[K-FILMS ON DVD] 야수 (Running Wild) - Part 2

CONTINUES FROM PART 1

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A/V, SUBTITLES
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Transfer is quite good, but contrast might annoy some people despite the style of film needed this kind of impact. Audio, even though a Dts track would have been great here, is pretty much fantastic, especially Kawai's splendid score which grabs you right from the first minute. When specs for this release were first announced, many people complained about the apparent absence of English Subtitles. Later before release it was confirmed the DVD would come with English Subtitles, which was a relief for many people. Now I don't know if the project of adding English subtitles was there from the beginning and it was just a communication problem between distributors and retailer, or if subs were added at the last minute because of the complaints raised against their omission (which makes little sense, as Korean DVD companies rarely work that way). But these subtitles are not only poor, but in the eyes of many people who need them (those who don't speak a word of Korean, to put it bluntly), the film will look much worse, especially when it comes to dialogue. The script is quite good and dialogue very nuanced and interesting, but you'd never know that judging by this mess, which looks like it was made by someone with middle school English education. The first half starts with a parade of grammar, spelling and translation mistakes. All the small details, even little touches and nuances defining characters and similar things are all terribly wrong. Translation is rough, overly simplistic and sometimes just plain horrible. I mean, how do you go from Son Byung-Ho grabbing the neck of a politician and going '영감' ('Sir' would suffice) to the translation we get, which is... 'asshole'? Although you'll be able to follow the story more or less, as in the second half the basic things (grammar, spelling, overall sense of what's being said) are done in a reasonable manner, there'll be more than one person who thinks the dialogue is cliche or sometimes even ridiculous because of this mess. This feel like a rush job, and it might end up doing more damage than good to the film, which doesn't deserve this kind of treatment, especially with the fabulous job the producers did with the extra features.

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SPECIAL FEATURES - DISC 1
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Audio Commentary with Director Kim Sung-Soo, DP Choi Sang-Mook, Lighting Director Lee Sung-Jae, Production Designer Lee Jin-Ho, Action Director Ju Young-Min
MAJOR SPOILERS

Great stuff, one of the best commentaries of the year. Usually with 'crowded' commentaries there's a tendency to have fun more than sticking to details, but this is anything but. It remains fairly scene-specific for most of its course, but the amount of info, anecdotes, situations tied to the main themes of the film is staggering. Really, I read countless reviews and interviews about this film, but a listen to this track and you'll get to know even more. Even better, no one here is giving each other pats in the back, and they're all honest admitting which scenes were lacking in certain elements (directing, action, shooting or whatever). Worth the price of the DVD alone.

