The Good, the Bad, the Weird
| The Good, The Bad, The Weird | |
| Title (English) | The Good, The Bad, The Weird |
|---|---|
| Title (Korean) | 좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈 |
| Title (RR) | Jo-eun nom, Nappeun nom, Isanghan nom |
| Directed by | Kim Jee-woon |
| Written by | Kim Jee-woon
Kim Min-suk |
| Screenplay by | Lee Mo-gae |
| Produced by | Kim Jee-woon
Choi Jae-won |
| Starring | Song Kang-ho Lee Byung-hun Jung Woo-sung |
| Release date | May 24, 2008 (Cannes)
July 17, 2008 (South Korea) |
| Running time | 139 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean
Mandarin Japanese |
목차
Plot
In the desert wilderness of Manchuria in 1939, months before the beginning of the Second World War. Park Chang-yi, The Bad (Lee Byung-hun)—a bandit and hitman—is hired to acquire a treasure map from a Japanese official traveling by train. Before he can get it however, Yoon Tae-goo, The Weird (Song Kang-ho)—a thief—steals the map and is caught up in The Bad's derailment of the train. This involves the slaughter of the Japanese and Manchurian guards, and various civilians. Park Do-won, The Good (Jung Woo-sung)—an eagle-eyed bounty hunter—appears on the scene to claim the bounty on Chang-yi. Meanwhile, Tae-goo escapes, eluding his Good and Bad pursuers. A fourth force—a group of Manchurian bandits—also want the map to sell to the Ghost Market. Tae-goo hopes to uncover the map's secrets and recover what he believes is gold and riches buried by the Qing Dynasty just before the collapse of their government. As the story continues, an escalating battle for the map occurs, with bounties placed on heads and the Imperial Japanese Army racing to reclaim its map as it can apparently "save the Japanese Empire".
After a series of graphic shootouts and chases, a final battle erupts in which the Japanese army, Manchurian bandits, Do-won, Chang-yi and his gang are chasing Tae-goo all at once. The Japanese army kills most of the bandits. Do-won kills many Japanese soldiers and sets off an explosion that drives them away. Chang-yi's gang is slowly killed off and he kills those that attempt to leave the chase. Only Chang-yi, Tae-goo and Do-won make it to the "treasure". However, they find that it is nothing more than a boarded-over hole in the desert. Chang-yi recognizes Tae-goo as the "Finger Chopper"—a criminal that cut off his finger in a knife fight five years ago—and the man that Do-won had thought Chang-yi to be. Turning on each other in a final act of vengeance for the slights they suffered, they finally gun each other down after a prolonged Mexican standoff. The three lie in the sand, dying and alone, as the "useless hole" that they fought and died for suddenly and belatedly erupts with a geyser of crude oil. Do-won survives along with Tae-goo. With a newly raised bounty on Tae-goo, a new chase begins as he flees across the Manchurian desert.
Alternative versions
Two versions of the film were released in cinemas: one being for the native Korean market and the other for international sales. The Korean theatrical cut is 136 minutes long and the international cut is 129 minutes long.[1] The Korean ending is more "upbeat" than the international version, including several more minutes of footage. In the alternative ending, The Weird, Tae-goo, gets up. He reveals the thick metal sheet he hid under his quilted jacket and limps over to demolish the corpse of Chang-yi, The Bad. While doing so, he discovers diamonds in Chang-yi's pocket and giggles with delight before realising he's surrounded by the Japanese army. Inadvertently lighting a stick of dynamite, Tae-goo scares off the Japanese and dives for cover after realising it was lit. Over the credits, Tae-goo sets off to continue hunting for the treasure with his bounty multiplied sevenfold, while The Good, Do-won, vindictively pursues him. The ending of the international version reflects the end that director Kim Jee-woon originally wanted.[2]
In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification ordered five seconds of cuts to the cinema release due to scenes of horse falls judged to be animal cruelty that violated the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937.[3]
Cast
- Song Kang-ho as Yoon Tae-goo, the Weird
- Lee Byung-hun as Park Chang-yi, the Bad
- Jung Woo-sung as Park Do-won, the Good
- Yoon Je-moon as Byeong-choon, Manchurian Bandit Leader's Right-hand man
- Ryu Seung-soo as Man-gil, Yoon Tae-goo's friend
- Song Yeong-chang as Kim Pan-joo
- Ma Dong-seok as Gom (Bear)
- Son Byong-ho as Seo Jae-sik
- Oh Dal-su as Park Seo-bang
- Uhm Ji-won as Na-yeon (cameo)
- Oh Yeon-ah as Japanese female train passenger (cameo)
