Lee Byung Hun 이병헌 Byunghun Lee

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After opening at number 4, looks like it will be tough days for 'Memories of the Sword' at the Korean Box Office. Probably taking more than awhile to reach the first million admission. After 2 days (plus some early screening), less than 200K audience watched the movie.

Source: KoBiz

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Source & credit: LBH DC Gallery

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Instagram sharing of MOTS tickets often come with a line or a paragraph of review. Using Google translate, reactions were mixed. Acting performances were not a problem, the cast have all shown their strength but the plot (and action) do not quite meet the audiences' liking. Presumably there's a major tearjerker moment and a double spoiler in the movie. While some liked the movie, word-of-mouth seems not enough to push the movie forward.

Anyone who has seen 'Memories of The Sword', share with us your thoughts.

Capture credit: LBH DC Gallery

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MOTS down to number 6 two days in a row. 

Source: KoBiz

 

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August 17, 2015

'Veteran' tops weekend box-office, crushing 'Assassination'

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- It was a battle between Korean action films at the weekend box office, with "Veteran" outperforming "Assassination," which has already drawn more than 10 million admissions, according to data from the official market tracker.

"Veteran," which is about a confrontation between a police detective and an heir of a family-owned conglomerate known here as "chaebol," secured 18.12 billion won (US$15.32 million) in ticket sales for the Aug. 14-16 weekend, according to computerized box-office figures from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

The amount represents 47.5 percent of the entire box-office revenues.

Directed by Rhoo Seung-wan, the film stars Hwang Jung-min as Seo Do-cheol, a hot-blooded detective with a strong sense of justice, and Yoo Ah-in as Jo Tae-oh, an arrogant and cruel chaebol heir, in addition to Yoo Hae-jin as a company executive who is Jo's right-hand man and Oh Dal-su as Seo's boss.

Released on Aug. 5, it has since attracted more than 6.64 million viewers as of Sunday.

"Assassination," which depicts Korean independence fighters' struggle against Japanese colonizers in the 1930s, ranked No. 2 on the weekend, earning 7.86 billion won from 767 screens across the country.

Starring Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung-woo, the action flick by Choi Dong-hoon surpassed 10 million in attendance on Saturday when the country marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule. It currently is the most-viewed Korean film year-to-date.

"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" came in third place, but lost much of its strength shown in the first two weeks of its run.

The fifth installment in the nearly 20-year-old film series earned 3.75 billion won from 500 screens, adding 469,283 to its accumulated number of viewers, which was 5.61 million as of Sunday.

Two other Korean films had a small opening weekend.

Released on Thursday, "Memories of the Sword" managed to sit at No. 6, collecting 247,119 viewers in its opening weekend. It has been seen by 330,000 people in the first week of its run, which is far below expectations for a film with top stars such as Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon.

The romantic comedy "Wonderful Nightmare" started stronger than "Memories of the Sword," with 256,208 viewers on the weekend.

sshim@yna.co.kr

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August 16, 2015

Korea Box Office: Local Blockbusters Triumph on Holiday Weekend

Sonia Kil Variety.com

Representing a week-on-week rise of 18%, Ryoo Seung-wan’s “Veteran” earned $15.4 million from 2.25 million admissions between Friday and Sunday and held on to top spot over the busy Independence Day weekend.

The CJ Entertainment release has rapidly scored $44.4 million from 6.64 million admissions after 12 days on release.

Fittingly, Showbox’s period action drama “Assassination” crossed the 10 million admissions mark on Independence Day (Aug 15). It grossed $6.7 million from 989,600 admissions between Friday and Sunday, extending its total to $70.5 million from 10.7 million admissions. “Assassination” is now the top movie of the year, ahead of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” held third place, adding $3.2 million over the three-day weekend for $37.9 million. UPI’s “Minions” has made $14 million after three weekends on release.

Lotte’s long-anticipated “Memories of the Sword” disappointed. The big budget martial art drama starring Cannes-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon, top actor Lee Byung-hun, and rising star Kim Go-Eun only made $2.23 million over its opening four days.

Another local newcomer “Wonderful Nightmare” made $2.12 million over its opening four days. Screenwriter turned director Kang Hyo-jin, directed the fantasy comedy with actress Uhm Jung-hwa and actor Song Seung-heon.

“Shaun the Sheep Movie” came in like a lamb, and earned $371,700 between Thursday and Sunday. Aardman Studios’ previous, “Arthur Christmas” made $4.06 million in 2011—2012.

The Grand Prize winner of the Jeonju festival, director Ahn Gooc-jin’s first feature “Alice in Earnestland” opened in tenth spot, taking $116,600 between Thursday and Sunday.

