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Product Detail |
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Audio Format: DD 5.1
Video Format: Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic)
Languages: Korean, Thai
Subtitles: English, Thai
Region Code: 3, PAL
Year Made: 2006
Running Time: 101
Release Date: 08/03/07
While in reality Korean high schools are all about studying until late at night, "Riverbank Legends" ("Gangster High") is one of Korean high school films with male protagonists for whom studying is not an issue. They spend their days establishing their names as the toughest fighters, in this case, by proving who rules the riverbank.
Director Jo Beom-goo succeeded in making Riverbank Legends ("Gangster High") an entertaining and fun film without many pretensions. The film borrows from many of the stereotypes used in these films about male friends in high school, but also offers some variations.
The stereotypical elements are found in the characterizations of the film's three friends. Park Geon-hyeong plays the toughest and most skillful fighter. He's the brooding quiet type, doesn't talk much, but his presence makes him the undisputed leader. Lee Cheon-hee's character is the more dreamy type. He isn't as skillful, but when they fight he transforms into a tough fighter. The third character _ played by MC Mong _ is the fast talker and the joker. The fact that he isn't much of a fighter means that his loud words are often not followed up by actions.
The storyline differs from other films of the same genre such as the 2001 movie "Friend" by Director Kwak Gyeong-taek, which was an intense drama and study of group dynamics, or "A Romance of Their Own" ("Temptation of Wolves" - Kim Tae-gyoon, 2004) that includes rivalry over a girl.
Riverbank Legends remains the story of three friends, two of the protagonists who engage in a relation with a woman, but it's not much more than a footnote. The relationship between the friends doesn't undergo much change. Time passes by, they graduate from high school and for a while Park's character disappears. Situations change, but the characters do not develop, remaining virtually the same. Other elements are added to the plot, but without much more result than more fights to engage in.
An element that works well in Riverbank Legends is the humor, which through its characterizations, dialogue and plot make up a lot for the underdeveloped areas of the film.
The fight scenes are also worth mentioning, they are kinetic and well choreographed. Park's character as the top fighter has some slick moves, but it always stays within the believable. The scenes offer exhilaration, but never take you out of the film's story with spectacular moves that demand all your attention, rather, the way they fight illustrates their characters with Park's and Lee's characters always keeping an eye on MC Mong's during a fight.
Riverbank Legends story hasn't much depth and the characters are the usual stereotypes found in these films. However, all the elements together make for an entertaining film; the action, humor and a tale of friendship easily make up for what it lacks.
Sang-ho and his friends Jae-gu and Chang-bae create a boys soccer club called "Tigers". Sang-ho, whose main passions are hitting the books and kicking a soccer ball, meets Su-hee through Jae-gu. Su-hee is polar opposite from Sang-ho. While he is the model student and athlete, Su-hee is a tough but pretty problem student. Their differences inevitably draw them together. But Su-hee belongs to Jong-suk, the leader of a teen gang calling themselves "T&T". The Tigers soon find themselves engulfed in a battle with T&T. When Sang-ho's friends become seriously injured during a fight with T&T, Sang-ho makes a choice he can't go back on.
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