- They start commenting on the opening scene, which is a retouched version of one of the final scenes. Director Kim wanted to create a sort of suspense by showing Kwon Sang-Woo point the gun at the camera with policemen in the background. The first (impressive) car chase was mostly the work of the action director and DP, as they made something which usually takes a week to shoot possible in just four days. They actually used very little of the entire shoot, so Kim feels a little sad about that. More than trying to make a cool looking scene, he wanted to make us jump into the action right from the first minute. The problem with this kind of scenes in Korean Cinema is not really that the technique isn't there, it's just a very lengthy and often expensive process because of all the things you have to go through to shoot such scenes. The scene introducing Yoo Ji-Tae's character, which was cut in the theatrical version, features veteran Kim Joon-Bae as a gang boss trying to cut a deal with Oh Jin-Woo. Director Kim always wanted to work with Kim Joon-Bae, as he impressed him ever since he saw him in Kim Soo-Hyun's 귀여워 (So Cute). He's a pretty famous theater actor, and they even went to Busan for the shoot, at the Joseon Hotel. This created quite a few problems, as they were shooting during business hours, so it was a little hard. The action director jokes that the little scene when the other officers arrive looked a lot better than what he did after that (he wasn't there directing that one, it was just improvised on the spot by the extras, since it was Busan). The voice recording in Japanese was actually done by the youngest member of the producers.
- More scenes taken off the theatrical version, as we're shown the introduction of Eom Ji-Won's character. This not only sets up what kind of work Do-Young's mother was doing, but also what kind of relationship she shared with the family, working in the restaurant and being a little more than just a friend. They did quite a lot of hunting for this scene, as nothing seemed to fit with what Kim drew in the storyboards. They actually decided to use a real small restaurant which has been used previously by quite a lot of films, as they say. I thought it looked a little familiar, although I can't really pinpoint where and when I've seen it before. Anyway, the Art Director thought at first the location looked a bit too cold, and since he wanted to give a very maternal feeling to it (a sort of 'home away from home'), he took off all the things that created distance with the viewer. The scene when Do-Young dances in front of his mother was cut in the Theatrical version as well. Veteran Lee Joo-Shil, who plays the mother, was actually ill at the time, so Director Kim felt even more sorry about that. With this scene, he wanted to show a slightly softer side to Do-Young, and it's the first time we see the 'thumbs up - Fighting' connection.
- They talk about the prosecutor's office set, which, right from the concept, they tried not to make it look like a set. Since the image of prosecutor's offices is so familiar in Korean society, making it look fake, giving the idea it was a set would have stuck out like a sore thumb. The reason why they used so much glass, especially for Oh Jin-Woo's office, was to show his personality (someone firm and transparent) through the way he worked. Meaning, the glass shows everything and hides nothing, which is exactly what Oh is doing, at least at the beginning (always going by the book, following his principles). The shoot at the Yeoju prison, when Yoo Gang-Jin is released, was quite hard, because rain kept coming and going. If you pay attention, certain scenes show it's raining, while others don't. They had to get everything done fast, so couldn't help shooting it that way. With this scene, which is the first meeting between Yoo Gang-Jin and Do-Young (Gang-Jin comes out, Do-Young is meeting his brother who's been released too), the director wanted to establish the unavoidable destiny between the two, which will keep repeating itself until the end.
- They comment a little about Lee Joong-Moon, who plays Do-Young's half brother. He played the student who falls for Park Sun-Young in the TV Drama 열여덟 스물아홉 (18:29). They say that although he doesn't have much acting experience, he tried very hard -- perhaps that's a nice way to say it; it wasn't an easy role but he ended up being the only one feeling out of place, even if for a very brief time. With the hospital scene, he wanted to create a feeling of someone who lived there for a while. If you notice, there's no home for Do-Young's family represented in the film, only the restaurant and the hospital. So that's the key, that home away from home feeling, as even though he strips away from reality a little, he wanted to show the hospital (with all the accessories showing Do-Young's mother had a chronic disease) was another home for Do-Young. Kwon had a few problems with the smoking scenes, as he doesn't smoke in real life, so at times it felt a little awkward. His following scene with his brother shows that as hard as he tries, Do-Young doesn't ever seem to find happiness in his life. With the scene inside Oh's apartment with his wife (which didn't turn out as well as they wanted, in terms of art direction), they wanted to create a sort of obstacle in Oh's life. Since things weren't working well at home, he was so focused on his work -- or maybe the other way around, with work influencing his failed marriage. And again, showing Gang-Jin dining with his family and moving right to him walking with his other 'family' shows the two sides of his personality perfectly balancing one with the other: the considerate family man and the ruthless gang boss.
- The place near the convenience store when Dong-Jik gets killed was actually used for Ryu Seung-Wan's 주먹이 운다 (Crying Fist) too. Because they were shooting hand held, there were a lot of things they had to cover for, and lighting wasn't easy to adjust. There were also many people looking, so it wasn't an easy scene. The director admits it was a little awkward shooting a murder scene like that, as that part of the city (near Dongdaemoon) is usually very crowded, so the chances of a murder happening like that, with very few people passing by, are slim at best. But then again, he wanted to continue that 'destiny' line of thought which started from his first meeting with Gang-Jin, and this time he misses those who kill his brother by a few seconds. They used many different cameras here, with also a lot of Steadycam shots. The action team didn't want Kwon to act the following scene himself (when he chases after the murderers), but he insisted he wanted to do it. Since he's known for working out with passion, he not only didn't get hurt but got through the scene quite easily.
