'Memories of the Sword' took 11 years to fully develop
Park Heung-sik, director of “Memories of the Sword,” said Wednesday that the lack of swordswomen heroines in Korea pushed him to make the upcoming film, despite difficulties.
In an interview with local media, Park said he spent a total of 11 years in bringing his brainchild to life on the silver screen -- six years to fully develop the idea and three years to write the scenario.
The filming itself only took five months. But Park faced another problem. Due to a scandal involving one of lead actors, he had to delay the release of the film for nearly a year.
Yet his confidence in his work remains strong. “We spent the extra time perfecting the cuts and edits,” he said.
Park said he wanted people to see how women can dominate in a movie with swords in hand.
“I hope there will come a day when strong women will be seen as ‘admirable’ not ‘difficult,’” he said.
“Memories of the Sword” portrays a power struggle between three swordsmen who are bound by vengeance. The film will hit the cinemas nationwide on Thursday.
A peculiar curse exists in Korea’s movie industry: Films set in the Japanese colonial era (1910-45) never make it.
Notably, there was Kang Je-kyu’s ambitious Korean-Chinese war drama “My Way” (2011), set in 1938, starring Jang Dong-gun, Joe Odagiri and Fan Bing Bing, which attracted a disappointing 2.1 million moviegoers.
Considering its international stellar cast and jaw-dropping 2.8 billion won ($2.4 million) production cost, the outcome was far below expectations.
Comedy flick “Radio Days” (2008) and romance film “Modern Boy” (2008), both of which were set in the 1930s, also took in a dreadful 214,946 and 758,473 admissions, respectively.
Critics say the depressing mood and sense of defeat pervasive in the era scare away cinemagoers, who are looking for entertainment at the theaters.
Of course, there are always exceptions.
In theaters now is Choi Dong-hoon’s latest historical action flick, “Assassination,” set in 1933, which has been seen by more than nine million moviegoers as of Wednesday.
Generating buzz for its nice portrayal of major historical facts and Choi’s signature fast-paced editing, the highly entertaining “Assassination” is on the verge of hitting the monumental 10 million mark, easily surpassing its break-even point of seven million admissions.
By depicting a stumbling yet glorious assassination scheme carried out by Korean independence fighters, the film is also said to be resonating in the current atmosphere in Korea where a sour sentiment toward its neighbor to the east still remains.
But in most other past cases, the jinx holds true.
“People don’t want to remember the era where Korea was under Japanese control,” explains culture critic Ha Jae-keun. “Those who go to theaters to find something entertaining aren’t interested in films set in this gloomy era.”
This also explains why films set in the final years of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) have also failed to win the hearts of the public.
Representatively, “Gabi” (2012) and “The Sword With No Name” (2009) flopped, despite depicting the dynamic lives of well-known historical figures King Gojong (1852-1919) and his first wife, Empress Myeongseong (1851-1895), who was put to death by the Japanese.
Meanwhile, Kim Jee-woon’s “The Good, The Bad, The Weird” achieved an unusual level success. This is likely because the film was made in an entertaining way, and there was no mention of Japanese colonization .
“Events happening in that film could be cut out and placed into any time of the history and it would still work,” said film critic Hwang Young-mee.
Sometimes, the sullen sentiment towards the Japanese government surfaces in the public’s reaction to films set in the era. In “Blue Shallow” (2005), the late actress Jang Jin-young played Park Kyung-won, the first Korean female pilot, who had attended a Japanese flying school.
However, once the film began to be perceived as pro-Japanese, it led to the launch of an online petition against seeing movie. The film’s box office sales topped out at 543,597 admissions.
“The film itself was pretty well-made, but the social sentiment didn’t support it,” said Hwang.
However, Hwang believes the era should continue to be “excavated.”
“The Japanese colonial era contains an indefinite source of stories, because Korea was going through uneven development, having both sophisticated culture brought in by intellectuals who studied abroad while also having an underdeveloped side with many people still suffering from exploitation,” she said.
“Just as the Chinese keep making films about the frustration and sense of loss they felt when they lost the Second Sino-Japanese War, we should think about how to revive past events to find valuable meaning and relevance to present-day audiences.”
“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
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”
Next month, Singles turns 11 years old, and one of the K-goddesses, Lee Min Jung, lends her flawless beauty to the magazine’s anniversary issue. Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry emphasizes the actress’ irresistible elegance.
