The Scarlet Letter Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

The Scarlet Letter Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 9, 2010

Korean director Byun Hyuk's "Juhong geulshi" a.k.a "The Scarlet Letter" (2004) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Taiwanese distributors Bit Wel. The only supplemental feature on the disc is a trailer for Jin Kwang-gyo's film "Beautiful Sunday". In Korean, with optional English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese subtitles. Region-Free.

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An ambitious detective (Han Suk-kyu, Tell Me Something) is asked to solve a murder case - a man is brutally killed in his own home. The prime suspect is his young wife (Uhm Ji-won, Like You Know It All) who isn’t willing to talk. She only admits to the detective that before her husband was killed a talented photographer approached her and she allowed him to shoot her naked. Her dead husband discovered some of the photos and assumed that she had a lover who had taken them. They had an argument and then someone killed him.

While working on the murder case, the detective renews an old love affair with a beautiful piano player (Lee Eun-ju, Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War), who once introduced him to his wife (Seong Hyeon-a, Woman is the Future of a Man). For awhile, the two meet mostly for sex and drinks. Then, the piano player asks the detective if he would be willing to leave his wife and move in with her. He isn’t.

The detective’s wife becomes pregnant. She loves her husband but hates his job because he is never at home. She needs him to be next to her, especially late at night. This is not the type of family she fantasized about when she first met him - or after he proposed to her.

Fast-forward. The more the detective learns about the prime suspect, the more confused he gets. Eventually, he meets the photographer who immediately admits to him that he had an affair with the prime suspect, but insists that he did not initiate it. According to the photographer, it was the young woman who approached him and asked that he shoots her naked. He agreed because he liked how aggressive she was.

Meanwhile, the detective’s lover also becomes pregnant. She delivers the news to him during an important reception where he is in attendance with his wife. When the detective’s wife sees her old friend talking to her husband, she immediately realizes that he has been cheating on her. A few days later, she asks for a divorce.

The detective goes back to his lover. They have sex and he tells her that if she decides to keep the baby he would be his father. He also explains to her that he is still in love with his wife. A few weeks later, the detective gets a promotion and together with his lover heads to the countryside to celebrate. The two end up at a remote lake where they decide to have sex in the trunk of his car.

The Scarlet Letter tells two very original stories. The first one is more of a whodunit affair. The second one tiptoes between being a romance and horror story with a shocking finale. The element of surprise in both is outstanding, completely destroying one’s perceptions about each of the main characters in the film.

What makes The Scarlet Letter an exceptional film, however, is the drastic change in its tone during the final twenty or so minutes. Without giving up the finale, I could only mention that it is not a single twist or character transformation that causes it. It is a radical shift in both of the stories the film tells, an entirely different view of practically everything that has happened in them.

The acting is fantastic. Han Suk-kyu delivers a powerful performance that is the key reason why The Scarlet Letter never becomes a giant farce. He is assisted by three beautiful and very talented young Korean actresses, Lee Eun-ju, Uhm Ji-won and Seong Hyeon-a, whose sense of balance is exceptional.

The Scarlet Letter is director Byun Hyuk’s second feature film. His previous efforts include the feature-length film Interview (2000), the short film Homo Videocus (1990), and a segment in the popular omnibus Ogamdo a.k.a Five Senses of Eros (2009).

The Scarlet Letter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.82:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Byun Hyuk's The Scarlet Letter arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Taiwanese distributors Bit Wel.

As far as I am concerned, this is a very disappointing transfer. Fine object detail is poor, clarity extremely inconsistent and contrast dramatically boosted. Edge-enhancement is also a major issue of concern. A number of scenes, and especially daylight scenes, are simply impossible to tolerate. The film's color-scheme is also very disappointing. Reds, greens, yellows, blues, browns and blacks are weak and unnatural looking. Furthermore, there are plenty of minor flecks that plague the transfer, as well as a couple of large stains. To sum it all up, even though I have not seen the Korean SE SDVD of The Scarlet Letter, courtesy of local distributors Spectrum, I wonder if it may actually look better upconverted. (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).

The Scarlet Letter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Korean LPCM 5.1 and Korean Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Bit Wel have provided optional English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature.

Unlike the video treatment, the audio treatment is very pleasing. The Korean LPCM 5.1 track has a very good dynamic amplitude, and Lee Jae-jin's score benefits greatly from it. Additionally, even though the surround channels are not overly active, they are indeed very effective. The dialog is crisp, clean and easy to follow. Finally, I did not detect any serious balance issues to report in this review.

The Korean Dolby Digital 5.1 track is not as potent as the Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. For example, during the orchestral performances the strings sound quite weak. The dialog, however, is still clean and easy to follow.

For the record, the English translation is somewhat problematic. While viewing the film, I noticed a number of spelling and grammatical errors.

The Scarlet Letter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only supplemental feature on the disc is a trailer for Korean director Jin Kwang-gyo film Beautiful Sunday. In Korean, not subtitled in English. (3 min, 1080p).

The Scarlet Letter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Scarlet Letter is a very strong Korean film that I hope gets a proper Blu-ray release in its native country. Quite obviously, the budget Taiwanese Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Bit Wel, isn't it. SKIP IT.