- Director Kim comments that the scene between Do-Young and his mother at the hospital had a special meaning for him. The dialogue in the film in fact is exactly what his mother told him on her hospital bed years before, line for line. Also, Kwon Sang-Woo did really well here, and especially Lee Joo-Shil, who not only went through a similar experience but wasn't feeling well at the time, represented the feeling of someone feeling pain to perfection. Enough that sometimes Director Kim was reminded of his mother because of her acting. Those scenes where the actors had to express some emotions were mostly shot at the beginning of filming, so it must have been hard for the actors to adapt. Two of the following scenes were taken out of the theatrical version. The first deals with Prosecutor Oh starting to find how the big suits and Gang-Jin's connections are interfering with his work. The director wanted to put this back in, as there's a scene later with Oh meeting Gang-Jin for a drink which would have felt a little out of place without this initial explanation. Also, he liked the facial expression of his colleague, played by Lee Jae-Goo. Also, the second scene features Do-Young meeting Joo-Hee to leave some money with her, and ask her to take care of his mother for him. He really didn't want to establish any romance between the two with this kind of scene (and, I suppose, the 'proposal' later). He just wanted to show that Do-Young had different sides of his personality, and that he trusted Joo-Hee as a friend enough to allow her to take care of his mother. So it's a friend, a good one, we're dealing with. Not a possible lover.
- They shot the police HQ scene (when Do-Young finds the tag numbers) at a real police station in Ansan, but it was hard for the actors and the staff to feel comfortable, because of the surroundings. They even ordered pizza to liven up the atmosphere. Son Byung-Wook, who plays the 'yellow hair' guy, was really one of the highlights of the shoot. He had barely a page or two of dialogue, but was able to give some colour to the characters thanks to his ad-lib. They had to shoot the scenes at the Golf Center really fast, as only a day per Month was allowed, which led them to shoot the second part of the scene four months later. The impressive thing was that Kwon did all the action himself, even when golf balls were all over the place, which could have resulted in injuries. Of course the benefit for director and DP of someone like Kwon doing the action himself is that you can show his face, so the chances of showing different angles and having less trouble in the editing process increase. Although at the end the action wasn't exactly like what they envisioned in the storyboard process, the fact Kwon did almost all himself made them reconsider things while editing, where they tried to emphasize the fact he did his own stunts (which improves character development, as the lack of over the top editing helps,when Do-Young shows his rage, getting up even after a beating and going ahead). The action director raises an important dilemma though: that since actors are not professional stuntmen, in certain cases (he's not talking about Kwon here, more in a general sense) that can be counter-productive, so it's an important balancing that. But Director Kim comments, and I totally agree with this, that from his point of view it's not really important how spectacular or good looking that action is, but how much it fits with the character's personality that counts. So, since every other emotional release comes from Kwon's way of acting, even those action scenes are just another piece of acting from him, just on a different physical level. That's more important to him, the continuing of that flow between action and drama, and closer to what he envisioned at the beginning.
- They comment that watching the film a second time, many of the little details, including nuances in the dialogue, emerge. Director Kim doesn't really know how to act so he didn't give out much in the way of guidelines, but he could feel when the mood and tone of the acting was right. As an example, the scene when Gang-Jin tries to intimidate Kang Sung-Jin's character had no NGs, even though it's quite intense. He just wanted something different than the usual gangster films, and Son did great. But the most important scene, the one he put the most emphasis on was the meeting at the little restaurant when Do-Young and Jin-Woo decide to work together. This gives a vibe similar to the meeting between Al Pacino and Rober De-Niro at the coffee shop in Michael Mann's Heat, with two rivals understanding each other.
- The first meeting between Ahn Gil-Gang's character and Do-Young was actually cut out in the theatrical version, but this was one of the biggest dilemmas for the Director, as it was needed to show Do-Young went to look for him first (whereas in the theatrical version he just pops up later). The scene reminded a lot of 70s Korean films, and the director jokes Ahn had that kind of image in the film, so it fit really well. They comment that the action scene with Bae Kwang-Choon and his boys later left a lot to be desired, as they couldn't get the feeling they wanted, because of camera issues and other things. They also felt bad that they couldn't introduce a little better Bae, who plays a small but important role in the film. One thing they did praise though was Kawai's score, especially during those action scenes. Again their focus while editing was trying to show Kwon Sang-Woo as much as possible, but the important thing was conveying the feeling behind that action, which in some ways made them feel bad about this scene, as it couldn't do that effectively.
- A scene involving Jin-Woo facing up with his superior was cut out from the theatrical version. At first the director made the judgment that leaving it out would have been OK, as it doesn't really reveal any new important fact. But listening to people later, he decided that showing Jin-Woo fight with the system and slowly getting more and more disillusioned about his profession and the alleged principles behind it would have been more effective. The DP comments that he also shot part of this scene hand held showing in a better way his sentiments, so he was sad that it couldn't reach the final film. About Kwon Sang-Woo's image, Director Kim comments that even though there have been several people complaining that Kwon might be focusing too much on the same image, from a director's point of view, trying to change the cards in a rush was a risk. He liked his image, so he didn't particularly try to change it at all costs. Regarding the interrogation scene between the politician and Jin-Woo, they comment that real prosecutor's offices have that kind of sophisticated room for V.I.Ps. But more than anything he wanted to create a feeling of hunter vs. prey. It's just like action scenes for Do-Young. This is Jin-Woo's territory, and this is his way of attacking the other party, which again builds up on the stigma of prosecutors vs detectives.
