Review: A Bittersweet Life 4K UHD
4K UHD & Blu-ray: A Bittersweet Life (2005)
Written and directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring the gloriously beautiful and unmovingly unemotional Lee Byung-hun, A Bittersweet Life is one of those films that hardly anyone has seen, yet is a stone cold classic of cinema. Presented here in 4K it looks as it was meant to, other worldly, languid, neon and timeless.
Sun-woo (Byung-Hun) works as a general dogsbody for the big boss Mr Kang (Kim yeoung) in the city’s big westernised Hotel. Kang is going away on business and asks Sun-woo to ‘look after’ his very young girlfriend who he suspects is cheating on him, and if she is, he knows what to do.
Now instantly you think you know exactly how this will play out, and you could not be more wrong.
No spoilers here, just an enthusiastic recommendation for you to buy and watch this wonderful film. This is not a love story, it’s a life story, a soul story and yes it may have some extremely violent scenes in it, it has to be one of the best (along with I Saw The Devil) films to come out of Korea. I think Scorsese would have been proud to direct this.
As well as an incredible film beautifully presented in 4K, you get the usual Second Sight Films amazing presentation and special features, including an array of audio commentaries that are essential listening and add even more substance to an already fascinating narrative.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
- UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR
- New scene specific audio commentary with director Kim Jee-woon and academic Areum Jeong
- New audio commentary by Pierce Conran and James Marsh
- Audio commentary with director Kim Jee-woon and Actors Kim Young-chul and Lee Byung-hun
- Audio commentary with director Kim Jee-woon, director of photography Kim Ji-Y and set designer Yoo Seong-hee
- Making of A Bittersweet Life with optional commentaries
- Archive featurettes: Art; Music; Sound; Action; Gun Smith; Special Art; Special Effects; CG; Tell Me Why: A Bittersweet Life in Cannes
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes with optional commentary
- Music Videos
- Teaser, Trailer and TV Spot
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Michael Bolland
- 120-page book with new essays by Dr Lindsay Hallam, Rich Johnson, Michael Leader, Daniel Martin and Alison Peirse
- Six collectors’ art cards
Released July 22nd and available to pre-order.
Review by Tina from a disc kindly supplied by Second Sight Films via Aim Publicity.
