Spike Lee’s “Oldboy” is far from original
Original Oldboy director Park Chan-wook reveals how he felt watching Spike Lee’s 2013 remake. Based on a Japanese manga, Park’s Oldboy tells the twisted tale of a man mysteriously imprisoned for 15 years who, after gaining his freedom, takes bloody revenge on his unknown captors. Critically acclaimed upon release in 2003 (as evidenced by its 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), Oldboy was acclaimed by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and later remade by Steven Spielberg starring Will Smith. Eventually Oldboy was remade, but with Lee as director and Josh Brolin in the title role.
Today, 20 years after the release of the original Oldboy, which will return to theaters in 4k on August 16, director Park revealed how he felt watching Lee’s 2013 remake of Oldboy. While praising Lee and citing him as an inspiration, Park also admits that it was strange to watch the new version of the film that he unearthed. Here’s what the director said:
“First of all, I was very honored that the film was made by a director whom I respect and who influenced me personally. When I saw the film, I was very creepy because this is a story that I created, but it is different. It’s almost like a familiar face, but at the same time very new… You know, when you go to an amusement park where there is a hall of mirrors, and you see how your images are distorted in these strange mirrors? It was a fun experience, like something like that.”
While Pak’s Oldboy won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and became an influential cult classic, Lee’s remake received mixed reviews (as seen from its 39 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes) and is now largely a forgotten episode in an extensive and extensive career as a director. rich filmography. While Lee himself characterizes his Oldboy as a reimagining rather than a remake, the film took enough directly from Park’s film to seem mostly a pale imitation, adding little thematically or visually new to the original.
The original Oldboy today is, of course, remembered for two things: his lengthy hallway fight filmed in one take (which has influenced many films, including the recent Netflix film Extraction 2), and his insane “incest” storyline. “. Lee’s film retains both of these vital elements, but sadly fails in both cases, falling far short of Park’s in both visual style and emotional impact. Park, on the other hand, seems to accept Lee’s changes to his version of Oldboy, describing the viewing experience as “fun” but also “disturbing.”
Source: Reverse