empire of lust ( hangul : 순수의 시대 ; rr : sunsuui sidae ; lit . " the age of innocence " ) is a 2015 south korean period film starring shin ha-kyun , jang hyuk , kang han-na and kang ha-neul .

empire of lust

empire of lust ( 2015 ) korean movie review : game of . . .
added first stills for the upcoming korean movie
empire of lust
, . . .
[ by nawael khelil ] shin ha kyun gave historical pieces a first try with ‘empire of lust’ .
added new posters and stills for the upcoming korean movie
empire of lust
, . . .
added first trailer and stills for the upcoming korean movie
empire of lust
, . . .
the movie
empire of lust
now can be seen at home . cj entertainment movie
empire of lust
now can be watched in the comfort of iptv , digital cable and online mobile vod services , . . .
added new 30s trailer and stills for the upcoming korean movie
empire of lust
, . . .
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empire of lust
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looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing empire of lust near you .
jang hyuk ' s character trailer released for the upcoming korean movie
empire of lust
, . . .
added new 2nd trailer and character posters for the upcoming korean movie
empire of lust
, . . .
actress oh yeon - seo poses at a press preview of the film
empire of lust
in seoul on monday , . . .
empire of lust
and
glory for everyone
available on dvd with english subtitles from yesasia , . . .
preview stills of movie ,
empire of lust
have been unveiled . on march 5th , cj entertainment posted through their official facebook ,
let ' s celebrate today ' s film release of
empire of lust
! huge release of the exclusive preview stills . ta - da
, . . .
actress kang han - na attends a press junket for her new film
empire of lust
in seoul on tuesday , . . .
the still images of characters from ' empire of lust ' unveiled . on january 21st , the film ' empire of lust ' released the character stills featuring the three men , shin ha - kyun , jang hyuk , and kang ha - neul , who lived their lives in the difficult time in joseon , . . .
kang han - na ( left ) and shin ha - kyun pose at a press preview of their new film
empire of lust
in seoul on tuesday , . . .
it means that if you do not like korean drama’s family centric soap operas , “ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) does not have much to offer .
however , 15 minutes into the movie , it was very evident that “ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) was a small scope “soap opera” centered around a single family .
added shin ha - kyun and kang han - na ' s character trailer , new poster and videos for the upcoming korean movie
empire of lust
, . . .
“ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) feel much like 20 episode korean historical drama compressed into a movie . as result , the different plot lines do not mesh well together . it does seem that huge chunks of story had been removed . however , for what it is , “ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) is at minimum feels somewhat coherent than what you would expect .
meanwhile , ‘empire of lust’ is set to hit korean movie theaters in march and will star shin ha kyun , jang hyuk or kang ha neul . ( photos by two rabbit )
story structure wise , “ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) is a solid 3 act structure movie . i can always appreciate structurally tight movies which are quite rare in korea . the problem with “ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) is not with the story structure but the fact that 3 rd act feels like a rushed rewrite for the purpose of forcing more “melodrama” at the end .
if you literally translate the original korean title of this movie , you would get “ age of innocence ” and not “ empire of lust ” . i think “age of innocence” may be a little better suited for this movie since this movie is such a romance “soap opera” .
i will give “empire of lust” ( 2015 ) a “c + ” grade which is the best i can do for a movie that is miscast and has a terrible 3 rd act .
empire of lust
actress , kang han - na had a photo shoot with bazaar . the pictures show kang han - na wearing a simple but elegant white dress , looking innocent and graceful . she ' s smiling slightly towards the camera and this is a contrast to her image in the movie
empire of lust
where she is seductive with a killer glance , . . .
his amazing acting earned him the nickname of ‘ha kyun god’ ( it’s a play on words with his family name as ‘shin’ means ‘god’ in korean ) and cinema lovers and mass public are more than excited with the news of one of the nation’s top star finally embodying korean history with ‘empire of lust’ .
“ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) seems to have decided to chuck out the “drama” in favor of the “melodrama” . . and for the most part , this is not a bad idea . a lot of korean dramas are purely focused on “melodrama” and work well .
jang hyuk is starring in the movie
empire of lust
. he will be co - starring with shin ha - kyun , kang han - na and kang ha - neul , . . .
director ahn sang - hoon’s “empire of lust” is indicative of this . in the movie , the “blind” ( 2011 ) filmmaker reproduced a deadly power struggle from the seventh year of joseon when king taejo refused to nominate his son , yi bang - won , as his successor .
ga - hee , left , played by kang han - na , entices kim min - jae , played by shin ha - kyun , in the upcoming film “empire of lust . ” provided by the distributor
korean movies opening today 2015 / 03 / 05 in korea :
empire of lust
,
granny ' s got talent
,
dog eat dog
and
barracks
, . . .
in “ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) , there are basically about 4 action scenes in total at best . while i could say that they are not terribly choreographed , they feel more mechanical than interesting .
