[K-FILMS ON DVD] 무영검 (Shadowless Sword) - Part 2

CONTINUES FROM PART 1

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A/V, SUBTITLES
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The transfer is a little disappointing, not so much considering the film (which was a flop) but the distributors, CJ Entertainment. But then again the DVD was produced by Taewon Entertainment, which recently absorbed Spectrum, so that might be the key. Way too much edge enhancement, which sticks out more than you'd think in an action film or a Wuxia like this, and there's even a few compression artifacts. It's a good transfer with nice colours, but it lacks in details (literally). As for the audio, it's much better, especially for what concerns the Dts track. Very active, especially during the action scenes. Subtitles are good but there's a few problems, the most noticeable being the lack of 'finesse' in dealing with the historical details. Khitan is just spelled Georan (from 거란, the Korean spelling of Khitan), the names of the characters are all tied together (think Gunhwapyeong or Jocheonsu) as if this was some Bizarro World videogame, and there's a few spots of 'quirky' translation. But they're good enough to follow the story, and there's no major timing issues or spelling/grammar mistakes. All in all, a good presentation, but should have been much, much better.

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SPECIAL FEATURES - DISC 1
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Audio Commentary with Director Kim Young-Joon, Producer Park Soo-Yeon, Lee Seo-Jin, Lee Gi-Yong, Yoon So-Yi
[MAJOR SPOILERS]

A decent listen, but for films where art direction, music and of course action is so important, it's pretty disappointing. Mostly scene-specific and even with a few interesting anecdotes, but perhaps a 'tech heavy' commentary in addition to this would have been better. Not bad, but it's something you won't listen twice.

- Director Kim opens saying that he wanted to begin with something of historical relevance to set the pace for the rest of the story, so he used Dae Gwang-Hyun as a model for the Dae Su-Hyeon (a nice little cameo by Hwang In-Sung) murder by Gung Hwa-Pyung. Dae Gwang-Hyun was a Prince in late Balhae, son of Dae In-Seon (also known by his posthumous name King Ae) who ruled from 907 to 926. After the Khitan destroyed Balhae in January 926, Dae brought a few dozen followers with him to Goryeo. So researching about Balhae, Director Kim and the writers wanted to imagine there could possibly be another, final Prince with royal blood to succeed to the throne, and the film started from there. The five comment about the harsh conditions of the first few days of shooting in China, when despite being Summer it was very cold and hard to adapt. Shin Hyun-Joon had to take painkillers because of an injury, Yoon So-Yi was dealing with a cold, and all the actors were suffering the kind of shooting conditions they never experienced before.
- Kim comments that he always felt sorry when he had to cut scenes, because the actors sacrificed so much to shoot them, it felt like a waste. One of those scenes was the one outside before the first fight, with all the comedy involving Jung Joon-Ha and Yoon So-Yi. He put it back in on this version as it better fleshed out So-Ha's character. This was the first time ever Kim Soo-Ro had to sport a mustache, so they joke he must have really felt uncomfortable. Although it was a somewhat serious scene at least in the initial outline, Kim's action and ad-libs made it fun for everyone involved. During the teahouse scene when Son-Ha first meets Jung-Hyun, he wanted to distance himself from the usual look of teahouses in Chinese films, that's why it has a markedly different feeling. The interesting thing here is the Khitan gang led by Kim Soo-Ro sport what look to be dreadlocks, which might feel quite out of place in 10th Century Asia. But what we're dealing here is not necessarily the hairstyle made popular by Rastafarians, but more along the 'Polish plait' style, which was pretty common in East Asia, and fits even more within the concept of wuxia, as the hairstyle was often used by noblemen, ascetics and dissidents, to show a sort of independence from material attachments. Of course that's a kind of paradox for a band of thugs, but considering the kind of trade volume and exchange of cultures going on at the time in semi-independent Khitan territories like those, it's not entirely unrealistic to find such fashion displayed even by commoners. Of course whether they found this through research or they simply tossed it out there because it looked cool, that's something only the producers know.
- About the scene when Jung-Hyun and So-Ha end up in the inn before Choi Ji-Woo's cameo, director Kim comments that it was the kind of scene you'd traditionally find on many classic Wuxia films, and he always had a scene like that in mind when he started making films like this one. Choi Ji-Woo at first was really scared of wires, but eventually adapted pretty quickly, and was even having fun after a while. The group joke that by now Yoon So-Yi is one of the few Korean actresses who are used to wirework, so she had no problems. One of the many difficult things to adapt to in China was the extreme weather, going from incredibly cold to almost unbearably hot in a matter of days. And one of the coldest days of the entire shoot was when they shot the scene with Son-Ha and Jung-Hyun in the forest. Parts of this scene were cut out for the theatrical version, such as some of the dialogue between the two, but the director put them back in because he felt they were really important, in showing the building relationship between the two, and showing their personalities a little better. Everyone seemed to be happy on the set of the scene at the Inn, as their return to Korea was imminent, and they even joke that the owner looked a little like Mr. Bean because of his facial expression.
- Kim comments one of the most 'controversial' scenes of the film, the fight underwater. The scene was something Kim wanted to try right from the beginning, during the script writing process, but at first they wanted to shoot it for real (with actual water, in a pool or something). But then again, Yoon So-Yi can't swim, so even if they started teaching her from there it would take time. At the end of the day, they decided to go for a different approach: shooting with a blue screen and the help of CG, using wirework and shooting at 96fps instead of 24, along with a big fan helping matters. They even did a test for all this in Seoul, so it only took 3 days of shooting, instead of the much longer period it would have taken to shoot it for real (a good month, at least). Of course it does look a little too clean and CG-friendly, but at least it flows decently and doesn't make jokes out of the laws of gravity (but then again, they're martial arts masters and this is a Wuxia. There's no gravity). Director Kim comments that in the scene where Jung-Hyun tests his skills with the sword dialogue was supposed to be there, but he liked the rhythm of the scene combined with the score, so he cut it out. They also talk a little about a serious injury Yoon faced during the battle, which worried everyone as they saw blood just as she was hit. The five joke about the scene where Lee Gi-Yong shows her tattoo, saying that the director did many takes on purpose, although he says it was because the clothes kept getting in the way while falling down (which is quite plausible, after all they wanted to show the tattoo, not everything around it. Right?)