Although it’s hard to tell in these spreads, the new mom’s pictorial took place in Bali. Well, it seems to have been a relaxing photo shoot
BY: PIERCE CONRAN (PRODUCER AT 2MR FILMS, FILM CRITIC)
TIME OUT SAYS 1 out of 5 stars
Costume dramas have been a hot ticket at the Korean box office ever since Lee Byung-hun lit the charts on fire with Masquerade in 2012. Fast forward three years and the star returns to period fare with the swordplay action epic Memories of the Sword. Alas, rather than a bang, this tent pole closes out the high summer holidays on a whimper in what has been a difficult summer for the embattled superstar, following the tepid response to Terminator: Genisys, his latest high profile Hollywood foray.
Lee plays an ambitious warrior who betrays an ex-lover, played by top thespian Jeon Do-yeon. She goes into hiding and trains a child to become a great fighter. Eighteen years later, a teenaged Kim Go-eun is ready to take revenge in her place. Betrayal, greed and love are the driving emotions of this story, but the only feelings viewers are likely to experience are bewilderment and frustration, as this period yarn dovetails odd tonal shifts and awkward wirework choreography into the year’s most befuddling cinematic experience.
Unfortunately, the film proves to be a low point for all of its stars, as well as its acclaimed director Park Heung-sik. No one involved seems to know what kind of project they signed on to, and this confusion is transmitted to the audience through a narrative that seesaws between juvenile slapstick and solemn melodrama. A misbegotten foray for all involved, Memories of the Sword will soon be forgotten.
Director: Park Heung-sik
Notable Cast: Kim Go-eun, Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Byung-hun, Lee Jun-ho
South Korea has already established themselves as the elite place for thrillers, but the market has showcased a knack for plenty of other genres too – including the Hong Kong style of wuxia. Last year’s Kundo was a big surprise in its wuxia influence (enough so that it ended up making my top list of action flicks for the year), but it’s the epic tale of revenge in Memories of the Sword that has the style down damn near perfectly. Featuring some breathtaking visuals, classic wuxia storytelling, and performances to emotionally devastate the viewer, Memories of the Sword is a wickedly effective ride that blends a variety of old school influences with a modern sense of style.
A young woman (Kim Go-eun) has spent her whole life training under his blind mother (Jeon Do-yeon) to become an expert fighter. Her mission: to kill the two people that slaughtered her mother and father during a failed rebellion. However, when a high ranking general (Lee Byung-hun) sees her fight in one of his contests for locals, he recognizes the style and sets into motion a set of events that will bring two generations together…all swords blazing.
If you take the core concept of Lady Snowblood, wrap it in the epic wuxia style of Yimou Zhang, and then litter it with the modern artistry of The Grandmaster, then you have a general idea of what to expect from Memories of the Sword. As far as plotting and characters go, this film is epic. Running at roughly two hours, there is still not enough time to fully flesh out a lot of the secondary roles (a white haired sword master feels a bit underused and a brief romantic story thread with our young lead seems to be a bit undercooked) and the film flies by as it tries to navigate a story that bridges two generations of characters and features a solid handful of twists. Giving credit where credit is due, the writers and director Park Heung-sik make this film flow with remarkable finesse as it never feels bogged down with story and it’s balanced beautifully with visual storytelling. There is a lot to consume here, but it goes down with ease.
It certainly helps that the cast, all the way down to some of the throw away roles, are performing with full on commitment. Even with a deep and dense plot, the cast sell each moment with impact by utilizing the themes of cyclical revenge, love, and identity as resonating factors to adhere to the audience. In particular, Lee Byung-hun delivers an ambitious performance as the film’s villain that makes him a sad and fascinating character that far too many films are afraid of crafting for their villains. This allows the third act, when a handful of new twists are thrown at the audience, to be as heartbreaking and emotional powerful as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I love the strong female leads of the film who carry the brunt of the emotional arcs for the film, but it’s the ability for Memories of the Sword to make a villain so relatable and layered that truly expresses how well this film works when it comes to characters.
Visually speaking, Memories of the Sword is an intriguing blend of modern artistic merit and classic wuxia elements. Director Park Heung-sik loves to bound between swooping camera shots and long framed pieces, giving the film a bit of a Yimou Zhang feel that’s best compared to the likes of Hero or House of Flying Daggers with its robust color palette and whispering movement of swordplay. This is injected with a big show of slow motion modern play (where my reference to The Grandmaster comes up) and some modern action design. Perhaps the only real issue arises from the director’s ill-advised use of random quick zoom ins and outs during some fight sequences. The young swordswoman’s first fight is a bit hectic in its editing and zooms and it ruins a bit of the dance like artistry of the design. He compensates nicely for it in other action pieces, including a fight between mother and daughter in a field and the snow glazed finale. Although the best piece for this action fan came from a running take as our young heroine does a one woman siege of the villain’s palace in the final act as she slices and dices through a barrage of guards. It’s slick and modern compared to the big wuxia finale that follows it. In the end, it’s a brilliant balance of the two styles.