‘empire of lust’ may be the actor’s first war movie , he practiced and perfectly digested sword fighting and , with his signature dramatic yet modern interpretation of love , he will take us to a new world where hatred , ambitions and love try to survive altogether .
however , “ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) does not bother much with historical accuracy . you basically just have to know that , in the early years of the joseon dynasty , the princes born from different mothers fought over the claim to the throne .
“ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) is a historical period piece movie “loosely” based on the real life events of “ the 1st conflict between the joseon princes ” . i have a historical feature about this event here if you want to give it a look .
actress roh haeng - ha has been cast for the movie
empire of lust
. double m entertainment claims roh haeng - ha is starring in the movie with kang ha - neul and kang han - na , . . .
kang ha - neul ' s movie
empire of lust
is about the troubles of a prince amongst the debate of who will be the next prince . kang ha - neul ' s role of jin is only grandchild to jeong do - jeon and general kim min - jae ' s son . he is also the son - in - law of lee seong - gye . he only searches for his pleasures , . . .
the cast for “empire of lust” pose for a photo at a press event in apgujeong - dong , southern seoul , on tuesday . from left , shin ha - kyun , jang hyuk , kang han - na and kang ha - neul . [ newsis ]
child pictures of the actress kang han - na from the movie
empire of lust
have been revealed . the fantasio official facebook revealed pictures of the actress ' s innocent past . as a young girl , kang has pretty feature not much different today . her dimples and long legs and arms prove she ' s a natural born beauty , . . .
yes . . there are a lot of sex scenes . . that ' s why its name empire of lust . i ' m not focus on the bed scene . . . the strength of this movie is lays on actor jang ( he acted with excellent as a prince yi bang won ) . i already repeat many times watched this movie because of jang hyuk excellent face expression . . you can see he is full of greed and ambitious for this role
for most of the time spent watching the movie , i could say that “ empire of lust ” ( 2015 ) did not offend . and , if the 3 rd act did not fail to nail the already paid in full courtesan , i would not have remembered it negatively at least . however , the 3 rd act just left a bad taste in my mouth .
empire of lust ’s biggest flaw is in trying to cram a grand romance as well as complex royal intrigue into one film when each story would have been better served by getting more attention in construction . the sheer amount of story leaves little time for shin , one of the korean industry’s strongest actors who deserves more recognition , and kang , saddled with yet another role where a woman is defined by rape , to create characters we can connect with . similarly jang’s politically ambitious brother is reduced to standard conniver and kim ha - neul plays the misogynistic jin as a 14th century bro . by the time kim’s last desperate stand arrives , it becomes a matter of how beautifully photographed the doomed lovers’ demise will be , not if there will be a demise . empire of lust isn’t inept , or even particularly dull , it’s just familiar .
‘empire of lust’ depicts a story of bloody ambition during the joseon dynasty . and it’s the first historical screen job of shin ha kyun . the actor debuted with ‘the happenings’ in 1998 and built an amazing filmography since then : ‘joint security area’ , ‘sympathy for mister vengeance’ , ‘save the green planet’ , ‘welcome to dongmakgol’ , ‘thirst’ , ‘the front line’ , or more recently ‘big match’ , shin played various strong characters but never gave any try to historical movies .
formerly known as
the age of innocence
on hancinema synopsis the love and betrayal , loyalty and revenge , amongst the first prince ' s hardships during the confusion of the establishment of the joseon , after the fall of koryeo . source
jermaine fowler and omari hardwick of sorry to bother you take us back in time to the worst jobs of their careers .
a brilliant general distinguishes himself by protecting the dynasty ' s borders while keeping an eye on one of the sons of the king .
the kingsman
' s reign continues unchallenged… last weekend british spy flicks
kingsman : the secret service
and
the imitiation game
ruled at as the country ' s number one and two , claiming just under a million admission between them . the later lost its footing and fell to third , but matthew vaughn ' s
kingsman
managed to retain its place as korea ' s film of choice despite the arrival of ahn sang - hoon ' s period drama ,
empire of lust
, . . .
a sensuous film that weaves a love story , betrayal , and two tales of revenge together within the context of late 13th century korean court intrigue .
