Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3790 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-05-08
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: Korean
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's rare that a movie combines extreme violence, visual panache, and gut-wrenching emotion, but Lady Vengeance is just such a movie. Geum-ja Lee (the lovely Yeong-ae Lee, Joint Security Area) is sent to prison at the age of 19 for kidnapping and murdering a 5-year-old boy. She becomes a model prisoner, apparently converting to Christianity and helping care for ill prisoners--but in fact, she's slowly making connections that will allow her to wreak revenge on the man responsible for her imprisonment. The first half of Lady Vengeance, in which Geum-ja Lee's plans are laid and her victim captured, spins to and fro in time with dizzying speed, moving fluidly among multiple narrative tracks. But once the man is in her clutches, the movie takes a turn that proves more harrowing and more emotionally complex than the previous films in writer/director Chan-wook Park's "vengeance trilogy," Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance or Oldboy--and if you've seen either of those films, you'll understand what a feat that is. These movies have much in common with the revenge tragedies written by contemporaries of Shakespeare; ornate plots full of extreme violence and perverse sex that delve into the darkest--yet often most vulnerable--sides of humanity. For all its sensational aspects, Lady Vengeance observes the toll of vengeance on the revenger; there's nothing cheap or easy about it. This movie, even more than Oldboy, demonstrates that Chan-wook Park is one of the most vital filmmakers of our time. --Bret Fetzer

DVD Description
Having served 13 years in jail for the abduction and murder of a young boy, Gu-eum-ja (Lee Young-ja) is set free since she has proven to be a role model prisoner. But she not been idle during those 13 years of incarceration. She has built up an army of allies and their valued friendship is going to help her exact her carefully planned revenge on her former teacher, the real culprit of the crimes, Mr Baek (Old Boy’s Choi Min-Suk). Renowned Oldboy director Chan Wook Park’s deliciously stylish thriller is his much-anticipated third film to focus on the nature of revenge. Slick and inventive, it’s proof that his film-making can be a piece of cake.

Synopsis
South Korean maestro Park Chan-wook concludes his Revenge Trilogy with the operatic, mesmerizing SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE. Unlike the first two films in the trilogy--SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and OLDBOY--this time around, the hero is a heroine. On the heels of her release from prison, Lee Geum-ja (Lee Yeong-ae) embarks on a mission to track down the man responsible for her imprisonment, which also resulted in her being forced to give up her daughter for adoption. Hardened by years in the penitentiary and endlessly fantasising about the right way to exact revenge, she enlists the help of former cellmates to accomplish her goal. But what she uncovers is a secret so horrifying that no revenge seems fitting.

Employing the same techniques (symphonic music, electrifying cinematography, sharp editing) that made OLDBOY such a thrilling cinematic experience, Park Chan-wook concludes his trilogy on a somber note. Beginning as a flashy, almost lighthearted spectacle, SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE gradually reveals itself to be a poignant commentary on the futility of revenge. Fortunately, the director’s sheer audacity and technical virtuosity keeps it from succumbing to total darkness.

Customer Reviews

Vengence Trilogy Finale....
A superb conlusion to Chan-wook Park's excellent trilogy of blackly comic tragedies. Korean cinema is among the most exciting and progressive in the world and Lady Vengenence showcases exactly why. Min-sik Choi (unbelievably brilliant in Oldboy and Shiri) is once again fascinating and Yeong-ae Lee is equally as compelling as the complex heroine. Park's distinctive aesthetic vision and dedication to conceptualised, textured production design really makes his work distinctive, with brilliant performances from the cast transforming the stylish and violent images into profound meditations on life and loss. With more subtlety employed in the depiction of violence and a more accesible script, Lady Vengence could be described as a more mature outing for the often confontational director. Again employing subtle CGI to create a sureal world in which to hang an equally sureal and macabre story, Park indulges the audience in a visual, viscerial tale of humananity and it's darker side. An easier way to start with Chan-wook Park than either Oldboy or Sympathy for Mr. Vengence, if not quite as satisfying as either of those two pictures.

A masterpiece
My personal favourite of the trilogy (although Oldboy is a very close second). This film displays images that conjure up raw instinctive emotions for the viewer, mixed with shots of pure beauty and art. Following this woman's journey for closure is an amazing trip which keeps your mind busy, your rage pumping and the tears flowing. Beautiful.

Destined to kind of dissapoint.
After watching Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Oldboy my hopes were high for the finale of Park's 'revenge trilogy'.
The film has a different feel to the others,portraying revenge in a different light.In a way very innocent,almost less passsionate. Unlike Oldboy the film has little mystery,little intrigue. The story is simple,Geum-ja Lee (excellently played by Yeong-ae Lee) seeks vengeance on the man who put her in prison.
As the story unfolds we slowly are revealed more and more as to why and how she has been incarcerated.
The film (as with Park's previous titles) excels with great acting and strong narration.It's artistic tallent is affluent and adds a great deal to the film. The finale and prison scenes excel ,standing out as favourites.
The problem with the film is that it doesn't quite live up to the other 2 film's standards. It feels that a little more was needed story wise. It's demise was the fact it was the finish to two brilliant films. The fact that Min-sik Choi (Oldboy,Oh-Dae-Su) makes a 'cameo' apperance along with Ji-tae Yu (Oldboy,Woo-jin Lee) gives it the feeling of a 'tribute film'. Regardless they both play their parts well, but it's a constant reminder of how much Oldboy felt.
As a 'standalone film' this excels far above the rest,especially over half the popcorn flicks Hollywood churn out yearly.A jem not to be missed,just didn't deliver as gloriously as it's predecessors did.