Westerns may have been one of the principal backbones of American cinema in the 40s & 50s, and found a whole second life in Europe in the 60s & 70s, but they never really made the jump to Asian cinema in any meaningful way. Films like Yojimbo and Goyokin took plenty of ideas from their western counterparts, reshaping samurai cinema to fit the mold, still actual oaters were thin on the ground.
All of which is to say that The Good, The Bad, The Weird may be the best Asian western ever made, if for no other reason than that it’s one of the only Asian westerns ever made.
Even if that weren’t the case, it should still be considered a whole hell of a lot of fun. A massive-budget production with tons of frenetic action, remarkable camerawork, and stellar costuming. Much like Pirates of the Carribean, it’s sort of a carnival-camp imagining of the past, set in the Mongolian desert during the early years of World War II.
Directed by Kim Jee-woon, best known for his crime epics A Bittersweet Life and I Saw the Devil, The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a lot flightier and more fun than most of his output. An entertaining film that offers a truly unique flavor mixing classic Hollywood cowboy tropes with Korean cinematic style.
Special Features (via arrowvideo.com)
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
- Perfect bound collector’s book featuring writing by Darcy Paquet, Kyu Hyun Kim, Cho Jae-whee and Ariel Schudson
- Three postcard-sized artcards
- Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
DISC ONE – FEATURE PRESENTATIONS (4K ULTRA-HD BLU-RAY)
- 4K master approved by director Kim Jee-woon
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Includes both the International and Korean versions of the film presented via seamless branching
- DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio on both cuts of the film
- Optional English subtitles
- Audio commentary by film critic James Marsh and film critic and producer Pierce Conran
- Archival audio commentary of the International Cut by director Kim Jee-woon and actors Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, and Jung Woo-sung
- Archival audio commentary of the Korean Version by director Kim Jee-woon, cinematographer Lee Mogae, lighting director Oh Seung-chul, and art director Cho Hwa-sung (Korean Version)
- Introduction to the film by Kim Jee-woon
DISC TWO – BONUS FEATURES (BLU-RAY)
- Corralling Chaos in the Desert, an interview with director Kim Jee-woon
- Dusty Dust-ups and Sweaty Saddles, an interview with martial arts coordinator Jung Doo-hong
- Archival making-of films and featurettes
- Trailer gallery
- Image gallery
