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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 14, 2021 5:35:43 GMT
I love Burning but the setup/beginning is shaky to me....when it turns great it turns REALLY great though........love Parasite but don't like the script lapses imo (1= Housekeeper just let in, 2=dad ignoring daughter - nah.......... ymmv ............but I call BS to both.........still) But # 3 and especially #4 are flawless unmitigated love for me and A Tale of Two Sisters way too low imo.........really need to see Aimless Bullet Poll of over 158 critics What's missing here? Thoughts/Recommendations? themoviesinner - who usually has some great deep movie cuts www.worldofreel.com/blog/2021/2/0lnnjwdrowbux1nev2tn5qbo0bcwi91) Burning (2018) 2) Parasite (2019) 3) Memories of Murder (2003) 4) Oldboy (2003) 5) The Handmaiden (2016) 6) Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring (2003) 7) The Housemaid (1960) 8) Poetry (2010) 9) Peppermint Candy (1999) 10) Aimless Bullet (1961) 11) Mother (2009) 12) The Wailing (2016) 13) Train to Busan (2016) 14) Oasis (2002) 15) Right Now, Wrong Then (2015) 16) A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) 17) Joint Security Area (2000) 18) The Host (2006) 19) Snowpiercer (2013) 20) Seopyeonje (1993)
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Post by mrimpossible on Apr 14, 2021 5:42:31 GMT
Parasite.
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Post by mhynson27 on Apr 14, 2021 5:50:48 GMT
Parasite.
Burning is overrated as helllll.
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Post by TerryMontana on Apr 14, 2021 6:44:42 GMT
I just realized I've only seen 6 of them...
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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 14, 2021 9:08:24 GMT
Generally a pretty good list. It's mostly films from three directors (Bong Joon Ho, Chan-wook Park and Lee Chang-dong) which is understandable because they were the directors that made Korean cinema more accessible to a wider audience and contributed to the rise of Korean cinema's international acclaim. Some of the film inclusions I don't agree with though. Sang-soo Hong is a pretty inconsistent director for me, but I like Right Now, Wrong Then well enough, although I would put several of his films (The Day A Pig Fell Into The Well and Grass are easily better) above it. I never understood the love for Train To Busan, it's a pretty standard and rather dull zombie film, nowhere near the best Korean cinema has to offer. Also, there are several films I would personally include in a list like this. New World (2013) for instance, which is among the best crime films of the 21st century, or some of the lovely romance films Korean cinema has delivered like Il Mare (2000), The Classic (2003) and Windstruck (2004). The Koreans have also made some of the best blockbusters in recent years. Assassination (2015) is a pretty spectacular film and easily in the top 10 for me. Also, they included the wrong film from Jee-woon Kim. I'm sorry to disappoint you pacinoyes, but I think A Tale Of Two Sisters is easily his worst work. Would have much prefered to see on here A Bittersweet Life (2005) or I Saw The Devil (2010). Also, I expected to see more from Kim Ki-Duk on the list, pretty disappointed with that. And to answer your question, I'd say Burning and Parasite are about equal for me. Both are very good films, but also have their problems that don't allow them to reach greatness. I guess I slightly prefer Burning, because it's mood is somewhat more to my style.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Apr 14, 2021 9:44:02 GMT
Parasite
I did not care at all for Burning.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 14, 2021 10:27:01 GMT
New World (2013) for instance, which is among the best crime films of the 21st century, or some of the lovely romance films Korean cinema has delivered like Il Mare (2000), The Classic (2003) and Windstruck (2004). The Koreans have also made some of the best blockbusters in recent years. Assassination (2015) is a pretty spectacular film and easily in the top 10 for me. Also, they included the wrong film from Jee-woon Kim. I'm sorry to disappoint you pacinoyes , but I think A Tale Of Two Sisters is easily his worst work. Would have much prefered to see on here A Bittersweet Life (2005) or I Saw The Devil (2010). Also, I expected to see more from Kim Ki-Duk on the list, pretty disappointed with that. And to answer your question, I'd say Burning and Parasite are about equal for me. Both are very good films, but also have their problems that don't allow them to reach greatness. I guess I slightly prefer Burning, because it's mood is somewhat more to my style. Thank you for the recommendations! I haven't seen Il Mare or The Classic either so my to see list just increased.......... They both sound tremendously up my alley too.... Interesting note: I never actually asked "Burning or Parasite" in my post at all but people just read it that way I guess since so many people are answering in that way! - We had a poll on those movies that Parasite won quite easily so I went out of my way not to ask that here I was just listing the top 2 in the subject line .........but............it's all good movie-awards-redux.freeforums.net/thread/14263/parasite-burning
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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 14, 2021 11:55:29 GMT
Interesting note: I never actually asked "Burning or Parasite" in my post at all but people just read it that way I guess since so many people are answering in that way! - We had a poll on those movies that Parasite won quite easily so I went out of my way not to ask that here I was just listing the top 2 in the subject line .........but............it's all good movie-awards-redux.freeforums.net/thread/14263/parasite-burningYeah, sorry about that. I never got that you asked us to make the comparison of the two films from your opening post, but looking at the other replies in this thread I thought It was something I missed, so I made it anyway. I agree that we have made this discussion about which film is the better between the two many times before, so making yet another one is somewhat redundant. Anyway, I also need to watch more from Korean cinema, since my knowledge of it, especially pre-1995, is extremely limited. So, any recommendations for more obscure films you have in mind are always welcome.
