Korean Title: Arahan Jangpoong Dae-jak-jeon
Starring: Ryoo Seung-Bum, Ahn Seung-Gi, Jung Doo-Hong, Yun So-Y
Director: Ryoo Seung-Wan
Studio: Cinema Service
Rating: 12+
Genre: Action

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About This DVD

The comic action film "Arahan" received the grand prize of this year's Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival at the event's closing ceremony.

"Arahan" was directed by Ryoo Seung-wan and starred the filmmaker's actor brother Ryoo Seung-bum as a policeman who taps into Taoist superpowers to save the world. The festival called the film "amazing combination of fantasy, martial arts and comedy" in its press release announcing the winners.

In its eighth year, the festival, also known as PiFan, was held for 10 days in seven locations in Puchon, Korea. The festival features sci-fi, fantasy and horror films from here and abroad. A total of 261 short and feature films from 32 countries were presented during the festival period.


URBAN MARTIAL ARTS ACTION

What is ARAHAN?: When the ch'i powers of Maruchi and Arachi who have reached the status of the enlightened are joined, they attain the way of Arahan, or Arahat, as described in Buddhist scriptures. Arahat is the term for a sainthood in Theravada Buddhism, for which an individual has obtained the nirvana by overcoming all attachments and understanding the principles of the universe. It is also spelled "Nahan" in Korean.

The RYOO Brothers Meet Martial Arts Director JUNG Doo-hong: Beyond Blood Ties. The top Master-hands band together for this project! Brothers RYOO Seung-wan and RYOO Seung-bum meet again as a director and a star, for the first time since their independent debut film, "Die Bad". This fact signals a landmark in the history of Korean cinema. It means far more than two real-life brothers collaborating on one film project. "Arahan" is the first film that these two "cinema kids," who had demonstrated their powers through independent films, have decided to work together, after proving themselves in their respective commercial projects. RYOO Seung-wan has stated, "The best thing I have done in my life was not debuting as the director of "Die Bad", but employing Seung-bum as an actor." Director RYOO, who had recognized from the beginning his brother Seung-bum's talent, is the only one who can extract and display to the audience the total sum of what RYOO Seung-bum could show and what he could not show… until now. For "Arahan", the RYOO brothers are joined by their former collaborator on "No Blood No Tears", the martial arts expert JUNG Doo-hong, who has earned a solid reputation as both martial arts director and actor over the years. Working closely as a team, they have generously shared their expertise in direction, performance and martial arts with one another, putting together detailed visual continuities for the film, six months prior to the commencement of the principal cinematography. The fateful second get-together of these master-hands, upgraded in skill and ever more experienced, is one element that sheds bright light onto the future of the "Arahan " project.

Beyond Limits: Special wire action and elaborate CG effects - CG by INSIGHT VISUAL of "TaeGukGi" - : The action sequences of "Arahan" are centered on the innovative combination of realistic bodily action moving at lightening speed, and the recreation of old-style martial arts pushed to the limits of one's imagination. Within the time frame of contemporary Korea, warm and familiar characters encounter boundless fantastic imagination, creating cinematic fun unseen in any other film. All the film's major actors trained hard to perfect their swordmaship skills and wire action. RYOO Seung-bum and YUN Soy had to perform, among other sequences, a high-speed chase from one skyscraper to another, crashing through windows and jumping across roof-tops, as well as the never-before-attempted underwater ch'i energy duel. The two leads had to train six hours every day for three months to perfect their martial arts and wire action. Not only them, but also the veteran actors who play the Seven Masters, including AHN Sung-ki, BAEK Chan-ki and KIM Young-in, threw themselves into the tough training sessions, so as to capture the authenticity of the tough action sequences. The filmmakers also employed computer-generated effects which have taken more than six months to complete, to create such fantasy sequences as the firing of the ch'i power and traversing skyscrapers. Perfectly illustrating the moment of Eastern serenity that cuts through the dynamic action and the violent yet harmonious interaction between the push and pull of the swords, these sophisticated special effects are raising high expectations that "Arahan" will showcase powerful, transcendent action sequences never before seen in Korean cinema.

Audio Format:	DD 5.1 Surround, DD 2.0 Stereo, DTS
Video Format:	Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic)
Languages:	Korean
Subtitles:	English, Korean
Country Made:	Korea
Region Code:	3
Year Made:	2004
Running Time:	114
Special Features:	Disc 1 - Audio Commentaries: - by Director & Ryu Seung-Bum - by Critics & Press Disc 2 1. Mind Master 2. Martial art Movie History 3. Making of Film 4. Interviews with 9 Casts 5. Interview / Commentary by Director & Staff 1) Production Note 2) Director 3) Action 4) Art 5) C.G. 6. Deleted Scenes 7. Behind The Film 8. Trailer 9. Trailer for Overseas 10. TV Spot 11. Poster 12. Premier Scenes 13. Easter Egg
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