Tae Guk Gi - The Brotherhood of War
by Je-kyu Kang
List Price:
Our Price: $8.73
You Save: $6.22 (41%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.69 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Bin Won, Dong-gun Jang, Eun-ju Lee, Hyeong-jin Kong, Yeong-ran LeeDirector: Je-kyu Kang
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Kyung-Pyo Hong
Writer: Je-kyu Kang
Editor: Kyeong-hie Choi
Producer: Ha-na Lee
Producer: Seong-hun Lee
Writer: Ji-hoon Han
Writer: Sang-don Kim
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Korean (Original Language); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 148 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-02-15
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Tae Guk Gi - The Brotherhood of War
DVD Review: Ugly, Violent and Spares No Punches
Summary: 4 Stars
I think Tae Guk Gi is a very valuable and great war film that manages to stand out amongst a crowded genre. It has it's flaws, but Tae Guk Gi truly shows and tributes the soldiers of the Korean war from the Korean perspective. It's ultimate being a heartfelt, painful, and powerful open letter to the people who suffered, the everyday people through the harrowing emotions that almost any soldier in war suffers through. Tae Guk Gi works it's way into the hearts of most Koreans because it's easy to identity with, not being too far removed from reality, and concerns the emotional state that most of us can easily understand. Plus, it's a formidable and very strong war film, with a hellish depiction of combat, the emotional toll of the Korean War, and manages to, like any other great war movie, say some powerful messages about the reality of the war in question. Tae Guk Gi has pretty much everything in it to be a war film, and while not perfect, it succeeds and connects.
Tae Guk GI concerns two brothers, Jin-tae and Jin-Seok, who are separated due to the Korean War. While there, Jin-tae, who wants to make sure his brother can go to college, tries to win the Medal of Honor to send his brother home. It turns into a melting pot of hate and a vicious cycle that neither can eventually break out of. But most of all, besides being a personal story, Tae Guk Gi looks at the Korean War and examines it, showing how it split up families, caused hatred in one another, the toll back home, and various other topics concerning the Korean war. It also includes some very emotional and searing dehumanizing effects of war and it's participants, as it can be very emotionally powerful.
I'll get the iffy things out of the way first. While Tae Guk Gi benefits from a great screenplay, there's plenty of moments where Tae Guk Gi has points that make you question the believability. The concept of Jin-tae getting the medal so his brother can go home isn't that hard to believe so, but sometimes the battle scenes get a little silly. Sure, war has tons of acts of gods in battle, but come on, some of the Rambo scenes where he runs through bullets is a little hard to believe. The ending is especially theatrical, and is a part where you going to need to really consider the improbable in life. The scenes of hand to hand combat isn't very common in battle either, but it's hard to say because hey, what WOULD happen if everyone ran out of ammo? The score can be powerful too, but, unlike John William's somber and militaristic score for SPR, the score for Tae Guk Gi has constant use of strings, heavy choirs, and is very operatic, and not as distinct as William's masterful score. The film could have definitely used a more subtle score at times.
Despite all of this, this film is a truly powerful and noteworthy war film that deserves to be mentioned in various lists of war films worth seeing. The parallels of Saving Private Ryan have been beaten to death, but I think, like that film, it is effective because it presents the horrors of war down to earth and does so through battle and the searing emotional state that affects the common solider. It presents the Korean war in a way that anybody who has sympathy of compassion towards their veterans can easily be affected. It's easy to see how this film makes such a connection with the Korean people, and while the two films really aren't any much the same due to different wars and sides, there's no denying, like that other film, it affects tons of people because of it's emotional connection towards the people who endured the war the most in great quantities.
The other thing it shares with Ryan through is the same type of filming of battle scenes, which are often jaw dropping and bloody. Extremely graphic and very very wildly filmed (the camera almost NEVER stops shaking), this is probably one of the most graphic war movies I have seen, along with We Were Soldiers. Limbs getting blown off, blood spraying, bloody gunshots almost every time, graphic bayoneting, the massacre of a village where the bodies just flail wildly in gunfire, maggots caught in wounds, it's definitely extreme in it's violence. It's combat scenes are definitely hellish as well in the basic way, where there's tons of bullets flying everywhere and if you get hit or stop at once you WILL meet your death. There's some graphic violence not related to battle that's pretty violent too, such as a top viewed suicide and a village bomb that ends in guts ALL over the place. It's pretty self explanatory here, and they do not disappoint. They don't have as much emotion as other battle scenes, but they definitely are jaw dropping and smashing in it's depiction of combat.
One thing I would like to mention, is that, while I do not think it's the films fault, the subtitles don't translate as well, as I think this film really works best when you play it without subtitles. It's native tongue is much more powerful when it sounds like that. Another thing is the AWFUL English dubbing, which can be turned on if you want to unintentionally laugh at the film. It sounds like a very cheap anime, and the vocals are so, well, AMERICAN, that it just sounds funny and comical. Either way, avoid, the dubbing, and hey, if you really want to be adventurous, try watching it without the subtitles after watching the film with them on a couple times.
Anyway though, this is a great war film, and although it can be quite disturbing, it's a powerful and ugly look at the Korean War, and watching it may just let you understand the Korean war on screen. It's a post-Ryan war film that has it's own identity, and is infinitely more memorable than other similar fare like Days of Glory or The 9th Company. While a little theatrical, Tae Guk Gi is still a powerful and searing look at the Korean War, one that manages to be painful and harrowing at times, but essential viewing and will fill you with great respect for enduring the Korean War.
Description of Tae Guk Gi - The Brotherhood of War
In the powerful tradition of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers comes this box-office hit from Korea.From the director of Shiri comes the epic tale of two brothers. Jin-tae, a shoemaker, has worked tirelessly to provide money for the younger Jin-seok to go to college. But each of their hopes and dreams are shattered when both are forced to join the army against their will. Torn away from home and family, Jin-tae vows to protect Jin-seok despite the dangers?and the cost. In the searing crucible of battle, fate intervenes, forcing their bonds of faith, love and trust to be tested time and again in this suspense-filled, action-packed war drama.Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
When Trumpets FadeHBO HOME VIDEO; Release date: 1998-11-10; Published: 1998-11-01; DVD
Best price: $3.08
Price in other shops:
The BeastPATRIC,JASON; Release date: 2001-05-15; DVD
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and SpringSony; Release date: 2004-09-07; DVD
Best price: $7.54
Price in other shops:
J.S.A. - Joint Security AreaUniversal Studios; Release date: 2005-07-12; DVD
Best price: $15.02
Price in other shops:
MotherMHE; Release date: 2010-07-20; DVD
Best price: $7.67
Price in other shops:
ShiriSony; Release date: 2002-04-09; DVD
Best price: $19.39
Price in other shops:
9th CompanyWGU; Release date: 2010-08-31; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
OldboyRelease date: 2005-08-23; DVD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
The Man From NowhereRelease date: 2011-03-08; DVD
Best price: $12.24
Price in other shops:
Beneath Hill 60E1E; Release date: 2011-06-28; DVD
Best price: $13.41
Price in other shops: