Neon has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Park Chan-wook’s cult action classic “Oldboy” and will re-release it theatrically in U.S. theaters ahead of the film’s 20th anniversary next year.
“Oldboy” is Chan-wook’s famously brutal and stylized action and revenge story about a man finally released 15 years after being kidnapped and imprisoned, only to find that he must find his captor within five days. The film is famous for its punishing fight scene through a narrow corridor in which the protagonist fights off a crowded room full of thugs with a hammer and with a knife in his back, not to mention its shocking twist ending.
Neon has yet to disclose any specific release plans for “Oldboy,” but the film has been restored and remastered in 4K HDR as supervised by Chan-wook.
First released in 2003, the film won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival when it was led by jury president Quentin Tarantino. “Oldboy” stars Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, and Kang Hye-jung and is written by Chan-wook alongside Hwang Jo-yun and Lim Joon-hyung. The movie was also remade in the English language in 2013 as directed by Spike Lee.
“Oldboy” is the middle chapter of what is known as Park’s Vengeance Trilogy, which also includes “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” (2002) and “Lady Vengeance” (2005).
NEON’s Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal with Thierry Wase-Bailey at Celsius.
Park Chan-wook’s next film “Decision to Leave” made its debut at Cannes and will also play TIFF next month, and it was also named South Korea’s official submission to the 2023 Oscar race. MUBI acquired the film for release later this year.