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speeders
Based
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Post by speeders on Apr 14, 2021 14:31:55 GMT
Parasite
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Post by Mattsby on Apr 14, 2021 17:44:14 GMT
Great timing on the thread, I've been going thru a lot of Korean cinema lately. I've become really fascinated with the country's history and the ups and downs of their film industry. You had the Japanese rule from 1910-1945.... so, after, just as true Korean cinema came about there was the Korean War (1950-53). And then just as their movies were becoming seriously good around 1960-61, their was the authoritarian coup that hindered it all with strict censorship, which was always wavering depending on regime. For some reason, they became relaxed on depictions of sex, and with The Housemaid as cinematic godhead and the next generation's bible, so much of their output in the '70s and '80s have a similar set up (saucy younger girl upends traditional home)... except too many of these films use rape as a leering tool. Back to my history lesson! 1979-1980.... the President is assassinated. There's another military coup. And then the horrible Gwangju massacre where thousands of people, mostly students, were killed by officials. It wasn't until 1988, after student protests (Joon-ho Bong among them) and the Seoul Olympics, the economy boomed and more democrat laws were finally passed. Not long after that we get the great New Wave... /History babble. www.youtube.com/user/KoreanFilm/videosYoutube channel with nearly 200 older movies, English subtitled, many extremely obscure. To be found there....... two I recently reviewed: Aimless Bullets (1961) which is bleak but vital and very good, a Korean Best Years of Our Lives. And another not on the Top 20, The Hand of Destiny (1954) a small and tensely romantic spy thriller, almost like a minimalist Notorious, with the first kiss of Korean cinema, but it becomes a little silly by the end. Village in the Mist (1983) has a great set up and greater beautiful visuals.... but a ten minute rape scene that bogs the whole thing. One I love and I'd put in the Top 20... The Road to Sampo (1975) that starts just like Scarecrow, a snowy road comedy that Bong must've seen bc he's stolen from it. The director Lee Man-hee died before finishing it (they might've added the soft ending) - he dabbled around a lot of genres and probably influenced the talents to come. The Devil's Stairway (1964) is a little more Gothic touched and not bad, and he did A Day Off (1968) which is like his Antonioni. Another similar but better than A Day Off... Mist (1967) which is atmospheric and well done. One I'd especially recommend to you pacinoyes - Age of Success (1988) that's on the YT channel. From that crucial year in history, it's a really interesting, dark corporate satire, made crisply, and the protagonist kinda predates Patrick Bateman and Jordan Belfort. The lead actor did Chilsu and Mansu (1988) the same year which is also good, looking at the working class side... but it's not on YT... Neither is the stylish Suddenly in the Dark (1981) which turns The Housemaid plot into thundering horror. Newer stuff! Actresses (2009) is wonderful, a docu-comedy collecting a star from each generation and putting them at a delayed fashion shoot. Not easy to find, hopefully that changes bc Youn Yuh-jung is a riot in it. But maybe that's not Top 20 worthy. I feel like you could jam the whole list just with movies from Park, Bong, and Jee-woon Kim... whose earlier stuff (The Quiet Family, The Foul King) are underrated fun. If we wanted to be inclusive, I think my fav fem-helmed is The Truth Beneath (2016) a political thriller - it's one of those movies, like Forgotten (2017) that has enough plot twists to pretzel a yacht. Some of my friends love Microhabitat (2017) which is alright but small stuff... the plot would make a great Raymond Carver short story. Oh, to answer the thread. Thirst maybe the best movie not on the list. And, while Oldboy is a scarily close second....the GOAT is Memories of Murder.