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SPECIAL FEATURES - DISC 2
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PAGE 1

전설의 문을 열다, 무영검 (Opening The Doors of Legend, Shadowless Sword) [53:08]
Although the voiceover has no subs, most of the interviews within this fantastic documentary feature Korean subs, which is always a big help.

- 아트 디자인 (Art Design)
We start introducing the initial concept of the film, taking the 홍라녀 (Hong Ra-Nyeo) legend from Balhae. Art Director Ha Sang-Ho says that their concept was not that of taking the historical elements of the period and use them in the film like other period of historical dramas. We're shown beautiful sketches of the sets going from the paper conception to the drawings and the final sets. We see a bit of action and rehearsal with the stunt team, then the concept of the costumes is introduced. Kim Min-Hee talks of how she tried to create the costumes based on the psychological traits of the characters, the situation they were in, and then we see sketches of some of the costumes, including the real deal.

- 무술 (Action)
We start with a really fascinating look at all the training and rehearsal behind the action scenes, something we rarely get to see. We go from the stretching to the wire practice, and more. This is quite interesting, with no voiceover and not much dialogue, so it's enjoyable even without subs. Watching things like these you realize why wire action scenes take weeks, sometimes months to complete. Lee Seo-Jin talks about the fact the HK Team was essentially born for this kind of work, so even though it was difficult, he was able to get to grips with it fairly quickly. Action Director Ma Yuk-Sing comments that the actors were trained even before the shooting began, but he was surprised they could do well enough when the shooting started, they adapted to the action really fast. Then we move to the Mabul vs Jung-Hyun fight, and we get to see all the preparation for the various explosions (the pillars in particular), and all the action set pieces. Again, no dialogue so very enjoyable and understandable for everybody. There's also a little bit about the injuries Lee Gi-Yong and Yoon So-Yi suffered on the set, and we see Kim Young-Joon's approach to directing, sitting down with the actor one on one instead of talking loudly with everyone.