- With the dogs hung on the tree he of course wanted something like the horse scene in The Godfather, but it didn't give the kind of shock he wanted. Better yet, in the storyboard design he wanted to make a transition between the dogs and Jin-Woo, both with their neck tied to the tree (the system, in this case), but again he felt bad they weren't able to get it right. The scene when Jin-Woo meets Gang-Jin outside the hotel is probably the moment when Jin-Woo starts losing his rational ways, letting emotions invade his thoughts. If you pay attention, after that scene Jin-Woo starts doing things he would have never done before (like meeting one of his 'sources'). The jazz bar scenes brings up many interesting anecdotes. First is about the role of the singer: since it was just a bit role, they didn't do casting for it, and had to ask someone in a rush. It also didn't have too good an image, as we were dealing with a junkie going out with a gangster. But the actress who ends playing that role happens to be the wife of Shin Hae-Cheol, one of the most popular pop-rock stars of the 90s, leader of the band N.EX.T. and sometimes actor, last seen in 안녕, 프란체스카 (Hello, Francesca). What's even more interesting is that this bar, located in Yangsuri, wasn't originally a jazz bar, they changed the design to fit the mood of a jazz bar. And, after the shoot, instead of going back to the initial design, the owner continued doing business with the new 'jazz bar' look. Regarding the fact there's a slight sync problem with the singer and the song, it's because of a problem with copyrights. They used another jazz song , but as they couldn't get the rights Kawai Kenji had to write one in a rush to replace, and matching the original lip movement was quite hard (but it's a good song nonetheless, considering the short notice). Again, the tone of the colours when Jin-Woo and Do-Young talk together was suggested by the DP. If you pay attention, the lighting on Jin-Woo's face while he's talking is mostly blue, which fits with the blue tone (the more sophisticated tone) of his office, whereas Do-Young is closer to a naturalistic one. This again emphasize the differences between the two, and the viewer can notice that even without paying attention through the subtle use of lighting. This whole process sort of reminds me of the lighting and use of colours in 부활 (Rebirth), although of course it's not to that extent.
- The director didn't plan that unique 'proposal' on purpose, to make it weird. He just wanted to show that this was the only way Do-Young could express himself. And then again, we're not dealing with love, but simply affection. Tying himself down with Joo-Hee, which had become like a sister, or sometimes a surrogate mother, would mean she wouldn't leave him too. Kim liked the fact both Do-Young and Jin-Woo, in dealing with their attachments with their significant other (Jin-Woo with his wife, Do-Young with Joo-Hee) lack maturity, they look like kids dealing with a simple matter. During the scene when Jin-Woo gives Do-Young the lighter, the DP risked death, when the crane for the pan outside the building was about to fall. And that wasn't the only time they risked big: to make things a little more realistic, they replicated IDs for prosecutors, which were so close to the real deal they were questioned by real prosecutors. The Art direction once again talks about how the concept in the interrogation scene was that of prey vs hunter. If you take a look, behind Jin-Woo is a big wall with metal plates, and it's shot in half shadow, which gives a very cold feeling, whereas on the other side we have decorated windows and full light, giving a much warmer feeling. So by subtly creating this division, you give the idea of someone trying to catch the other.
- Although people might wonder if he made that up on the spot, the sequence of events after the suspects die, with first the newsreel then the press conference, is actually what happened in a similar case years ago, which Kim took as a model for this scene. Regarding the scene when Gang-Jin kills Ju Hyun-Tae on top of the building, it didn't go as he planned. He wanted to shoot this at a construction site, but it was hard to negotiate because of the kind of scene they were going to shoot. But the DP thinks it was all for the better, as it's the same place we see at the end of the film, which creates a sort of poetic justice. The place where they shot the trial scenes was a real court, and surprisingly it was much easier than expect to negotiate with them. They actually spent a long time over this scene, as there's always a marked difference in terms of dynamism between court scenes in Korean and Western films. So, even considering it was a small place, they tried to make it a little more dynamic with the camera work and editing. Kim instantly liked Jo Sung-Ha, who plays the judge, the first time he saw him for the audition, didn't even need to try other people.
- Director Kim used the scene after the trial to show a different side of Do-Young. There was also a scene with Jin-Woo crying and telling Do-Young he was worried, but they took it off as it looked a little too melodramatic. They actually shot the funeral scene at the same exactly place where they had the ceremony for Director Kim's mother. The atmosphere was quite powerful, with even some staff members crying, including of course the director, as he was re-living what he went through years before. But Kwon actually said seeing the director cry helped him more for his crying scene in front of the cremation cell (which is some of the best acting Kwon has ever done, I might add).
- Finally, the director notes how many people might have missed Do-Young's little gesture in trying to avoid Gang-Jin's family in the final shootout, and Kim here wanted to show a Do-Young who knew he was going to die one way or another, so that was his last resort after abandoning everything else. Kawai Kenji commented that this was the hardest scene to score, and it was shot Hollywood-style, with A and B team shooting for two days, and inserts added later via editing. With the final scene, Kim wanted to show a little of Do-Young in Jin-Woo, and not only with the image he carries (longer hair, beard and goatee, similar clothes). There was a scene at the end of Lee Jang-Ho's 바보 선언 (Declaration of Fools) [the 1983 classic with Lee Bo-Hee and Kim Myung-Gon] which remained ingrained in his mind for years, even if at first he didn't know what it meant. What he wanted to do with this final scene was create the same kind of shock, and the image of Jin-Woo shooting in front of the Government building sort of gives the impression he's shooting at the system for one last time.

