Gangnam Blues

Gangnam Blues

Gangnam 1970 Poster

Teaser poster
Hangul 강남 1970
Revised Romanization Gangnam 1970
Directed by Yoo Ha
Produced by Yoo Ha
Yu Jeong-hun
Written by Yoo Ha
Starring Lee Min-ho
Kim Rae-won
Music by Jo Yeong-wook
Cinematography Kim Tae-seong
Hong Seong-hyuk
Edited by Park Gok-ji
Production
company
m.o.vera Pictures
Distributed by Showbox/Mediaplex
Release dates
  • January 21, 2015
Running time
 135 minutes
Country South Korea
Language Korean
Budget US$9 million
Box office US$16.1 million[1]

Gangnam Blues (Hangul: 강남 1970; lit. Gangnam 1970) is a 2015 South Korean noir action film written and directed by Yoo Ha, and starring Lee Min-ho and Kim Rae-won.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The film is set in the 1970s against the backdrop of the real estate development of Seoul's Gangnam district amidst socio-political turmoil. The friendship of two childhood friends is tested as they find themselves entangled in the collusion and battles between political powers and criminal organizations.[10][11][12]

Plot

In the 1970s, during the height of political corruption, Gangnam, the southern part of Seoul is starting to be transformed into a developed area. Childhood friends Jong-dae and Yong-ki struggle to get by, until their shanty homes are demolished by local thugs. Desperate for cash, they get involved in violent political clashes, and are separated during one of the skirmishes. Three years later, Jong-dae lives as an honest man with former gang leader Gil-soo. Meanwhile, Yong-ki has joined Seoul's most powerful criminal organization, the Myeongdong-pa. As a gangster, Yong-ki is entangled in a high-stakes battle over land in Gangnam, all in the name of putting together secret presidential election funds that drive up the value of the city. As the gangs fight over the rights to various plots of land, Yong-ki is captured and interrogated by a rival gang.

Cast

Production

This was the final film in director-screenwriter Yoo Ha's "street series" trilogy, after Once Upon a Time in High School (2004) and A Dirty Carnival (2006). He called it "a story about people who are used, then discarded, about lives that are, like the buildings they live in, unauthorized. [...] represents the obsession over land ― land from which we are born, to which we return when we die. It is a feast of all things wretched."[25]

Yoo originally didn't want to cast Lee Min-ho in the leading role, finding Lee's breakout performance in TV series Boys Over Flowers "a bit cheesy" and that the actor was "so handsome he was like a manhwa character." But after being convinced by his wife, Yoo realized the potentially huge impact of "flower boy"[26] actors completely transforming their image, and together they collaborated to "burn to the ground" Lee's previous screen persona as a chaebol's son.[27] Lee filmed a sex scene with actress Kim Ji-soo, but it was not included in the final cut because Yoo felt it was unnecessary to the flow of the film.[28][29]

Yoo also asked actor Kim Rae-won to shed 15 kilograms since his character works as a rag man in the beginning of the film; Kim lost the weight in one month, which he said also made his fist-fighting scenes as a gangster more realistic.[30]

Filming began on April 16, 2014 and wrapped on August 31, 2014.[31][32][33]

The early Korean working title was Gangnam Blues (Hangul: 강남 블루스), which was changed to Gangnam 1970 in October 2014.[34][35] Gangnam Blues was retained as the international English title.[25]

Release

South Korea

Gangnam Blues was released in 684 theaters in South Korea on January 21, 2015. Despite its "restricted" rating, it topped the box office on its opening day, with 152,500 tickets sold.[36][37] Within 5 days, it had reached the 1 million admission mark (1,097,103).[38][39][40][41] After 35 days of release, the film recorded 2.19 million admissions.[1]

An uncensored version (running time: 141 minutes) became available for streaming on VOD service IPTV on March 19, 2015.[42]

China

The film was released with a different cut for the Chinese market in March 2015, in order to capitalize on Lee Min-ho's big fan base in the region. The new cut included more scenes of Lee, including those further developing the relationship between Lee's character and his love interest (played by Kim Ji-soo), as well as an alternate ending.[43][44][45]

Critical reception

Modern Korean Cinema's Pierce Conran called the film "an evocative and immensely entertaining saga that pits a common tale of brotherhood and betrayal against a thrilling period setting mired in violence and corruption" and praised it as "one of the most beautifully designed and lushly filmed Korean productions ever made." He found Lee Min-ho "thoroughly convincing as a rising gangster with a cool exterior and emotional core," but that Kim Rae-won's performance had "a little less depth," yet nevertheless was Kim's best performance since 2006's Sunflower, in which he also played a gangster.[46]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2015 51st Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actor (Film) Lee Min-ho Pending
Best New Actress (Film) Kim Seolhyun Pending

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Gangnam Blues". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Tae, Sang-joon (17 September 2013). "HOWLING Helmer YOO Ha Returns with Action Noir". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Lee, In-kyung (13 December 2013). "Lee Min Ho Confirmed to Star in Movie Gangnam Blues". enewsWorld. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Tae, Sang-joon (16 December 2013). "LEE Min-ho Cast in YOO Ha's Action Noir". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Lee, Sun-min (16 December 2013). "Way back to Gangnam for Lee Min-ho". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Lee Min-ho Rides Wave of Popularity to Leading Movie Role". The Chosun Ilbo. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Kim, Ji-soo (13 January 2014). "'My next film project is noir'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Lee, Kyung-nam (18 March 2014). "Kim Rae Won to Make Screen Comeback through Gangnam Blues". enewsWorld. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Kim, Hee-eun (21 March 2014). "Kim Rae-won cast in Gangnam Blues". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Frater, Patrick (14 March 2014). "FilMart: Showbox Styles Yoo Ha's Gangnam Blues for Pre-Sales Debut". Variety. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  11. ↑ Noh, Jean (14 March 2014). "Showbox gets Yoo Ha's Gangnam Blues". Screen Daily. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Kim, Su-yeon (14 November 2014). "GANGNAM BLUES, Sold Well in Asia: China, Japan, Myanmar, Singapore and More". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Hong, Hye-jin (7 January 2015). "Curiosity drives Lee to role in Gangnam 1970". K-Pop Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  14. ↑ Jang, Sung-ran (12 January 2015). "In latest role, Flowers actor defies typecasting". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Doo, Rumy (13 January 2015). "Lee Min-ho talks violence, poverty, and pressure on Gangnam 1970". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  16. ↑ Doo, Rumy (14 January 2015). "Heartthrob Lee Min-ho to show 'inner cruelty' in new film". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Lee, Ji-young (19 January 2015). "LEE Min-ho of GANGNAM BLUES: "First film in a lead role, I felt a lot of responsibility."". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  18. ↑ Yoon, Sarah (20 January 2015). "Lee Min-ho talks about Gangnam 1970". K-Pop Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Lee Min-ho wants to 'stand proud'". K-Pop Herald. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Gangnam Blues Lee Min-ho, "Violent and intimate scenes"". Hancinema. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Lee Min-ho Takes on Tough Role in Latest Film". The Chosun Ilbo. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Ha, Soo-jung (12 December 2014). "Lee Min Ho Smiled the Brightest When Filming with AOA's Seolhyun". enewsWorld. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  23. ↑ Hong, Hye-jin (13 January 2015). "Filmmaker Yoo Ha praises actors in Gangnam 1970". K-Pop Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  24. ↑ Yoon, Sarah (26 January 2015). "Seolhyun talks about Gangnam 1970 role with GQ". K-Pop Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Herald Review: A darker past in Gangnam 1970". The Korea Herald. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  26. ↑ A South Korean colloquial term for "pretty boy."
  27. ↑ Ha, Soo-jung (12 December 2014). "Director Cast Lee Min Ho in Gangnam 1970 After Being Brainwashed By His Wife". enewsWorld. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  28. ↑ "Director of Movie Gangnam 1970 Reveals That Lee Min Ho and Kim Ji Soo's Sex Scene Was Edited Out". Soompi. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  29. ↑ "Lee Min-ho misses chance to show off muscles". K-Pop Herald. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  30. ↑ "Kim Rae-won sheds 15kg for Gangnam 1970". K-Pop Herald. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  31. ↑ Choi, Eun-hwa (4 September 2014). "Lee Min Ho and Kim Rae Won Share on Wrapping Up Filming Gangnam Blues". enewsWorld. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  32. ↑ 이민호-김래원 주연 '강남 1970', 내년 1월로 개봉 연기. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  33. ↑ 이민호 김래원 '강남 1970', 내년 1월 개봉 변경…성수기 시장 노린다. TenAsia (in Korean). Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  34. ↑ Jung, Si-woo (8 October 2014). 이민호 '강남블루스'→'강남 1970'으로 제목 변경…11월 개봉확정. TenAsia (in Korean). Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  35. ↑ 이민호-김래원 주연 액션영화 '강남 1970' 제목 확정 11월 개봉 (출처) 본 기사는 조선닷컴에서 작성된 기사 입니다. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 9 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  36. ↑ "Lee Min-ho's Gangnam 1970 tops box office". K-Pop Herald. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  37. ↑ Sung, So-young (23 January 2015). "Gangnam Blues tops daily box office". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  38. ↑ "Lee Min-ho proves mettle on big screen". K-Pop Herald. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  39. ↑ Jin, Eun-soo (27 January 2015). "Box office remains retro with Gangnam at No. 1". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  40. ↑ "Gangnam 1970 reels in 1 million in 5 days". K-Pop Herald. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  41. ↑ Kil, Sonia (25 January 2015). "Korea Box Office: Gangnam Blues, Big Hero 6 Finally Topple Ode". Variety. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  42. ↑ "Gangnam Blues unedited version to release on IPTV". Hancinema. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  43. ↑ Conran, Pierce (8 February 2015). "News: GANGNAM BLUES Targets Lee Min-ho Fans with New Edit for China". Modern Korean Cinema. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  44. ↑ Sung, So-young (7 February 2015). "Different end for Gangnam". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  45. ↑ Kim, June (6 February 2015). "GANGNAM BLUES Sets March as Chinese Release Date". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  46. ↑ Conran, Pierce (27 January 2015). "Review: GANGNAM BLUES, a Gorgeously Overwrought Gangster Classic in the Making". Modern Korean Cinema. Retrieved 31 January 2015.

External links