my own! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love these films, and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is right there as one of my top two favorite films of all time. Don't front, it is a movie that deserves more than a couple of viewings to truly appreciate the masterpiece that is Mr. Vengeance. At one point, it was even my least favorite of the trilogy, so that says something about the film's strength after multiple sit throughs.
Possibly the one thing I am most excited for is the "Fade-to-White" version of Lady Vengeance...I had heard about this before and it is a mesmerizing idea to say the least. I can only wonder how this technique will effect a film that almost moves in a way like water that is slowly boiling down to the point where there is nothing left. I am so pumped for this to come out on November 24th and my calendar is marked with a wad of excitement! I just hope it is reasonably priced...I would guess between $50-$80 bucks, which would be a great price for all you are getting in the set. It would be great if it weren't too much over than that price range...I would hate to lose out on any other Christmas presents because it's too expensive!
wow i've only seen oldboy. i'm interested in seeing the others
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely check them out! Oldboy may be the most accessible film in the trilogy, and even with my talking up Mr. Vengeance, it is a film that is not for everyone, especially if you do not want to watch a film repeatedly! Unless you can appreciate it on first viewing, it took me about 3 or 4, so not everyone is down with having to watch the same movie that many times.
ReplyDeleteLady Vengeance is very solid, though it is a little difficult to follow for the first half, but it all comes together quite well by the end. And it displays some of the strongest visual aspects that Chan-wook had done up to that point.
I would like to issue a SCREW YOU to Palisades for being so awesome, I JUST FUCKING BOUGHT Sympathy and Lady over the last 3 months, and now the super awesome king of all releases is coming to R1?! Damnit. Might have to double dip. Better yet, might have to get in good with the Palisades reps and get them to screen it..
ReplyDeleteThat does suck! Especially since it is within the last three months!
ReplyDeleteI actually own/or have owned one copy of the Tartan Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance release - a foreign release of Sympathy For Lady Vengeance and the Tartan release of Lady Vengeance - and here is where it gets good! For Oldboy, I have a foreign copy, the single disc Tartan release, and TWO copies of the now somewhat rare collectors special edition release that came in the tin!
But I still will pony up for the super sexy edition since it is the definitive one and is so hooked up features wise...I am such a sucker!