“i’ve come across many historical scripts , but this came into my attention for its heavy treatment of the emotions of desire and love , ” said shin .
ever so loosely based on the first ( allegedly ) inter - monarchy conflict over who becomes heir to the joseon throne , empire of lust largely jettisons historical accuracy in favor of sumptuous production design , costumes and keenly choreographed violence . that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if the actors and storytelling were more compelling than they are . too much plot , a lack of focus and a disturbing reliance on sexual assault to generate momentum ( and “define” characters ) will make the film a hard sell , even within asia where the strong cast is made up of uniformly familiar faces . overseas interest will be limited but not non - existent , as the cj brand carries weight and lushly mounted martial epics with decent action and strong production values regularly generate some curiosity . still , empire ’s reach should be restricted to asian - focused festivals and perhaps targeted release in urban markets .
kang ha - neul can be said to be the best actor when it comes to portraying youth these days . he played lee hyo - sin in
the heirs
, jang baek - ki in
incomplete life
, booma jin in
empire of lust
and kyeong - jae in
twenty
. kang ha - neul is another youth in
dongju , the portrait of a poet
. he is yoon dong - ju , a young man who dreamt of being a poet during the japanese invasion when name , language , dreams and everything else was under control , . . .
as stately and richly produced as it is , empire of lust is a period soap opera , and though the title hints at a post - 50 shades welcome bit of bodice - ripping ( or han - bok ripping ) erotica , that’s not what it is in execution . it would be easy to expect something reminiscent of e j - yong ' s reserved but fairly , ahem , lusty untold scandal ( a korean spin on dangerous liaisons ) but empire has a decidedly nasty edge to it that gives the considerable sex scenes a bitter taste . even still , following an info - dump opening fight sequence and a debate at court led by the king’s conniving counsel jeong do - jeon ( lee jae - yong ) —complete with titles identifying the players and their positions—the film settles down into serviceable melodrama territory .
hyun - woo , who is the sole witness to the murder of a taxi driver , is accused of committing the crime and persecuted and prosecuted . he is sentenced to a sentence of ten years . an . . . see full summary »
the secret life of walter mitty ( 2013 ) : prof akia ' . . .
shin ha - kyun ' s first adult rated film
empire of lust
recorded 320 , 000 in the first week of its release and came in second at the box office . despite the fact that it is adult rated , it only recorded half the record of
kingsman : the secret service
. the results can only be disappointing as the movie was released in great anticipation with shin ha - kyun ' s intense ' bed scene ' alongside jang hyuk and kang ha - neul ' s performance . the audience gave a thumbs up to the actors ' performance but they don ' t think the sexuality is sexual enough and the story is just not that great , . . .
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the movies follows the incident known as the second battle of yeonpyeong which happened in 2002 .
“i found my character min - jae pitiful , being trapped in the desires of others . ”
if you want too see the ass of the main leads this is the movie for you .
on one side , you have the king and his youngest son born of the second wife .
actress kang han - na writes in two journals every day . one is a journal for the actress and one is a personal daily one . it ' s a habit from university . she even wrote another diary while she was filming the movie
empire of lust
. this would be impossible without passion for her work . she learned endurance through ballet . she ' s the last one out of three sisters and started to learn ballet along with her sisters when she was 5 years old . ten years after learning ballet she reached a wall and realized she couldn ' t step over the boundary . quitting ballet was how she started to act , . . .
the joseon dynasty ( 1392 - 1910 ) has always been a popular period of inspiration for korean producers and filmmakers because the juicy affairs it is known for are open to all sorts of reinterpretation .
“and according to what i’ve studied , yi bang - won , who reflects both aspects of the literati and the militants [ of the time ] , differed a lot from his current pervasive image . in the process of filling the missing parts in , i came up with some imaginary characters and plotlines , ”
k - films coming soon : ★★★
dog eat dog
: two vigilantes get bitten back by a gang that targets koreans abroad . ( 03 / 05 ) ★★★
barracks
: a group of friends are lured into a private camp with a mad instructor who ' s out to get them . ( 03 / 05 ) ★★
granny ' s got talent
: a foul - mouthed granny takes part in a national cussing contest . ( 03 / 05 ) ★★★★
empire of lust
: a joseon commander has to mind a scorned prince as well as a conniving gisaeng during a volatile time in the kingdom ' s founding . ( 03 / 05 ) , . . .
in the upcoming movie ( march ) , shin plays kim min jae , a brilliant admiral who distinguished himself in a war while protecting the borders of the recently established joseon empire from external threat . he is a really cold character who never really wanted anything yet finally discover something – or someone – that generates protective feelings from his supposedly frozen heart .
