Jump to content

[Drama 2017] Duel 듀얼


larus

Recommended Posts

Duel DVD - Japanese version On Sale on Amazon Japan

 

DRnnNOVVwAA1WdO.jpg:large

 

This is a surprise seeing the KoreanDirector's Cut version fell through. The Japanese version does not appear to be Director's Cut though :(  but at least it's going to be available on DVD for those who wish to collect.

 

Box 1 at 14,334 yen (release on March 2, 2018)

Box 2 at 16, 064 yen (release on April 3, 2018)

 

source: SPO Drama / Amazon Box 1 / Amazon Box 2

 

Sticking in a never seen before new still:

DRnn9GiU8AILmDB.jpg:large

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...
  • Replies 623
  • Created
  • Last Reply
On 7/31/2017 at 1:00 AM, 40somethingahjumma said:

Can anyone be so kind as to tell me if this show gets better? Because all the yelling and histrionics in the first couple of episodes is driving me completely nuts. I realise that the cop dad is desperate but he needs to get a hold of himself and stop overreacting. 

Edit: Thankfully the show improves and is quite intriguing. I'm not fond of the Prosecutor but at least she's smart and non-hysterical.

Probably the most interesting thing for me is the identity of the clones.

Oh my, I’m on episode 5 now and I feel exactly the way you did. All the yelling and overreacting by the cop daddy was driving me batty to the point where I felt I couldn’t watch anymore. Another thing that bothers me is how much SJ is beaten up by so many characters. How is he not suffering from internal bleeding? I’m just really curious about what happened in the past and what’s the mystery behind it all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I've been lurking on this thread last year, then coming again from time to time to enjoy some of your interesting comments. I'm about to watch the show again soon, so I feel already excited about it.

 

Duel is one of my favorite dramas ever, if not my ultimate favorite. I've been hooked since the first episode. I've found myself drawn in by the gripping plot and directing, and by the endearing characters, so deeply that I'm still thinking about this drama a year after I've finished watching it. I love the way the plot unfolds, especially starting from episode 8, when Sung Hoon is starting to lose it. I don't agree with some people here that the first half is better than the second one, I feel that everything is well-thought from the beginning to the end. Since it's a human drama above all, the second half is the real heart of the story and it delivers superbly.

The character development and acting in Duel are excellent, leading to some of the most emotional scenes I've seen in a drama - which is very unusual for a crime thriller drama to say the least. Watching Duel is a unique experience, and I recommend those interested to bing-watch it as much as possible to feel the rare feeling of emergency that it displays all along.

 

Well, I love everything about Duel, and I'm of course utterly impressed by Yang Sejong's mesmerizing acting performance. I wonder when I'll be able to see a performance of this caliber again. Not just in a Korean drama, but anywhere. Since he is a rookie in this drama, he  doesn't care about his image and gives his characters his all, if not more. His unbelievable talent mixed with the freshness of his characterization makes a strikingly fascinating combination. Sung Hoon's character especially is unforgettable, he is a superbly written character blessed by an outstanding incarnation from the actor. Just wow.

 

On 8/6/2017 at 1:47 AM, rhaps said:

I agree about the focus of this drama. I watched this starting from epi 9(after reading the recaps), then I backtracked, read articles, and found out that it begun with Jang's daughter's kidnapping and the prosecutor. I can only guess that the drama was supposed to have Jang and Prosecutor as the main leads, but the story (...)

 

Honestly, I don't even understand how you can claim to have an opinion about the drama's "focus" when you watched it from the second half, missing about 8h30 of its intrigue, pace, directing, acting, editing choices and so on. It's not the first time that I see someone thinking they have seen a drama or a series just by reading "recaps" of the episodes. Reading recaps and watching a fiction are completely different things. Some people love to read recaps for the reason that these are written from someone else's point of view. The recap is not neutral, and doesn't render anything about the moving object (the movie/drama). You have to use your own eyes to be able to give an opinion and not just "guess" what the writer wanted to say.

 

Duel's plot does have focus from the start and it is not confusing at all if you stay... focused. The pace is fast but the drama knows where it's going. There are very few unanswered questions at the end. Maybe it's just me but being used to watching a lot of movies, from art house to hard-core action movies or sci-fi, I don't feel the need to have every single detailed "answered", especially in sci-fi /fantasy genre. Some elements can be left to our imagination, it's also part of the fun. Duel gives a satisfying ending in terms of connecting the parts together, and most importantly, the characters are very consistent and beautifully developped.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, rhaps said:

Errr .. if you read my post carefully, you'd see that I "watched from epi 9, then backtracked from the beginning, then I made a conclusion". So what I meant was, I did watch it from epi 9, but then I watched everything from the beginning. That's how I made a conclusion that it was supposed to be Jang's quests to save his daughter.

 

Other things that made me think like that was also because the main leads are him and the prosecutor woman. You could search for articles about this drama from the beginning, before it even aired. But when I watched the drama, their roles are becoming less interesting compared to the Clones. Yes, I was also watching because I loved  them, and I honestly didn't really care about Jang and the prosecutor lady.

 

And one more thing : I didnt 'claim' about the drama focus. I just made my own assumption. Whether I was right or not, only the production team knew.

 

Ok, I apologize for my comment, then. I got on my high horse because of the first part of your comment involving recaps. Also, the word "claim" was linked to my (wrong) belief that you had only read about the first half of the drama and not actually seen it.

 

About the intentions of the writer, I know well how they promoted the drama. In fact I even made subtitles in my own language (French) for the press conference, the preview, and the V Live of Duel. Now I cannot say that I'm not a fan of this drama, lol.

 

I don't think there has been any major change of script during the drama airing. What I can concede is only that the prosecutor role was probably toned down from what they initially intended due to the bad response towards her acting (well, it's my speculation if I have to give some).

However Jung Jae Young's part stayed the same in my opinion, it's quite consistent until the end, especially Deuk Cheon's relationship with Sung Joon. During the press conf, Jung Jae Young ended up his last speech saying that the strong/main point of Duel were the clones, while pointing at Yang Sejong. There is another thing : the director of the drama, Lee Jong Jae, clearly said in interviews that the clones were the most important point in Duel, and that if Yang Sejong had not been good, the whole drama would have fallen apart.

 

While watching Duel last year, I quickly felt that the clones were the main interest of the story, and loved how we were slowly but surely lead to discover the two of them, like some kind of hidden treasures, thoughout the chase thriller story. That's why to me there has never been any problem of focus, it's a mystery drama and it works as such. Like Deuk Cheon who has lost his daughter, like Sung Joon who has lost his memory, we go from one surprise to another, to uncover the truth about the existence of the unthinkable that these clones represent.

 

Again, I apologize for misunderstanding your comment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..