[Movie 2015] Memories of The Sword 협녀 : 칼의 기억

[rubie]

Our thanks to @Hanako712 for the photo-sharing at LBH thread. 

Tokyo Stage Greeting 30/11/2015 - Memories of the Sword

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MOTS JP Stage Greeting clip, thanks to @Hanako712 for the highlight

Published on November 30, 2015 by oriconofficial

 

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December 1, 2015

Memories of the Sword Blu-ray    

by Webmaster Blu-ray.com

Well Go USAFrom the director of Children of Heaven and starring Lee Byung-hun (I Saw the Devil), the lavish epic Memories of the Sword will debut on Blu-ray on January 12, 2016 from Well Go USA Entertainment. The action-packed film blends tragic historical drama with thrilling swordplay and martial arts. Memories of the Sword also stars Jeon Do-yeon (Jibeuro Ganeun Gil), Kim Go-eun (Coin Locker Girl), and Lee Kyeong-yeong (War of the Arrows). 

There are no special features listed on the current press release.

As the greed and excess of a corrupt Monarchy threatens to destroy the once-glorious Goryeo Dynasty, three legendary warriors lead a revolt to overthrow the empire and save its people. But when deceit and betrayal costs the life of a master swordsman, a plot for justice and revenge is set into motion, raging for decades between the two survivors.

Memories of the Sword Blu-ray
Well Go USA | 2015 | Not rated | Jan 12, 2016 (1 Month)

Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p

Audio
TBA

Subtitles
English

Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)

Playback
Region A (B, C untested)

[rubie]

Totally agree with this review. MOTS should have been promoted as a fantasy or supernatural movie instead. That way, it'll be easier for the audience to grasp the back & forth storytelling plus over-the-top non-action and actions scenes alike. Still the worst part, was the ending.. so unbelievably dumb.. excuse me, this is to put it nicely. Oh let me say that in slow-motion... sooooo stooooo-piiiiddd. Really can't help myself. Have nothing against Lee Byung Hun being in the movie, he's the best in his performance and more but people decline on this movie thus missing out on the acting because of the bad reviews deserved by MOTS. Well, serves you right, Lotte Ent. what you did before, you get back. End of rubie's rant review.

Source: Koreanfilm.org

Memories of the Swords

Late Goryeo period Korea (roughly around 13th-14th centuries). A teenage tomboy Hong-yi (Kim Go-eun, Coin Locker Girl), breaking her blind tea-brewer teacher Wol-so (Jeon Do-yeon, The Shameless)'s strict injunction against showing off her fighting skills, jumps into a public martial arts contest and knocks out a contestant. She is noticed by military officer Yu-baek (Lee Byung-heon, Terminator: Genisys), who suspects that Hong-yi is the child of his former colleague in the band of rebel bandits, and has been taught the necessary mojo by Wol-so to avenge her parents, in other words, to kill him. However, Yu-baek is still deeply in love with Wol-so, his former paramour and cannot bring himself to do away with both women, as he plots to take over the throne as the bridegroom of a Goryeo princess. Meanwhile, Hong-yi is told of a terrible secret concerning her birth by Yu-baek's Master (Lee Gyeong-young, Tazza: The Hidden Card) that shakes her commitment to the newfound cause of righteous vengeance.

Memories of the Sword Prior to its release in August, Memories of the Sword had been one of the most highly anticipated Korean films of 2015, along with Veteran and Assassination. The pairing of Jeon and Lee, in a martial arts spectacle, no less, was enough to generate the gotta-see excitement among the viewing public. Even though writer-director Park Heung-sik (My Mother, the Mermaid, I Wish I Had a Wife) had never made an epic-scale period piece before, much less a wu-xia pian with lots of sword-play and wire action sequences, it was expected that, beyond technical difficulties, he would bring warm, humanistic touches to characterization and storytelling and reinvigorate well-worn clichés of the genre. Alas, the film was greeted with mixed reviews and, worse, rejected by the audience, selling a disappointing sum of 431,000 tickets nationwide, solidly beaten by even such medium-budget horror films as The Piper and Office in the box office.

I really wanted to love this film: as a die-hard fan of Jeon, it was difficult to imagine a motion picture in which she plays a sword master could be in any way boring or listless. When I overheard that the grumbling that the film was "overly melodramatic," I was willing to give it a chunk of benefit of doubt: after all, was not the good heart caught between moral obligations on the one hand and undying sentiments of love on the other the hallmark of any decent martial arts epic? So what if a few tears are shed, even from the eyes of stoic warriors matched against their former romantic partners?

Ah, may Guan Yu's ghost have a big laugh at the expense of my naiveté, or more accurately, deficiency of imagination! Hardly could I have guessed that Memories of the Sword was nearly all tears shed from eyes of the warriors-- verily, I tell you, torrents of them-- awkwardly juxtaposed to the CGI-wrangled bits of "warrior action" stuff, utterly devoid of any excitement or urgency. It is a complete bust as a martial arts action film, and as a tear-jerking melodrama, it leaves a rather bad taste, as if we are being sold as a beautiful, tragic romance the story of a mind-shatteringly hateful divorced couple, who poisons the mind of their young daughter with unspeakable lies to ram her as a weapon against one another.

