''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' () is a 2008 South Korean

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by

Kim Jee-woon Kim Jee-woon (; born July 6, 1964) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Career Kim started out directing theater but has worked with increasing levels of success in cinema, showing accomplished acting and a detailed stylization in ...

and starring

Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in ''The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997) ...

Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably '' Joint Security Area'' (2000); '' A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); ''The Good, the Bad, the Weird' ...

, and

Jung Woo-sung Jung Woo-sung (born March 20, 1973) is a South Korean actor and the first Korean UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Jung started his career as a fashion model, rising to stardom and teenage cult status with the gangster movie ''Beat'' (1997), for which ...

.' The film is inspired by the 1966 Italian

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most of ...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...

''. The film premiered at the

2008 Cannes Film Festival The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2008. The President of the Official Jury was American actor and director Sean Penn. Twenty two films from fourteen countries were selected to compete for the ''Palme d'Or''. The awards ...

and had a limited release in the U.S. on April 23, 2010. It received positive reviews with critics praising the action, the cinematography and the direction. The film marks the second collaboration between actor Lee Byung-hun and director Kim Jee-woon, who had previously collaborated on the action drama ''

A Bittersweet Life ''A Bittersweet Life'' (; lit. "The Sweet Life") is a 2005 South Korean neo-noir action drama film written and directed by Kim Jee-woon. It stars Lee Byung-hun as Sun-woo, a hitman who becomes targeted by his boss after he spares the latter's chea ...

'' (2005) and would later do so again in Kim's ''

I Saw the Devil ''I Saw the Devil'' () is a 2010 South Korean action thriller film directed by Kim Jee-woon and written by Park Hoon-jung. Starring Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik, the film follows NIS agent Kim Soo-hyun (Lee), who embarks on a quest of revenge ...

'' (2010).

Plot

In the desert wilderness of

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endodemonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manchu ...

in 1939, months before the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Park Chang-yi, The Bad (

)—a bandit and hitman—is hired to acquire a treasure map from a Japanese official traveling by train. Before he can get it however, Yoon Tae-goo, The Weird (

)—a

thief Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

—steals the map and is caught up in The Bad's derailment of the train. This involves the slaughter of the Japanese and Manchurian guards, and various civilians. Park Do-won, The Good (

)—an eagle-eyed bounty hunter—appears on the scene to claim the bounty on Chang-yi. Meanwhile, Tae-goo escapes, eluding his Good and Bad pursuers. A fourth force—a group of Manchurian bandits—also want the map to sell to the Ghost Market. Tae-goo hopes to uncover the map's secrets and recover what he believes is gold and riches buried by the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

just before the collapse of their government. As the story continues, an escalating battle for the map occurs, with bounties placed on heads and the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

racing to reclaim its map as it can apparently "save the Japanese Empire". After a series of graphic shootouts and chases, a final battle erupts in which the Japanese army, Manchurian bandits, Do-won, Chang-yi and his gang are chasing Tae-goo all at once. The Japanese army kills most of the bandits. Do-won kills many Japanese soldiers and sets off an explosion that drives them away. Chang-yi's gang is slowly killed off and he kills those that attempt to leave the chase. Only Chang-yi, Tae-goo and Do-won make it to the "treasure". However, they find that it is nothing more than a boarded-over hole in the desert. Chang-yi recognizes Tae-goo as the "Finger Chopper"—a criminal that cut off his finger in a knife fight five years ago—and the man that Do-won had thought Chang-yi to be. Turning on each other in a final act of vengeance for the slights they suffered, they finally gun each other down after a prolonged

Mexican standoff A Mexican standoff is a confrontation in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory. Any party initiating aggression might trigger its own demise. At the same time, the parties are unable to extricate themselves from the sit ...

. The three lie in the sand, dying and alone, as the "useless hole" that they fought and died for suddenly and belatedly erupts with a geyser of crude oil. Do-won survives along with Tae-goo. With a newly raised bounty on Tae-goo, a new chase begins as he flees across the Manchurian desert.

Cast

as Yoon Tae-goo, the Weird *

as Park Chang-yi, the Bad *

as Park Do-won, the Good *

Yoon Je-moon Yoon Je-moon (born March 9, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He appears in theater, film and television, notably in the movies ''The Man Next Door'' (2010) and '' Dangerously Excited'' (2012), and the TV series '' The End of the World'' (2013). ...

as Byeong-choon, Manchurian Bandit Leader's Right-hand man *

Ryu Seung-soo Ryu Seung-soo (born August 12, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Ryu made his acting debut in 1997 with a minor role in Park Chan-wook's film ''Trio'', and has been active as a supporting actor on film and television since. Among his notable films a ...

as Man-gil, Yoon Tae-goo's friend * Song Yeong-chang as Kim Pan-joo *

Ma Dong-seok Ma Dong-seok (born Lee Dong-seok on March 1, 1971), also known as Don Lee, is a South Korean–American actor. With his breakout performance in ''Train to Busan'' and subsequent leading roles, he has become one of South Korea's most successful a ...

as Gom (

Bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nort ...

) *

Son Byong-ho Son Byong-ho (born August 25, 1962) is a South Korean actor. Son is known for his role in action films, notably, ''R-Point'' (2004), '' Running Wild'' (2006), ''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' (2008) and ''Insu, The Queen Mother ''Insu, the Qu ...

as Seo Jae-sik *

Oh Dal-su Oh Dal-su (born 15 June 1968) is a South Korean actor. Career Oh Dal-su began his acting career in theater in Busan, and since 2001 has been the head of theater company ''Singiru Manhwagyeong'' ("Mirage and Kaleidoscope"). His rich experience ...

as Park Seo-bang *

Uhm Ji-won Uhm Ji-won (born December 25, 1977) is a South Korean actress. Career Uhm Ji-won made her acting debut in the late 1990s, and after an early role in the Korean tokusatsu series ''Vectorman'', went on to appear in a number of films and televi ...

as Na-yeon ( cameo) * Oh Yeon-ah as Japanese female train passenger ( cameo)

Alternative versions

Two versions of the film were released in cinemas: one being for the native Korean market and the other for international sales. The Korean theatrical cut is 136 minutes long and the international cut is 129 minutes long. The Korean ending is more "upbeat" than the international version, including several more minutes of footage. In the alternative ending, ''The Weird'', Tae-goo, gets up. He reveals the thick metal sheet he hid under his quilted jacket and limps over to demolish the corpse of Chang-yi, ''The Bad''. While doing so, he discovers diamonds in Chang-yi's pocket and giggles with delight before realising he's surrounded by the Japanese army. Inadvertently lighting a stick of dynamite, Tae-goo scares off the Japanese and dives for cover after realising it was lit. Over the credits, Tae-goo sets off to continue hunting for the treasure with his bounty multiplied sevenfold, while ''The Good'', Do-won, vindictively pursues him. The ending of the international version reflects the end that director Kim Jee-woon originally wanted. In the United Kingdom, the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

ordered five seconds of cuts to the cinema release due to scenes of horse falls judged to be

animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suff ...

that violated the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937.

Reception

The film was screened out of competition at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

on May 24, 2008. It also received screenings at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

Hawaii International Film Festival The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is ...

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the com ...

, and the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

. American distribution rights were acquired by

IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Su ...

, who released it in theaters on a limited basis on April 23, 2010. ''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' received generally positive reviews. Review aggregating website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported that 84% of 60 sampled critics gave the film positive reviews and that it got a rating average of 7.2 out of 10 stating that "Whilst never taking itself too seriously, this riotous and rollicking Sergio Leone-inspired Korean Western is serious fun." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc D ...

, it received generally favorable reviews with a total score of 69. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that "East meets West meets East again, with palate-tingling results, in 'The Good the Bad the Weird', a kimchi Western that draws shamelessly on its spaghetti forebears but remains utterly, bracingly Korean" awarding the film 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

gave it a B+ saying that "The story’s many advances and reversals can be hard to follow at times, but this isn’t really a movie where plot is paramount. Everything boils down to the action, and what that action means". The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' gave it a four star rating out of five stating that "The Good, the Bad, the Weird may owe a lot to other films but it is always fresh and never boring". ''Empire'' magazine gave it a three star rating out of five commenting that "A tangled narrative and damp -squib ending detract from an otherwise joyous Spaghetti Eastern Western." '' Time Out'' critic Tom Huddlestone stated that "This is filmmaking as rodeo ride: bruising and ultimately pointless, but thrilling as hell while it lasts" and awarded the film four out of five stars. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' gave it a positive review declaring the film "a jaunty, happy-go-lucky adventure that packs a fistful of dynamite in the spectacular showdown." On the other hand, there were criticism directed towards the excessive violence and the simplicity of the script. In particular, the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

''s Nicolas Rapold mentioned that "Kim's filmmaking is generally cartoonish in a bad sense, as he squanders his set pieces, flashbacks, and other attention-getting with sometimes downright wretched staging" while ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' wrote that the film "goes for shallow pop instead of narrative depth. It's a lot of fun before it wears you out, and it wears you out sooner than it should." Additionally, Robert Abele from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' mentioned that "Knives, explosions and knockabout humor have been added to taste. As vigorously staged as it all is -- sometimes confusingly, occasionally with camera-torqueing flair and impressive stuntwork -- the urge to thrill grows wearisome. Were audience members to be included as a collective character as well, they'd be 'The Tired'."

Box office

''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' earned in North America and in other territories, bringing the worldwide gross to . It was the second highest grossing Korean film in 2008 after '' Scandal Makers'', beating ''

The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. Th ...

'' and it is one of the highest grossing films of all time in South Korea.

Home media

The film was released on DVD on March 11, 2009. The Korean release contains a longer version of the film and the international release has a slightly shorter cut with English subtitles.

Awards and nominations

2008

*Best Director –

*Best Special Effects – Jeong Do-an *Nomination – Best Film 2008

*Maverick Award –

*Best Supporting Actor –

2008

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures t ...

* Achievement in Cinematography – Lee Mo-gae *Nomination – Achievement in Directing –

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Buil Film Awards The Buil Film Awards () is a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the ''Busan Ilbo'' newspaper. It began in 1958 as one of the earliest film awards in the country. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was the biggest film awards event in the B ...

*Best Cinematography – Lee Mo-gae *Best Art Direction – Cho Hwa-sung *Technical Award – Jeong Do-an (Special Effects) *Special Jury Prize – Ji Jung-hyeon *Nomination – Best Actor –

*Nomination – Best Supporting Actor – Song Young-chang *Nomination – Best Editing – Nam Na-yeong *Nomination – Best Music – Dalparan and Jang Young-gyu *Nomination – Buil Readers' Jury Award

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popul ...

*Best Director –

*Best Cinematography – Lee Mo-gae *Best Art Direction – Cho Hwa-sung *Most Popular Film *Nomination – Best Film *Nomination – Best Actor –

*Nomination – Best Actor –

*Nomination – Best Music – Dalparan and Jang Young-gyu *Nomination – Best Lighting – Oh Seung-chul *Nomination – Technical Award – DTI 2008

Korean Film Awards The Korean Film Awards was a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the broadcasting network MBC from 2002 to 2010. History Originally named the MBC Film Awards, the ceremony was first established in 2002. It was renamed the Korean Film Aw ...

*Best Cinematography – Lee Mo-gae *Best Art Direction – Cho Hwa-sung *Best Sound *Nomination – Best Director –

*Nomination – Best Actor –

*Nomination – Best Music – Dalparan and Jang Young-gyu 2008

Director's Cut Awards The Director's Cut Awards () is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It is presented by the Korea Film Director's Network (KFDN), a group of approximately 300 Korean filmmakers. The KFDN selects winners in the Korean f ...

*Best Director –

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

Asian Film Awards Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

* Best Supporting Actor –

*Nomination –

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

*Nomination –

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BAF ...

–

*Nomination – Best Actor –

*Nomination – Best Supporting Actor –

*Nomination – Best Cinematography – Lee Mo-gae *Nomination – Best Composer – Dalparan and Jang Young-gyu *Nomination – Best Visual Effects – Kim Wook

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

*Nomination – Best Film *Nomination – Best Director –

*Nomination – Best Actor –

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

*Best Costume Design – Kwon Yu-jin *Nomination – Best Cinematography – Lee Mo-gae *Nomination – Best Editing – Nam Na-yeong *Nomination – Best Art Direction – Cho Hwa-sung *Nomination – Best Visual Effects – Kim Wook *Nomination – Best Sound – Kim Kyung-tae

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Good, The Bad, The Weird, The 2008 films 2008 Western (genre) films 2000s action adventure films South Korean Western (genre) films South Korean action adventure films Films set in the 1930s Films set in Liaoning Films set in Jilin Films set in Manchukuo Films shot in China Films about train robbery Films directed by Kim Jee-woon CJ Entertainment films Icon Productions films 2000s Korean-language films 2000s Mandarin-language films 2000s Japanese-language films Films set in Korea under Japanese rule Second Sino-Japanese War films 2008 multilingual films South Korean multilingual films 2000s South Korean films