H D - S E N S E I

A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

New World aka "Sinsegye" [Blu-ray]

(Hoon-jung Park, 2013)

Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Theatrical: Sanai Pictures

Video: Eureka Entertainment

Disc:

Region: 'B'-locked (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 2:15:09.101

Disc Size: 39,125,523,208 bytes

Feature Size: 38,209,277,952 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.93 Mbps

Chapters: 14

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: January 15th, 2018

Video:

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio Korean 3519 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3519 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM Audio Korean 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

Subtitles:

English, none

Extras:

• Trailer (1:35)

DVD included

Bitrate:

Description: Slick edge-of-your-seat thriller and one of the finest gangster films for many years...

After receiving much acclaim for his screenplays for both Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw the Devil and Ryoo Seung-wan’s The Unjust, Park Hoon-jung made the transition to directing and with New World, established himself as one of South Korea’s finest directors.

When the chairman of South Korea’s largest crime syndicate is killed in mysterious circumstances, a complex and violent struggle for power takes place between the three most powerful figures in the Korean underworld. Meanwhile the police, led by section chief Kang (Choi Min-sik, Oldboy), have established operation “New World”, in an attempt to weaken the syndicate even further. However, Kang’s inside man, Ja-sung (played by The Housemaid‘s Lee Jung-jae), is nearing breaking point after eight years working undercover.

Highly praised upon release as one of the finest gangster films for many years, New World is a slick, edge-of-your seat thriller, and is not to be missed.

The Film:

For about half the film, Lee Jung-jae’s the lead. But then it switches over to Hwang Jeong-min, who kind of runs off with the picture. A lot of it is him facing off against villain Park Seong-Woong. Watching these two makes one forget Lee’s even in the picture–much less Choi Min-sik as the cop out to take down the gangsters–but director Park is able to bring it all back together.

Park never gets particularly showy with the direction. Beautiful photography from Chung Chung-hoon too. They’re both very controlled, making World an exceedingly measured, precise picture.

Excerpt from TheStopButton located HERE

Bestowed with a somewhat novel twist, Park Hoon-jung’s New World employs the good-guy/bad-guy power dynamic of the typical cop-gangster flick and treats it as the primary source of the story’s intrigue. But the mole-imbedded gang war at the heart of this film plays out less like an organic round of Go between cops and criminals than the elaborate scheme of one character operating like a sadistic Creator and wreaking havoc in the lives of his ants.

The seemingly omnipotent mastermind is neither a criminal genius nor dirty cop, but something/someone in between: police boss Chang (Choi Min-sik), who infiltrates a Korean criminal network fronted by a corporation called Gold Moon. He installs a number of spies into the gang for an intimate degree of intel—most of them don’t know the others are informants—and then plays them off each other alongside the gangsters in order to pick off throne successors one by one before the Gold Moon board of directors makes its final decision in selecting a new gang boss.

Excerpt fromSlantMagazine located HERE

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

New World is absolutely gorgeous on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment's 'Montage Films' release. The image quality is extremely tight and crisp on the dual-layered transfer with a high bitrate. The film was shot with the Red One Camera and the visuals are continuously impressive in many close-ups and fine detail in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. There is no gloss and plenty of depth with a slight green-cast at times. This is one of the more impressive 1080P images I've seen. It is flawless and looks totally pristine with, predictably, no damage or marks. This Blu-ray offers a rich, mesmerizing 1080P presentation. Exceptional.

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

Audio :

Eureka give the option of a DTS-HD 5.1 surround track at a whopping 3519 kbps or a linear PCM 2.0 stereo - both in original Korean and both in 24-bit. The surround has immense depth and plenty of impressive separation. It significantly adds to the presentation and augments the, already, dynamic, visuals. The score is credited to Yeong-wook Jo (The Handmaiden, J.S.A.: Joint Security Area, Public Enemy, I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, Old Boy, Thirst) and it supports the film extremely well. There are optional English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.

Extras :

Only a trailer but a second disc DVD is included.

BOTTOM LINE:
New World starts with intensity and slows ratchets up even further. Undercover law enforcement and ruthless criminal regimes make for strong suspense and this is an excellent crime-drama. New World is also a fabulous presentation on Blu-ray. Some extras would have been appreciated but this is still strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze

January 1st, 2018

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