It is deeply ironical that when contemporary Korean filmmakers make supposedly realistic period pieces, they insist on turning them into deadeningly unimaginative reflections on the present-day politics (Joseon dynasty kings standing in for postwar Korean presidents, and so on), and yet when they produce out-and-out fantasies, they stick to the hoariest, most outdated motivations and value systems one could possibly derive from the "classical models." What point could Park Heung-sik have possibly wanted to drive home by making all of his personages so literal-minded about warrior codes, yet emotionally messed up? The only affective response they show upon learning some plot-mandated "truths (which you can guess from two miles away)" is to gnash their teeth and wail and cry (and boy, do they ever cry their eyeballs out). Why, I mean why, do the paying audience have to tolerate the fantasy characters many times more obdurate, unreasonable, self-righteous and depressingly morose than the authority and public figures they encounter in their real lives?

The screenplay by Park and frequent partner Choi A-leaum (Children of Heaven) is a mess: it fails in reining in various subplots and character elements and whipping them into a coherent, epic narrative. The complicated flashback structure is more confusing than enlightening: the film spends, for instance, way too much passage on Yu-baek's reminiscence of Wol-so, partly through associations sparked by the natural elements. These lyrical sections, beautifully photographed by DP Kim Byung-seo (Cold Eyes) and LS Sin Gyung-man (The Face Reader), evince bittersweet, elegiac quality at odds with the rigidly convention-bound narrative.

Jeon and Lee struggle mightily against the borderline psychotic characters they are saddled with, and talented veterans they are, manage not to embarrass themselves too much. Jeon is painfully stiff in her "present" role as Hong-yi's surrogate mother, but is totally believable in the flashback as an earthily beautiful tea farmer, generously reaching out to Yu-baek as an older sister would to a lost urchin. It was a mistake to film her action scenes in the "fluid," gliding-balletic style of Zhang Yi-mou (not a master of martial arts genre): it really constrains Jeon's natural buoyancy as an actress. Likewise, Lee can only do so much with a character so ruthless as to kill an infant and yet at the same time whose romantic yearnings we are meant to sympathize with. He cries a lot in this film too, to no avail. But the biggest casualty of the movie's incomprehensible characterizations is surely Kim Go-eun, who has become something of a Jennifer Lawrence figure in Korea after debuting to great acclaim in A Muse [Eun-gyo]. Kim's unadorned, unpretentious charm is, charitably speaking, wasted in a role that is no more than a puppet pulled hither and yon by her two egomaniacal "parents." I positively wanted to plug my ears every time Kim was forced to sing-song-recite her awful spunky-tomboy dialogue.

Spoiler

 

What salvages Memories of the Sword from being a total loss is its stunning production quality. Period pieces usually do a less than imaginative job of recreating the medieval Korea (as opposed to the post-15th century Joseon dynasty), but production design managed by Han A-reum (The Silenced), Kim Seung-gyeong (Masquerade) and the crew, and costume design by Jo Sang-gyeong (Assassination), abetted by the aforementioned superb cinematography by Kim and Sin, recreates a suitably subdued, lived-in yet attractively exotic (with a pinch of Middle Eastern flavor) environment for the characters. Even while your brain is benumbed by its content, the movie remains achingly gorgeous to look at.

It is definitely no help to kibitz now, but perhaps director Park should have either boldly "contemporized" his characters so that they act strictly according to modern (Korean) sensibilities, or, conversely, bowed down to the more "formal" elements of the wu xia pian genre, which means the characters expressing their purposes, motivations and emotions through exciting, well-designed fights (a la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [2000]), rather than through weeping, crying and shouting at one another. Trying to catch the goose that lays golden eggs and put the eggs in the basket, too, Park and co. merely succeeds in eviscerating their admittedly splendid-looking motion picture.      (Kyu Hyun  Kim)

 

[rubie]

January 8, 2016

‘Memories of the Sword’ is visually stunning on Bluray

Source: Military Press

Coming to Bluray from Well Go USA Entertainment and director Heung-Sik Park is a tale of secrets and revenge all hidden in the “Memories of the Sword.”

In Korea during the Goryo Dynasty there were three warriors who fought against the tyranny of a king. Deok-ki (Byung-hun Lee), Poong-chun (Soo-bin Bae) and Seol-rang (Do-yeon Jeon). When surrounded it becomes clear that Deok-ki has other plans when he, and Seol-rang turn on Poong-chun.

Eighteen years later Seol-rang, now blind, is raising Seol-hee (Go-eun Kim), the daughter of Poong-chun and teaching her the ways of the sword. Seol-rang also knows the time is coming where the entire story will be told and revenge will become the young girls aim.

Deok-ki is now a powerful man in the court of the King and his greed is pushing him even further up the ladder. That doesn’t stop the memories from flooding back when he comes face to face once again with Seol-rang.

Secrets have a way of changing everything one believes!

Jun as Seol-hee is a head strong eighteen year old girl who loves adventure. That is until adventure becomes her reality when family secrets are spilled and she must decide on her course of action. Receiving the Asia Rising Star Award at the 12th Annual New York Asian Film Festival in 2013, it is clear this young lady will be seen again. I certainly hope so as I enjoyed her performance very much in this film.

