The Tiger Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Tiger Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 9, 2016

There’s a certain sanguine quality to the phrase “go the way of the dodo” or its sibling “go the way of the dinosaur” that doesn’t seem to adequately address the fact that, yes, once actual species walked the face of the Earth that no longer do. The rise in environmental and/or ecological concerns over the past several decades have certainly made even potential extinction of various lifeforms sometimes headline making news (as I touched upon in our recent Humpback Whales 4K + 3D Blu-ray review). The fact that someone would actually want a species to become extinct is one of the fascinating subtexts of The Tiger, a 2015 South Korean feature that was released in some markets as The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale, a longer moniker that perhaps better alludes to the film’s stylistic proclivities. While a central conceit of The Tiger deals with the more or less forced extinction of one last feline in the Jirisan region, it’s important to note that the killing is due to political rather than “mere” sporting concerns. Some wags might therefore be tempted to say one species that will probably never face extinction is the overwrought metaphor, for that’s exactly what The Tiger traffics in, with its elegant, stately but, yes, incredibly ferocious titular beast a none too subtle symbol of South Korea itself. This none too subtle analog is understandable and even emotionally relevant and defensible, since the tiger has long had a “national identity” throughout Korea. Here it’s even more pointed since the film takes place in the 1920s during the Japanese occupation, and it’s the Japanese who have ordered the slaughter of countless Korean tigers as a redolent reminder of just how ruthless their rule is going to be. One last tiger remains in Jirisan, however, and the authorities are relentlessly pursuing its death.

The Tiger actually begins in 1915, with some charming interplay between hunter Chun Man-Duk (Choi Min-shik) and his adorable young son out on a scouting expedition of sorts. It soon becomes apparent, though, that Chun is having a hard time feeding his family, and that ultimately leads to the first of several breathless showdowns with pretty ferocious looking tigers. Unfortunately, it’s the first of several head scratching sequences where people armed with guns just stand and stare at the marauding beast instead of instantly shooting it. The film then segues forward several years (without much explanation or development) to detail the occupying Japanese and their efforts to kill all Korean tigers. (The subtitles on this release oddly spell the word “Corea”, though jazz icon Chick is nowhere to be found, and, yes, that is a stupid joke.)

A young Japanese officer who is ethnically Korean (or “Corean”, as it were) is tasked with killing the last tiger in Jirisan, who is known by the portentous nickname Mountain Lord. There’s an ominous and frankly pretentious reliance on the “metaphysical” links between the tiger and the Korean environment, with, for example, one earlier tiger death then being “answered” in the next shot with a deathly shadow growing over a verdant mountain and valley. Yeah, we get it. That very overt use of symbolism tends to undercut what is at its core a rather striking story, one that is supported by often impressive, if frequently wintry, scenes of the awesome Korean countryside.

A number of other sidebars tend to fill out the main story which of course ultimately brings Chun center stage as the supposed only one who can finally kill the tiger. There’s a whole other hunting team which is utilized to create some set pieces that offer more showdowns with mutant sized felines, and Chun’s relationship with his son (now of course older than the toddler seen in the early scenes) leading directly to the hunt for the “last” tiger. There are in fact probably too many competing subplots in this film, something that adds to the film’s probable overlength (well over two hours) and a generally diffused feeling.

Writer-director Hoon-jung Park (New World) stages the film effectively, even if his screenplay tends to meander while also dabbling in too much allegory and symbolism. There’s perhaps a bit of unevenness in how Chun is portrayed. At one point, it seems like the film is going to tip over into Jackie Chan-esque comedy, with Chun a “drunken master”, but then the characterization changes to one of pathos and even more tragedy. That gives Choi Min-shik the chance to go through various thespian machinations, and he fully inhabits the role, but it leaves quite a bit of The Tiger feeling overtly theatrical and manipulative.

The Tiger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Tiger is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is an often impressive presentation, one which offers superb accountings of various textures like the gritty muck beneath Chun's dirty fingernails, or pill on fabrics like the olive green Japanese army uniforms or even the grimy purple carpet that's in one of the Japanese offices. Park and cinematographer Mo-gae Lee favor extreme close-ups a lot of the time, and those also tend to support superior fine detail levels. While not aggressively color graded, the film has a bleak, at times almost monochromatic, look that tends to keep it from "popping" in terms of a vivid palette. That said, one of this presentation's most impressive merits is its crystal clear rendering of busy, spidery patterns like deciduous tree branches completely devoid of any leaves. Several aerial or crane shots which pass over fields of barren trees never encounter resolution or stability issues.

The Tiger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Tiger's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix has moments of extreme ferocity, as might be expected from the battles with various tigers. One thing that's rather interesting is how what seems to be a deliberate decision not to have really explosive gunfire enters into the mix at several key sequences. Therefore, anyone expecting huge "bangs" when muskets are fired may be surprised by the relatively lackluster sound of bullets escaping barrels. There's still excellent immersion due to so much of the film taking place outside, where ambient environmental effects dot the surrounds. Dialogue is presented without any problems, and is always nicely prioritized on this nice sounding track.

The Tiger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:28)

The Tiger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Tiger is often visually arresting, but it's a film that often tries too hard to inject "meaning" into its tale (tail?), while also wasting time on frankly odd vignettes (do we really need to know about the size of Chun's son's private parts?). The narrative kind of lurches in fits and starts as well, and several minutes (at least) could have been judiciously trimmed from the film without any problem. Still, the story is ultimately quite interesting, and Park stages things with quite a bit of flair. Technical merits are very strong, and with caveats noted, The Tiger comes Recommended.