DVD Behind Shadows in the Palace

Takes place during the fabled Chosun era, “Shadows in the Palace” succeed to be one of the most acclaimed Korean film of 2007. It’s not by chance either if the film was directed by Kim Mee-jeung, who served on the production team of “The King and The Clown”, one of the most successful Korean films which set in Chosun era. Kim also not mistaken if she was really proud with her first movie directing experience here, because Shadow has bring her to be honored as the Best New Director at the 2007 Korean Film Awards. Her previous work with some skillfully directors to the genre had sharpened her visual sense which intensely heightened the appeal of this lavishness historical visual movie. Differing from Chosun era horror “Evil Twins” which centered on a ghost story to build the tension, Shadow was combined suspense, mystery and murder to its whole plot. What that can be point as the similarity between both films is although it takes place in the histories Chosun dynasty era, the story is purely a fictionalized account of what happened among made up characters on the film. Now, it was able to experiencing again the tense atmosphere of this chilling murder mystery, because “Shadows in the Palace” is now available to order on English subtitled DVD that expected to release on January 4, 2008.Kim has featured mostly an all female cast to this debut film and cast Park Jin-hee who well-known as the Korean Naomi Watts as the leading lady, Park played as court nurse, Chun-ryung who investigated the mysterious death of maid-in-waiting Wol-ryung who was found hanging in her maid chamber. While Chun-ryung does an autopsy on the corpse, she finds traces of the maid having given birth and that was revealed a scandalous fact because maids are sworn to keep their chastity for the king. Chun-ryung concludes that the maid did not commit suicide, but was actually murdered, meanwhile, her superior order her to cover up the death as a suicide. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Chun-ryung undertakes her own private investigations and begin with her first suspect Jung-ryul, the one who first discovered Wol-ryung. Despite to questioning her, Jung-ryul was appears possessed and tormented by a ghost while the other maids keep their mouths tightly closed. But then step by step, Chun-ryung start to unravel many secrets inside the palace, about the corruption of the ruling class, the discovering of the seduction and exploitation of court maids by an aristocrat, and about a shocking conspiracy that leads her to Hee-bin, the royal concubine who was the mother of the only royal heir. It appears that the king has no heir by his queen and he is on the verge of naming the son of one of his concubines, Hee-bin to be his successor.Product Details:
Product Title: Shadows In The Palace DVD (Limited Edition) (Korea Version)
Actors: Park Jin-hee, Yoon Sae-ah, Suh Young-hee, Lim Jung-eun, Jeon Hae-jin, Kim Sung-ryung
Directors: Kim Mee-jeung
Format: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1, Color, NTSC
Language: Korean
Subtitle: English, Korean
Audio Specs: Korean Dolby Digital 5.1
Region: Region 3 South East Asia (including Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan)
Number of discs: 2
Country Made: South Korea
Genre: Suspense-Thriller
Feature Film Running Time: 112 Minutes
Distributor: Cinema Service
Release Date: January 4, 2008 (Order your copy now!)This edition comes with the following special features:
Disc 1
• Feature Presentation: Shadows In The Palace
• Commentary with Director Kim Mi Jung and Jung Seung Hye, CEO of Morning Pictures
Disc 2
• Making Of
• Arts Direction
• Costumes
• Visual Effects: Digital Images, Computer Graphics
• Poster Shoot
• Teaser
• Theatrical TrailerMovie review from Koreanfilm.org by Darcy Paquet:
The wide cast of characters, most of whom are well-known but not stars in Korea, contain an equally wide spectrum of performances. Most prominent is Park Jin-hee (Love Talk) in the lead role of Chun-ryung. I'm a fan of Park's straightforward, accessible style, though here I wonder if she may have been miscast. Chun-ryung's internal drive -- her need to know the truth, even if it puts her in danger -- is the film's key narrative engine, but here I found it not quite convincing. Still, many of the other performances are quite effective, especially Kim Seong-ryeong as a fearsome supervisor who has adopted completely the ruthless strictures of palace discipline.
As the film moves towards its conclusion, the fantasy/horror elements that were merely hinted at earlier begin to creep out of the closet (and yes, there is long black hair). At the same time, though, the film's broader themes regarding oppression and power begin to come into focus. I'm particularly fond of the last scene, with the palace women all dressed in white mourning robes, witnessing power being taken up by a new set of hands. We've been led to believe that the strict set of rules which govern the palace are an insurmountable force, but events may tell us otherwise.It may not be possible to ever completely understand what life was like for people who lived in centuries past, given the lack of records and the vast cultural gap between us and them. Films set in the past usually end up telling us more about contemporary society than about the era on the screen. But is there anything wrong with that? Cinema is an act of imagination, and setting a film in a little-understood historical setting allows room for the imagination to extend itself. More than anything, it's the conceptual energy and narrative momentum of Shadows in the Palace that makes it an exciting discovery among this year's Korean films.

