[Movie 2005] A Bittersweet Life 달콤한 인생

[Guest ninjakitten]

Hi all,

I am late to the party but since I have already watched BSL more than 4 times now, I guess better late than never. I feel bad about just popping in here and asking for things, but if anyone is willing to help, here my requests:

1. I watched the regular version, and I want to buy the Director's Cut (DC). The only problem is that the regular version is 118 minutes and the DC version is 120 minutes. I read earlier the extra scenes that are not in the regular cut, but a 2-minute difference seems awful tiny. So, maybe, is the US version of the DC different from the Korean version? If so, maybe i should just pick up the Korean version (assuming that there are subtitles options for English).

2. I have been watching over and over again several YouTube vids on the making of BSL and some press conferences and interviews. Is anyone willing to just give me a summary of what is being said? I just want a summary (well, to be honest, I want every word of whatever LBH says :blush: ).

Thank you for this great thread. There is just so much information! I am just trying to get it all in.

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Am I only one here who actually cried (well, more like weeped) during the last 3-4 minutes of the movie? I couldn't stop crying. The exquisite pain, the sense of loss, the waste of such a loyal character, the inevitability of the fall of a moral-enforcer, the recognition of the empty life LBH has had for 7 years, and maybe for many years before that...all these were condensed into such painful sequences in the end, and I felt hit by waves and waves of pain, and I just had to cry.

That movie has stayed with me for days now. I can't get so many images out of my mind! And LBH is freaking hot, it should be a crime ,

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Maybe there is another thread for Joint Security Area (the movie that made me notice LBH, but BSL pushed me into fandom)...but not to sound like a wimp, but that movie killed me. I was crying so hard during the last scene when LBH leaves the interrogation ward, and you just know what he is going to do...but then the photograph scene hit me like freight train. I felt haunted by the last B&W photograph for days afterwards.

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I loved, loved, loved Bungee Jumping (although I wished they lived together as a couple)...

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Basically, I am absorbing this man's acting skills...What is an amazing actor. I am awed and wowed.

[rubie]

That movie has stayed with me for days now. I can't get so many images out of my mind! And LBH is freaking hot, it should be a crime ,

Basically, I am absorbing this man's acting skills...What is an amazing actor. I am awed and wowed.

Absolutely true! No dispute at all.. no worries, the BSL party never ends!

Hi ninjakitten! So good to see you here, welcome to BSL.. this movie is just so awesome, huh.. the longer you thought about it, the better it gets.. the more appreciation we'd feel for LBH & the cast & crew of an ultra cool movie to date.

I won't be able to answer Q1 and 2.. unfortunately.. but will try to get someone who can. The summary.. unfortunately.. we don't really have that either (we too had watched the clips.. without any subs or translation >.<) .. but there are gist of interview excerpts in various articles that we had compiled.

Hope you can check out the BSL fan club as well as the LBH fan club, too.. they're still fairly new and rather 'empty' but will try to fill it in with as much as movie info & tidbits, too.

I didn't really bawl watching BSL.. but at the end of the movie.. I just couldn't breathe .. it's like my heart was stuck at my throat. So hard. The movie is just awesome despite all the bloody fights and extremes... the emotional part just stood out. Perfect.

Really love reading your thoughts about BSL and JSA, too.. ohh.. we do.. we do have threads for JSA and Bungee Jumping as well.

Come on over!

Bungee Jumping of Their Own

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19649

Joint Security Area

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1414

[Guest shred]

1. I watched the regular version, and I want to buy the Director's Cut (DC). The only problem is that the regular version is 118 minutes and the DC version is 120 minutes. I read earlier the extra scenes that are not in the regular cut, but a 2-minute difference seems awful tiny. So, maybe, is the US version of the DC different from the Korean version? If so, maybe i should just pick up the Korean version (assuming that there are subtitles options for English).

welcome to the thread ninjakitten! i didn't know they have a US version of the director's cut

i've only seen the korean version DC and haven't seen the regular version either. i'm sorry if i'm not much of any help but i could tell you that the korean version have English subs - but the DVD is in Region 3. so make sure your DVD player is region-all

[Guest ninjakitten]

Thank you, rubie and chula for the warm welcome. I really appreciate it. LBH fans are the nicest!

this movie is just so awesome, huh.. the longer you thought about it, the better it gets.. but at the end of the movie.. I just couldn't breathe .. it's like my heart was stuck at my throat. So hard.

