In his breakthrough second feature, Bong Joon-Ho explodes the conventions of the policier with thrillingly subversive, genre-defying results. Based on the true story of a string of serial killings that rocked a rural community in the 1980s, Memories of Murder (2003) stars New Korean Cinema icon Song Kang Ho as the local officer who reluctantly joins forces with a seasoned Seoul detective (Kim Sang Kyung) to investigate the crimes—leading each man on a wrenching, yearslong odyssey of failure and frustration that will drive him to the existential edge. Combining a gripping procedural with a vivid social portrait of the everyday absurdity of life under military rule, Bong fashions a haunting journey into ever-deepening darkness that begins as a black-comic satire and ends as a soul-shattering encounter with the abyss.

Memories of Murder was one of the notable films back in the earlier 2000s that really opened my eyes to the film-making powerhouse that is South Korea, and indeed Bong Joon-ho as well. He of course went on to direct other impressionable films like The Host, Mother, Okja and of course Parasite.

I seldom double-dip movie titles that I already own, but as Memories of Murder is quite possibly my favorite South korean film of all times, certainly in my top 3, I had to pick up this new Criterion release, on account of the new 4K remaster as well as additional supplementary materials.

Here are some pictures of the blu-ray set and its contents –

(above & below) Memories receive the 2 disc release treatment, which is always welcomed as it usually means that the feature presentation can get a higher bitrate encoding on its own disc, and therefore the best possible video quality.

A Story In Three Parts –

I'm currently watching the supplementary materials on the @Criterion blu-ray release of Bong Joon-ho's Memories Of Murder (2003), and in this 2004 interview here are the director's famous last words – pic.twitter.com/P0ZYlCMuhS

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) June 12, 2021

(above) An amusing observation/conclusion that I noticed when watching Bong’s interview on one of the supplementary materials included.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

– New 4K digital restoration, supervised by cinematographer Kim Hyung Ku and approved by director Bong Joon Ho, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
– Two 2003 commentaries featuring Bong and members of the cast and crew, plus a new commentary featuring critic Tony Rayns
– New interview with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
– New interview with Bong about the real-life serial killer who inspired the film
– Documentary from 2004 on the making of the film
– Deleted scenes, with optional audio commentary by Bong
– New interview with film scholar Jeff Smith on the use of sound in Bong’s work
– Incoherence, a 1994 student film by Bong, with a new introduction by the director
– Teaser, trailer, and TV spot
– PLUS: An essay by critic and novelist Ed Park
– New cover by Greg Ruth

The 4K remastered print is by and large excellent in quality, although I’ve yet to do a side by side comparison with my existing Korean blu-ray to be sure. The overall brightness of the film is subdued, an intentional creative decision made by the cinematographer Kim Hyung Ku as he underexposed/underdeveloped the negatives. He also used the bleach-bypass technique that suppresses the color vibrancy of the print but with an increase in the contrast of the blacks, something that Janusz Kaminski did on Saving Private Ryan as well.

There are a healthy collection of extras included ( see details above ), and the new notable inclusions include a short interview with Guillermo del Toro as well as a 2020 interview with Bong Joon-ho by the film’s translater Darcy Parquet about the real-life serial Killer who was finally identified in 2019. In summary, Criterion has once again delivered a superb package for what is in my opinion one of the best South Korean films made in recent history, and this comes very highly recommended.

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