I Saw The Devil (Jee-woon Kim, 2010)

[20 Years]

Looking forward to Checking this out on dvd released here in Australia next week directed by Jee Woon Kim, it look very promising.
Anyone else out there looking forward to catching this one.

[Harold Monroe]

ive had my eye on this one as well. will purchase the blu ray when it drops in price.

sounds brilliant

[MarcMorris]

The UK DVd and Blu-ray is out in June. I think most countries are getting a slightly watered down version.

A psychotic serial killer is on the loose, committing some of the most diabolical crimes the police have ever witnessed. No one is safe as the body count rises and the killer continues his evil odyssey of sadistic butchery. But when the fiancée of an elite special agent becomes one of his victims, a personal investigation becomes a merciless and brutal game of vengeance. As one violent encounter leads to another, it’s a game where the hunter becomes as unhinged as the hunted.

Directed by one of Korea’s most notorious and revered directors Kim Ji-Woon (A Tale Of Two Sisters), I Saw The Devil is as action packed and thrilling as it is extremely dark and disturbing. Reuniting the director with actor Lee Byung-Hun (A Bittersweet Life, Hero, The Good, The Bad And The Weird) it also stars Asian cinema legend Choi Min-Sik (Oldboy).

Special Features:
Director's Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Trailer
Gallery

DVD: amazon.co.uk

Blu-ray: amazon.co.uk

[20 Years]

Yes there seems to be a bit of confusion with the release of this one there are conflicting reports of cut and uncut versions.

From what i cam make out i think the US & UK versions are slightly cut according to my research, i do not think the Australian version is cut but i may be wrong if anyone out there has any more info on this it would be nice to know.

Either way i will more than likely pick this up next week here in oz.

[Harold Monroe]

will wait and see what happens with this one then, i hate owning cut stuff

[Jonny Rojo]

It's a terrific film, I believe I saw the very slightly edited Korean version. Despite the edits it was still amazing an I'd happily own that version if that was all that was available.

[squidTHUG]

The version I have 2:24:05 and if it's an edited version, I can only imagine that what is cut is "gratuitous violence"; but given the story and nature of the film you're not missing out on anything. It's plenty violent and gory. The film itself is entertaining enough but sometimes boarders on down right ridiculous. I got the feeling that the original direction was to make a down right horrifying look into the true Psyche of a killer, but what you see is an over the top, often silly action gore movie. I was left feeling satisfied and at the same time embarrassed.

[Leatherface]

squidTHUG, which release of the movie do you have?

[20 Years]

Interesting, Since i first started the thread on this one i have done a little bit more research and i think this one is going to be a love it or hate it movie.

There are many saying its very average and others saying its a masterpiece kind of got me even more interested.

Thanks for that squid Thug.

[squidTHUG]

Leatherface, I only know how long it is, I don't know what the original run time is.


20 years, there were times in 2+ hours when I was really excited and loving it, but then just as quickly there'd be a scene that was 'lol wut'. Over all I'm definitely glad I watched it, just don't believe the hype.

[Harold Monroe]

ive read that the us version has a bit more gore and a little less sex, so thats what i went for.

also read it was the directors prefered version

[claire]

That's the same release as we've got in the UK, Harold. I think.

From what I can gather, there were two versions of the film prepared: a Korean cut and an International cut.

The Korean cut was the longest version (144 mins) and contained more gore. This version was then cut slightly for its theatrical release in Korea. The International cut was shorter, trimmed some of the gore scenes but extended a couple of sex/sexual violence scenes.

If I've got a bit muddled about the above, I'm sure someone will be quick to put me right. There are an extensive list of the differences between the two cuts on IMDb. Reading through those, I'm happy that the Korean cut is the one for me.

The UK (and US?) blu-ray releases are said to contain the uncut Korean cut. I'm still waiting for mine to arrive - Pay.com seem to take forever to arrive nowadays - but am looking forward to this.

[20 Years]

I just shelled out last night on the 3 disc limited edition from korea.
Was going to buy the Australian version but that here was 30 dollars, to have the 3 disc version which includes the 144 min version plus the international version was 37 dollars with delivery and the set looks beautiful.
If anyone is interested i purchased it off ebay from a korean seller i have used a few times and they are very reliable wooridvd is the sellers name.

[Jonny Rojo]

That's the same release as we've got in the UK, Harold. I think.

From what I can gather, there were two versions of the film prepared: a Korean cut and an International cut.

The Korean cut was the longest version (144 mins) and contained more gore. This version was then cut slightly for its theatrical release in Korea. The International cut was shorter, trimmed some of the gore scenes but extended a couple of sex/sexual violence scenes.

If I've got a bit muddled about the above, I'm sure someone will be quick to put me right. There are an extensive list of the differences between the two cuts on IMDb. Reading through those, I'm happy that the Korean cut is the one for me.

The UK (and US?) blu-ray releases are said to contain the uncut Korean cut. I'm still waiting for mine to arrive - Pay.com seem to take forever to arrive nowadays - but am looking forward to this.

Someone I know saw it theatrically in the US and said that it had more gore but was missing a key sex scene in it's entirety. I've seen the Korean version and it has the missing sex scene and is minus only a small amount of gore most notably a shot of a knife exiting an ankle after severing an achilles tendon, I also know someone who saw the UK version at the ICA and they said it's the same cut as the Korean one (144 mins)

The sex scene to me is far more important to the film than a couple of snips of gore.

[20 Years]

Ok i have had time to view the movie, and if someone was to say give it marks out of ten i would have to say 6.5 7 ish.
Its well paced and never lets up, the effects are nicely done and the camera works is excellent.
The only thing i still have trouble with is asian acting, some not all of the characters just seem to cardboard and looked like they had just been rounded up from the local backpackers hostel to fill in the spaces in the movie.
No offence to backpackers, but to me it looked like they just were not up to par with the two main characters when it came to acting and this did spoil the movie for me somewhat
Otherwise i really enjoyed the movie.

[MarcMorris]

censorship.com: I Saw the Devil comparison: Korean Version vs. International Version

[claire]

That's great Marc, thanks.

So, running the risk of sounding stupid but just wanting to get things straight in my head, can anyone confirm which version we have in the UK?

[Harold Monroe]

the uk blu is the korean version, i got the US blu because i wanted the goriest version. dont think youll be dissapointed by either though

[thehamish]

just watched this last night, international version, michty!! would probably like to see both, but was a good enough film....spectacular in places, not what i was expecting....

[20 Years]

I just hope the americans don't remake this as well, "please NO"