Hong Sangsoo

[feihong]

I thought there were dream sequences in A Pig Fell Into the Well, though it's been a long time since I've seen it. I thought someone has a funeral for him-or-her-self in a dream sequence in that movie.

[zedz]

I thought there were dream sequences in A Pig Fell Into the Well, though it's been a long time since I've seen it. I thought someone has a funeral for him-or-her-self in a dream sequence in that movie.

Yes, it's an eerie nocturnal sequence, as I recall.

[GrasshopperFilm]

Hong Sangsoo's RIGHT NOW WRONG THEN is now available for pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD - and it's on sale at 40% off thru #CyberMonday. More info here: http://grasshopperfilm.com/athome/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[zedz]

Here's a warning about the Korean Hill of Freedom DVD. I purchased this because, of the various editions out in Asia, it was the only one with English subs.

And it does indeed have English subs, but they're pretty much useless. The film is in Korean and English, but the English subtitle track only subtitles the English dialogue. i.e. it's the complete opposite of what an English speaker actually needs. I presume it's just a direct translation of the Korean subtitle track (or rather, the pre-translation English dialogue file used to create the Korean track), included instead of the correct track by mistake.

You can still get an idea of what's going on from the English dialogue, but if you haven't seen the film properly subbed already you'll miss out on a lot, since this is a puzzle film that depends on all kinds of extremely subtle nuances for the reconstruction of the narrative.

This also means that Hong's most English-friendly film is the only one not released in an English-friendly edition. Here's hoping that some UK or US label rectifies this soon.

[knives]

I can't remember who, but there is an American company with the rights.

[academyleader]

If you read French, the Blaqout DVD of Hill of Freedom has French subtitles for all of the English and Korean dialogue.

[Michael Kerpan]

Hong Sangsoo's RIGHT NOW WRONG THEN is now available for pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD - and it's on sale at 40% off thru #CyberMonday. More info here: http://grasshopperfilm.com/athome/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Finally released -- and in my hands. I really liked the film, which has the sweetest natured conclusion since Woman on the Beach. And the BluRay looks pretty good. Dan Sallitt's "introduction" is good content-wise -- but seems to have been done in a single take via a low-fidelity camera. Haven't yet watched (well re-watche on this disc) the short film included as a bonus.

[sabbath]

Korean boutique label FNC ADD CULTURE will release Yourself and Yours (2016) and On the Beach at Night Alone (2017) on Blu-ray in 9/29. English subtitles available for the main features only. The price is KRW 33,000 each.

[Michael Kerpan]

Korean boutique label FNC ADD CULTURE will release Yourself and Yours (2016) and On the Beach at Night Alone (2017) on Blu-ray in 9/29. English subtitles available for the main features only. The price is KRW 33,000 each.

Yesasia doesn't seem to know of the existence of these releases. Any other suggested source(s)?

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

They were just announced today and as far as I can tell no retailer has them up for pre-order yet. Yesasia usually carries FNC releases, as does KimchiDVD. Now I have to decide whether to get On the Beach at Night Alone or hold off on the chance that Kino Lorber does their own BD (something they failed to do with In Another Country).

[whaleallright]

What sort of releases do Hong's films get in South Korea? Arthouse only? Obviously, his films are made quite cheaply, but even so, it's impressive that he can be so consistently prolific. I feel like he adds two features to his filmography in the time it takes me to sneeze. His films must be making someone a bit of money.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

They get arthouse releases, but the actors work for little or nothing (or in some cases a deferred salary) and he shoots with a skeleton crew of five, so his costs are low. The budgets supposedly average around $100k and some are much less than that—Oki's Movie reportedly cost 30 million won, or about $25k. With numbers like that he's able to consistently turn a profit or at least break even, probably thanks to international sales. He also has a full-time gig at a university so he's not dependent on his movies to make ends meet. (I think his students also work on the films in various capacities.)

[How rude!]

With numbers like that he's able to consistently turn a profit or at least break even, probably thanks to international sales

Don't forget, he saves a lot of time and money by basically making the same movie over and over again.

'A filmmaker/ writer with writers' block bumps into an old girlfriend, old friend......talks, eats.....

