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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate" or "Saenghwalui balgyeon" )

directed by Sang-soo Hong
South Korea 2002

"Even though it is difficult to be a human being... lets not turn into monsters, okay?"

 

Renowned Korean director Hong Sang Soo's 2002 film Turning Gate (a.k.a. On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate) is an offbeat comedy, an astute character study, and a revealing vision of this thing we call romance. From Virgin Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors to Woman is the Future of Man to Woman on the Beach, Hong Sang Soo films may not be heartwarming, life-affirming affairs, but they are always keenly insightful with wry humor, intuitive dialogue, and observant details. An arthouse offering with crossover appeal, Turning Gate explores many of the themes seen in Hong's earlier and later films.

Actor Kyung Soo (Kim Sang Kyung, Memories of Murder) leaves Seoul to visit an old classmate. The reunion with his friend does not amount to much, but the trip does lead to some romantic encounters. He gets involved with two women, first a young college student (Ye Ji Won, Old Miss Diary) whom he leaves without a moment's thought and then a woman (Chu Sang Mi, Everybody Has Secrets) whom he deems his fated partner. As Kyung Soo becomes increasingly invested in this second relationship, he begins to notice certain coincidences and similarities that recall past pairings, blurring his conception of exactly which woman, which relationship, he is so desperately holding on to.

Poster

Theatrical Release Date: March 22nd, 2002

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Comparison:

 iVision -  Region 0 - NTSC vs. Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC vs. Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) iVision - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT

2) Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT

 

Covers

 

   

Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best...

Within North America:

Outside North America:

Distribution iVision / Cinexus - NTSC - Region 0 Tai Seng Video - NTSC - Region 1

Cinema Service

Region FREE - Blu-ray

Runtime 1:55:36   1:55:36  1:55:49.484 
Video 1.78:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / anamorphic
Average Bitrate: 5.88 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
1.75:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / anamorphic
Average Bitrate: 5.88 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 24,256,050,945 bytes

Feature Size: 20,215,087,104 bytes

Average Bitrate: 19.96 Mbps

MPEG-4 AVC Video

Bitrate: IVision

Bitrate:  Tai Seng

Bitrate:  Blu-ray

Audio Korean (Dolby Digital 5.1 )  ,  Korean (Dolby Digital 2.0 ) Korean (Dolby Digital 2.0), DUBs: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 2.0) DTS-HD Master Audio Korean 1746 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1746 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Korean 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles English, French, Korean and None English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and None English, Japanese, Korean and None
Features Release Information:
Studio: IVision

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1

 

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentaries in Korean (no Eng subs)
• Cast & Crew (4 static screens in Korean only)
• Highlights of the film (non-anamorphic - no subs) (10:48)
• Making Film (3:26)
•  Theatrical Trailer (1:32) (No Eng subs)
• Photo Gallery (14 photos in a zooming slideshow - 1:09)

DVD Release Date:  February, 2003
Keep case inside handsome cardboard box
Chapters: 8

Release Information:
Studio: Tai Seng Video

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.75:1

 

Edition Details:

• none

DVD Release Date:  November 29th, 2004
Transparent Keep case
Chapters: 12

Release Information:
Studio: Cinema Service

Aspect Ratio:1.78:1

Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 24,256,050,945 bytes

Feature Size: 20,215,087,104 bytes

Average Bitrate: 19.96 Mbps

MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• 3 Audio Commentaries in Korean (NO Eng subs)
• Highlights of the film (non-anamorphic - no subs) (10:50)
• Making Film (3:27)
•  Theatrical Trailer (1:35) (No Eng subs)
• Photo Gallery (14 photos in a zooming slideshow - 1:09)

Blu-ray Release Date: May 2nd, 2013
Case: (see photo below)
Chapters: 9

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION - Cinema Service - Region FREE Blu-ray - September 2013: The superiority of the 1080P really brings out the artifacts in the SD transfers. This is a greatly improved image (and audio) - it was like seeing the film all over again. Detaikl advances incredibly and there is depth. This film look like it was shot on HD... and the inferiority of the DVDs might make those weaknesses more prominent. The single-layered Blu-ray looks super by comparison, but also not perfect in some spots with brightness flaring.

Il Won's score is graceful and benefits from the lossless DTS-HD Master rendering. Separations are subtle. There are optional English (and Korean and Japanese) subtitles and the disc is region FREE.

Extras mimic the iVision DVD (minus the 'Cast and Crew' static bio pages) with the unsubtitled commentaries, making of, trailer etc.

I can't say that this Blu-ray will be the definitive Home Theatre A/V release but it's not a bad bet and I can also see this going OOP what with the region free status (which Cinema Service may not have licensing for). Fans of the film should definitely indulge.

***

ADDITION: Tai Seng - Region 1 - NTSC - Oct 05': This release is the poor cousin to the out-of-print IVision edition that I feel quite lucky to own. The benefits of the Tai Seng are that it allows North American DVD players to view it (being region 1- NTSC - NOTE: IVision also can be played on standard NTSC players), has removable English subtitles (mostly error-free), is extremely reasonably priced and the quality is very tube-acceptable. Most every facet of the IVision is superior - color, sharpness, brightness - but the variance is acceptable, in my opinion, to nab the cheapo Tai Seng and view the marvelous film, especially if you have never seen it. The Tai Seng has 'combing' as it is not progressively transferred and it has no extras, but, in my view, for less than $10 it is a decent, if not stellar, purchase.

***

Anamorphic image quality. The iVision shows chroma. I didn't notice any edge enhancement but there are artifacts.  The English subs are excellent with no visible grammar or spelling mistakes and are shown on a bold white font with a black border. The sound is available as 5.1 and is excellent. The Extras are a better than standard, but the 3 audio commentaries are only in Korean with no English subtitles that I could find. This is a very good film! out of  

Gary W. Tooze

 

Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray Package

 


Menus

 (iVision - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC RIGHT)

 

 

Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

Subtitle sample

 

1) iVision - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) iVision - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) iVision - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) iVision - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) iVision - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) iVision - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) iVision - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Tai Seng - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cinema Service - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

More Blu-ray Captures

 

Covers

 

   

Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best...

Within North America:

Outside North America:

Distribution iVision / Cinexus - NTSC - Region 0 Tai Seng Video - NTSC - Region 1

Cinema Service

Region FREE - Blu-ray


 




 

 

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Gary Tooze

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