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Published on August 15, 2015 by ARIRANG K-POP

Showbiz Korea－MEMORIES OF THE SWORD

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August 18, 2015

‘Veteran’ dominates over Liberation Day holiday

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

Ryoo Seung-wan’s action comedy “Veteran” stayed well on top, attracting 2.3 million moviegoers during the weekend, which included the three-day holiday marking the 70th anniversary of Korea’s Liberation Day. 

At over 1,000 screens nationwide, the summer tent pole from CJ Entertainment made 18 billion won ($15 million), bringing its two-week total to 52 billion won. 

The speed at which “Veteran” is gaining ticket sales is as fast as that of “Assassination,” which succeeded in garnering 10 million ticket sales, the first Korean film to do so this year.

“Assassination,” a historical action flick crafted by Choi Dong-hoon, also continued to shine at the local box office, after opening nationwide on July 22.

It was meaningful that the film hit the monumental 10 million admissions mark (roughly equal to 82 billion won) on a Liberation Day, which fell on Saturday, since the film is about a secret assassination scheme during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial era. 

It is now the 10th most-watched film in Korean cinematic history. Its next goal is surpassing Bong Joon-ho’s “The Host” (2006), which holds ninth place with 10.9 million tickets sold. 

Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible ? Rogue Nation” also stayed put over the weekend in third place, selling 469,252 tickets. It has earned 44 billion won so far in Korea. 

Meanwhile, the much buzzed-about film “Memories of the Sword,” starring Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon, took a disappointing sixth place with only 247,119 tickets sold, making 1.9 billion won. 

Despite its ambitious attempt at the martial arts genre fueled by a slew of A-list actors such as Jeon, Lee and rising actress Kim Go-eun, Park Heung-sik’s latest film, which reportedly cost 10 billion won, had to settle for a low ranking. 

Uhm Jeong-hwa’s romance drama “Wonderful Nightmare” debuted in fifth place with 256,199 ticket sales, while the low-budget dark fantasy film “Alice in Earnestland” from the Korean Academy of Film Arts debuted in 10th with 11,945 tickets sold.

A winner in the Korean competitive section of this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival, “Alice,” directed by Ahn Gook-jin, focuses on an unjust society where the most hardworking person can easily end up in the most miserable situation. 

Singer-turned-actress Lee Jung-hyun excels at playing Su-nam, who becomes increasingly merciless after realizing that her hard work and kindness don’t help her achieve a decent life.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]

Source: KoBiz

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Source: Hancinema.net

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Published on August 17, 2015 by ARIRANG K-POP

Showbiz Korea－PRESS CONFERENCE OF MEMORIES OF THE SWORD

ON SCENE
PRESS CONFERENCE OF MEMORIES OF THE SWORD
The sword had authoritarian rule of the era at the end of the Goryeo dynasty. Three different swords confronted one another! Korea’s top actors Lee Byung－hun， Jeon Do－yeon and Kim Go－eun are back through a Korean martial arts film. Take a look and learn more about their new movie ″Memories of the Sword”

 

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#MemoriesOfTheSword #LeeByungHun

Photo credit: yoyolee07

 

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From MisterX

His preview written when the teasers were first released, what happened now just spot-on

LEE BYUNG-HEON AND JEON DO-YEON BATTLE IT OUT IN MEMORIES OF THE SWORD TEASER
Park Heung-Shik's Wuxia Blockbuster Releases in August

You'd probably have to go back to the 1960s and the Shaw Brothers collaborations of action master Jung Chang-Hwa to find any hint of a wuxia tradition for Chungmuro, although wuxia novels always found their niche in the country. Perhaps the genre never worked in Korea for the same reason sci-fi was never really able to make a mark throughout the years: Korean viewers tend to favor visual realism. Or at least the perception of it, because while plenty of melodramas and comedies make a mockery out of verisimilitude, tolerance for heroes gliding in the air and vanquishing hundreds of foes out of pure qi and gong fu is mostly very low – something that despite not being Korean I must admit I share, although I adore sci-fi for its potential for allegory. But I digress.

There were a few – mostly failed – attempts to revive the genre over the years, from 2000's 비천무 (Bichunmoo) to the harebrained Shin Sang-Ok remake 천년호 (The Legend of the Evil Lake) and the somewhat charming 무영검 (Shadowless Sword). But any time Korea attempts to delve back into these murky narrative and cinematic waters, the feeling was that both know-how (wire-fu choreography, stuntwork, editing) and reception still weren't up to par are difficult to erase. Feeling that is still vivid and very much present, all the more reason when directing the next bix wuxia project in line is not an eternal wuxia fanboy like Ryu Seung-Wan, but someone like Park Heung-Shik, who made a career out of small scale, placid romantic comedies like 나도 아내가 있었으면 좋겠다 (I Wish I Had a Wife) or the lovely 달콤한 나의 도시 (My Sweet Seoul).