All of his films are a variation of the above. I'm sure if you did a comparison of the dialogue in his films, there would be very similar phrases, lines, hell, complete monologues. watch his first few films and you have the filmmaker down pat. Of course his films are cheap to make. location scouting is done from his previous film! Still, some people love the comfort of knowing they won't be surprised.

[Michael Kerpan]

With all due respect to How Rude, I do think that Hong's films are just a wee bit more varied than he suggests -- and do manage to contain a sufficient degree of surprises.

[bradass]

With all due respect to How Rude, I do think that Hong's films are just a wee bit more varied than he suggests -- and do manage to contain a sufficient degree of surprises.

Absolutely agree. The shuttle shifts take on a great magnitude when the films are placed next to each other.

I believe his films do get slightly wider releases in Korea when they win big prizes, as is the case with Right Now, Wrong Then. I'm pretty sure independent cinema in SK is a very, very small piece of the movie business (as with so many other national cinema industries).

[knives]

My understanding is also that he's grown a higher profile after the cheating controversy.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Profile doesn't translate into tickets though. Right Now, Wrong Then was his most-attended film since he stopped getting wide releases (about 81,000 admissions), but Yourself and Yours was one of his least-attended (18k) and On the Beach at Night Alone did 57k, or about the same as Hahaha and fewer than Our Sunhi (69k). The Day After only did 19k, so if there's any conclusion to be drawn here is that his films do better (but not spectacularly so) if Kim Min-hee is the lead, much like Our Sunhi probably benefited from being Jung Yu-mi's first film after The Crucible and Hahaha had Moon So-ri and Kim Sang-kyung's first major film roles in 2-3 years. (I understand Kim Min-hee has a big part in The Day After, which I haven't seen, but the marketing centers on Kwon Hae-hyo.)

One thing I'll add regarding the variation (or alleged lack thereof) in Hong's films is that location scouting is absolutely not "done from his previous film"—he goes out of his way to shoot in new locations and even his many films set in Seoul take place in different parts of the city. (I don't think anyone could confuse the locations in The Day He Arrives with those in Our Sunhi.) His three 2017 films were shot in Hamburg, Gangneung, Cannes, and Seoul.

[Michael Kerpan]

His three 2017 films were shot in Hamburg, Gangneung, Cannes, and Seoul.

See, all just the same!

[artfilmfan]

His three 2017 films were shot in Hamburg, Gangneung, Cannes, and Seoul.

See, all just the same!

Hahaha. Like you know it all.

[whaleallright]

Thanks for all the box-office and other info, Fanciful Norwegian.

[zedz]

Korean boutique label FNC ADD CULTURE will release Yourself and Yours (2016) and On the Beach at Night Alone (2017) on Blu-ray in 9/29. English subtitles available for the main features only. The price is KRW 33,000 each.

Yesasia doesn't seem to know of the existence of these releases. Any other suggested source(s)?

These are now up at Yesasia.

[souvenir]

On the Beach Alone at Night and The Day After have both been acquired in the US by Cinema Guild

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

They said a couple of months ago that they had On the Beach at Night Alone and Claire's Camera, but conspicuously didn't mention The Day After. Did they get it as well? The NYFF site lists Beach as a Cinema Guild release, but not The Day After.

[souvenir]

They said a couple of months ago that they had On the Beach at Night Alone and Claire's Camera, but conspicuously didn't mention The Day After. Did they get it as well? The NYFF site lists Beach as a Cinema Guild release, but not The Day After.

Introducing Saturday night's NYFF screening of The Day After, the programmer mentioned Cinema Guild had just acquired it (presumably during the festival).

[zedz]

They said a couple of months ago that they had On the Beach at Night Alone and Claire's Camera, but conspicuously didn't mention The Day After. Did they get it as well? The NYFF site lists Beach as a Cinema Guild release, but not The Day After.

Introducing Saturday night's NYFF screening of The Day After, the programmer mentioned Cinema Guild had just acquired it (presumably during the festival).

Can they pick up Hill of Freedom while they're at it and give it a proper English-friendly release? It's the only Hong feature lacking one at this point.