” version of his typical character he is actually doing in “shine or go crazy” ( 2015 ) now .
actress kang han - na , who shined as the captivating courtesan in the movie
empire of lust
, has been cast in mbc ' s new weekend drama
mom
( written by kim jeong - soo ; directed by oh kyeong - hoon ) according to her agency fantagio on the 31st . she will be playing kang yoo - ra who is an attractive rich girl who captivates men with her quirky charms . it is expected that the character , even though she comes from a rich family , will do the same for the audience with her cool charm you cannot hate even if you try , . . .
the music was fine , but i would not rewatch this movie , it was a waste of my time .
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empire of lust
genres : drama and epics running time : 113 min . directed by : ahn sang - hoon starring : shin ha - kyun , jang hyuk , kang ha - neul , kang han - na synopsis : during the volatile period of the chosun dynasty ' s founding , army commander kim min - jae keeps careful watch on the ambitious prince yi bang - won , who is not satisfied with his title as the fifth in line to the throne . min - jae ' s life becomes entwined with that of ga - hee , a beautiful gisaeng , when he spends a bewitching night with her and soon takes her as his concubine . but there is more to ga - hee than what meets the eye . beneath her noble exterior lies a woman who insinuated herself into min - jae ' s life with a heartbent on vengeance , . . .
jang hyuk begins shooting in taiwan , what does the korean media think of the
avengers
? , fabien introduces a couple of new local releases , and the 16th jeonju international film festival gets under way , . . .
while just a backdrop , the “c” plot comes upfront in 3 rd act . this is expected because of the nature of the events being used in the movie . it is not difficult to have the “a” and “b” plots feed into the “c” plot . until the start of the 3 rd act , everything was ready for this to happen .
the fact that he isn’t recognized by his own father pushes him into a dark world full of women and alcohol .
the “c” plot’s development in the 3 rd act turned out to totally negate the need for either the “a” and “b” plots to exist . this means that most of the movie had no real relevance to the outcome of the movie .
however , this is actually more of the “c” plot . the “a” plot is a love story where the silent stoic type
min - jae is played by maverick actor shin ha - kyun who is attempting his first period film role in 18 years . min - jae holds a great deal of power in his hands , but he achieved none of it on its own .
an orphan becomes the disciple of a powerful sorcerer and is drawn into a larger conflict among the world ' s magical elite .
plays the third prince who was the de facto political / military leader of his side even though he was not the eldest son .
however , this body building is not for the action since he actually does not do much of it . rather , it is for sex !
“the missing and suspicious records between the latter part of goryeo and early joseon was what aroused my interest , such as those regarding the yi bang - won rebellion and the death of jeong mong - joo , ” said ahn at a press conference on tuesday at apgujeong cgv , southern seoul .
watching this movie is like watching a play , not a amazing shakespeare type of play but a decent one . that involves greed , jealousy , betrayal , vengeance and lust . to be honest i would have been bored watching this in theaters , but if i saw it while flipping through the channels it would have been a alright watch . the story isn ' t very coherent and it doesn ' t flow very well when it comes to the context of the plot . it ' s basically like watching one of those historical korean dramas except with nudity and a lot of blood . it ' s just not a very stand out movie and can be easily forgotten . this would have been a television movie if it was made in the u . s . the acting was mediocre at best with performances that works for the most part but nothing groundbreaking . even jang hyuk who is a actor i actually like just chuckled all the way through it ( when you see this film you will know what i mean ) . the love and lust aspect of this movie is the main thing going on in the story but the political parts of this film just felt like it was thrown in there and made the whole thing drag on . despite it playing a somewhat pivotal part near the end , but it ' s just really boring to sit through . because there is almost nothing interesting about that banter and it ' s just doesn ' t come off as something important when it comes to the story . overall , this is a alright tv watch but that is about it . 5 / 10
unlikely allies from different sides of the law must work together to achieve a common goal - - trapping the world ' s most legendary con man .
