Oldboy
Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.
Country
Production
Budget
$2 500 000
Box office
$17 612 099
Director
Actors
Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Byeong-ok, Ji Dae-han, Oh Dal-su, Lee Seung-shin, Yoon Jin-seo, Oh Tae-kyung, Yoo Yeon-seok
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Syd Lim, Kim Dong-joo, Kim Jang-wook, Ji Young-jun
Camera operator
Composer
Choi Seung-hyun
Artist
Ryu Seong-hie
Audition
Editing
Short description
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate businessman seeks revenge on his captors.
What's left behind the scenes
- For his role in the film, Choi Min-sik rigorously trained in the gym for six weeks and lost 10 kg, after which he performed almost all of the stunts himself.
- For the role of Lee Woo-jin, the director wanted to find an actor who seemed as little like a villain as possible, and initially wanted to cast Han Suk-kyu, who had already played the rival to Choi Min-sik's character in the film 'Shiri'.
- In one of his interviews, Park Chan-wook said that he intentionally made the end of the film ambiguous so that viewers could decide for themselves whether Oh Dae-su was able to bury his memories or not.
- 300 actresses auditioned for the role of Mi-do, and in the end, Kang Hye-jung was unanimously chosen.
- The scene of eating a live octopus was filmed in four takes.
- Quentin Tarantino admitted that the film deeply touched him – he cried along with the antagonist and was surprised by his own reaction, because by that point he had already come to hate him.
- Three hundred actresses auditioned for the role of Mi-do; ultimately, Kang Hye-jung was chosen unanimously.
- For the role of Lee Woo-jin, the director wanted to find an actor who would appear as little like a villain as possible, and initially wanted to cast Han Suk-kyu, who had previously played the rival of Choi Min-sik's character in the film 'Shiri'.
- The chairman of the Cannes Film Festival jury, Quentin Tarantino, called the film an absolute masterpiece and voted for it to be awarded the Palme d'Or, but the film was one vote short of winning the prize.
- The final scene in the snowy forest was filmed in New Zealand.
- Actor Choi Min-sik is a Buddhist, and before eating the live octopus, he had to pray.
- The phrase “Laugh, and the whole world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone,” which appears repeatedly in the film, is a quote from the poem “Solitude” by American poet Ella Wilcox.
- In the scene where Oh Dae-su dances with toy wings at the police station, actor Choi Min-sik asked the cinematographer to include his feet in the shot – he wanted to imitate Michael Jackson’s famous “moonwalk”.
- In one interview, Park Chan-wook said that he deliberately made the ending of the film ambiguous, so that viewers could decide for themselves whether Oh Dae-su had managed to bury his memories or not.
- In the scene where Oh Dae-su dances with toy wings in the police station, actor Choi Min-sik asked the cinematographer to keep his feet in the frame—he wanted to mimic Michael Jackson's famous 'moonwalk'.
- Quentin Tarantino admitted that he was deeply moved by the film—he cried along with the antagonist and was surprised by his own reaction, because by that point, he had already come to hate him.
- Quentin Tarantino, the president of the Cannes Film Festival jury, called the film an absolute masterpiece and voted for it to receive the Palme d'Or, but the film fell one vote short of the prize.
- For his role in the film, Choi Min-sik trained intensely in the gym for six weeks and lost 10 kg, after which he performed almost all of the stunts himself.
- In Korea, they do indeed eat live octopuses, but they are usually cut into pieces beforehand. Having won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the director publicly thanked the octopus alongside the actors and the film crew.
- For the role of Lee Woo-jin, the director wanted to find an actor who would appear as little like a villain as possible, and initially wanted to cast Han Suk-kyu, who had already played the rival of Choi Min-sik's character in the film 'Shiri'.
- During the scene where Oh Dae-su dances with toy wings in the police station, actor Choi Min-sik asked the cameraman to include his feet in the shot—he wanted to imitate Michael Jackson's famous "moonwalk".
- The fight scene in the prison corridor was filmed in one take, took three days to shoot, and used very little computer graphics – only the knife sticking out of Oh Dae-su’s back was digitally added.
- Actor Choi Min-sik is a Buddhist and had to pray before eating the live octopus.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
