"A KOREAN SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" (THE INDEPENDENT)
Taking its title from the name given to the Korean flag, BROTHERHOOD (Taegukgi) is an epic tale of brotherhood, loyalty, heroism and lost love set against the backdrop of the 1950 to 1953 Korean War. Brilliantly directed by acclaimed director Kang JeGyu (Shiri; The Gingko Bed), and featuring graphically realistic battle sequences, it is a deeply moving and frequently harrowing war movie that ranks alongside the likes of "Saving Private Ryan" and, "can compete with any war film made anywhere in the world" (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY). Now this powerful film is being released as a two-disc special edition DVD packed with over five hours of extra features.
Hoping to save enough money to send his younger brother, JinSeok (Won Bin), to university, Jin Tae (Jang DongGun) makes a meagre living as a shoe-shine boy in a small South Korean town, while his mother is assisted in the running of the family's noodle shop by Jin Tae's girlfriend, YungShin (Lee EunJoo). Their lives are turned upside down by the sudden invasion of South Korea by the Communist forces of North Korea. The invasion act provides the catalyst for a bitter conflict that would eventually last for three bloody years. When JinSeok is unwillingly conscripted to fight in the war, Jin Tae enlists himself in the same army troop, leaving behind both his mother and his lover. His intention is to protect his brother until such time as he is able to send him back home to relative safety. Without any money or influence, Jin Tae's only hope of saving his brother is to volunteer for a succession of suicidal missions in a bid to earn the coveted Medal of Honour and then use his status to gain JinSeok's release from the army. But JinSeok misinterprets his brother's actions as a foolhardy mix of patriotism and an obsession with fame and glory and begins to resent Jin Tae and everything he appears to stand for. It is a misunderstanding that results in tragic repercussions for both brothers and for those they love.
BROTHERHOOD (Taegukgi) is "powerful, passionate film-making on a truly epic scale" (TIME OUT) that further confirms Kang JeGyu's status as one of the most talented and commercially successful directors working in Asian cinema today.
BROTHERHOOD: PLATINUM EDITION (cert. 15) will be released on two-disc DVD (£19.99) by Premier Asia on 15th September 2005. BROTHERHOOD will also be released as a one-disc rental DVD on 8th August 2005. The PLATINUM EDITION features include Exclusive feature-length audio-commentary with Asian Cinema Experts, Bey Logan and Mike Leeder, Tears of Fire: an explosive Making-of' documentary for Korean cinema's most successful movie ever, History through the Lens: on-location featurette detailing the challenges of bringing Brotherhood to the big-screen, Captain's Orders: an exclusive interview with action-director, Jung Doo-hung, Battle Plans: an animated gallery featuring the production's original storyboards, The Colours of War: an evocative animated photo gallery, Don't look back in Anger: a retrospective documentary featuring Korean War veterans and archive footage, 1950 Re-lived: a historical black & white featurette covering the effects of the Korean War, Honoured in Dispatches: Interviews with acclaimed cast members, Brotherhood: a behind-the-scenes featurette exploring the themes of friendship in the midst of conflict, Special Operations: a featurette detailing the logistical challenges of Korea's biggest ever movie production, Digitally re-mastered and restored 21:9 Anamorphic version enhanced for widescreen TVs, Dual Language Format (English Dubbed and Korean Language with re-mastered English subtitles), DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks, Trailer Gallery, Fully Animated Menus.
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