- 프로덕션 노트 (Production Notes)
We start with the usual opening ceremony, then we move full force the shooting itself, where Yoon So-Yi shows she's much 'sassier' than expected on the set. This is a lot of fun, and once again no need for subs, which is something you rarely see in extra features for Korean DVDs. That doesn't necessarily make for a better viewing experience, but since this is mostly about action, working this way is much better than talking on and on about action styles and the like. We see the actors train, including their running around the beautiful open set, discuss things with the crew, there's a big section about the 'under-water' shoot, and more. All for a good 30 Minutes. Then we see the high-altitude shoot at 3,000m (the actors were brought up there with trucks!), and the breathing difficulties most people experienced. Particularly nice are the final moments in China with the HK and Korean staff biding farewell, shooting photos and the final words of Director Kim.

- 음악과 사운드 디자인 (Music and Sound Design)
Disappointingly short, but it shows a few moments from the recording in Russia with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and then we get a few words from Steve Burgess in Melbourne, who did the sound design work in the film.

숨겨진 진실 (The Hidden Truth) [16:02]
- Deleted Scene 1
So-Ha learns of her new mission from the general, and he tells her this time she'll have to go a little far. She replies that she's always ready for a battle, no matter the distance, but he stops her saying this time it's not in the battlefield that he wants her, but she has to find the last Prince of the Kingdom and bring him back safely. Inside a camp, we see Jo Cheon-Soo look over all the wounded, while So-Ha enters. He tells her he heard the news, and that he'll soon join her. He tells her she'll do well, and to be careful. Finally, we see So-Ha looking at the horizon from a high cliff, and taking a look at a map. Decent stuff, but doesn't look that important in the overall picture.
- Deleted Scene 2
This is a pretty nice scene they could have used. It's right after So-Ha and Jung-Hyun 'buy' the horses from his friend. While riding the horse in the forest, they talk about his friend, and where Jung-Hyun met him. He says he's a good friend who knows loyalty, but then she tells him he sold her the horses for five times their price. Jung-Hyun, surprised, first asks her how did she know that, and then why didn't she tell him then. She replies that they looked like friends, so she didn't want to interfere. Jung-Hyun stops and looks at her, and she urges to hurry up. Very subtle little scene which perfectly shows the relationship between the two, too bad they took it off.
- Deleted Scene 3
Another nice little scene. We start with Jung-Hyun waking up in the forest in the morning, and noticing a cover around him. He looks around and doesn't see So-Ha, but there's a fire dying down nearby. He looks at the 'cover' and realizes So-Ha put it there. He gets up, and finally finds So-Ha, who's preparing the horses, and then greets him. Then we move to a slow pan towards the place where they slept, zooming on the fire, and we see a hand trying to guess when those people were there: it's Gun Hwa-Pyung. Perhaps takes off some of the 'fantasy' elements of Hwa-Pyung's character, but I liked it much more than the hawk thing, and again the little moments of bonding between So-Ha and Jung-Hyun work better than some of the slightly melodramatic scenes we get in the film.
- Deleted Scene 4
Jung-Hyun and So-Ha are running away from Hwa-Pyung (I suppose this is right after the fights after the underwater scene in the bamboo cave), and they steal a horse from a group of villagers, who start following them. Jung-Hyun throws a little bag of money to distract them. Completely throwaway and unnecessary, so good choice.
- Deleted Scene 5
So-Ha looks at a fire, while Jung-Hyun is sleeping. She seems about to fall asleep, when she hears Jung-Hyun lamenting, as it seems he's having a nightmare. The scene closes with a worried look on So-Ha's face. Again, decent, but nothing major.
- Deleted Scene 6
So-Ha and Jung-Hyun are disguising themselves while traveling towards Balhae, when the two start talking about the lessons Jung-Hyun learned while staying outside the Kingdom, about the nature of nobles and their way of life, the way they treat the poor and only cater to their desires. Then we get the usual 'If I become King, then this and that will change' speech, and while a group of soldiers pass, So-Ha warns Jung-Hyun not to make any suspicious move or look at them. This felt straight out of a 60s Shaw Brothers wuxia, so in a way I liked it but also feel they did the right thing leaving it out. The progression of Jung-Hyun's growing sense of responsibility didn't get to that point yet, so it could have felt out of place.
- Deleted Scene 7
This tied well to a previous scene in the film when Jung-Hyun always eats before a big task. It would be the setup for the scene when he catches the fish. Jung-Hyun gets off the carriage, looks at the water, and then So-Ha asks him what's wrong. He says to go up the mountain and survive, they'll have to eat something, isn't it?
- Deleted Scene 8
This is pretty throwaway. We join young Jung-Hyun and the other two soldiers, asking him if he's alright, then they notice something's wrong with the village, and run towards it.
- Deleted Scene 9
Ahh... this is nice. Young-Ok and Hwa-Pyung are looking for their enemies, when they find a body. He asks her why she wants to kill So-Ha so much, and she tells him she's always been curious about why So-Ha's name always came before hers when talking about the best female warrior in the Kingdom. Every time she heard that, she wanted to kill her. Then Hwa-Pyung talks about his reasons for wanting to kill So-Ha as well, and we get one of the few moments of bonding between the two. He tells her to wait a little, and that soon their dream will be fulfilled after killing Balhae's last prince.
- Deleted Scene 10
Young-Ok and Hwa-Pyung continue their pursuit of Jung-Hyun and So-Ha, when the Khitan guards arrive, and tell Hwa-Pyung Yayul Cheolla has been murdered.
- Deleted Scene 11~12
Best scene of them all, bar none. Young Jung-Hyun is looking at the broken sword (this is past his injury), while little So-Ha comes in and takes away the pots he dined with. He thanks her for the meal, then she looks at him holding the broken sword, and bows. She asks the Prince to teach him the art of swordsmanship, as her entire family was killed by the Khitan. Jung-Hyun tells her the name of that sword is 무영검 (Shadowless Sword), and it was something given to him and his brother (Dae Su-Hyeon, killed at the beginning of the film) by his father. He tells her to grab it, and then says it fits just right. She looks at the others' swords, and says it's too small. He says it's not much of a problem, as she'll be able to exchange it when she's older. The most important thing is that she has to learn to control the evil spirit inside the sword. This evil spirit is born with the sword, and grows bigger and bigger fed by the hatred and desire of people using the sword to kill people. Every time the sword is used to kill, the spirit grows stronger, until one day it eats its owner! So how do you get rid of the spirit? By getting rid of all hatred and desire to kill. Because (you guessed), the sword is not to kill, but to protect the things you value. He tells her when she looks at that word, she'll need to remember his words, forever. Some parts of this scene were used in the film, during the ending credits, but the entire scene is really cute and meaningful.

비선원과 척살단, 그들의 이야기 [17:39]

An excellent interview featurette with the three major characters.

- SHIN Hyun-Joon, Gun Hwa-Pyung
It's been a long time since his last villain role -- to be precise, the 1998 'meat and potatoes' blockbuster 퇴마록 (The Soul Guardians) -- so it was an even more interesting role for him to take. What really attracted him was the fact Hwa-Pyung wasn't moved by his inner emotions. Be it anger, thirst for revenge, love or anything else, he'd never let that transpire, so in that sense it was like a traditional warrior. Then he praises his good friend Kim Young-Joon, saying that he knows how hard it is to do action scenes, so he always treats his actors really well, and always shows consideration. One of the hardest thing to adapt to for him was the hairstyle, as it always took a good 2-3 hours to do, and he often couldn't sleep. The last scene in the film really stood out for him, that moment when even though it's the woman he loves, he has to sacrifice her for his 'greater purpose'. The weather was really hard to deal with, as it was either very cold or increasingly hot. And of course one of the things which set apart the film from the others were the underwater scenes, which is something he really liked. He was glad they could reunite with the HK Team they worked with for 비천무 (Bichunmoo), and he thinks you only realize the power films can have in these situations, as they could understand each other through gestures and looks even though there was a language barrier.
- YOON So-Yi, Yeon So-Ha
This was really a different shooting environment for her, as she never shot or even went so high to shoot, which made her feel dizzy more than once. But then again, even if it hurt she realized they could only shoot in places like that, so beautiful and atmospheric. She remembers when she hurt herself in August. It was a scene where she had to avoid an incoming arrow, and even though it always worked well during the many tests they made, this time it flashed in front of her and hit her. Lee Seo-Jin was the most scared, as he saw her instantly fall down and saw some blood, so he was quite shocked. Everyone rushed to check her, and she felt a little embarrassed for crying so much. She remembers her manager started running and screaming to get security there as soon as possible so they could get her to the hospital quickly. In retrospect it wasn't a big deal, as she doesn't remember hurting too much except for that moment, but that will be a memory she cherishes too. All the action training felt like going back to kindergarten, counting your steps et al, but it was quite fun. She remembers a scene in a back alley with Lee Gi-Yong, when she hit her by mistake. They never really tried something like that in Korean films, so it was special on its own. She feels she really had fun working on this project, and she will remember it for a long time.
- LEE Seo-Jin, Dae Jung-Hyun
Of course the fact the period was Balhae, one of the most obscure in Korean history, was a point of interest. But he liked the fact his character wasn't the usual hero or war general, but someone who developed through the film, who slowly understands his 'mission' and feels the weight of his responsibilities. He really remembers the action scene with Mabeul, as since they didn't want body doubles they shot it for a week long, hurting each other and doing their best to have good chemistry. That and obviously the final scene as King. Perhaps the most difficult scenes were those 'under water', as they had to be suspended from wires for four days non-stop, and even though the HK Team's skills showed throughout the shoot, it was still quite difficult. But after going through that, he feels like his body has completely adapted to wires, so it won't be much of a trouble shooting scenes like that in the future. He was really impressed by Director Kim, and they got really close. One thing he liked about him, other than the fact he talks a lot with actors, is that he never made a scene. When he had something to say, something he didn't like, he wouldn't just shout, but go to the actor, and talk to him alone. That ability to get what you want and strive for it until the end, without getting angry or hurting people's feelings shows he's really good at what he does, and he learned a lot from him.

4인4색 (4 People 4 Colours) [11:00]

A nice interview with Kim Min-Hee (Costumes) and Jang Yoon-Jung (Make Up) about the four major characters. Instead of trying to match the stylistic trends of the period, which would be pretty hard to research accurately, the director wanted the costumes to fit the psychological state of the character, so for So-Ha we get a 외유내강 (soft outside, strong inside) approach,.and the most important thing here was that she only uses one costume in the entire film, so it had to show her softness but also her strength all in one, which is why they used the mix of brown and ivory tones. Going 백색 (white, the traditional 'commoner' colour in most Korean historical periods) was too much of a burden so that's why they tried to offer something a little different. In terms of make up and hair, they emphasized once again on the 'soft outside, strong inside', with very natural hair giving a feminine look.

Jung-Hyun was the character showing the most changes in the film, both psychological and in stylistic terms. So they had to help this gradual progression through make up, hair and especially costumes. The initial setup focuses on kaki and brown tones and 'rough' hair styles, to show he was living somewhat comfortably outside Balhae. But as the film progresses and he gains a stronger sense of responsibility, the colours become a little darker, his hair a little 'cleaner' in style and generally we get the feeling the weight of having to become the King of Balhae is having an effect on him. For the last scene, Kim wanted to give a general idea of the Balhae warrior, trying to be as good looking as possible, and focusing on darker tones, like black. This helped convey the character's gravity.

Regarding Gun Hwa-Pyung, Kim says she always enjoyed making costumes for villains, as that opens many more options to her, and she can be a little wild with her designs. She mixed black and blue tones for his costumes, trying to show a cold face, also using some metal. But from the bust up, give the character a different personality, a little removed from the usual villain and closer to a videogame character. At first Shin had short hair, but they wanted longer hair and his look needed to stand out, so they even exaggerated the make up a little, to make an instant impact.

Finally, regarding Mae Young-Ok, they tried to take advantage of Lee Gi-Yong's features and look, and even changed her style according to who she was dealing with. Usually costumes for characters who have to fight try to follow the flow of the action, being dynamic -- think like the costumes for 형사 Duelist -- but for this character they tried a tighter style, closer to her gang in colour and accessories. Very nice featurette, but if they stopped adding annoying pieces of the soundtrack in the background, it would be better. And no, it's not the soundtrack that's annoying, but all I want here is to listen to the interviews, not try to make out what they're saying in between the music.

강호의 고수들 (The Masters of Jianghu) [6:31]

A clip about the cameo appearances in the film. We see all the set preparations for Jung Joon-Ha's bazar-like teahouse, and then we see him fool around with Lee Gi-Yong, shooting photos and cracking jokes before the shoot. We move outside, for Kim Soo-Ro's little part, and finally the 'big star' comes to town, as Choi Ji-Woo is shown looking at the action with Shin Hyun-Joon on his mobile phone, and then she prepares for her wire action scene. Before the end, we get a few words from her, saying she knows she was a little awkward in spots, and she'd like to try a Sageuk once (please... spare us that torture). She says she enjoyed the shoot, and she feels confident about the film. Too bad we got nothing about Hwang In-Seong or Jung Ho-Bin, as they have more interesting roles.

포토 겔러리 (Photo Gallery) [1:23]

These are more or less the same stills featured over at movie portals like the Naver or Cine21 one, only in high-res. For the first half the Hanja of the title rolls with the images so it's a little distracting, but the second half is pure images without any graphics.

PAGE 2

포스터 촬영현장 (Poster Shoot) [6:55]

This is a nice little clip about the making of the posters. First we start with the filming of the sword, and all the preparation behind it. Then we move to the studio for the four leads and their worst hair day ever. They all shoot them separately, and not surprisingly Lee Gi-Yong is best one when it comes to poses (that's obvious, she was a model before joining the acting world).

제작 보고회 (Presentation Meeting) [11:14]

A pretty nice featurette about the Production Meeting we covered on the site many months ago. We start with all the preparations, showing all the journalist getting started, and then the trailer of the film is shown. We then cut to the training for Yoon So-Yi's martial arts performance, and then we see it live (much faster and quite well choreographed, although the cameraman had to struggle with other cameras in front of him). Director Kim and all the four leads come up on the stage for the usual photos, and then we go to the interviews. Everyone introduces himself and their characters, and then a few questions are asked. We mostly deal with Director Kim saying that in the initial planning stages, while deciding the right historical period for the film, the mysterious aura of Balhae attracted him, and that's when everything started. While doing research, he found out about the last Prince of the Kingdom, and the film's concept started from a provocation: what if there was another 'last' Prince ready to take over Balhae? The clip closes with a few more photos.

예고편 (Theatrical Trailer) [2:50]

This is essentially a different edit of the Teaser Trailer, but it's much, much better. Same music and similar scenes, but the editing is miles better, it's more powerful and more dynamic.

티저 예고편 (Teaser Trailer) [2:52]

Save for the last second with Mr. 'Big Voice', this is a fantastic little trailer. Sells all the right points, it's well edited, and even though it uses a very familiar song (the one from the Lord of The Rings trailers), it fits pretty well here.

TV 광고 (TV Spot) [1:05]

You can choose from the 30", 20" and 15" ones. They're all slightly different edits with a few scenes changing between the three. I'd say they're all pretty good, but the most effective is the shortest one. Thankfully most Korean TV Spots use a female voice instead of the overbearing 'big voice' in Western ones, but I still think it would be better without any voiceover.

뮤직 비디오: KCM '그대 곁으로' (KCM Music Video '그대 곁으로') [3:47]

I'm no fan of quasi-falsetto ballad singers like KCM, but this song was sort of bearable, when taken at the end of the film. Problem of course is that a Music Video for a film like this will also have to show action scenes, and that's when the song feels out of place. Decent Music Video, and the song is bearable taken into the film's context.

