Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Review: THE THIEVES (2012): Choi Dong-Hoon, Simon Yam

Simon Yam The Thieves

The Thieves (2012) Blu-ray Review, a movie directed by Choi Dong-Hoon, written by Choi Dong-Hoon, Lee Ki-Cheol, and starring Gianna Jun, Kim Hye-Su, Kim Soo Hyun, Kim Yun-Seok, Angelica Lee, Lee Jung-Jae, Oh Dal-Su, Kwok Cheung Tsang, and Simon Yam.

Release Date: February 12, 2013

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Film Review

The Thieves is a fun crime caper well-deserving of its Korean domestic gross of over $84 million, making it the most successful film in Korean history. Part Ocean’s Eleven part The Big Swindle and part The Italian Job, this film’s twists and turns will keep you engrossed from the opening art heist sequence through the ending credits. It is well-acted and funny; in a running joke, various characters are surprised when others understand them speaking in Cantonese, Mandarin, and Japanese.  (Dialogue is primarily in Korean.)

The film is perhaps not as action-packed as American audiences might expect, but the action sequences are well-thought-out and filmed to perfection.  Characterizations are well-developed with the spectrum from rivalry to love to friendship displayed. In contrast to Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job, this crew seems to be pursuing their own agendas adding a layer of intrigue to the plot; there truly is no honor amongst thieves.

The film avoids cliché with a convoluted, engrossing plot, skilled cinematography, and seasoned acting. The Thieves would be a great addition to your Asian cinephile collection.

The Thieves Bluray

Disc

Run time: 136 minutes
Format: Dolby, Widescreen
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Region: A
Language: Korean
Subtitles: English, Korean
Rating: Not Rated

Video

The Thieves is filmed in 1080P/MPEG-4 AVC encode with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The high-definition transfer is visually stunning with bright colors and high contrast. The casino scenes and city scenes best display the richness of color and fine detail. Colors are accurate and blacks are dark and inky. I noted only minor aliasing in a few scenes.

Audio

The Thieves DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is wonderfully lossless with great clarity. Some of the street scenes and casino scenes can seem “busy,” but overall, sounds are prioritized so that dialogue rises above ambient sounds, all with good directionality.

Blu-ray Bonus Content

Making Of The Thieves

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Interviews with the cast and crew, footage of the filming of some scenes, portions of some scenes that made the final cut.

Meet The Thieves Featurette

A glimpse into the actual actors who bring the characters to life.

Where you can purchase this Blu-ray

You can purchase The Thieves on Blu-ray here: Buy Now.

You can win a copy of The Thieves in our The Thieves (2012) Blu-ray Contest.

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Romney J. Baldwin

Romney Baldwin, Former FilmBook Writer, and Roaming, Pouncing writer-for-hire.
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