Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Memories Of The Sword

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    Memories Of The Sword



    Memories Of The Sword



    Coming Soon

    Synopsis

    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. Starring Byung-hun Lee (Terminator Genisys, The Good The Bad The Weird), Memories of the Sword is a lavish epic that blends tragic historical drama with thrilling swordplay and martial arts.

    Genre
    Action
    Director
    Park Heung Sik
    Cast
    Jeon Do Yeon, Kim Go Eun, Lee Byung Hun
    Release Date
    August 28, 2015
    Above is the U.S. release through AMC/Wanda.

    Sword-hotties!
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #2
    Yep, I've been anticipating this film since it's announcement. Can't wait to watch this. For those of you that want to get behind the scene. Arirang TV's Showbiz Korea has some exclusive inside look:

    Showbiz Korea-Memories of the Sword inside behind the scene

    Showbiz Korea-Press conference of Memories of the sword

    I believe Well Go USA has picked this up for US release, trailer below:


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    Opens today

    As I suspected, it's all about the sword hottie.

    Review: Korean Warriors Seek Vengeance in ‘Memories of the Sword’
    Memories of the Sword

    By ANDY WEBSTERAUG. 27, 2015

    MEMORIES OF THE SWORD
    Opens on Friday
    Directed by Park Heung-sik
    In Korean, with English subtitles
    2 hours 1 minute; not rated

    In Park Heung-sik’s historical martial-arts spectacle “Memories of the Sword,” the visuals dazzle and the emotional temperature boils. It is the Goreyo era in Korean history, and two warriors, the blind swordswoman Wol-so (Jeon Do-yeon) and the royal chancellor, Yu-baek (Lee Byung-hun), are locked in enmity over the long-ago death of Wol-so’s sweetheart, who was fatally betrayed by Yu-baek. Complicating matters is Hong-yi (Kim Go-eun), a young woman raised by Wol-so who believes that Yu-baek is responsible for the deaths of her parents. A skilled fighter, she advances toward vengeance.

    Though rich in period detail, the movie grows tiresome with solemn, protracted soap-operatic encounters laden with glowering stares and tearful outbursts. (Conspicuously absent is any hint of humor.) And then there are the all-too-familiar genre trappings: lavish palace interiors, pastoral tableaus, a wizened master imparting wisdom and battle maneuvers, an assassin mowing down palace guards en route to a climactic confrontation, blades clashing in a snowy courtyard.

    It would all be eye-roll-inducing were it not for Ms. Jeon’s striking poise and the luminous presence of Ms. Kim, an eager performer who imbues the film with energy. So bright is her light that when Hong-yi receives a near-fatal sword thrust, it’s alarming. She is one character you do not want to see departing from this movie. It gives nothing away to say that she doesn’t.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    The Variety review

    Anyone get out to see this one yet? Looking for that first forum member review....

    Film Review: ‘Memories of the Sword’


    Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment
    September 3, 2015 | 01:13AM PT
    Not even A-list stars Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Byung-hun can save this plodding Korean martial-arts epic.
    Maggie Lee
    Chief Asia Film Critic @maggiesama

    An archetypal tale of love, betrayal and revenge among swordplayers of South Korea’s Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), “Memories of the Sword” is a visually arresting but vacuous, instantly forgettable period martial-arts romance. Helmer Park Heung-sik aspires to the vibrant color schemes and multiple twists of Zhang Yimou’s “Hero” and “House of Flying Daggers,” but his underdeveloped screenplay (co-penned with Choi A-reum) and overwrought narrative makes for plodding viewing, squandering the clout of its A-list stars Jeon Do-yeon (“Secret Sunshine”) and Lee Byung-hun (“I Saw the Devil”). The pic took a beating at the domestic B.O. but will have a good stab at overseas ancillary following its U.S. bow.

    The Korean title “Hyubnyeo: Kal ui ki-eok,” which roughly translates as “Martial Arts Heroine: Memories of the Sword,” alludes to King Hu’s “A Touch of Zen” (“hyubnyeo” being the Korean Hanja pronunciation of “Xia Nu,” the Chinese title of Hu’s classic about a female swordswoman with a righteous vendetta). However, Park’s story is too much of a potboiler to achieve Hu’s philosophical depth, and the director’s style is more reminiscent of Lee Myung-se’s “Dualist” in its visual extravagance and incoherent, quasi-surreal narrative.

    The yarn circles around three martial artists, each caught in his or her own anguished predicament. Innocent teenager Hong-yi (Kim Go-eun) has been raised by her blind adopted mother Seol-rang (Jeon) with the sole mission of avenging her parents’ deaths. Seol-rang once belonged to a band of warriors dedicated to overthrowing the corrupt monarchy. During one uprising, the rebels captured Jon-bak (Kim Tae-woo), the son of an evil magistrate (Moon Sung-geun) and stormed the city gates. However, they were double-crossed by Seol-rang’s lover, Deok-ki (Lee), who killed his sworn brother Poong-chun (Bae Soo-bin) and his wife. Were it not for Seol-rang, the traitor would have finished off Poong-chun’s infant daughter, Hong-yi too, and the girl still bears the scar of a gash made by his sword.