Some movies meet with the culture: Evil Twins, Muoi: Legend of the Portrait, The King and The Clown, Hwang Jin Yi

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Dragon Wars Turn The Battle To DVD

“Dragon Wars” or D-Wars was the most ambitious Korean movie, break the record as the biggest budget movie in Korea and also the longest time in the production, but almost set and actors are not in and from Korea. Even on the flashback scene it certain included some Korean nature, but the center of the story was set on Los Angeles and the main casts are Hollywood stars such as Jason Behr, Amanda Brooks and Robert Forster. Directed by ambitious Korean director, Shim Hyung-rae who’s marked this movie as his second project after a not to famous monster movie, “Yonggary”. After some great efforts on creating the creature effects that were done for three years in Shim’s Younggu- Art Movies Company, “Dragon Wars” released in South Korea on August 1, 2007 and grossed $20.3 M within 5 days, setting a domestic box-office record as the most watched film on opening week. After the dragon made some chaos within hometown, the movie then released widely in the U.S and also break the record as the highest grossing for Korean movie in U.S Box office, combined the result of the U.S and Korea, “Dragon Wars” succeed taken in more than $ 65 million on its theatrical release. On January 8, 2008, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the CGI-fest action adventure movie on DVD, Blu-ray Hi-Def and PSP.The story begin when a young boy named Ethan Kendrick (Cody Erens) with his father visiting an antique store, not for a long time he was exposed to some radiating light out from an interesting old chest. The store owner, Jack (Robert Forster) witnesses the incident and realizes the significance of the incident. He then told some old story that happened in Korea hundred years ago to the boy. Every 500 years, imoogi(a serpent that wants to morph into dragon) search for magical pearl called Youijoo which is have the power to fulfill its destiny to become a heavenly dragon. But the Youijoo was hiding within the body of a girl who must be sacrificed to the imoogi. Narin, a girl that was possessed by the power unable to sacrifice herself and decided to run away with her lover Haram, a warrior apprentice that supposedly bring the girl to Imoogi, but then fallen to a girl instead. Being chased by the imoogi, they had no choice except kill their self together, which effect to the creature’s destiny left unfulfilled and it would have to wait another five hundred years until the next Youijoo reappears. Jack tells Ethan that he is the reincarnated spirit of Haram and gives him a powerful pendant with a message to find the reincarnated version of Narin that supposedly will be the next target of Imoogi when she reach her 20 birthday. The story move forward to 20 years later, when Ethan (Jason Behr) has become a TV news reporter, he’s reported some mysterious incidents happen in Los Angeles city that might be a sign for another Imoogi return. In a coincidental, he meets Sarah Daniels (Amanda Brooks), a girl he believed as the reincarnation of his love. Together, this couple must fight Imoogi and its army that has returned in modern day Los Angeles and made a big chaos in the city as an effort to fulfill the imminent destiny.The DVD version of this special effects movie will feature an anamorphic widescreen transfer with 5.1 channel Dolby Digital audio as well as the Featurette “500 Years in the Making.” Also included are Dragon Wars Animatics: from Storyboard to Screen and a Photo Gallery.
The Blu-Ray version of the film will offer up a 1080p transfer and the same extras as the DVD version.
The DRAGON WARS UMD Video for the PlayStation Portable includes the film in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Audio options include English and French stereo, with subtitles in English, Korean, French, and Spanish.Product Details:
Product Title: Dragon Wars – D-War (DVD) Region 1
Actors: Jason Behr, Amanda Brooks, Robert Forster, Craig Robinson, Elizabeth Pena, Cody Arens, Aimee Garcia.
Directors: Shim Hyung-rae
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English, Korean
Subtitle: English, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin, Traditional), French, and Spanish.
Audio Specs: English 5.1 and French DS
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 1
Country Made: South Korea
Genre: Monster Action Adventure
Feature Film Running Time: 90 Minutes
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Release Date: January 8, 2008 (Order at Amazon)

Creatures Performances Rate: 8/10
Human Performances Rate: 5/10
Story Performances Rate: 5/10
Video Performances Rate: 7/10
Overall Rate: 7/10