Audio Commentary with Director Kim Sung-Soo, Co-Writer Han Ji-Hoon
MAJOR SPOILERS

Again an excellent commentary. Some things are repeated from the previous one, but then again a few more details dealing with character development and the film's themes are added to those arguments, so it's well worth listening to. Just a great set of commentaries, it's rare to see this amount of detail put into commentaries, especially when it's more than one person talking.

- Kim opens talking about the opening sequence, in which he wanted to show some beast-like features of Do-Young's personality. Even the car chase was used to introduce the character, his 'hunter' image. The key here was bringing the viewers closer to the action, not as observers, but making them feel the danger and frenetic chaos surrounding Do-Young. Not only did Kwon do all the driving stunts by himself, but he learned the tricks of this kind of stunt work in about an hour, which was even more impressive. The following scene, which as said in the previous commentary was taken off the theatrical version, offered a contrast between the two main characters: Do-Young is all action, Jin-Woo uses his words. This was important to show their different images, as even though Jin-Woo might have been scared in that situation, he had to show a poker face to the gang boss. This scene was used in the various trailers a lot, but he feels sorry to Kim Choon-Bae, who played a gang boss in 귀여워 (So Cute) as well, for taking it off. Regarding the following scene, which too was deleted, many people were asking what kind of relationship Joo-Hee had with Do-Young's family, after the film was released. This scene explained that perfectly, so it was too bad they had to take it out.
- One of the things they wanted to emphasize right from the beginning with the script was that sense of destiny which permeates the entire film, mixed with irony. The relationship between Gang-Jin and Do-Young, which starts by coincidence when they meet each other outside the prison; the coincidence and destiny of Jin-Woo being 'demoted' to his new office, and having to work on a case regarding Gang-Jin once again. This feeling repeats itself throughout the course of the film. As for the prison scene, the director wanted to start the scene from inside the prison, but he couldn't do it. Most of the prisons they contacted refused to allow the shoot, and even the one they successfully negotiated with allowed them that much space. The rain (on and off) actually wasn't in the script, but Han feels that it fit well with that scene's atmosphere, and they even added a few lines of dialogue on the spot to underline that mood. Kim comments one of the major strengths of Kwon Sang-Woo is his ability to find the right sentiment on the spot, opposed to something building from inside or things like that. Han worried a little about that while writing, especially the short line of dialogue explaining one important detail, that Jin-Woo and Dong-Jik were just half brothers. But then again, in the scene after the prison release he acts more like a father figure than a brother, mixing his sense of responsibility for sending him to prison with that protection of the father.
- One of the most important scenes of the film is that showing the double face of Yoo Gang-Jin, from family man to 'family' man. Of course they used it to show 가족주의 (family-ism) was at the root of both his professional and personal life, although the former takes the term in a different light. What's interesting is that the look his daughter gives him -- talented young Kim Ji-Seon, who did quite well in Jang Jin's 박수칠 때 떠나라 (Murder, Take One) and lately even in Yang Yoon-Ho's 홀리데이 (Holiday). She's quite an interesting young actress, past the child actor stage and maturing into a professional -- wasn't in the script, it was added by the director. Although he feared he was going overboard, that look of half contempt she gives him shows this young adolescent girl might know something about daddy's way of putting food on the table. But more important than the daughter's look is the father's reaction to such look, which is probably the only fear a man like Gang-Jin could possibly have, that of losing his family because of the life he leads. This is why Son Byung-Ho's performance is fantastic: you don't see him moving a single muscle when he cuts fingers or kills a childhood friend with a steel pipe, but just a little look from his daughter, and he shows the closest thing to fear in his eyes. Brilliant.
- About the scenes with Lee Joo-Shil, playing Do-Young's mother, since she had been quite ill, to the point of actually being proclaimed dead for a few seconds, she could understand that kind of situation better than most people (she'd joke with the director that there wasn't a single actress in Korea who would play a character like that better than her, because of all the pain she went through). And again we see Director Kim's real life situation coming back into the film, as the 'Fighting!' thing with the thumb was something he really did with his mother, and he wanted this so much he even drew it in the storyboard. One thing he was really amazed at was how easily Kwon Sang-Woo could portray emotional scenes. No matter how many takes they did, he'd cry just at the right moment, with the right timing... every single time. Although he might not have the experience or training other actors have, Kim thought he was exceptional on those terms. The two discussed a lot about the parts featuring women in the film. Since it's a 'macho' buddy movie, the female characters were given smaller spaces for obvious reasons. But the two didn't want to make every single scene with one of the three main female characters appear like over the top melodrama, so they paid special attention to those little details.
- Again about the double face shown by Gang-Jin, when they were writing the script, they really didn't think much about this aspect of his personality. But it's something they realized was necessary while shooting, as the guy wasn't simply hiding a darker side of his life, he also played around that with his personality on purpose. So the director wanted something similar to Henry Fonda's role in Once Upon a Time in the West, but Son ended up choosing something closer, as he said, to an evolution of his Yong-Shik character in 파이란 (Failan). Say, Yong-Shik but 10 years older. Again talking about influences, the former cellmate of Dong-Jik is called Go Young-Bae. And what would that name be? None other than the Korean spelling of Ko Ying-Pui, name which might ring a bell to fans of 英雄本色 II (A Better Tomorrow II), as it's the character played by Kwan San in the film. And the reason for that? None in particular, it was just a fun thing the director and writer did. They talk a little about Ju Hyung-Tae, the role played by 부활 (Rebirth) alumni Kim Yoon-Seok. He's the kind of person who knows all too well Gang-Jin is a friend of his, but he can be thrown away just like everyone else, if he becomes an obstacle for him. His meeting with Jin-Woo pairs the two people who know Gang-Jin more than anyone else in the film, but is is that really Yoo Gang-Jin's real face? With this meeting, we see the continuing change in Jin-Woo's ways of dealing with the case, showing sides of his modus operandi he never showed before.

After Commentary [2:40]

This is pretty much like every other post-commentary clip, with Director Kim saying the staff had a lot of fun talking about the film. He wanted to do this well (and they did just that), but since it was his first time, he hopes he'll do better next time. Then they all introduce themselves and thank each other for working well together. Looked like they really had a lot of fun working, judging by the atmosphere here.

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SPECIAL FEATURES - DISC 2
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NOTE: SPOILERS

PAGE 1

Pre-Production - 야수탄생 [6:26]

We start with a little clip about the reading (pre-rehearsal, the actors just read the entire script together), with everyone introducing himself. Then Director Kim says something really interesting, that at the beginning, during the pre-production stages, the ideas was just of pairing Yoo Gang-Jin and Jang Do-Young. That was it, no Oh Jin-Woo. But while working on the film, one day he read an article on the net about prosecutor Hong Kyung-Young, who ended up going from one side of the law to the other. He wanted to use this kind of irony in the film, and as he grew interested in his case, decided eventually to base Oh Jin-Woo's character on his story. Then something I've never seen on a Korean DVD happens, they actually SHOW other actors who auditioned for Eom Ji-Won's role, as Director Kim says he works as if the people appearing inside one scene are the leads, so he treats every actor equally. We see quite a lot of talented young actresses auditioned for the role, including: Kim Ah-Joong of 광식이 동생 광태 (When Romance Meets Destiny), Ryu Hyun-Kyung of 조폭마누라 2 (My Wife is a Gangster 2), Seo Young-Hee of 내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일 (All For Love) and others. Second part is about location hunting, from the cowshed to the hospital and the green tea field.

'야수' Characterizing - 인물 만들기 [7:00]

A featurette about costumes and make up for the major characters, from Kwon Sang-Woo down to Son Byung-Ho. Although they had a kind of style in mind, they didn't want to follow a particular image connected to the actors, but something fitting the character. For Kwon it was mostly very casual wear (like jeans), whereas Yoo Ji-Tae goes from clear cut young elite and slowly gets more 'rugged' as the film progresses. They also talk about the difficulties the films created, like makeup for Kwon, who was always running or fighting, and all the various blood-related make up.