” is on as the main military figure for his side . on the other side , you have the older brothers born of the first wife .
the pictures and video used in this review are done for criticism purposes and are the properties of those copyright holders . this is review is mine .
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we talked about how we should take better care of her as an actress ,
he said .
i think i felt morally uncomfortable .
but then kang ha neul knew beforehand that his character in
the age of innocence
was not a very nice one . the character of jin is so unlikable that his agency was initially against kang taking the role . but he wanted to try being bad . he saw it as a challenge .
a high school student discovers he is an ajin , a demi - human being . he ends up a fugitive on the run because of his powers .
yi bang - won is played by jang hyuk , a regular in historical films who explained that he focused on the “emotional and individual aspect” of his role .
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strange as it may be , the royal politicking is not , in fact , empire ’s narrative engine . during a banquet in his honor , kim comes to the defense of a courtesan , gahee ( kang han - na ) , who’s being harassed by jo . one thing leads to another and kim winds up taking gahee as his mistress . palace intrigue being what it is , gahee has an ulterior motive—one that stems from yet another rape by jin—and she’s very carefully and deliberately inserted herself into kim’s life . alert the media : she develops genuine feelings for him .
set in 1398 . kim min jae is the supreme commander of the joseon dynasty . he falls in love for the first time and for that woman he takes risks .
two fictional characters were added to the plot - min - jae , a faithful general , and his conniving son jin - both of whom cause a major love triangle and power struggle .
other sex scenes , at least , show there is caring and love between the couple . later , of course , there is stunning photography that makes you , almost , forget the rest .
the story of joseon ' s tyrant king yeonsan who exploits the populace for his own carnal pleasures , his seemingly loyal retainer who controls him and all court dealings , and a woman who seeks vengeance .
with jurassic world : fallen kingdom now in cinemas , we take a look at how imdb users rated the films of the franchise . plus , browse exclusive lego® jurassic world playsets , presented by lego .
set in 1398 . kim min - jae ( shin ha - kyun ) is the supreme commander of the joseon dynasty . he falls in love for the first time and for that woman he takes risks .
he ' s the son of the nation ' s supreme commander , played by shin ha kyun and he ' s the king ' s son - in - law . and because he is barred from participating in public office , he lives a pointless existence in pursuit of pleasure . jang hyuk plays the ambitious prince yi bang won . he helped his father set up the dynasty but was not chosen as his heir .
yi bang won is the king’s son . he helped his father set up the joseon dynasty era , but he was not picked as the crown prince . he still holds ambitions of becoming the king one day .
i did not want to lose this chance ,
he said at a press conference for the film .
i wanted to try my hand at acting a role that is the epitome of underhandedness .
“i considered the flow of emotions as the most important part . love scenes were considered necessary and natural when depicting a love between a man and a woman , but i didn’t emphasize them either , ” the director said .
twenty
starts , and scores… lee byeong - heon - i ' s
twenty
entered the fray last wednesday and dominated proceedings over the weekend by capturing 48 % of box office pie . the film , which stars kim woo - bin , junho and kang ha - neul , attracted an impressive 852k filmgoers across 925 screens to end the weekend at the top ; albeit during a quiet week in terms of turnout , . . .
you will get a notification at the top of the site as soon as the current price equals or falls below your price . you can also optionally receive an email notification ( sent only once ) , this is specified in your
yi bang - won ( jang hyuk ) is the king’s son . he helped his father setup the joseon dynasty era , but he was not picked as the crown prince . he still holds ambitions of becoming the king one day .
kang han - na posted an instagram picture saying ,
ha - neul took this picture of us
. shin ha - kyun and kang han - na are posing for the camera with big smiles on their faces , . . .
acting can take you places you would never go in real life . the kindest and gentlest of k - drama actors can find themselves filming scenes in which they cheat , murder , rape and maim other characters . and that can be hard to film and recover from .