Jeon as Seol-rang has the task of raising and teaching Seol-hee knowing that someday the two women would have to accept a fate for one of them. Portraying such an intense person, Jeon adds the extra task of portraying her character blind. Wearing a mother’s heart on her sleeve isn’t something she can do but it’s there in every move she makes.

Lee as Deok-ki is no surprise to me. He has been in such films as HERO (2007), G.I. JOE: Rise of the Cobra, RED 2 and Rush Hour 4. The two films he did that won me over are the role of Park Chang-yi in THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (2008) and I SAW THE DEVIL (2010). Comedy, drama or horror, Lee grabs a role and doesn’t let you forget his talent or his face for one second.

Other cast include: Kyeong-yeong Lee as the Master, Jun-Ho Lee as Yool, Tae-woo Kim as Jon-bok and Soo-an Kim as Goo-Seul.

WELL GO USA ENTERTAINMENT has once again brought the best in action and independent films from the United States and around the world. WELL GO’s titles can be seen in theatres as well as digital subscription and VOD as well as broadcast television. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.wellgousa.com.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give “Memories of the Sword” four tubs of popcorn out of five. I absolutely love so much about this film but foremost is the cinematography. There are long shots in slow motion that are so beautiful in the midst of such sadness. It’s the mash of these two emotions that bring the viewer into the film entirely.

The cast is brilliant together considering the weight lies on the main three characters. I love the resolve each shows to the part they play in the history. These three actors stay inside the character so deeply and it shows in their eyes.

The costuming, as always, is just beautiful and I mean stunningly so. In making a period piece I have always been drawn toward films that push the limits of costuming. The exquisite brilliance of the colors just dazzles me.

Director Park is also responsible for BRAVO MY LIFE! And MY MOTHER THE MERMAID and I enjoyed those films as well. He allows the viewer to become invested in characters and the story. Well done!

In the end — revenge will come!

[rubie]

January 9, 2016

[USA] 'Memories of the Sword' Blu-ray Giveaway : First-come, First-served @wellgousa

Source: Hancinema.net

"Memories of the Sword" will be released on Blu-ray and DVD January 12, get a free Blu-ray copy on a first-come, first-served basis (#MemoriesOfTheSword @wellgousa).

Winners must be located in the USA. 6 copies to be won.

To win the blu-ray please send us your name and address here : hancinema.net/message.php

Available on Blu-ray and DVD from Amazon

[rubie]

Thank you to the sharing by 병꿀최고  at LBH DC Gallery

'Memories of The Sword' feature in Japanese magazine ahead of the movie opening in Japan on January 23

Spoiler

 

[rubie]

Thanks to the highlight at LBH DC Gallery

'Memories of The Sword' Japanese PhotoBook

[Guest rainmoon]

On 16/11/2015 at 11:37 PM, valsava said:

This is one movie I'm looking forward to viewing when I can

 

yes me too .... looks really good, I'm such a sucker for these kinds of movies. The sword play ...

[Guest adikkeluangman]

Junho & Kim Goeun (Memories of the Sword) from Oricon Style 

http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2065605/ 

[Guest adikkeluangman]

Junho picture from movie Memories of the Sword.

 

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Photo credit: yumin0125

'MEMORIES OF THE SWORD' Japan

 

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Photo credit: yumin0125

 

[laskud]

The plot in the South Korean martial-arts period-piece Memories of the Sword may verge on the incomprehensible but, boy, is it gorgeous.
I looked here Memories of the Sword.

[rubie]

 

January 28, 2016

“Cheese in the Trap” Kim Go Eun Praises Role Model Jeon Do Yeon

Source: Soompi by ehk38 

Kim Go Eun features in the latest issue of star and fashion magazine InStyle.

The actress, who has been receiving praise for her acting in tvN drama “Cheese in the Trap,” has a bit of praise to give herself.

When asked to choose one person she looks up to as a role model, Kim Go Eun chooses actress Jeon Do Yeon. Kim Go Eun expresses her gratitude for Jeon Do Yeon’s mentorship while they worked on the film “Memories of the Sword” together.

“I realized what a very charming person she is as an actress and a woman,” Kim Go Eun says. “When I thought I was thinking too one-sidedly, she is a sunbae that would graciously help reorient me.”

Source (1)

[Guest adikkeluangman]

Junho fans in Japan organize screening for movie Memories of Sword.

 

[Guest adikkeluangman]

[INFO] 'Memories of the Sword' JP Edition DVD/Blu-ray to be released on June 3, 2016! (Junho) 

 

[Guest adikkeluangman]

[INFO] 'Memories of the Sword' limited edition DVD to be released in Korea on 3/25 (Junho)

via 2pmalways

[Guest adikkeluangman]

Cover of DVD & Blu-ray movie for Japan.

 

[Guest adikkeluangman]

[INFO]「Memories of the Sword」JP Edition DVD debuts @ #10 on Oricon Daily Overall DVD & #3 on Movie DVD Ranking (6/2)

via 2pmalways