This is perhaps why 협녀: 칼의 기억 (Memories of the Sword) sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, as compounded by the teaser trailer that was just released. You have about a minute, which is wisely spent focusing on the emoting of your amazing cast: enfant prodige Kim Go-Eun, Korea's best actress Jeon Do-Yeon, a huge International star like Lee Byung-Heon, solid supporters like Lee Gyeong-Young and Bae Soo-Bin (who don't appear in the teaser). And, well, the token K-pop star, obviously. But then any action we're subjected to will likely be met with lukewarm apathy by most Korean viewers, because it once again falls into the trap of not being outlandish enough to be taken as wuxia, and not being realistic enough to be taken as ordinary sageuk action. That action choreographers would still be allowed by directors to let lackadaisical wire-fu make it to a trailer in 2015 is huge warning sign for something that will likely be content with wooing Chinese audiences and attract some orientalist purveyors in Western markets.

But unless Lotte shoves the film down moviegoers' throats for months, I don't see it breaking even any time soon (budget is now a standard 10+ billion won). Hopefully we'll at least get good acting out of it, but people who have wuxia in their veins should be dealing with this genre, not just any ordinary journeyman.

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Source: KoBiz

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August 18, 2015

‘Veteran,’ ‘Assassination’ top S. Korean box office as hits of the year

By Tae Hong The Korea Times US

The two giants of South Korean cinema so far this year have emerged — “Veteran,” which passed 7 million viewers Tuesday, and “Assassination,” which stands at 10.79 million as of Monday, according to Yonhap.

“Veteran,” which was released Aug. 5, passed the 5 million ticket sales mark on its 10th day, the fastest of any domestic film this year alongside “Assassination.”

Directed by Ryu Seung-wan, it stars silver screen giant Hwang Jung-min and heartthrob actor Yoo Ah-in as detective and powerful millionaire in a cat-and-mouse game.

“Assassination,” which premiered July 22, is the highest-grossing Korean film of the year.

Led by a heavyweight cast including Ha Jung-woo, Jeon Ji-hyun and Lee Jung-jae, and directed by Choi Dong-hoon, the film details an assassinatiion plot by a band of independence fighters during Japanese occupation in Korea.

Meanwhile, the box office has not been kind to “Memories of the Sword,” a period flick boasting big-name actors Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon — according to Korean Film Council Tuesday, the film has only attracted about 350,000 moviegoers since its release last week, and is lingering at No. 6 nationwide.

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Just found this article to share...

 

July 24, 2015

[Spot] ‘Memories of the Sword’ Lee Byung-hun, “The Script Won Me Over”

Posted by: Jin Kim Get It K

“Memories of the Sword” is set to hit the big screen next month, intensifying summer box office competition with other blockbusters.

The press conference for upcoming film ‘Memories of the Sword’ was held on July 24 at Lotte Cinema in Jayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu of Seoul. Cast members Lee Byung-hun, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Go-eun and director Park Heung-sik attended the event.

‘Memories of the Sword’ is a martial arts epic that will depict a story of a man who uses his swordsmanship and cunning betrayal to gain power in the royal court.

“My role is Deok-gi, who later changes his name to Yu-baek. He is a man with full of ambition.

‘Memories of the Sword’ became Lee’s second historical film in a row following ‘Masquerade’ in 2012. “Wearing all the heavy makeup and being dressed in even heavier traditional costumes were not easy. That was why I did not want to do another historical film. However, it was the script that won me over. The story was amazing.” said Lee Byung-hun.

“Since I was the last actor cast for the film, I had the shortest time for training and learning martial arts. It was hard for me to catch up with the other actors, said Lee. In the film, Yu-baek appears as the master of martial arts.

The director insisted the action for the film be intense. We had to do a lot of wire action on most of our days of filming. It definitely must have been not easy for the actresses especially.”

The seven-minute clip that was released at the beginning of the conference caught the eyes of the people with many spectacular action scenes and colorful costumes.

“In order to portray the character’s personality, we really worked on the costumes. However, such costumes made it more difficult to do action scenes,” he revealed.

“I have been preparing for his film for 11 years. It would be just a joy to watch the three actors’ performances and intense action,” said director Park Heung-sik. “It is not only emotional but also strong.”

Meanwhile, ‘Memories of the Sword’ will be released on August 13.

GET IT K Han Jihee, Photo by Choi Eunhee, English Translation by Veronica Choi

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August 19, 2015

‘Memories of the Sword’ flops

Period film “Memories of the Sword,” released Aug. 13, is on a sluggish roll with mere 370,000 ticket sales in a week until Wednesday. 

On the other hand box-office hit “Assassination” drew nearly 950,000 viewers in one day, 

Critics argue the scandal-swept married man Lee Byung-hun is not all to blame for the flop. 

“The tragic beauty of revenge and love overwhelms the weak plot. The work is too grandiose for its own sake,” said one critic, “Its scenes are indeed beautiful, but the dramatic narrative is not persuasive, leaving the audience dangling with questions.”

“Memories of the Sword” stars veteran actors Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon, with rising rookie Kim Go-eun. 

The film was completed in 2014 but its release date was delayed for a year after an extramarital blackmail scandal involving lead actor Lee broke out.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

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First version of this review stated that Lee Byung Hun was in 'The Shameless' which didn't do well at the Korean box-office in May (indicating that consecutive failure was his fault). In reality, it were Jeon Do Yeon and Kim Nam Gil acting in 'The Shameless' ...

Rightly or not.. the blame game will be on LBH.

August 18, 2015

'Memories Of The Sword': Review

By Jason Bechervaise ScreenDaily

Dir/scr: Park Heung-sik. South Korea. 2015. 121mins 

On paper, the period martial arts drama Memories of the Sword sounds like an appealing prospect. It features two award-winning stars: Lee Byung-hun (Masquerade) and Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine) reuniting for the first time since The Harmonium In My Memory (1999) and it’s helmed by Park Heung-sik (My Mother, the Mermaid), a respected local filmmaker. Yet, it doesn’t quite come together as it seeks to take elements from various films including famous wuxia classics (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers) and combine it with a heavy dose of melodrama using an uneven narrative structure.

The amount of ambitious wire work, CGI and frequent use of slow-motion doesn’t always seem wise and the film works best when characters are on the ground.

Despite its star pedigree, Memories of the Sword failed to attract large numbers on its opening weekend (Aug. 14-16) in South Korea having generated a meagre $1.7m from 247,119 admissions. But going up against Choi Dong-hoon’s Assassination and Ryoo Seung-wan’s acclaimed Veteran which have currently grossed $70.8m and $46m, respectively, was certainly a formidable task. To open in sixth place suggests audiences were not keen to see the film in the first place, however, - even after a long wait (it was initially scheduled to hit screens at the end of 2014). Lee Byung-hun may not be the box office draw he once was.

Overseas, its prospects remain uncertain, but Memories Of the Sword might entice some buyers looking for a martial arts epic as evidenced by the North American release through Well Go USA on August 28.

Set in the late Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), the film initially follows an energetic and confident girl named Hong-Yi (Kim Go-eun) who has learned the art of swordsmanship from her blind stepmother Sul-rang (Jeon Do-yeon). It’s soon revealed that 18 years earlier, Sul-rang along with two other warriors Poong-chun (Bae Soo-bin) and Yoo-beak (Lee Byung-hun) sought to lead an uprising against a corrupt monarchy, but was betrayed by the politically ambitious Yoo-beak in his quest for power,leading to the death of Hong-Yi’s parents.

Sul-rang, who was in a relationship with Yoo-beak before the rebellion, later confesses to Hong-Yi that together with Yoo-beak she was responsible for the death of her parents which ultimately begins a journey of revenge and bloodshed.

In the first hour, the film is so heavily focused on providing the necessary backstory that it lacks sufficient narrative urgency. This changes in the second half, but despite great efforts to develop the three central characters, the confusing early sequences mean it is hard to feel empathy for any of them.

This is Park Heung-sik’s first attempt at period film-making and evidently not his last either (his next film Haeuhhwa will be set in 1940s Seoul) but his lack of experience in this genre is generally palpable. While the melodramatic strands of the story better suit his style, and although the film’s visuals remain engaging, the amount of ambitious wire work, CGI and frequent use of slow-motion doesn’t always seem wise. The film works best when characters are on the ground.

Despite its technical flaws, some of the film’s cinematography - when it isn’t so reliant on CGI - is impressive and Mowg’s (Masquerade, The Last Stand) score again resonates well. 

Both Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon deliver solid performances but the script fails to give them adequate space to really embrace their roles. Kim Go-eun (Coin Locker Girl) is given more to work with, but comes across as overly theatrical at times, especially in the film’s comical opening sequence where she hops over a giant sunflower.

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August 18, 2015

Source: Get It K

‘Memories of the Sword’ is a martial arts epic that will depict a story of a man who uses his swordsmanship and cunning betrayal to gain power in the royal court.

In the stills, Lee Byung-hun brandishes a sword with lonely eyes, so makes people wonder about his story.

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Thanks to the highlight at Angel70's Brave & Human fan-blog

Anyone knows the original source of this photo (presuming it's from CINE21)?

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Photo credit: cristina.e.s

 

A scene from ‪#‎MemoriesOfTheSword‬ ‪#‎LeeByungHun‬ ‪#‎JeonDoYeon‬?