You put it beautifully, rubie, about feeling like your heart is stuck in your throat. I felt that way pretty much throughout the movie--especially once he follows the girl and he looked so lonely and you can see that he is realizing how empty his life has been--just that was painful. But the scene where he boxes (at the very end) was it for me; I just had to cry (or I felt my heart was going to break). What an amazing portrayal. I also like the fact that director really focused on LBH's face almost throughout the movie, and the director had the foresight to know that there is where the movie's power lies.

I wonder if LBH had any idea how huge it was going to be overseas. I guess it wasn't much of a hit in Korea or Japan. That's a pity.

i didn't know they have a US version of the director's cut. i've only seen the korean version DC and haven't seen the regular version either. i'm sorry if i'm not much of any help but i could tell you that the korean version have English subs

chula, thank you so much for the help. On Amazon.com there is a DC version, with extra features. But it worried me that the DC version is only 2 minutes longer, which doesn't make sense to me. Did you get yours from YesAsia? I have a all-region DVD player, so region restrictions don't matter, just as long as I have Eng subs. May I bother you with a favor: May I ask how many minutes your DC version is?

--

Again, thank you for your help. I am glad that I came in here and asked questions because I was about to get the DC version on Amazon. I will wait to hear back and see if I need to get the Korean version from YesAsia!

I can't wait to check out the Bungee Jumping thread. I want to see what others had to say about the movie!

[Guest shred]

hi ninjakitten! yes, i did get mine from Yesasia -- and it's 120 minutes long

i see two DC versions listed in Amazon

this - supposedly Region 0

http://www.amazon.com/A-Bittersweet-Life/d...3212&sr=8-1

^ i have doubts about this DVD. normally, US versions of korean movies are released on standard versions only. but who knows, i may be wrong

and the korean import - region 3 - which is out of stock

http://www.amazon.com/Bittersweet-Life-Dir...n/dp/B000IHB6WG

if i were you, i'd stick to buying the korean edition. korean DVD packaging is so much better anyway

[Guest ninjakitten]

Chula! You are a wealth of information--and awesome information. I agree with you that getting the Korean version would be the best way to go...but Amazon's version is out of stock .

The version on YesAsia is ridiculously priced--it is over $100.00. While I love this movie (and LBH in it), goodness me, I cannot pay that much for anything. Even K-drama box sets with 10 discs cost less .

I will keep looking around, I guess.

Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it. I really do.

[jaceone]

wow!! i didn't even know there was a thread for BSL, but i'm glad i found it.

BSL is one of my favorite movies!! the cinematography was so dope in this movie, especially the beginning scenes at the bar and the walk through the well-lite hallway. and the first fight scene when he lifts that guys face up off the table with this foot and kicks him. that was just like the first 10 minutes. haha. damn, what a great movie!! haha.

and it's so weird that i found this thread today because i was at amoeba records earlier and found a hand full of new BSL dvds (US director's cut). but i agree with chula, if you could find the korean version or even the uk version, they have better packaging. i was lucky to find a tartan asia extreme uk dvd release of BSL (there are a few scene that were edited out but didn't take away from the story) on ebay a month ago.

i bought the BSL dvds i found at amoeba and one of them is going up on ebay later (and no, it's not gonna be some ridiculous price like $100. i mean it's a great movie, but it's not that great haha. i'll post it up for $15 which is what i paid for it). i'll update with the link when it's up, if anyone's interested.

[rubie]

^ Hi jaceone! Welcome to BSL, good to see you here!

Thanks so much for the wonderful highlight about the movie's dvd, etc. Appreciate the sharing and yup .. that opening kicka** scene in BSL is just awesome, huh.. nothing comes close.. at least not what I've seen so far.

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Found this while browsing .. and since we're talking about the dvds.. is this like the UK version or something.. In case it helps anyone.. in any way...