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WRAPUP
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Are you a fan of old-school Wuxia (I'm thinking King Hu all the way to early Tsui Hark, not Zhang Yimou or, even worse, Ang Lee)? Then 무영검 (Shadowless Sword) might be a nice throwback to the good old days. It's far from perfect, and the little flaws it shows could have been dealt with without incredible efforts, but it's head and shoulders above most pure Wuxia Chungmuro tried in the last few years, from 귀천도 (The Gate of Destiny) up to 천년호 (The Thousand Year Lake). And, even better, it's a huge improvement over 비천무 (Bichunmoo), which shows Director Kim truly learned from his mistakes. I'll take someone doing that sort of upgrade over the pretty, empty and spineless quasi-arthouse exotica that certain directors have been pumping up the last few years, trying to bank on the popularity of the 'genre'. And, most importantly, Shadowless Sword is a lot of fun. DVD could have certainly been better, especially in terms of transfer. I would have liked a more technical commentary with Music Director and DP, and maybe even a long interview with Ma Yuk-Sing or some featurette about traditional Wuxia. But as it stands, the extra features on Disc 2 are excellent, and it's material you'll mostly enjoy without the need for subtitles, which is always a plus. If you're up for some frenetic, powerful action done the old school way, with the usual top notch production values of Chungmuro, then this quite a good pick.

FILM: 7
VIDEO: 7
AUDIO: 8
SUBTITLES: 7
EXTRA FEATURES: 8
VALUE FOR MONEY: 7.5
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OVERALL (Film Rating Counted Twice): 7.36

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무영검 (無影劍, Shadowless Sword)
muyeonggeom [lit. shadowless sword]

Taewon Entertainment/New Line Cinema/CJ Entertainment - 2005

감독 (Director): 김영준 (Kim Young-Joon)

출연 (CAST)
이서진 (Lee Seo-Jin) as Dae Jung-Hyun, 윤소이 (Yoon So-Yi) as Yeon So-Ha, 이기용 (Lee Gi-Yong) as Mae Young-Ok, 신현준 (Shin Hyun-Joon) as Gun Hwa-Pyung, 조원희 (Jo Won-Hee) as Jo Cheon-Soo, 박성웅 (Park Sung-Woong) as Mabul, 이한솔 (Lee Han-Sol) as Dan Yang-Soo, 정호빈 (Jung Ho-Bin) as Yayul Cheolla, 진봉진 (Jin Bong-Jin) as Im Seon-Ji, 한강호 (Han Gang-Ho) as Young Jung-Hyun, 남지현 (Nam Ji-Hyun) as Young So-Ha, 김서현 (Kim Seo-Hyun), 조연호 (Jo Yeon-Ho), 이상홍 (Lee Sang-Hong), 김경룡 (Kim Kyung-Ryong), 박수용 (Park Su-Yong), 백신 (Baek Shin), 이장현 (Lee Jang-Hyun), 최영균 (Choi Young-Gyun), 이수용 (Lee Su-Yong), 배상철 (Bae Sang-Cheol), 임세진 (Im Se-Jin), 강영구 (Kang Young-Gu), 백지열 (Baek Ji-Yeol), 권오태 (Kwon Oh-Tae)
특별출연 (CAMEO)
최지우 (Choi Ji-Woo), 황인성 (Hwang In-Seong), 김수로 (Kim Soo-Ro), 정준하 (Jung Joon-Ha), 박찬대 (Park Chan-Dae), 이한갈 (Lee Han-Gal)

제작 (Executive Producer): 정태원 (Jung Tae-Won)
기획 (Planning): 조현길 (Jo Hyun-Gil)
프로듀서 (PD): 박수연 (Park Su-Yeon)
조감독 (Assistant Director): 임영성 (Im Young-Sung), 오정민 (Oh Jung-Min)
각본 (Screenplay): 김태관 (Kim Tae-Gwan), 신준희 (Shin Joon-Hee)
촬영 (Cinematography): 서근희 (Seo Geun-Hee), 박해충 (Park Hae-Choong)
조명 (Lighting): 송재석 (Song Jae-Seok)
음악 (Music): 김준선 (Kim Joon-Seon)
미술 (Art Director): 하상호 (Ha Sang-Ho)
특수시각효과 (Special Visual Effects): 장성호 (Jang Sung-Ho)
무술 (Action): 馬玉成 (Ma Yuk-Sing)
분장-헤어 (Hair & Make-Up): 장윤정 (Jang Yoon-Jung)
의상 (Costumes): 김민희 (Kim Min-Hee)
편집 (Editing): 남나영 (Nam Na-Young)
사운드 디자이너 (Sound Designer): Steve Burgess

개봉 (Release): 2005/11/18
Box Office: 609,852 Tickets Sold Nationwide
Official Website