Asian Monster Chaotic Movie Friends: The Host (8,5/10), Godzilla (7/10), Yonggary aka Reptilian (6/10), Garuda (6/10)

Other reviews for “Dragon Wars”:
(By Frank Scheck – Hollywood Reporter)
Unlike his countryman Joon-ho Bong's The Host, which revived the monster movie genre with wit and style, South Korean helmer Hyung-rae Shim applies a strictly grade-Z sensibility to "Dragon Wars." Belatedly receiving a U.S. release after it became a huge hit in its native country (under the title "D-War"), the film boasts superior CGI special effects for a movie of its type. But it's unlikely to erase anyone's fond memories of the original "Godzilla" and its ilk. The film kicks into gear in its second half, with Buraki and its minions laying waste to entire city blocks. Resonances of past films of its type abound, particularly in the drawn-out battle between Buraki and a legion of armed helicopters at the top of a skyscraper that recalls "King Kong." While the CGI effects are undeniably impressive, the laughable story line, risible dialogue and cheap humor (most of it involving a hapless zoo security guard) seriously detract from the fun. Neither Behr (who starred on the WB Network's "Roswell") nor Brooks adds much interest to the proceedings, and Forster delivers what might be the first bad performance of his career. Even such normally reliable supporting players as Chris Mulkey and Elizabeth Pena don't come off well.(By Irene Nakano - Joong Ang Daily)
Here are some of the reasons it could succeed: First of all, there’s the sheer novelty of having the scariest looking serpent and mini-dinosaurs spill out onto the big screen with incredible spontaneity. D-War is therefore a totally major work, a first for Korea and definitely a work that has inspired many of us who have never lived abroad. Its special effects justify the fact that it’s the most expensive movie ever made in Korea by a Korean, even though some of the scenes in D-War require an appreciation for Shim’s prior background in comedy. Several campy moments actually keep us in the creative loop, so to speak. And even those of us with absolutely no sense of humor are given the chance to make the same loop, thanks to some of the zany characters, like the zookeeper who nearly gets clobbered to death by an elephant carcass. But why should it matter where Shim spent $33 million? It should come as no surprise that it has always been his dream to become a filmmaker and he was willing to pay the price. Secondly, audiences in English-speaking countries will not have to be told in advance that it’s a foreign film with some subtitles, which should help it succeed where others before it have failed, most notably “The Host,” another Korean monster movie that failed theatrically in areas such as the U.K. due to language barriers. In closing, D-War, like all films, is a universal medium; computer special effects give it enough leverage over more traditional methods, like “Godzilla.” So perhaps the main reason some members of the entertainment industry seem to have problems following D-War’s message is due to their limited thinking about monster movies in general. Maybe they ought to try to remake the whole movie more intelligently, using different camera angles or drawings, with different scaling, instead of having the director look so derelict in his duties. Surely he must have something to boast about after six years of being so committed and passionate about this movie. So please note: How you rate D-War shouldn’t be based on whether you agree with such things as the size of its marketing budget or its chances of succeeding as a Korean export.(By Scooter Thompson – Movieeveryday)
Considered the 'George Lucas' of Korea, Writer / director Hyung-rae Shim's latest film, Dragon Wars: D-War, really does share a lot in common with the Star Wars films. Let's be honest, as much as the Star Wars franchise has become a national treasure and phenomenon, the actual acting, storyline, and dialogue in the original Star Wars film was not that great. It was the special effects that captured people's imaginations. Dragon Wars: D-War falls about 15 steps down into the cellar in this comparison, yet, it does deserve some notice for bringing some new mythology to life as well as for the exceptional CGI work. It's too bad that Mr. Shim didn't get the writers from the year's spectacular Korean creature feature, The Host, though to help him punch this script up to being more worthy of the incredible sums of money that must have been spent on the CGI for this film. Literally, the final 30 minutes is as CGI-driven as Transformers. Nonetheless, there's no reason to rake this film over the coals excessively. The acting, story, and dialogue came out amateurish, no doubt, but give the artisans involved some due and recognize they are a couple of decades behind in these areas, but right at the forefront when it comes to the rest of the technology. There's no question that a random word generator might have written more comprehensible dialogue. Likewise, CGI actors might have delivered more realistic performances than Ms. Brooks and Messers Behr and Forser. But the final battle and Buraki's CGI army marching toward and through downtown Los Angeles was great fun to watch. You've got to give international filmmakers, like Hyung-rae Shim, credit when they attempt to make great movies with huge budgets and special effects. Had this film been released in the late 1970s, it might have been a huge hit.

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