Source: http://www.tesco.com/entertainment/product...x?R=684308&

[Guest ninjakitten]

Rubie,

As proven, you are the goddess of resources. I love the Tartan Asia version look and cover (I am assuming that it is the director's cut with added scenes?). Anyway, enough with my questions: I will check out the website--well, I did, but not in detail and I have no idea if they will ship to the U.S. or not. THANK YOU, FOR THE INFORMATION.

Haa-ha, btw, I found a copy (I think a director's cut) on sensasian.com and it was about $150 of something ridiculous. Seriously, what are they thinking?

jaceone

I am still looking for the Korean version--but, bah, I can't find it anywhere.

I have found a whole list on Ebay, but I can't tell if they are box set/collector's editions or not. I will slowly go through the list and email the vendors. (Yup, I am on a Bittersweet high).

I guess more than anything I want the version with the deleted scenes intact.

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Thank you for all your help, friends. I will keep looking and looking and looking .

[rubie]

BSL-LBH wallpaper

Source: http://www.cinemaisdope.com/a-bittersweet-...movie-wallpaper

[rubie]

At the 11th PIFF, 2006

Photo by Brian Brooks (October 15, 2006)

"A Bittersweet Life" director Kim Ji-woon and actor Lee Byung-hun at a party over the weekend at the Pusan International Film Festival. Fans often mobbed the pair for pictures.

Source: http://www.indiewire.com/ipop/2006/10/bittersweet_in.html

[Guest calcifer]

A "Bittersweet Life" is my favorite movie...There is no other movies exceed this one...so far....LBHwas too sexy in this movie. I still watch this DVD once a month. I like the scene when he does shadow boxing in a hotel room looking at himself in the window. It was a symbolic scene of his loneliness and his pureness of heart.

rubie? are you the one often showed up in SK? if so, you should know me...I'm jiji!! hi!!!*wave*!

[rubie]

A "Bittersweet Life" is my favorite movie...There is no other movies exceed this one...so far....LBHwas too sexy in this movie. I still watch this DVD once a month. I like the scene when he does shadow boxing in a hotel room looking at himself in the window. It was a symbolic scene of his loneliness and his pureness of heart.

rubie? are you the one often showed up in SK? if so, you should know me...I'm jiji!! hi!!!*wave*!

Jiji

JIJI!!!!!! *ruby runs to hug Jiji-sis!*

Welcome to BSL, soompi.. welcome.. so good to see you again. :blush: I feel so sad that SK is no longer retrievable.. all my threads.. Timeless LBH especially.. all gone. And we were starting to share so much there.. didn't know how to contact you. Didn't have any email, I was hoping you'd come to soompi. Oops.. didn't know that you're already a soompi member for quite awhile. :blush:

This is so cool! BSL (Bittersweet Life) is just awesome.. you can never, never forget it so easily. But we'll have another treat coming from the director of BSL with LBH as one of the leading actors.

Aww.. this is so cool.. Jiji-sis.. come to BH thread as well, check out our fan club & join it.. too. We'll talk LBH-BSL again.

http://www.soompi.com/fanclub/lee_byung_hun

[Guest calcifer]

Jiji

JIJI!!!!!! *ruby runs to hug Jiji-sis!*

Welcome to BSL, soompi.. welcome.. so good to see you again. :blush: I feel so sad that SK is no longer retrievable.. all my threads.. Timeless LBH especially.. all gone. And we were starting to share so much there.. didn't know how to contact you. Didn't have any email, I was hoping you'd come to soompi. Oops.. didn't know that you're already a soompi member for quite awhile. :blush:

This is so cool! BSL (Bittersweet Life) is just awesome.. you can never, never forget it so easily. But we'll have another treat coming from the director of BSL with LBH as one of the leading actors.

Aww.. this is so cool.. Jiji-sis.. come to BH thread as well, check out our fan club & join it.. too. We'll talk LBH-BSL again.

http://www.soompi.com/fanclub/lee_byung_hun

So RUBIE!!! you are the rubie that I know from SK!!!! *HUGs tight!!!*

I know I know!!! I miss SK a lot too!!!!! what a disaster....even I tried to visit there after a hacker? locked in...and sadly or I accidentally suffered a defeat...I got virus but I took it off and my computer didn't get a damage after all.