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Post by Mattsby on Apr 14, 2021 20:01:45 GMT
Just realized the WorldofReel links to the source poll's Top 100... www.koreanscreen.com/100-greatest-korean-films-100-51Here's where some of my mentions rank, and other great ones that just missed the Top 20... #96 - Suddenly in the Dark #92 - Mist #90 - Village in the Mist #88 - Age of Success #65 - Microhabitat #51 - Chilsu and Mansu #31 - A Day Off #34 - Thirst #25 - Sympathy for Mr Vengeance #23 - Lady Vengeance #22 - I Saw the Devil
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Post by futuretrunks on Apr 14, 2021 20:44:14 GMT
Burning. Parasite is insanely overrated. Much prefer The Handmaiden to it as well.
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Post by Sharbs on Apr 15, 2021 15:52:34 GMT
The Handmaiden is perfect. Another recent one that is definitely underseen, but widely available (Prime & Tubi) is this 2018, lovely and feel-good flick that also stars Kim Tae-ri
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Post by Martin Stett on Apr 15, 2021 15:56:23 GMT
1. Parasite 2. Little Forest
And everything else is mediocre in comparison. Never been a big fan of Korean cinema.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 15, 2021 15:58:09 GMT
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Post by pacinoyes on May 8, 2021 0:30:28 GMT
7) The Housemaid (1960)
Gave The Housemaid a re-watch and it's a marvelous movie around 8.5 / 10 - I don't like some small things in it - there are script lapses that are also in the couple of poorly written scenes imo in Parasite which it obviously influenced - see the OP for those - but like Parasite it triumphs anyway.
There are some things that happen too quickly to be believable.......also don't like breaking of the 4th wall.
But otherwise this is near perfect - striking visually and psychologically. 1960 must have had something creepy in the water - Psycho, Peeping Tom, Eyes Without A Face and this one......
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Post by pacinoyes on May 10, 2021 10:45:38 GMT
7) The Housemaid (1960)Gave The Housemaid a re-watch and it's a marvelous movie around 8.5 / 10 - I don't like some small things in it - there are script lapses that are also in the couple of poorly written scenes imo in Parasite which it obviously influenced - see the OP for those - but like Parasite it triumphs anyway. There are some things that happen too quickly to be believable.......also don't like breaking of the 4th wall. But otherwise this is near perfect - striking visually and psychologically. 1960 must have had something creepy in the water - Psycho, Peeping Tom, Eyes Without A Face and this one...... IO Island (1977) - #87 on the list .....around an 8Great-ish movie from the same director as The Housemaid (Kim Ki-young)..... the premise is kind of cool but sort of vague at the same time and I'm not sure I got it all ..... but this movie has a really great ending that makes you want to re-watch it immediately ......gorgeous looking with complex shots that balance the foreground with ominous background and all at the service of some really dark themes lying "underneath"........would be great to remake in this political time/ #metoo era ...........as a feminist or a defiantly ANTI-feminist movie in a way too even..... Apparently Bong Joon-ho loves this one too............... .Ari Aster would love this movie I 'm sure.........
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Post by pacinoyes on May 28, 2021 13:35:44 GMT
"301 / 302" - (1995) - #80 ...........7 /10Very dark, absurdist black comedy at times and very suffocating and snail paced movie that ends up being different from where I thought it was going. Works more in individual scenes and maybe a second watch if you can gear up to sit through it again. I saw this a few days ago and am still a little unsure what to say about it - like you can utterly dismiss it but then think back on it and what you thought while it was playing and may have misinterpreted it ........or one of the characters did........and it's better than I first thought.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on May 28, 2021 15:18:58 GMT
these are truly the best South Korean films ever. At least that I've seen, and lord knows I have lots more to see Parasite has this easily for me because it's so endlessly watchable, but both films are violently political and have major thematic overlap. Both are in a way about the poor eating the rich but Burning's relationship to that dynamic is far more ambiguous, almost Taxi Driver-esque in the sense that the protagonist's outbursts of social violence can be filtered through a sociopolitical lens that masks more perverse subconscious motivations. Is Burning about the poor eating the rich or about homoerotic penis envy... both? That's why I love it.
