List Price: $19.95You Pay Only: $16.99 You Save: $2.96 (15%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0842498030127
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Tartan Video
Manufacturer: Tartan Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Tartan Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: November 22, 2005
Running Time: 122 minutes
Sales Rank: 8821
Studio: Tartan Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2002
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Editorial Review:
Description:
Unable to afford proper care for his sister dying from kidney failure, Ryu turns to the black market to sell his own organs only to end up cheated of his life savings. His girlfriend urges Ryu to kidnap the daughter of wealthy industrialist Dong-jin, who recently laid him off. Ryu agrees, but unforeseen tragedies turn an innocent con into a merciless quest for revenge. Bound by their personal losses and deep-seated anger, the two men are thrust into a spiral of destruction.
Amazon.com:
Before he made the notorious cult hit Oldboy, South Korean director Chan-wook Park created Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, an equally gruesome yet elegant meditation on revenge. Desperate to get a kidney transplant for his dying sister, a deaf and dumb young man named Ryu (Ha-kyun Shin, Save the Green Planet!) kidnaps the daughter of a wealthy industrialist named Park (Kang-ho Song, Shiri). Despite Ryu's best intentions, things go horribly awry, setting in motion a series of escalating revenges--to describe the plot in more detail would undercut the movie, because much of its power comes from the spare and skillful storytelling. Chan-wook Park is careful to ground the audience in the characters' emotional lives; when the violence begins, the bloody events unfold with the hypnotic power of the revenge tragedies of the Shakespearean era, which had over-the-top plots and littered the stage with bodies, yet were full of rich poetry. Park's eye for startling images and careful editing creates a visual poetry, grotesque yet often haunting. Certainly not a film for everyone--squeamish viewers had best beware, while anyone who wants their violence flagrant and guilt-free will be disappointed--but cinephiles looking to have their hearts squeezed along with their stomachs will enjoy Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Bloody Good
Weee, what a film of extreme violence, not since "Scar Face" or "Sopranos" have I seen such a film graphic violence.
Asian actors put to shame American or English actors, similar to some races having naturally better rhythm.
There acting is so much more real and authentic and show a love for the craft.
The style of this movie had a special feel and unpredictableness to it that you don't see in American films.
Rating:  - Fantastic film. False advertising re: the director's commentary.
The movie itself is a dark gem, and others here have covered its merits--I'll say no more about its quality. But what were the folks at Tartan thinking when they literally created, out of very thin air, the subtitles for the Korean-language director's commentary?
The first half of the commentary (an interesting chat between director Park and another K film director, Ryu Seungwan) was reasonably well-translated. But there was no effort to translate the second half of the commentary; the subtitles were almost pure gibberish. While Park and Ryu went on to discuss aspects of dark humor and Bae Duna's acting and alluded to Kitano Takeshi, the subtitles went off in a completely different direction: childish, unenlightening comments on obvious plot points or scene settings. Examples of Tartan's creative writing: "I wanted the viewers to realize that," and "The camera is far away."
Shame on you, Tartan, for thinking nobody would notice and call you on your BS. Not cool to fool your customers, and totally not cool to put made-up words into the mouth of the director, without whom you would have no DVD to sell. It would have been better to have left part of the commentary untranslated if you ran out of time and/or money to do a proper job.
Five stars for the film, minus four stars for Tartan's license to ill.
Rating: - VICTIMS OF FATE...An Effective tale of tragedy and more tragedy.
SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE is the first chapter of Park Chan-Wook's vengeance trilogy. Oldboy was released first in U.S. shores, this film was released after on dvd. (When it fact this is the first chapter). After Park's breakout hit "J.S.A.", the director was finally able to make the films she always wanted to, I've read that Park originally wrote the script for "Mr. Vengeance" almost 10 years before he managed to shoot the film. This film was highly anticipated in Korea but received mixed reactions because of the violent content. It didn't become as much a commercial success as "Oldboy" in Park's native land.
Synopsis derived from the back cover:
Unable to afford proper medical care for his sister dying from kidney failure, Ryu (Ha-Kyun Shin) turns to the black market to sell his own organs only to end up cheated of his kidney and life savings. His girlfriend urges Ryu to kidnap the daughter of a rich industrialist Dong-Jin Park, (Kang Ho-Song) who had recently laid him off. Ryu agrees, but unforeseen tragedies turn an innocent con into a merciless and brutal quest for revenge. Bound by their personal losses and deep-seated anger, the two men are thrust into a downward spiral of destruction.
Park's direction in this film is very different from the other 2 chapters. His (sort of) minimalist approach to this film is quite unique. He avoids camera panning/movements and it kind of gives the audience an observational perspective, that ends up looking very simple and natural. ... Read More
Rating: - Revenge!
The first of a trilogy by director Chan Wook Park. The best Korean director right now! You may have missed this one especially if you haven't seen OLDBOY or LADY VEANGEANCE! This movie isn't as visually spectacular as the two but it makes up for that with raw in your face violence. A story about a stolen kidney and a kidnapping gone wrong. The blood is intense and the action is a little brutal. All in all a fresh raw take on the revenge plot. Great acting, cinematography, and direction. This is just the start of a master coming into hs own!!!
Rating: - It's a great movie !
I liked the movie a lot even though some scenes were very violent. The story was amazing, too, though.
If you don't like bloody and creepy movies I wouldn't recommend this one.
Have fun with it..
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