6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
At South Korea's border with the North, troops guard the coast. Each bullies those ranking beneath him; tensions are high. PFC Kang and his friend Private Kim are on patrol when drinking youths jeer them. Two nights later, Kang follows orders, opening fire at a person who has infiltrated the border zone. It proves to be a young man, one from the earlier encounter, on a drunken tryst with his girlfriend, Mi-yeong. Kang is commended, yet horrified. Mi-yeong is unhinged. Kim tries to hold onto friendship, duty, and his humanity. While Kang retreats into bizarre behavior and violence, Mi-yeong becomes easy prey to soldiers. Sickness is all.
Starring: Jang Dong-gun, Jeong-hak Kim, Park Ji-ah, Yoo Hae-jinForeign | 100% |
Drama | 14% |
War | 4% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Korean: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Korean director Kim Ki-duk's "Hae anseon" a.k.a "The Coast Guard" (2002) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Palisades Tartan. The supplemental features on the disc include original Korean theatrical trailers; making of featurette; music video; collection of stills from the film; exclusive video interview with director Kim Ki-duk; audio commentary by director Kim Ki-duk and actor Jang Dong-gun; and more. In Korean, with optional English and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The coast
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kim Ki-duk's The Coast Guard arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Palisades Tartan.
The high-definition transfer is far from impressive. Even during close-ups with plenty of light detail is poor, while the large panoramic shots look disappointingly soft and often even out of focus. The nighttime footage also looks blocky. Color reproduction is quite shaky as well, with blues, greens, yellows, and blacks routinely pulsating. Edge-enhancement routinely pops up, while aliasing issues are virtually all over the place. The only relatively good news is that there are no serious stability issues. Still, to put it mildly, the presentation is very disappointing. (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).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Palisades Tartan have provided optional English and Spanish yellow subtitles for the main feature.
Generally speaking, the lossless track opens up specific sequences rather well. The shootouts, in particular, sound crisp and punchy. Surround activity, however, is quite uneven, and mid-range dynamics seem to be lacking the intensity one would expect from a modern film. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. The English translation is also very good.
Palisades Tartan's presentation of Korean director Kim Ki-duk's The Coast Guard leaves a lot to be desired. Viewers with large screens and projectors, in particular, will have a very difficult time with it. On the other hand, there are some interesting supplemental features on this release. My advice to you is to rent it and, if you are a fan of the film, wait for a different distributor to produce a better Blu-ray release. RENT IT.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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