I have seen only a handful of films from Korea, but so far they are all very well-made. Korea has really put itself on the cinematic map in the last decade. What are some of the best Korean films you have seen to date?
My top 5
1. Oldboy
2. Memories of Murder
3. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
4. The Host
5. Oasis
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2100086/
http://www.slateofmind.com
So far, my top 5 films from South Korea are:
1. Memories of Murder
2. Mother
3. A Tale of Two Sisters
4. A Bittersweet Life
5. I Saw the Devil
Oldboy
The Good the Bad the Weird
Mr. Vengeance
Memories of a Murder
The Man from Nowhere
(I still have yet to see A Tale of Two Sisters or Oasis or I Saw the Devil or even JSA but they're atop my list!!)
There's some really good recommendations here in these lists.
I've watched a few Korean movies, here's a few that I really liked:
Hot For Teacher
Christmas in August
Daytime Drinking
1. sympathy for mr vengeance
2. brotherhood of war
3. i saw the devil
4. no mercy
5. memories of murder
6. kimssi pyoryugi
7. the chaser
8. a bittersweet Life
9. my way
10. The good the bad and the weird
Still have a ton of Korean movies I want to see, but so far my top 5:
1. Memories of Murder
2. Oldboy
3. A Moment to Remember
4. JSA
5. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
Wow there are quite a few great suggestions here! My favorites in no particular order are:
Memories of Murder
The Guard Post
The Good, the Bad, the Weird
Private Eye
The Thieves
not in order, is hard to order them:
Welcome to Dongmakgol
A bittersweet life
Oldboy
JSA
New world
For the longest time I'd only seen the Vengeance trilogy, but recently I've been watching lots of Korean movies and absolutely loving it, I think it's the best cinema going today. Now, I've only seen 21 titles, so this list is sure to change over time, but for now, my top 5:
1. Memories of Murder
2. Mother
(Joon-ho Bong #1! His blend of dark comedy and storytelling is right down my alley.)
3. Masquerade
(This is the only Korean costume drama I've seen but it's absolutely beautifully made, and funny. Kind of like a more light-hearted 'Kagemusha'.)
4. The Chaser
5. I Saw the Devil
(Two excellent examples why Korea makes the best thrillers. Dark and brutal. I prefer Chaser as it's more grounded and therefore a little more gripping and affecting. ISTD is a bit ridiculous. But both are stunning and flawlessly directed.)
--- grethiwha -------- My Favourite Films:
http://www.imdb.com/list/Bw65XZIpkH8/
4 pages of films and no mention of these (unless I am mistaken)
Moebius
Pieta
Plastic Tree
1. Oldboy
2. A Bittersweet Life
3. Memories of Murder
4. Failan
5. The Chaser