    Eighteen years later, Deok-ki has risen in court to become the King’s most favored man; yet he misses Seol-rang, whom he still loves. Nevertheless, when he accidentally spots Hong-yi displaying the same sword techniques as Seol-rang at a public sparring contest against his protege Yool (Lee Jun-ho, from the boy band 2PM), he doesn’t hesitate to snuff out any threat to his status by whatever ruthless means necessary.

    The three protags’ relationships — bound by strict martial-arts codes of honor and justice, yet thwarted by passion or ambition — are typical of the genre. However, able performances aside, the emotional turmoil of Deok-ki and Seol-rang meeting again, or Hong-yi’s faltering assumption of her avenging role, are lost in the overwrought structure of mulitiple flashbacks, replayed scenes and contrived coincidences. Even a twist that should intensify the trio’s love-hate conflicts culminates in a ending so lurid and overblown it’s almost comical. The budding attraction between Hong-yi and Yool would also have added some light-heartedness to the somber tone, but that, too, fizzles out after two mildly steamy scenes.

    While it’s almost impossible for Jeon to disappoint in any film, her imitation of blindness is not convincing as she alternates between fumbling around helplessly and slicing her opponents like carrots. Lee, on the other hand, rises above the banality of the story to deliver a layered turn that makes Deok-ki’s love for Seol-rang feel genuine, despite his duplicitous behavior in all other respects. Deok-ki’s power struggle with Jon-bak, culminating in a grisly scene, is limned by Lee with cool, blood-curdling sadism. With her peachy complexion and pageboy looks, Kim has become the “it” girl of the Korean film industry since her bold performances in the Lolita drama “Eun-gyo” and mother-complex gangster pic “Coin Locker Girl.” Here, she again remains undaunted in the presence of superstars, demonstrating impressive range in action, light comedy and heavy melodrama.

    There’s no question that the ravishing widescreen images by veteran lenser Kim Byung-seo (“Cold Eyes,” “Castaway on the Moon”) and the exquisite sets by production designer Han A-rum represent the pic’s biggest selling points. Even so, the exaggerated artifice of the seasonal tableaux of sunflower patches, dandelion fields, rainswept pavillions and snow-covered grounds situate them in a graphic dimension of their own, isolated from the main plot. And for all the meticulous re-creations of period architecture, from Deok-ki’s magnificent estate to Seol-rang’s Arab-influenced salon, there’s too much dawdling on decorative details, especially scenes devoted to brewing and sipping tea.

    Action setpieces, though exceedingly lavish, are a throwback to ’90s Hong Kong wire stunts. The swordplay is sometimes fanciful and eye-catching, as when Hong-yi gets training from Seol-rang’s master (Lee Kyoung-young), but group combat sequences are downright sloppy. Overall, the action choreography fails to draw a line between period authenticity and pure fantasy, so characters levitate into the clouds as if endowed with magical powers one moment, then become vulnerably mortal in the next. The profusion of slow-motion and freeze-frame will give some viewers a headache. Other tech credits are uniformly first-rate.
    Film Review: 'Memories of the Sword'
    Reviewed at Lotte Cinema, Busan, Aug. 14, 2015. Running time: 121 MIN. (Original title: "Hyubnyeo: Kal ui ki-eok")
    Production
    (South Korea) A Lotte Entertainment (in South Korea)/Well Go USA Entertainment (in U.S.) release of a Lotte Entertainment, TPS Co. presentation of a TPS Co. production. (International sales: Lotte Entertainment, Seoul.) Produced by Lee Dae-hee, Kim Hyun-chul. Executive producer, Cha Won-chun.
    Crew
    Directed by Park Heung-sik. Screenplay, Choi A-reum, Park. Camera (color, widescreen, HD), Kim Byung-seo; editor, Oh Myung-jun; music, Mowg; production designer, Han A-rum; (Dolby Digital), Bluecap; supervising sound editor, Kim Seok-yoon; visual effects supervisor, Yi Eung-gyu, Park Ung-soo.
    With
    Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Byung-hun, Kim Go-eun, Lee Jun-ho, Kim Tae-woo, Lee Kyoung-young, Bae Soo-bin, Abujamous Ahmad, Moon Sung-geun. (Korean, Arabic dialogue)
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    First forum review!

    This is what CTHD2 should have been. It's a gorgeous film - ornate sets, panoramic vistas, exquisite costumes. It's artsy. The plot is incestuously Arthurian. Most of all, it's got a ton of swordfights. There's a lot of CGI, digital blood sprays and wire work, which bugged me at first, but then it found its choreographic stride and delivered some excellent stuff by the end. Very satisfying. Extra points for the sword hottie and the blind swordswoman.

    It took me all weekend to get through this 2 hour epic because I kept getting interrupted. I might have to watch it again when I can be undisturbed.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •