Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Arahan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 12, 2010

Screened at the Cannes Film Market, Ryoo Seung-wan's "Arahan" (2004) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of South Korean distributors CJ Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include two audio commentaries; behind the scenes featurette; multiple making of featurettes; deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary; cast and crew interviews, and theatrical trailers. In Korean, with optional English and Korean subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Clueless

The main protagonist in Korean director Ryoo Seung-wan’s Arahan is a young traffic cop, Sang-hwan (Ruy Seung-beom, Radio Dayz), who likes to drink milk and ask a lot of questions. While on duty, he goes after a thief and seriously injures himself - which is how he meets the charming Wi-jin (Yoon So-yi, Shadowless Sword), a martial arts guru, who takes him home to heal his wounds. Impressed by Wi-jin’s beauty, as well as her powerful "Palm Blast", Sang-hwan immediately concludes that the two are meant to be together. Soon, he is introduced to Wi-jin’s father (Ahn Sung-kee, Musa: The Warrior) and his best friends - apparently the six Masters of Tao - and they determine that he has plenty of the powerful Qi in him waiting to be unleashed.

While Sang-hwan desperately tries to impress Wi-jin, and she keeps rejecting his advances, the evil Master Heug-un (Jung Doo-hong, Natural City), an old foe of the six Masters of Tao, is accidentally awaken and released from his prison. He immediately undergoes a powerful transformation - by literally sucking up the blood of a lonely night guard - and begins tracking down the six Masters of Tao. Along the way, he encounters Sang-hwan and Wi-jin.

Yet to be officially released in the United States, Arahan is a film of two contrasting halves. The first is a comedy piece of sorts in which we learn plenty about Sang-hwan and Wi-jin’s personalities, as well as some important bits about the six Masters of Tao. There are a few romantic scenes in which Sang-hwan and Wi-jin give us an idea as to where Arahan might be heading later on, but the best moments have a strong comedic flavor.

The second half has the look and feel of a very long superhero commercial, culminating with the flashy clash between Sang-hwan and Heug-un. Once again there are a couple of enjoyable scenes in which Sang-hwan looks totally clueless, but he does not ask as many annoying questions as he does in the first half. Wi-jin also takes most of what he utters a lot more seriously.

Arahan lacks any shocking twists – the plot is straightforward and the main protagonists beyond transparent. Even the memory flashbacks revealing the origin of the feud between Heug-un and the six Masters of Tao are fairly unoriginal. With other words, the only source of genuine excitement in Arahan are the special effects.

And most of them are indeed solid. From the chase scene in the very beginning, to the "Palm Blast" treatments some of the bad guys receive, to Sang-hwan’s first jump attempts, to the various fights between Heug-un and his opponents, Arahan offers quite a bit of eye-candy. The majority of the urban photography also looks great.

So what Arahan lacks in substance for the most part it makes up with style. On a side note, non-Korean fans of Korean cinema should not have a difficult time appreciating the humor in Arahan as all of it is universal in nature.

Note: In 2004, Arahan was screened at the Cannes Film Market. The film was also screened at the Deauville Asian Film Festival and Philadelphia International Film Festival.

Arahan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ryoo Seung-wan's Arahan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Korean distributors CJ Entertainment.

This is a good high-definition transfer. Portions of it look a bit soft, but fine object detail and clarity are very pleasing. Generally speaking, contrast levels are also consistent. The color-scheme does not disappoint; there are a variety of healthy blues, greens, reds, yellows, browns, grays, and blacks. Edge-enhancement is never a serious issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. I also did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction - aside from a few of the big action scenes, where the CGI effects are rather overwhelming, the rest of Arahan has a pleasant organic look. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. I also did not see any annoying damage marks, large scratches, or stains. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Arahan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, CJ Entertainment have provided optional English and Korean subtitles for the main feature.

The Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. The bass is exceptionally strong, the rear channels very active and very effective, and the high-frequencies not overdone. Many of the action scenes sound outstanding - there are some excellent enhancements that should please those of you who like well mixed loseless tracks. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. I also did not detect any balance issues with Han Jae-kwon's music score.

Note: I noticed that occasionally some of the English subtitles come up a bit early - approximately a second early. They should have been synchronized better.

Arahan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: I would like to apologize to our readers for not being able to comment on the supplemental features included on this Blu-ray disc. Unfortunately, they are all listed in Korean and not subtitled in English. Even the names of the participants in the audio commentaries are listed in Korean only. However, all of them are playable on North American PS3s and SAs. The supplemental features include two audio commentaries, behind the scenes featurette, multiple making of featurettes, deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary, interviews, and theatrical trailers.

Arahan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I always look forward to CJ Entertainment's releases - the Korean distributors have brought some outstanding films to Blu-ray (my favorite being Ang Lee's Lust, Caution and Choi Dong-hun's Tazza: The High Rollers). Arahan, however, did not impress me. Portions of it are rather entertaining, and most of the special effects are very good, but there is something missing. As expected, though, the presentation is very strong. If possible, I would recommend that you first RENT Arahan and see if you like it before adding it to your collections.