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 11, 2021 20:54:13 GMT
Here is the Top 100 ranked on Letterboxd , easy to check out the movies letterboxd.com/jennyack/list/korean-screens-top-100-korean-films/also I was looking up the Burning editor Kim Hyun who has a bunch of movies in the list... he's a vet who's been working since '72, has done every Lee Chang-dong, Chilsu and Mansu, my Age of Success... and I checked out another Happy End (1999) starring Min Sik Choi that is kinda like La Séparation with a touch of Chabrol.... very good, a 7/10 or so and not in the Top 100.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 17, 2021 17:52:33 GMT
A Dirty Carnival (2006) - #89 .......... ~ 7+-7.5 / 10Occasionally thrilling crime genre pic evokes Scorsese but also stuff like Warner Brothers crime film in the 30s/40s too. Quite good, update of the formula - exceedingly well acted by Jo In-sung - and some really memorable violent af set pieces.....
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Post by ireallyamsomething on Jun 22, 2021 10:55:56 GMT
Even though I avoided it initially since it sounded like empty provocative stuff, I have come to love or at least be quite obsessed with Moebius by Kim Ki-duk - which I think simultaneously plays like a twisted tragedy and a hilarious comedy. I rewatched it a couple of months ago and my high estimation of it was further increased. The filmmaking is really something special there. But I understand if a film like that isn't included in all-time lists.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 4, 2021 19:48:24 GMT
The Insect Woman (1972) 7.5 ++ /10 #64 on the listDirected by Kim Ki-young. and starring Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung in a movie that borders and crosses into yet another kind of exploitation dazzler from him......in some ways this has similar "yeah, sure......... riiiiiiiiiight" plot points as Parasite but like Parasite it transcends them anyway.....there's some genius in this movie.....but not of any normal kind exactly. Dark stuff .......but aware if it ......and it's perversely funny too.....this has elements of what we think of as David Lynch but predates him......there are plot developments in this movie that I actually can't even describe tbh Rating might STILL be too low.......invites rewatches I think (?)....... Bong Joon-ho clearly worships this guy in framing and set-ups....this is the 3rd Kim Ki-young I've listed in this thread now on watches/re-watches.....he's um........something else.....Some of this board would love all 3 of these because some of this board is .........touched in the head
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 6, 2021 15:35:33 GMT
Night Journey (1977) 7.5/10 - #99 on the Top 100 list, from the director of Mist (1967) which I like, all 3 of his movies that made the list are in the too-low last-row 90s. Not much of a script, only 75m.... depending on your view could be seen as feminist or the opposite, it slightly reminded me of Repulsion or, from the same year, Looking for Mr Goodbar. Very well made in the tone and editing and visual (the dp did The Housemaid, Road to Sampo) and in evoking a state of psychological drifts and thematic contrasts - repression and sexuality, loneliness and crowdedness....... starring Poetry-star Jeong-hie Yun, it's not even on her IMDb page!!
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 26, 2021 17:07:19 GMT
Behind the Camera (2013) 7.5/10 2013 was the year South Korea's three most prominent filmmakers (Park, Bong, Jee-woon Kim) made their, more or less, Hollywood debuts. Je-yong Lee decides to join them....in a self-reflexive concept to direct a project entirely thru Skype while he's in Los Angeles (now he can technically say: "I've directed a movie in Hollywood"). His cast/crew are in Seoul.... and, apparently, unaware.... puzzled, stressed, stranded. Like the director's previous Actresses (2009, posted about above) it's not exactly clear what's real and what's performed but it's very funny with a large Altmanesque ensemble of Korean stars (Minari's Youn the standout) and cameos (Jee-woon pops up; "Haven't finished filming Arnold yet"), and a lot of inside references ("Hong can't afford to feed us... poor Isabelle Huppert was licking salt off her hands"). It's a clever comment on the godlike and absurd presence of the director, subverted here as lack of presence with ensuing chaos. We see how the cast/crew line up, one by one, for the screen-looming Lee for approval. But we see how just as easy he becomes to ignore. At one point he presciently predicts on his virtual directing - "This is filmmaking circa 2020."
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