Making Film - 야수 제작과정 [25:50]

An excellent Making Of Documentary mixing interviews with behind the scenes footage. Director Kim starts by saying that inside Jang Do-Young and Oh Jin-Woo lie the actors behind those characters, as he let them put their own spin on the character. Kwon Sang-Woo responded pretty quickly, as it seemed like the kind of project he wanted to get into, and for Oh Jin-Woo's role, they wanted someone with a 'boyish' image, so Yoo Ji-Tae was perfect. For the role of Yoo Gang-Jin, Kim wanted something a little stripped from the usual image gangsters have in Chungmuro, trying instead to give a 'CEO-like' aura to the character, someone very mature and sophisticated. Son comments that more than trying any particular trick of the trade to plain this villain, he simply tried to hide emotions as much as possible, which is what sets Gang-Jin apart from traditional 'baddies' -- take a look at Choi Min-Soo in 홀리데이 (Holiday) to see the other side of the coin. Regarding the visual concept for Kwon Sang-Woo, since he has this image of a pretty boy with very 'light' skin tone, they had to do something to show Do-Young's lifestyle, which is why his skin tone was darkened a lot, his hairstyle is much more rugged, and so on. Similarly, the key in Jin-Woo's style was showing is slow descent into a 'beast' just like Do-Young, doing it in a way which was easily understandable for the viewer. We get to see the Director cry at 'that' scene (for obvious reasons), which is what helped Kwon give what was perhaps the best acting of his career in a single scene. Son jokes that the scene where he tests Jo Young-Cheol's loyalty was the most fun to shoot, as he looked the coolest in there, so he thanks the director for that. And we close with the final bloodbath, and all the set pieces within it. The only annoying thing about this very enjoyable featurette is that for the behind the scenes footage they use fancy borders around the footage, and it's a little distracting. Other than that, this is very good.

Action Sequence - 무술장면제작기 [25:26]

One of the best features on the DVD, and it's not because of the action, it's the approach that works. We first get to see the actors train, and it looked quite intensive. Director Kim comments that spectacle is not what he necessarily wanted in the first chase scene (which thankfully doesn't reach the unrealistic levels of Hollywood), but he wanted to convey the kind of personality Do-Young showed even at work, so we emphasize on the sense of speed and reckless abandon rather than flashy car crashes and the like. And to give that feeling they had to shoot really close to the car, with all the equipment and cameras mounted on board, complete with boom mike guy on the front (this was only for the scenes with Do-Young doing the U-turn, otherwise I doubt they'd take such a risk. The hardest thing, obviously, was finding a place with streets large enough to shoot that kind of scene. Ju Young-Min joins the discussion saying they worked a lot before the shoot with demo practices, and that Kwon Sang-Woo's fans were the real worry, as they were always around, and he was worried they'd get hurt by interfering somehow. At the end of this first part, we get to see the great opening scene once again.Second part deals with Do-Young going after a car on foot, and falling off the top of a moving car, scenes Kwon did by himself. He has to do it twice as the director mistimes his sign. We also get to see the golf center scene and all the preparations for it, along with the construction site scene, and more (the cowshed fight, the final scene, etc). It mostly focuses on the action itself, but then either action director Ju Young-Min or Director Kim say a few things about the particular scene. This is a lot of fun, even without subs, as it's mostly action.

CG Making - CG 제작과정 [5:05]

A quick but very good (like most of the extra features here) look at the CG in the film. We get to see how that amazing car chases scene at the beginning was done, which predictably saw Kwon Sang-Woo's car in the original source almost alone with the motorbike, and most of the incoming cars drawn in (it was pretty convincing though, and the great editing, soundtrack and cinematography made it all the more believable). We also look at the Yang Gi-Tae 'suicide' and now they created that long tracking shot from the top of the building to the body of the victim, and finally the last scene of the film. What's impressive is not so much the 'predictable' CG shots, which if done well (like in most cases in this film) are usually barely noticeable, but all the other little touches you never knew they'd be CG, like most of the buildings for the last scene in Yeouido, which were added later via CG.

Original Score Making - 음악작업 [5:21]

We first see Kawai Kenji in the recording room with the others (director and assistants), then Director Kim talks about his choice of music director for the film. At first he didn't really plan on working with a foreign director on purpose, but back then it was the time when Japanese music directors started working more frequently in Korea. He sent him the script, and since Kawai had never tried a story or a genre like this, he was interested in the film, and quickly accepted. Because of the language barrier, communication might have been a little difficult, but they communicated mostly via e-mail. He would tell him what he wanted, and then Kawai would get back with the main theme. The music was so close to the kind of feeling Kim wanted that they worked really well together right from the beginning. Kawai Kenji then mentions how the first to contact him were Popcorn films. He felt the script had a very sad story many people could relate to, the kind of scenes who would ask you to put yourself in the character's shoes. He thought the action scenes in the film weren't all that important, and he wanted to make really sad music, but finding that sadness, generating it through music was the hardest part. The director asked him exactly that, music 'sad enough that you'd almost cry', via e-mail. So the biggest concept was this underlining sadness, and to achieve that they mostly focused on piano and strings, 'covering' them with drums and base. Recording was quite fun and went really smooth, and the director felt the atmosphere as well. He ends up thanking everyone for buying the DVD, he really liked this film and hope people will like it as well, closing with the hope the director will soon make another film.

Still Gallery - 스틸 겔러리 [6:02]

Divided into 영화속 장면 (Stills from the film) and 메이킹 스틸 (Stills from the Making Of). Of course the plus here is the background music from Kawai Kenji, but there's many more stills here than what circulated online, and of course it's high res, with only a small logo of the film at the bottom. Very nice stills, especially those from the film. The making stills start also feature the ending credits.

PAGE 2

Deleted Scene - 삭제장면 [3:10]
Director's Commentary ON/OFF

- 이혼하자구, Let's Divorce
Ahhh... this is a nice little scene. Jin-Woo is in the car, and stops because it's red. He looks around a little, and finds the book Gang-Jin gave him. He takes a quick look at it, half interested, and then throws it back on the seat. Problem is, the edge of a few photos comes out from the middle, and he starts looking at them. It's his wife. He's hurried by the other cars as it's now green light so he starts and parks the car a few meters after. He grabs the phone and calls his wife.
Wife: Ohhh... it's me.
Jin-Woo: Where are you?
Wife: I'm jogging, why?
Jin-Woo [tense]: Listen to me now, go to that theater you usually go with your friends and stay there until I arrive.
Wife [annoyed]: What's going on?
Jin-Woo: Do what I say, you could be in danger...
Wife: I don't want to...
Jin-Woo [angry]: LISTEN TO ME!
Wife [cuts him] it's not like it's the first time this happens. I'm not scared.
Jin-Woo: But this time you're really in danger... list...
Wife: Ohhh... now you even worry about me? I sent you the [divorce] papers signed, that's the only way you'll realize it.

As he drops the phone, she keeps running, then suddenly turns back. The shot goes wide, showing no one, and she keeps running. Fade out...
COMMENTARY: Director Kim comments that this was the scene right after Jin-Woo's meeting with Yoo Gang-Jin. He deleted it because it didn't have any connection with the case (Yoo Gang-Jin's actions) itself, but he also wanted to show a more human side to Gang-Jin (which is why we get those scenes with the family, and a little more info about his childhood friendship with Ju Hyun-Tae). Now when they were in the script writing process, he wanted to show a different side of Oh Jin-Woo, that of a man sincerely worried about his wife. But looking at Yoo Ji-Tae act the part, a kind of two-faced compromise came out, where you couldn't guess if he was really worried about her out of love, or if he was thinking any problem like that would pose an obstacle for his work. He really liked this element of the character which emerged thanks to Yoo, but decided to cut it nonetheless, so he feels a little sorry for Moon Jung-Hee, who gets very little space in the film.

- 면회온 아내, Wife Coming to Visit (In Prison)

This is another version of the court scene (or perhaps an appeal?). The sentence for Jin-Woo is announced, then we cut to his wife waiting in a room for a visit. An officer comes back, saying that he doesn't want to see anyone, but he instead wanted to give her something. Then the officers gives her documents (guess what they are? Those signed papers she sent him in the previous scene).
COMMENTARY: This scene is actually after Do-Young's death, for Jin-Woo's final appeal. He wanted to use this to show how everything Jin-Woo believed in (his principles, justice et al) was lost, so the last way to deal with things was cutting his relationship too. He was sorry about deleting this scene too, but decided to take it off anyway.

Poster - 포스터 촬영 과정 [7:01]

The usual poster shoot, with Kawai Kenji's exciting main theme as background. Seems like all these small featurettes were produced for the website (as it's a few notches above the usual poster shoot in terms of production values), although I'm not sure. We get a few words from Kwon and Yoo about the shoot on top of the building, and we wrap up with Yoo saying Running Wild will be a 'mature' film. Indeed.

Preview - 시사회 장면 [6:00]

A nice little clip from the VIP Screening which took place on January 3. We see all the fans lining up outside the theater, then Lee Han-Wi says a few words about the film. We get to see some of the VIPs coming in, from Jung Joon-Ha to Shin Hae-Cheol, from Lee Dong-Geon to Kim So-Yeon, Kim Ji-Soo, Cha Tae-Hyun, Kim Nam-Jin, Choi Jin-Shil, Jung Woong-In and more. There's the usual introduction, with short comments by the actors and director (who says 'if there's any shortcoming, it's my fault. If there's anything good in the film, it's the actors' merit), and then we get a collection of 'Fighting' from the cast and fellow stars.

Trailer - 예고편 [2:14]
I wrote the film reminded me of Sergio Leone, and sure enough, here's the music of Ennio Morricone popping up in the trailer. Quite good, but the funny thing is many of the scenes in here were taken off for the Theatrical version, so many people might have felt like they were watching another film.

Music Video - 뮤직비디오 [3:53]
하늘을 걸어서 - Hwisung

What's the word... water and oil? Whose idea was to use R&B for a noir? Especially when there's great 'dark ambient pop' artists like Lee Seung-Yeol ready to jump and eat alive scene of this intensity? It's a decent song, but it doesn't fit at all with the (well edited, I admit it) Music Video. Hwisung started really well, but because of bad producers started becoming a sort of 'Rain of soul', showing more skin than skills. But of course it's only a Music Video, and in 95% of the cases, it rarely has anything to do with the people who actually made the film.

Director's Short Film - 감독 단편영화 [1:45+26:42]

First we get an introduction from Director Kim, saying that this was a project he made while in college, and that Choi Young-Hwan, who now is a pretty famous DP -- worked on 범죄의 재구성 (The Big Swindle) and 오로라 공주 (Princess Aurora), and operated one of the five cameras used for the finale of Running Wild -- was director of photography on that short film too. In a way, the theme of the film, that impossibility for the characters of ridding themselves of their 'lifestyle', inspired Running Wild, so in making this DVD he wanted to go back and relive those memories, in the hope that people will find this short meaningful.