Wasted in Terminator: Genisys, earns it all back here.
There are a few nitpicky things that didn’t quite work as well as one would hope, but that’s because the rest of Memories of the Sword works so impressively well. This is the kind of modern wuxia that should make fans of classic Asian cinema excited for the new age of directors and writers. It’s epic in its narrative, the emotions and performances hit every mark, and the visuals are stunningly executed. Memories of the Sword is a gem of a film, shining in its modern craftsmanship and classic in its wuxia design. This film comes with a massive recommendation.
Lee Byung Hun's sister, Lee Eun Hee is currently pregnant and expected to deliver a baby early next year. The former Miss Korea who married in 2012 is not active in the entertainment industry but mostly in fashion-related and catering business.
The whole family including Lee Byung Hun is elated with the happy news.
I've always loved Asian period pieces and Korean ones are always a treat. Memories Of The Sword is no exception; a Korean period drama with all the helpings: political corruption, betrayal, lost loves, revenge, and redemption. Also lining with a power cast of Lee Byung-Hun and Jeon Do-Yeon, and even 2PM's Lee Jun-Ho clearly the filmmakers and crew here were really aiming to make a blockbuster hit.
Director Park Heung-Sik doesn't give you room to settle by introducing you his vision for this movie in the first 5 minutes; Large, sweeping shots of a field full of sunflowers while the protagonist is enveloped in golden streaks of sunlight as she rushes through town and ends up watching a fast paced, dramatically cut fight scene.
Though despite the visual onslaught of slow motion action, this movie is still a drama. Veteran actors of Lee and Jeon give great performances of their fallen hero characters, while newcomers like Kim Go-Eun and Lee Jun-Ho are definite grabs for the younger audience. All in all, this is a great looking film, but it really doesn't break any walls. And it doesn't mean to.
This movie is beautifully shot and has the formula down to the basics: Shoot it wide, push in, let the drama play out, back out to wide again as the scene ends. This also applies to many, if not all, of the action scenes in this movie, so if you were looking for a martial arts action film, this really isn't what you're looking for. Many of the fights are filmed with emotion in mind; and in Korean dramas, that's a lot of wide swinging and crying and/or yelling...but in this movie, with swords.
In that aspect, the fight scenes are still enjoyable if you take it for what it is. I would hate to compare it Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but there are so many similarities that it's hard to ignore. There is even a training scene where Lee Gyeong-Yeong as the Master of Masters teaches our lead female actress the way of the sword and it mirrors the bamboo forest battle between Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) and Jen (Zhang Ziyi). It even shares the same shots, but minus the choreography of Yuen Wo-ping.
Also, since this is a Korean drama, there were a few plot twists that caught me off guard. I should have expected it but it definitely makes the story much more interesting as coming into the movie, it felt like a typical drama set in the Goryeo era. As I've said before, Lee and Jeon are amazing to watch while Kim's character goes through massive changes after each piece of the puzzle slowly comes together to forge her resolve for vengeance in a lengthy assault on palace grounds filled with overly abused speed ramps and Korean style whip-zoom-cuts with nods to chanbara films.
Overall, Memories Of The Sword is an enjoyable film if you're looking for something to watch this summer. The story does not disappoint, even if it felt slow at times, the action is still solid with a few bits of "ooh" moments, and the acting is definitely great.
Well Go USA is releasing the film on August 28 in select areas in the U.S. and Canada. Stay tuned for an official trailer!
South Korean martial arts period fantasy Memories of the Sword thrills viewers by externalizing the inner thoughts of three swordsmen and -women obsessed with revenge: a cocky teenager, her blind mother, and her mother's ex-lover. Writer-director Park Heung-sik (My Mother the Mermaid) adeptly relates his characters' feelings and complex relationships through geographical leitmotifs.
Set in the Goryeo era (sometime between the tenth and fourteenth centuries), Park's narrative hinges on feisty teenager Hong-yi's (Kim Go-eun) quest to kill legendary fighters Sul-rang (Jeon Do-yeon) and Duk-gi (Lee Byung-hun), the two anti-imperial dissidents who murdered her father. So Hong-yi's impenetrable temperament — presented as a tree-lined, wolf-infested forest — is shown to be the literal middle ground that connects villainous Duk-gi's tempestuous emotions — rain-and-snow-besieged palatial courtyards — with tragic anti-heroine Sul-rang's encouraging, nurturing personality (fields of wildflowers and sunflowers).
Memories of the Sword is most exciting when its swordsmen invade these respective character-defining spaces. During the underwhelming finale, Duk-gi reveals himself to be as shallow and megalomaniacal as he initially seems. But Park invests an intoxicating level of detail in an early scene where Duk-gi's men try to subdue Sul-rang while Duk-gi struggles to calm himself by remembering how Sul-rang once prepared tea. From the past, Sul-rang describes — through voiceover narration — the varying textures of the tea-making ritual Duk-gi now performs alone while she fends off a legion of soldiers.