But what a loss!!! your great work were all gone...you kept the copy? I sometimes print out when I find some great posts there. But of course there are too huge posts and we are unable to keep them by the papers...*cry*

But we met here!!! YEAH!!! let me visit this thread sometimes. I haven't seen him recently but still there are some old drama such as "beautiful life" BEAUTIFUL DAYS!!! are always airing in Japan, so I have a chance to meet IBH on TV.

I'm so happy to know that the genius rubie is still surviving in soompi!!!! keep up your work! rubie forever with a super cool guy, IBH!!!! Of course we, K drama freaks are all surviving, right? otherwise we have nowhere to pour out our passion towards them (K stars lol) with our talented writings, right? hahahah!!!

[rubie]

Ohh Jiji.. I thought we'd get the SK forum back, at least one last time like before.. but I tried logging in 3 times (thought it was alright) and got hit by viruses every time .. luckily.. nothing with major damage. What a scare! I wished I had been more persistant in saving the stuff posted in the thread but sometimes.. you just don't have enough time or excuses for not doing so. Serves me right. The news and pics are not a big loss because we have other sources (like the LBH thread here in soompi) but all the personal sharing, thoughts, comments, banter and discussions we had enjoyed before.. memories that are gone forever.

But we have to go on, right.. just like our cool guy.. huh.. huh. :blush: Although I will always miss the thread in SK, we have so much more and better sharing to look forward to.

So happy to meet you again at soompi.. I guess this will be our new place to talk and share.

Not all is lost.. right?

[Guest calcifer]

YEs yes ! rubie and other girls! let's have fun here!

but is this thread the place to talk about Bittersweet life only? coz I found another IBH's thread....so probably regarding his daily events, I better posts there? ^^

[Guest a4sano]

Anyone know the title of the song played on the main site for A Bittersweet Life - http://www.d-o-e-s.com/collection/bittersweet/index0.html

The song that comes on right after the wicked intro. Anyone know?

[rubie]

BSL collage for soompi threads/fan clubs; EverythingLBH related only

Film Festivals & Awards

58th Festival de Cannes (May 15th, 2005) - Out of Competition

The 38th Edition Sitges Festival (Oct 9-18th, 2005)

Best Original Soundtrack - Dalpalan and Jang Yeong-gyu

25th Hawaii International Film Festival (Oct 20-30th, 2005)

26th Blue Dragon Awards (Nov 29th, 2005)

Best Cinematography - Kim Ji Yong

4th Annual Korean Film Awards (Dec 5th, 2005)

Best Supporting Actor - Hwang Jung Min

25th Korean Critics Awards (Dec 12th, 2005)

Top 10 films of 2005

Best Actor - Lee Byung Hun

Best Music Dalparan, Jang Young-Gyu

13th Chunsa Film Art Awards (Dec 15th, 2005)

Best Actor - Lee Byung Hun

42nd Baeksang Arts Awards (April 14th, 2006)

Best Actor - Lee Byung Hun

The Deauville Asian Film Festival 2006

Best Action Film "Action Asia" Prize - Dir. Kim Jee Woon

Anyone know the title of the song played on the main site for A Bittersweet Life - http://www.d-o-e-s.com/collection/bittersweet/index0.html

The song that comes on right after the wicked intro. Anyone know?

Hi there a4sano, sorry for the late reply. I'm not really sure about the soundtrack from the movie but hopefully someone can help you with it.

Perhaps we can also ask at the drama & movie OST thread if anyone there is more informed on this.

Anyway, I'll bringing the post up again in case others missed it.

[rubie]

Thanks to the highlight by Shirley at Song Kang Ho thread

Gangster Films: The Yin and Yang of Korean Film Culture

written by X

Published 2007/12/10

- only pics related to LBH/BSL posted; for full complete captures please refer link of source provided below

Gangs have always been one of cinema's favorite arguments, not only in the West where the mafia gave Hollywood decades of stories to tell, but also in Asia, where some of the oldest crime organizations have become the subject of countless films. What would Japanese Cinema be without the yakuza films of Fukasaku Kinji and Kitano Takeshi, or Hong Kong without its triad films? Even Korea has its hoodlums and assorted gangsters populating films and TV dramas for decades. Called "jopok" (short for "jojik poknyeokbae", organized crime society), these gangs have made their mark in Korean history ever since the colonial period, but how can we explain the last ten years' boom, bringing to the forefront a genre that rarely made much of a mark in Korean Cinema history?

