Starring: Seol Kyung-gu, Miki Nakatani, Tatsuya Fuji, Masato Hagiwara, Masakatsu Funaki, Keiji Mutoh
Director: Song Hae-sung
Studio: CJ Entertainment
Rating: 12+
Genre: Drama
| Important! Please read before you order! |
| >>>This DVD is encoded for Region 3 (Southeast Asia & East Asia --- including Korea & Hong Kong). This DVD will NOT be viewable on regular DVD players made in other regions unless they are code-(region-)free DVD players. To learn more about the DVD Region Code, please visit our Help Page and read Info on DVD Region Code. |
About This DVD
A chronicle of the life of Korean-born wrestler Rikidozan, who, after being
barred from Japanese wrestling because of his ethnic origins, became a sensation
in the United States in the 1950s.
At its best moments, the new film "Yokdosan (Rikidozan)" blurs that seemingly
clear line between entertainment and reality. The dramatization of the life of
Kim Shin-rak, a Korean immigrant who became a wrestling hero in 1950s and '60s
Japan, the film often uses the "sport" as a way to portray the inner turmoil of
its main character, bringing a surprising ambiguity to his leg locks and karate
chops.
The film begins in the years before Kim (played by local actor Seol Kyung-gu)
became the celebrity wrestler Rikidozan, or Yokdosan in Korean. Immigrating from
what is now North Korea, Kim joins a sumo stable with hopes of becoming a
champion in the traditional Japanese sport. But despite his passion, Kim is
treated cruelly by his peers for being of "Choson" or Korean descent, and is
later barred from competing for the champion title of "yokozuna" because of his
ethnicity.
Just when it seemed that he's hit rock bottom, Kim gets his eyes opened to the
newly emerging style of wrestling in the United States, the predecessor to the
WWE we're all familiar with today. With the financial help from his patron and
crime boss Kanno Takeo (Fuji Tatsuya), Kim goes to the U.S. to learn the moves
and returns as a star, one of the first to bring the sport to Japanese soil.
Through fixed matches where Kim takes on and bests various "American foes," the
wrestler becomes the pride of post-war Japan. The irony that Rikidozan is
actually Korean - a fact that wasn't widely known in Japan at that time - isn't
lost on director Song Hae-sung, who plays out the contradiction through the
spectacle of a wrestling match.
For much of the movie, Kim's outsider status becomes the driving theme, and his
frustration is expressed through his tendency to go to extremes. The cartoon
violence of professional wrestling slowly becomes intertwined with Kim's
belligerence and his constant need to prove himself, to best opponents in and
out of the ring.
There's a hint of Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull" here, but unlike that classic
film about boxing, "Rikidozan" pulls back on the reins before things get overly
gut wrenching.
In fact, there's a feeling of punches being pulled throughout the film, as it
doesn't seem to know whether it wants to make Kim out to be a hero or show him
for who he truly is. Instead, the film carefully tries to do a little of both.
If nothing else, "Rikidozan" will hold historical interest for describing the
life of a famous Korean immigrant. Also, the lengths to which Seol went to play
the character from putting on some 16 kilograms to portray the larger and
heavier wrestler to intensively studying Japanese is admirable.
| Audio Format: | DD 5.1 Surround |
| Video Format: | Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic) |
| Languages: | Japanese |
| Subtitles: | English, Korean |
| Country Made: | Korea |
| Region Code: | 3 |
| Year Made: | 2005 |
| Running Time: | 139 |
| Special Features: | DISC 1: - Audio Commentary by Director, Cast and Staffs DISC 2: - Production Notes - CG & Visual Effects - Location in Japan - Production Design - Epilogue of Production - Deleted Scenes - Promotional Materials - Trailer - Teaser Trailer |
| Availability: | Usually ships in 5-10 days |
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