Memories of the Sword stands apart from other action films because Park wisely imagines violence as an elemental clash of dispositions.
“G.I.Joe” was the only “boys’ cartoon” I watched during my childhood. Now I could even hardly remember the names in it, don’t mention the stories. But the theme song still rings the bell – “G.I.Joe, G.I.Joe, …”. So I headed to the cinema as soon as I found this “beginning” movie was on.
Basically there are two “winning tricks” to make a real-life movie out of a classic comic book / cartoon: You can either make a much “deeper” (and most of the time, much darker too) story to attract those ppl that never watched the original ones, or just use tens of millions of dollars to “reproduce” those classic costumes, scenes and monsters so that the loyal fans will finally pay the bill. This “G.I.Joe” movie chose the second one, by piling up incredibly advanced weapons, incredibly CG effects and incredibly hot hulks and chicks. Don’t expect anything “abstract” or “reasonable” here – what you should expect is just a splendid feast for your eyes.
Channing Tatum is not good enough for my Duke, but anyway he is not doing much “solo” here (Marlon Wayans a.k.a. Ripcord definitely stole a lot of scenes from him), so I’ll just let it be. Sienna Miller showed me nothing but her sexy curves, and the most unforgivable thing is that she even could not make any chemistry with the Korean heart-throb Lee Byung Hun! On the contrary, Lee Byung Hun did whatever he could to make the impression, including showing his six-packs without any reason in his last scene (OK, I admit, there is one reason for that, the box office…).
To me, he did his Hollywood debut much better than his fellow Daniel Henney. Other baddies are just normal, no difference from other baddies in other movies. The only one that “popped up” is Arnold Vosloo (as Zartan, whom I believe that will have some bigger shares in the next sequel), because another “un-credited” role in this movie is Brandon Fraser (as a Joe trainer). That reminds me the “Mummies” series… Another name to take note is the young Storm Shadow (the adult role by Lee Byung Hun), Brandon Soo Hoo. This little boy is only 14 yrs old, with black belt in Taekwondo, fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, and practicing Wing Tsun now. Could he become the next Bruce Lee?
Notable scenes of this movie:
1. The car racing in the streets of Paris. Although we all know that was not true, just use your imagination pls…
2. The fall of Eiffel Tower. You guys French must got some issue with Hollywood – There are quite several movies recently took this big guy down.
3. The attack of Joe’s under-water troops against the secret base of MARS. That reminds me the Pacific War era – the legendary Hornet and Yamato…
Scenes that could have been better:
1. The first confront between Baroness and Duke. Maybe they wanted to make Joe’s look more powerful, by portraying a group of useless commandos…
2. Fights between Baroness and Scarlett. Come on, two hot chicks are fighting! Can you show us sth hotter?
3. Fights between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Again, we expect more skillful sword-plays. Even the laser swords in Star Wars 30 yrs ago did a better job.
And I can promise you that there is definitely gonna be a sequel. But I really got worried for the writers and director of this coming sequel – how would you make the story when you got Zartan in the office of xxx…
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Inspired from Movie: G.I Joe
"The Magnificent Seven" is now casting in New Mexico.
According to One Headlight Ink, the filmmakers are looking to fill a list of background roles from bearded, long-haired men to experienced horseback riders.
The new version of the 1960's classic stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke.
Casting will be Saturday, Aug. 29 at the Wild West Fest at the Galisteo Rodeo Grounds in Galisteo, New Mexico. According to the event's Facebook page, entry is free for those who arrive in their "cowboy and cowgirl finest." Headshots and casting registration sessions will be available throughout the day.
New Mexico Film Office Director Nick Maniatis announced today that the feature film "The Magnificent Seven," produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment in association with LStar Capital and Village Roadshow Pictures, will be filmed throughout the state.
The film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio,Byung-hun Lee, and Peter Sarsgaard.
The production will employ approximately 275 New Mexico crew members, nine New Mexico actors and approximately 60 New Mexico background talent.
"New Mexico is the perfect backdrop for this film and our facilities, crew and talent will help this incredible lineup of stars tell a great western story," said Maniatis.
From a screenplay by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk, based on the 1960 theatrical motion picture of the same name by William Roberts, "The Magnificent Seven" is directed by Antoine Fuqua ("Southpaw") and produced by Roger Birnbaum ("RoboCop") and Todd Black ("Southpaw," "The Equalizer") .
The film follows the story of seven outlaws and gunslingers who band together to defend people from the killer who owns most of their town. Information from New Mexico Film Office
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