Rent A Bittersweet Life (2005)
3.8 of 5 from 146 ratings
1h 54min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hun) is no ordinary hotel manager. He is also the ruthlessly efficient right hand man of underworld boss, Kang (Kim Yeong-cheol). But tough guy Kang has a weakness; his young girlfriend. Suspecting she's unfaithful, Kang orders Sun-woo to take care of the problem. When Sun-woo discovers her with another man, he uncharacteristically grants them mercy. Kang is furious and orders his gang members to hunt down Sun-woo. With nerves of steel, Sun-woo battles the gang alone. With each kill, he takes one step closer to his final confrontation with Kang.
- Actors:
- Jung-min Hwang, Yu-mi Jung, Ku Jin, Hae-gon Kim, Roe-ha Kim, Yeong-cheol Kim, Byung-hun Lee, Gi-yeong Lee, Mu-yeong Lee, Eric Moon, Dal-su Oh, Kwang-rok Oh, Min-a Shin, Sang-Jeon Woo
- Directors:
- Jee-woon Kim
- Producers:
- Lee Eugene-I, Oh Jung-Wan, Eugene Lee, Jeong-wan Oh, Choi Pyung-Ho, Lee Yoo-Jin
- Writers:
- Jee-woon Kim, Dong-Cheol Kim
- Aka:
- Dalkomhan insaeng
- Studio:
- Tartan
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- New waves of Korean Cinema, What to watch by country
- Countries:
- Korea
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 22/07/2024
- Run Time:
- 120 minutes
- Languages:
- Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.39:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- 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-yong 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
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 22/07/2024
- Run Time:
- 120 minutes
- Languages:
- Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- DVD Regions:
- Region 0 (All)
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.39:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- 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-yong 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
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Reviews (2) of A Bittersweet Life
A superb Korean revenge thriller. - A Bittersweet Life review by CP Customer
This is an excellent tale of an up and coming gangster who due to a minor act of mercy has a dramatic fall from grace. It's also a neat twist on the revenge movie genre in which the lead character is not the one seeking revenge, but the victim of a revenge vendetta. If you liked Chan-wook Park's 'Oldboy' then this is well worth a rental.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Well-shot Action Thriller - A Bittersweet Life review by Alphaville
This Kim Ji-Woon film from 2005 was one of his early actioners and all the elements are in place. Beautiful cinematography and an engaging score that is part epic and part ironic keeps the viewer glued to the screen even between the set-pieces. Lead Lee Byung-Hun makes a charismatic Alain Delon lookalike who carries the movie. Just to wallow in the image as he drives around Seoul to a mesmerising score makes you realise the magic that only cinema can produce.
The film is let down by an uneven pace and a climax that stretches incredulity, but the set pieces are explosive. This is not Kim’s best, but it’s still better than most so-called action thrillers.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.