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and i do have to say that they are not boring . the cinematography is rather artistic and tasteful with some breast and bottom action . but what makes it not boring is that the movie does put the effort to shake things up with the actual positions of the sex acts .
set in 1398 . kim min - jae ( shin ha - kyun ) is the supreme commander of the joseon dynasty . he falls in love for the first time and for that woman he takes risks . yi bang - won ( jang hyuk ) is the . . . see full summary »
set in 1398 , kim min - jae is the supreme commander of the joseon dynasty . he falls in love for the first time and for that woman he takes risks . yi bang - won is the king¡¯s son whose father setup the joseon dynasty era , but he was not picked as the crown prince . he still holds ambitions of becoming the king one day . jin is kim min - jae¡¯s son and the king¡¯s son - in - law . due to his position as the king ' s son - in - law , he is unable to take part in politics and only seeks out pleasure .
this movie actually doesn ' t have a story , they tried it by throwing in some political stuff , which was quite incoherent , it was all about the erotic scenes to be honest . it just doesn ' t flow and it is lacking almost everything , from character development and loads of movie mistakes .
march will be a month of competition between kang ha - neul and kang ha - neul . on february 5th , film
twenty
has announced they will release the film sometime in march .
twenty
stars kang ha - neul along with kim woo - bin , and junho , . . .
there is a familiarity to the film . however , there are disturbing scenes of lost innocence ( hence the name , i suppose ) . the initial sex scene , with jang hyuk , is a surprising addition spliced with the bloodlust of a battle scene . it represents what is happening in the bed , in my eyes . there is no eye contact , at all . that may be that hyuk was embarrassed or his acting method revealing that the encounter meant nothing to him emotionally , as the ambitious prince . either way , it is interesting . jang hyuk never disappoints , that i ' ve found , so far and maintains his daringness and versatility .
it’s late in the 14th century , the joseon dynasty is still in its nascent stage , and korea is in chaos . foreign armies are invading and palace intrigue is brewing at home under king taejo ( song byung - ho ) . two of the king’s finest generals return from battlefield victory , one being rising star kim min - jae ( shin ha - kyun , thirst , sympathy for mr . vengeance ) , the other an ambitious rival jo young - kyu ( choi moo - sung ) . the two appear , on the surface , to be on opposite sides of the power struggle led by lee bang - won ( jang hyuk , the flu ) , a prince who has been passed over for the throne by a younger sibling . elsewhere , kim has an entitled dirtball of a son , jin ( kim ha - neul , twenty ) who spends his spare time luring unknowing young women to tucked away shacks and hosting gang rapes with his equally entitled friends . charming .
i feel offended by your statement that the movie is primarily focused on women . as a woman i don ' t like watching rape , meandering plot or bad acting , but i also enjoy good fighting scenes , intriguing plot and well shot sex scenes . you should ' ve just said that the movie is bad , without dissing have of the potential public .
set in 1398 . kim min - jae ( shin ha - kyun ) is the supreme commander of the joseon dynasty . he falls in love for the first time and for that woman he takes risks . yi bang - won ( jang hyuk ) is the king ' s son . he helped his father setup the joseon dynasty era , but he was not picked as the crown prince . he still holds ambitions of becoming the king one day . jin ( kang ha - neul ) is kim min - jae ' s son and the king ' s son - in - law . due to his position as the king ' s son - in - law , he is unable to take part in politics and only seeks out pleasure .
set in 1398 . kim min - jae ( shin ha - kyun ) is the supreme commander of the joseon dynasty . he falls in love for the first time and for that woman he takes risks . yi bang - won ( jang hyuk ) is the king ' s son . he helped his father setup the joseon dynasty era , but he was not picked as the crown prince . he still holds ambitions of becoming the king one day . jin ( kang ha - neul ) is kim min - jae ' s son and the king ' s son - in - law . due to his position as the king ' s son - in - law , he is unable to take part in politics and only seeks out pleasure . ( less )
after reading your review , seems like the movie is only for the erotic side , i ' m a fan of jang hyuk n kang ha neul , do they have sex scene also with kang han na ? what a rookie ! dare to bare all for this movie , but she looks beautiful indeed . the cinematography is rather artistic and tasteful with some breast and bottom action . wow even doggy style , is her breast small ?
whiplash
for the win . . . damien chazelle ' s
whiplash
rose to the top of the pile over the weekend having entered the fray last weekend in fourth . the film , which is based on damien ' s experiences in the princeton high school studio band , claimed 374k ( 24 % ) over 574 screens to top the chart , brining its total tally in korea now to 825k , or $ 5 . 9m , . . .
the kingsman
falls to
the deal
. . . british spy flick
kingsman : the secret service
was finally , and narrowly , dethroned at the top of the pile over this past weekend . the action comedy has been reigning atop the korean box office for a few weeks now , but was finally outplayed by son yong - ho ' s crime thriller
the deal
, starring kim sang - kyung , kim sung - kyun , and park sung - woong , . . .