1996 - 새들은 이 나무에서 저 나무로 날아갈 수 없음을 안다 (Wounded Birds)

So Running Wild wasn't a case after all. This show the same kind of 'broken down' people. Suffering because they can't escape their lifestyle, because there's something driving them to continue despite the condition they're in, to hope for that little light at the end of the tunnel. We join a group of red light district girls, and follow one day in their life, from makeup to eating, discussing about several issues and preparing to go back to work. Sort of a HK noir (in visual style, cinematography and music) reworking of Im Kwon-Taek's 창 (Downfall) -- without all the nudity, obviously. Shot quite well (no surprise the DP would turn out to be an acclaimed pro), and interesting. Not on par with Im Pil-Sung's short on the 남극일기 (Antarctic Journal) DVD, but I can understand why this film won so many awards.

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WRAPUP
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Noir was a genre rarely associated with Korean Cinema, but it seems like the tides are turning. First 달콤한 인생 (A Bittersweet Life), and now this one. And mind you, there's more to come, including the wildly praised 사생결단 (Bloody Tie) with Hwang Jung-Min and Ryu Seung-Beom, 열혈남아 (Cruel Winter Blues) with Seol Kyung-Gu, and of course Yoo Ha's 비열한 거리 (A Dirty Carnival). Running Wild has little problems, but they're not enough to overshadow what's one of the most impressive debuts of recent times. With people like Park Gwang-Hyun of 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol), Im Pil-Sung of 남극일기 (Antarctic Journal), Bang Eun-Jin of 오로라 공주 (Princess Aurora) and Kim Sung-Soo himself, Chungmuro is showing that while the 90s and their rush of talent are clearly over, the industry will continue to be healthy and produce good film for quite a while, if their debuts are any indication. A sort of of Korean take on HK Noir sensibilities, this is a hard hitter which shouldn't be missed. DVD is predictably excellent, with the only exception possibly being a killer for many people: horrible, embarrassing subtitles. If you don't know a word of Korean, I'd wait a while to see if HK, UK or US DVDs correct the problem (and use the Director's Cut, because the Theatrical Version is clearly inferior) because the film will certainly lose a few points if the dialogue goes over your head. A shame for such a big title, but it's certainly not the first time and I'm afraid not even the last. If anything, since the chances of this Director's Cut popping elsewhere are slim at best, it's still a must buy if you're interested in the film. The Theatrical Version and this one feel like two different films, in some ways like the DVD-only version of 분홍신 (The Red Shoes) and its theatrical version. So make up your mind: willing to close an eye on the subtitles? Then the DVD is great. Need good subtitles even despite excellent extra features and few chances of being able to see the real deal on other DVD releases? Then it's a pass.

FILM: 8
VIDEO: 8
AUDIO: 8.5
SUBTITLES: 4
EXTRA FEATURES: 8.5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 9
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OVERALL (Film Rating Counted Twice): 7.71

--

야수 (Running Wild)
yasu [lit. beast]

Showbox/Popcorn Films - 2006

감독 (Director): 김성수 (Kim Sung-Soo)

출연 (CAST): 권상우 (Kwon Sang-Woo) as Jang Do-Young, 유지태 (Yoo Ji-Tae) as Oh Jin-Woo, 손병호 (Son Byung-Ho) as Yoo Gang-Jin, 이주실 (Lee Joo-Shil) as Do-Young's Mother, 강성진 (Kang Sung-Jin) as Jo Young-Cheol, 김윤석 (Kim Yoon-Seok) as Ju Hyun-Tae, 정원중 (Jung Won-Joong) as Chief Prosecutor, 안길강 (Ahn Gil-Gang) as Yang Gi-Taek, 이한위 (Lee Han-Wi), 강승원 (Kang Seung-Won), 최령 (Choi Ryeong), 문정희 (Moon Jung-Hee), 이중문 (Lee Joong-Moon), 김준배 (Kim Joon-Bae), 손병옥 (Son Byung-Ok), 김지선 (Kim Ji-Seon)
특별출연 (CAMEO): 엄지원 (Eom Ji-Won), 최덕문 (Choi Deok-Moon), 조성하 (Jo Sung-Ha)

제작 (Executive Producer): 한성구 (Han Sung-Goo)
기획 (Planning): 심재만 (Shin Jae-Man), 이천희 (Lee Cheon-Hee)
프로듀서 (PD): 정오영 (Jung Oh-Young)
조감독 (Assistant Director): 이동혁 (Lee Dong-Hyuk)
각본 (Screenplay): 김성수 (Kim Sung-Soo), 한지훈 (Han Ji-Hoon)
촬영 (Cinematography): 최상묵 (Choi Sang-Mook)
조명 (Lighting): 이성재 (Lee Sung-Jae)
음악 (Music): 川井憲次 (Kawai Kenji)
미술 (Art Director): 이진호 (Lee Jin-Ho)
특수시각효과 (Special Visual Effects): 장성호 (Jang Sung-Ho)
무술 (Action): 주영민 (Ju Young-Min)
분장-헤어 (Hair & Make-Up): 장진 (Jang Jin)
의상 (Costumes): 김시진 (Kim Shi-Jin)
편집 (Editing): 고임표 (Go Im-Pyo)
사운드 디자이너 (Sound Designer): 임동석 (Im Dong-Seok

개봉 (Release): 2006/01/12
Box Office: 1,016,152 Tickets Sold Nationwide
Official Website