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Product Detail |
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Audio Format: DD 5.1, DTS
Video Format: Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic)
Languages: Korean
Subtitles: English, Korean
Region Code: 3
Year Made: 2003
Running Time: 127
Release Date: 05/26/2008
 THE CLASSIC is about two love stories that are divided by a gap of three decades, one in the 1960~70s' period and the other in the present time. Other films set in the past, such as BET ON MY DISCO and WET DREAMS have employed the kitsch code and are too childish, but THE CLASSIC distinguishes itself from these films with a sophisticated and composed depiction of both past and present. It aimed thus to help the audience experience nostalgia and to deliver to them the visual images of a beautiful and innocent love.
One of the central themes was the communication between the past and present, which is embodied in this film as the karmic connection between the love of Joo-hee and Joon-ha and that of Ji-hae and Sang-min. The rooms of Joo-hee in the 1960s and her daughter Ji-hae at present share a similar window frame, symbolizing the link between the love in the past and the present. And the small bridge over the brook where Joo-hee and Joon-ha first fall in love is precisely where Ji-hae and Sang-min confirm their feelings for each other.
Also, the necklace is another symbol that shows the destiny of love connecting the two different time periods. While the past and present is linked by these symbolic articles, the two time periods are visually differentiated in tone by camera work using the tobacco filter. Through countless testing of various filters to achieve the right color, the staff decided on using the tobacco filter as the ideal alternative to the traditional black and white contrast for distinguishing the past from the present. The result was an old-fashioned but elegant coloring of yellow and magenta that takes the audience pleasantly into the old times.
The buildings and the props that appear in THE CLASSIC foreshadow events in the film. When Joo-hee first meets Joon-ha, she asks him to escort her to the haunted house. The haunted house is deserted and forlorn, symbolizing hopelessness. The desolate setting where Joo-hee and Joon-ha fall in love hints that their love cannot bear fruit. Outside the film theater on the street where Joo-hee and Joon-ha meet are posters of Cleopatra and Roman Holiday, film classics about unconsummated love. The lamppost that stood for Joon-ha and Joo-hee's promise for a secret rendezvous remains unlit when their love is obstructed by others. Another important symbol is Joo-hee's home, which is a beautifully constructed but somberly gray building. It stands flanked by a retaining wall, which symbolizes Joo-hee's confinement in her father's influence. THE CLASSIC uses props, locations and situations that cryptically embody the sadness of a love that could not be.
One of the greatest tasks in filming THE CLASSIC was the casting. Especially difficult was finding the actress who could play both Joo-hee and Ji-hae in time periods thirty years apart. KWAK Jae-yong's final choice was SON Ye-jin, who he felt had just the look to embody the two female characters in the screenplay. He was right. The roles of Joo-hee and Ji-hae fit her like a tailored suit. She was no longer So-woon in the film CHIHWASEON, the woman Jang Seung-ub cherished in his heart for life, nor was she the pretty face Soo-in in LOVERS's CONCERTO. Then there is CHO In-sung, who became a TV idol with his appearance in the sitcom -New Non-stop- and the big hit mini series -Piano. It is not hard to see in this actor the character Sang-min, who is both an authoritative senior in the drama club who frequently scolds younger actors, and a timid young man, who cannot find the courage to confess his love for Ji-hae. Finally, there is CHO Seung-woo, who made a magnificent film debut with IM Kwon-taek's CHUNHYANG. He has already made a deep impression on film lovers with WANEE AND JUNAH and WHO ARE YOU? as an actor more seasoned than his age. In this film, he is perfect as Joon-ha, who suffers from loving the girl who is engaged to his friend.
Ji-hae and Soo-kyoung are friends attending the same university and both have a crush on Sang-min who is in their drama club. The more clamorous and outgoing of the two, Soo-kyoung, asks Ji-hae to do her a favor - write a love letter to Sang-min. Ji-hae pours out her own feelings for him on paper, but sadly in her friend's name. Touched by the letter, Sang-min is attracted to Soo-kyoung, and Ji-hae, feeling uncomfortable and even guilty, tries to avoid him. And yet by coincidence or by fate she keeps running into him.
Ji-hae has lived alone with her mom since her childhood, when her dad unexpectedly passed away. Her mom is now on a trip abroad, and to wile away her solitude she starts cleaning the attic. There Ji-hae finds a secret box, in which her mom kept the memorabilia of her first love story of some decades past.
Summer in 1968
Joon-ha is visiting his uncle's home in the countryside during his summer vacation. There he meets Joo-hee and falls in love at first sight. One day, the lovely Joo-hee secretly asks Joon-ha to escort her to a haunted house in the village. Happy and excited to be at her service, Joon-ha meets her at their promised spot. But in an unexpected storm, the two lose their boat and barely manage to return home at a very late hour. Joo-hee gets into big trouble for this incident and is sent back to Seoul. Having parted with Joo-hee without a word of farewell, Joon-ha spends the rest of the summer heavy-hearted.
With summer vacation being over Joon-ha also returns to Seoul. At school, his classmate Tae-su asks him to write a love letter to send to a girl. And who would it be but Joo-hee, Joon-ha's dream girl. Unable to confess his own summer love story, Joon-ha reluctantly complies with his friend's request.
CHRACTERS
A deep young man who rides his bicycle every morning
If I had a girlfriend like her, I can overcome any hill in life.
Joo-hee, Ji-hae/SON Ye-jin
Joo-hee
Joo-hee is the daughter of a well-off and successful politician. In a country village where she came to spend her summer vacation, she meets Joon-ha and falls in love with him. After returning home she encounters Joon-ha again at a place where she was scheduled to meet her fiancee her parents have CHOsen for her. Under pressure to marry another young man, she starts her own love with Joon-ha.
Ji-hae
She fell in love with Sang-min the moment she laid eyes on him. But her friend Soo-kyoung declares that she has a crush on him and asks Ji-hae to write a love letter to him in her name. Reluctantly, Ji-hae does as she is asked but is pained by her own love for him that seems beyond hope. But one day, she discovers in her mother's diary the secret of her first love, and is shocked by the striking similarity.
SON Ye-jin
Her first appearance on the silver screen was IM Kwon-taek's CHIHWASEON. She received rave reviews as So-woon, the lifetime love of Jang Seung-ub, played by veteran actor CHOi Min-shik. Her successful debut was followed by LOVERS' CONCERTO in which she appeared with CHA Tae-hyun and Lee Eun-ju. Estimated as one of the most promising young actresses, SON has both classical beauty and modern vivacity. In THE CLASSIC, she plays dual roles as Joo-hee and her daughter Ji-hae and their love for the two very attractive young men, CHO In-sung and CHO Seung-woo.
Chihwaseon (2002) / Lovers' Concerto (2002) / The Classic (2003)
Joon-ha/CHO Seung-woo
Joon-ha
Special Features:
Disc 1:
- Audio Commentary By Director
- Audio Commentary By Cast
Disc 2:
- Cast & Crew Interview
- Outtakers of Classic
- Deleted Scenes
- Continuty
- Still Gallery
- Art Work
- Letters & Diaries
- Trailer
- Music Video
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