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you have got to let your good looking men grow up a little . the character that had the most sex scenes was kim min - jae with the woman that he loved dearly . as for your poor sweet innocent kang ha neul you just seen his butt ( if it was really his ) and some boobs in this movie . . the movie itself was very hard for me to understand since the english subbing was so whacky . . what i understood the most was the love story between kim min - jae and ka - hee . so many comments from people who got so bent out of shape over some tastefully done sex scenes is beyond me .
i praised the actor who actually did such a challenge character , but i ended with lost interest when they ' re going to have some explicit sex scenes , it ' s just like a cheap person that actually come to my mind , how brilliant their acting because it didn ' t help , so now is korean really copycat a hollywood ? i read kang ha neul was so frustrating because he has morality breakdown after doing that , but on top of that i was really shocked there is kang ha na who played yeon hwa doing such this scene , i think whatever they done behind the camera in their real life , but i really hate when actors / actresses having sex scene on the screen . .
will tv stars have the same effect in theaters ? films are continuously being released in theaters this march . those who have been effective in tv are lining up .
granny ' s got talent
is being released in may . kim soo - mi who plays the dirty - mouthed granny is the hottest star on tv right now . she ' s starring in the mbc weekend drama
the legendary witch
with a record of near 30 % every episode as fellow inmate yeong - ok . in
granny ' s got talent
, she stars as a granny who participates in a swearing battle and here she lets off her mouth which isn ' t always so bad to hear , . . .
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rising actor kang ha - neul , who rose to stardom through the immensely popular office - based drama series “misaeng , ” plays min - jae’s spoiled son jin .
“i was taught that there is no evil cause behind every bad character . in that bad guy’s perspective , the things he does are for rightful and just reasons . i played my character with that in mind . ”
the 26 - year - old actor also said that he had to engaged in many risque scenes with new actress kang han - na , which he said were the most “memorable” moments while filming .
the film hasn’t received a rating yet , but insiders expect it to be 19 or over .
the bnt news provides the latest news coming with 6 languages including korean , english and french leading not only cultural but also industrial korean waves .
jin ( kang ha - neul ) is kim min - jae’s son and the king’s son - in - law . due to his position as the king ' s son - in - law , he is unable to take part in politics and only seeks out pleasure .
this is a beautifully filmed love story that includes revenge jealousy and rivalry . the sex scenes were appropriate and not contrived . . . . . that shin ha - kyun has a body to die for ! ! i liked it and watched it twice . tastefully done .
when i saw ha neul ' s sex scene . . . . omg why ? no i wont watch the movie ! i was looking forward to lovely cute kang ha neul !
yup . . there ' s kang haneul sex scene . . . bye bye innocent kang haneul . . * gonna cried * but his acting is really excellent . . but it hurt my heart : ' (
ok so can anyone tell me if kang ha neul has any graphic sex scene in this movie ? i want to maintain his boy next door innocent image in my mind so if he has one , im not gonna watch this . kthxbye
there are certainly enough great bodies to appreciate in this movie but try to concentrate on the acting and story .
predictable story ? maybe . but still worth a watch if you are mature enough to deal with it .
jang hyuk is just beautiful ! ! ! ! ! ! that is all . . . ,
i ' m gonna be watching this for jang hyuk . he looks smexy in period dramas / movies . while i ' m currently loving his sloppy yet intelligent character in shine or go crazy , i think this would be a good change - up . he ' s always so good in everything he does . hope this movie does really well !
i ' ll be in korea by march . i hope that i ' ll have the chance to watch jh movie and able to see him on person
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the king’s son - in - law . due to his position as the king’s son - in - law , he is unable to take part in politics and only seeks out pleasure . ( source : cj entertainment )
the actors tried , i am amazed that they didn ' t turn this offer down because they should . how could they read the script and thought ' lets do this ' . no , they should have declined it .
they tried it , and their butts and bodies looks amazing but that should not be the main theme about this movie .
watch this if you want to see ( hot ) naked men and bloody scenes .
skip this if you are looking for a movie with a coherent story , full character development and great acting .