Formation Years

By definition organized crime societies, be it to fight off Japanese imperialism in the early 20th century or each other during the brutal and tragic Korean War, have been active in Korea for over a century. But why did Chungmuro suddenly wake up and smell the roses, pumping money and ideas into this new cash cow called jopok films? To understand that, we should go back to the late 90s when, thanks to the IMF crisis, Koreans lost most of the faith they had in the government. With many businesses closing down, harsh economic conditions after decades of continued growth, and dim prospects for the future (expectations which thankfully didn't prove right), it's easy to understand why gangsters suddenly lost much of the negative aura they had in the past. After all, most of Fukasaku Kinji's crime films were based on the fact that with poverty and anger comes crime. Saying gangsters suddenly became the new hottest thing in town would be silly, but they were far from the Public Enemy No.1 they were pictured as for most of Korea's economic growth.

If we consider Kim Doo Han the first true gangster in Korean history, then all the movies made in the 70s representing him as the epitome of machismo kitsch proved the genre is not too young. Legendary director Im Kwon Taek filmed a trilogy of films centered around the figure of Kim Doo Han, who was a gangster, but also a freedom fighter who ruled the streets of JongRo during the Japanese colonial period. The General's Son and its sequels were big successes, not only anticipating the impressive industry growth starting in 1996, but also reviving the country's interest in action films, a genre which had been largely ignored for most of the 80s, at least when it came to mainstream films.

The early to mid 90s were years of transition, when just about everything was changing in Chungmuro, from distribution methods to production values, even film culture itself. During those turbulent years, a few classics of the genre emerged, such as Rules of the Game with a young Park Joong Hoon in splendid form, and The Terrorist which starred Choi Min Soo, fresh off the incredible success of the landmark TV drama The Sandglass and shedding his comic image once again for a role which would change his career forever. Terrorist was also one of the first films to show the talent of master action choreographer Jung Doo Hong, a mainstay on most of Korea's most famous films of the genre.

Also interesting was Kim Sang Jin's Hoodlum Lessons, a strange hybrid of gangster film tropes and Korean style-comedy, urging some critics to hail Kim as the Korean Kitano, even though his move to straightforward comedies in later years would wash off those expectations. Still, the true turnaround came with No. 3, one of the most brilliant black comedies Korea has ever seen. Starring Han Suk Kyu and Choi Min Sik, the film is a brutally honest, hilariously irreverent look behind the scenes of Korean gangs, their delusion of grandeur, and the backstabbing and corruption. No. 3 is not only famous for its near perfect script, but also for the phenomenal display of ad-lib by a certain Song Kang Ho, who back then was just a theater actor trying to make it in the film world. His legendary delivery (all over TV shows for years, with comedians trying to copycat his stuttering gangster wannabe persona) eventually led him to gain exposure, another reason to be thankful to director Song Neung Han.

Another shot in the arm for a genre that needed serious momentum came from the most unlikely of directors. Putting together a bunch of shorts with a budget that would likely not even cover catering for the latest blockbusters, Ryoo Seung Wan made history with Die Bad. A Scorsese meets Chang Cheh with a touch of Chungcheong Province flavor, Ryoo's debut shocked everyone in the industry, bringing to their attention his younger brother Ryoo Seung Bum as well. Ryoo would later go on to become one of the top directors in the country, and some still contend that Die Bad is his greatest achievement. But then 2001 came, and the word jopok became a trend in a way nobody could ever expected.

My Film Needs a Gangster

Hi, Dharma, My Boss, My Hero, Kick The Moon, My Wife is a Gangster, and of course Friend. If you're a Korean cinema fan you should know more or less all of these films, but the fact that all of them were tremendously successful gangster films released in 2001 is quite remarkable. Even within a genre that had just started as a mainstream trend, diversity was above the norm. Hi, Dharma was about a group of gangsters finding refuge in a Buddhist temple, mixing with the completely opposite customs of the local monks in what's still one of the most enjoyable Korean comedies of recent memory. My Boss, My Hero brought gang boss Jung Jun Ho back to high school, with all the salad dressing that comes with it. Directed by one of the most successful comedy directors in the country, Yoon Je Gyun of Sex is Zero, the film led to two sequels (My Boss, My Teacher and The Mafia, The Salesman) and even a Japanese TV drama of the same title.

My Wife is a Gangster, if anything, was another chance to see how underrated actress Shin Eun Kyung was. Playing a hard character for most actresses, Shin not only excelled, but also rebuilt her image around the tough woman leading a gang of pathetic losers. Kick The Moon, another success for director Kim Sang Jin of Attack the Gas Station, paired two old schoolmates in a strange situation, with the outcast becoming gang boss and the tough guy ending up as teacher. But of course the biggest sensation were the eight million tickets sold by Kwak Kyung Taek with Friend. A touch of Scorsese and that incomparable smell of the streets of Busan made the film one of the first Korean works to crack the international market, and of course made its stars Jang Dong Gun and Yoo Oh Sung even more popular.

The years between 2001 and 2003 saw a lot of interesting gangster films, perhaps the most underrated being Cha Seung Won and Kim Seung Woo's Break Out. But the other side of the coin also emerged, with countless comedies bringing back the same old characters: country bumpkins with little brain and quick tempers throwing themselves around with the help of their pungent dialect. Add a few sex scenes, the customary action piece here and there, and you're served. First it was critics doing their job and bringing up the issue, but then the public also followed through: gangster comedies not only were all too similar, the image Korean Cinema created around gangsters was a little outside the realm of reality. It was time for a little change.

The Not So Sweet Life of Gangsters

Take any of the major gangster franchises in Korean Cinema and you'll come up with a certain idea of what their life might be. The My Wife is a Gangster (now at three films), Marrying the Mafia (three as well), My Boss My Hero (three again), and Hi, Dharma (only two) series all present the gangster as the stupid big brother you never had. He fights well, he's even a little cute, and most importantly, deep down inside is not such a bad person. He's after all a sort of Robin Hood in designer clothes. Only he swears a lot more. A lot.

Thankfully Friend's director Kwak Kyung Taek wasn't the only one thinking the world of gangster was just the perfect opportunity to make silly comedy, as shown in his follow-up Mutt Boy, much smarter than its title might suggest. With jopok comedies outside of the major franchises almost always failing, some directors started exploring the dark side of the crime world, with not surprisingly excellent results. Most impressive of them all might just be Kim Ji Woon's masterpiece A Bittersweet Life, part Melville but also with Kim's unmistakable wit and his usual visual splendor. The film showed Lee Byung Hun had all the cards to succeed as a serious actor, when he didn't worry about Korean Wave TV dramas pumping up his name value and wasting his talents.

Also notable is Yoo Ha's A Dirty Carnival, brutally violent but also with a strange, quiet power emerging throughout the film. Choi Ho's magnificent Bloody Tie, starring a stunning Hwang Jung Min, showed the drug underworld and gangs controlling the Busan of the post IMF with admirable panache. Han Jae Rim's recent The Show Must Go On sees Song Kang Ho as a middle-aged gangster struggling to balance family and work.

It seems gangster films are finally starting to mature a little, escape the easy trappings that brought the genre to the limelight. It's a sign that the industry has understood the traps hidden under such a tempting theme. The fact current films are exploring the underworld with a little more intelligence shows Chungmuro has finally cracked the surface, and is now ready to bring the genre to new heights.

Source: global.yesasia.com

[rubie]

Related captures from various sites & fan-sharing at EverythingLBH
Check out more photos compiled at our Gallery & Related update here
EverythingLBH.com thanks every fan-sharing ardently with our utmost gratitude

A Bittersweet Life Director's Cut Limited Edition with Lee Byung-Hun's Autograph

Source: asiandb.com
(2discs/region3) asiandb price: US$149.98




 

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Captures from Falling into MOVIELAND blog.cine21.com

A BITTERSWEET LIFE DIRECTOR'S CUT VERSION






 

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December 20, 2005

A Bittersweet Life lighter by zippo

Source: madmad.co.kr, thanks to Shirley-soompi.com for the highlight



 

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