Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Thirst Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 1, 2010

Winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Park Chan-wook's "Bakjwi" a.k.a "Thirst" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Korean distributors CJ Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include two audio commentaries; behind the scenes featurette; making of featurette; interviews; gag reel; and theatrical trailers. In Korean, with optional English and Korean subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

A new taste

A young priest, Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho The Good, The Bad, The Weird), volunteers for a vaccine project and nearly dies. After a lifesaving blood transfusion, he becomes a vampire. Looking to quench his constant thirst for blood, the priest begins working in a large hospital with a never-ending supply of terminally ill patients, which he literally siphons off. The priest also meets an old friend (Shin Ha-kyun, Welcome to Dongmakgol) and immediately falls for his wife, Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin, The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan). The two then begin a torrid affair and he reveals to her his secret. Tae-ju begs the priest to grant her eternal life, and eventually he does.

Things get complicated when the priest kills Tae-ju's husband. Filled with joy, Tae-ju ignores her lover's warnings and indulges in a dangerous feast. Meanwhile, Tae-ju's mother (Kim Hae-sook) becomes paralyzed, and the priest reveals to his blind mentor what has become of him. He also asks for absolution. The blind man offers the priest a deal -- he would grant him absolution if he makes him immortal.

There is a little bit of everything in Korean director Park Chan-wook's Thirst -- horror, romance, humor, drama, and even satire. If you have only heard that it is just another "weird vampire film", comparable to Swedish director Tomas Alfredson's "Let The Right One In", and have made plans to see it, I must warn you that there are practically no similarities between the two films, other than perhaps the fact that both use vampirism as a foundation for their stories.

Park has claimed that Thirst was inspired by Emil Zola's Therese Raquin, which French director Marcel Carne filmed in 1953, but I am having a difficult time finding any common themes between the two. Once you see Thirst, you will understand why.

Something else that needs to be said about Thirst is that even though it features plenty of graphic scenes, it is hardly a "serious" horror film. Park has infused it with so much dark humor that at times it feels like a giant farce, (A few key sequences actually look as if they have been taken straight out of a Tsui Hark film).

The sex in Thirst is different and erotic. (Shocking, I know). Probably not in the way most viewers can imagine, but there is something genuinely arousing in those prolonged lovemaking scenes from the second half of the film.

The acting is fantastic. Korean superstar Song Kang-ho deserves a lot of credit for his fascinating character transformations, as they provide Thirst with an enormous amount of depth. Kim Ok-bin is an actress most viewers are probably unfamiliar with, but I am convinced that after Thirst she would be easily recognized around the world.

Visually, the film is arguably the best yet cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon has worked on. (He has contributed to most of director Park's earlier films, including Old Boy, Three...Extremes and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance). Many of the panoramic vistas, for example, and in particular the final act, are exceptionally beautifully lensed. Thirst also boasts a unique music soundtrack -- a collection of original tunes by Cho Young-ook and Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata "Ich habe genug".

Thirst Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Park Chan-wook's Thirst arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Korean distributors CJ Entertainment.

This is a very strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is terrific, clarity pleasing and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color scheme is also impressive, but I must point that it is not identical to that of the UK Blu-ray release of Thirst; the heavy blue tint from the UK release is missing, reds and browns are lighter, greens look much more natural, and blacks are not as well saturated; generally speaking, Thirst has a much more natural look. Edge-enhancement is never a serious issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. I also did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction. There are no serious stability issues either. Finally, I did not see any marks, cuts, stains, or debris to report in this review. For the record, this Blu-ray disc contains the directors cut of Thirst, which is slightly longer than the theatrical version, and runs at approximately 148 minutes. (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).

Thirst 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. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is rock solid. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels very effective, and high the high-frequencies not overdone. As I noted in my review of the UK release of Thirst, there are some great ambient effects in the film that benefit tremendously from the loseless treatment (Sang-hyeon and Tae-ju's foreplay on the rooftops is a great example). The dialog is crisp, clean, stable and exceptionally easy to follow. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts to report in this review.

Thirst 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 are: two audio commentaries, a behind the scenes featurette, making of featurette, interviews, gag reel, and theatrical trailers.

Thirst Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Park Chan-wook's deliciously perverse Thirst has received a top-notch Blu-ray treatment courtesy of Korean distributors CJ Entertainment - which is why fans of the film will probably have a very difficult time deciding which Blu-ray release to get, the UK or the Korean, as both look absolutely fantastic. I lean towards the UK release as I liked its wild and rich colors, but the Korean release has the Director's Cut of the film, it is Region-Free, and its packaging is once again very classy. I think I will keep both in my library. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.