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a historical drama set in the koryo dynasty and focused on the relationship between a king and his bodyguard .
a game planner turns the entire city into a board game , through technology , with the citizens as the pawns .
hee - soo is a lonely composer who is not doing very well with her work . new ideas flow when she meets a high school boy who wants to learn how to play the piano .
set in 18th century korea , long - ruling king yeongjo ' s struggle with his son , sado , sees the king take extreme measures in order to deal with his heir .
a new born girl is placed in a coin operated locker in the subway station . the girl is raised by a mother who is the boss for a loan shark group . later , when the girl has grown into a teen , . . . see full summary »
explore popular and recently added tv series available to stream now with prime video .
as the major korean release in march and a movie starring primarily tv korean drama lead actors , you have to ask yourself the following question .
this is an interesting question ! i would have to say that it depends… on whether you are a hard core korean drama lover or not .
” and brings her into his household where he has a wife , a stepson , and a daughter in law who just happens to be a princess .
this son displays perverted behavior towards the new woman his father brought into his home .
since the son is a pervert , you know he is watching the two have sex from the shadows .
there is technically no incest in the movie . but what do you call trying to rape your father’s girlfriend ?
as a side note , i have a thing about korean movies and dramas ripping off well - known foreign titles .
i actually went into the movie pretty blind other than catching the trailer which told a story about political intrigue and fighting between men .
’s character and his new girlfriend “banging” each other and how that affects his other family members .
the movie does not really care about the story in the larger political arena . the best it can do is to have supporting characters shouting at each other with high tension music playing a few times .
while i do appreciate some interesting sex scenes , story function wise , some felt rather redundant .
” ( 2015 ) is an attempt to establish themselves as viable leading men in korean movies . however , for
his role is actually a second tier supporting character whose screen time is less the 15 minutes . he is nowhere an equal lead to
simply does not have the gravitas or menace the role in this movie requires .
has is basically the brooding stoic type that does not talk much . it is essentially “
’s wolverine” but with even less talk and no humor or sarcasm at all . while
is a great acting talent , just being silent and brooding simply is not where his talents lie .
also has problems with a role which requires a more multifaceted actress . the role has several different faces that need to be displayed on screen at different moments and she cannot really handle it .
since the “ king and the clown ” ( 2005 ) became a hit , korean movies had many attempts to make decent historical period movies . however , i do think the most failed because the stories never were able to balance “drama” with “melodrama” .
” ( 2015 ) is not a total failure also . considering the rather strong emphasis on the sexual , “
” ( 2012 ) could be seen as being similar . compared to that movie , “
as so , there was no reason for the movie to have 2 rape scenes .
thanks for reading this article . please comment below and you can do it as a guest .
also , it would be appreciated if you donate what you can towards the site . thank .
not much with jang hyuk . kang ha neul has rape scenes kang han na is lightly endowed
waiting in the hallway for a math class to release was not the place to read this review ! i could just imagine the three previous commenters meeting up in the theatre lobby .
lightly endowed ?
bendy positions ?
too much drama ?
meh , let ' s go see roaring currents again .
i ' m prof . akia and i talk about # korean # dramas and # movies ! . . . email : akoreaninamerica @ urltoken
intimate enemies / 나의 절친 악당들 ( 2015 ) korean movie r . . .
the silenced / 경성학교 : 사라진 소녀들 ( 2015 ) korean movie r . . .


gleason is an american documentary film released in 2016 , covering five years in the life of the former new orleans saints football defensive back , steve gleason , who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( als ) , sometimes known as lou gehrig 's disease , a rare incurable autoimmune condition associated with the former new york yankees baseball star , lou gehrig , who died from the disease in 1941 .

gleason ( film )

sundance kids this section of the festival is especially for our youngest independent film fans . programmed in cooperation with utah film center which presents the annual tumbleweeds film festival , utah’s premiere film festival for children and youth .
“gleason” premiered at the sundance film festival to a standing ovation , garnered an audience award at the sxsw film festival and a special jury prize at the full frame film festival . the documentary also recently won the special jury prize at the seattle international film festival .
the film , which played at the sundance film festival earlier this year , follows the life of former new orleans saints player steve gleason after his als diagnosis .
amazon studios has bought u . s . rights to clay tweel’s steve gleason documentary “ gleason , ” four days after its premiere at the sundance film festival .
gleason ' s documentary begins at the end of his football career . sports illustrated released a preview of the film ( which can be seen below ) before the sundance film festival in january .
gleason
didn ' t start out as a feature film . rather , it was something much more personal - intensely so - that was begun by gleason himself in 2011 .
img films , a division of the sports agency , financed “gleason” along with team gleason members and new orleans saints player drew brees . microsoft and go pro also supported the film .
a picture caption on friday with a film review of the documentary “gleason” referred incorrectly to the child of steve gleason , the subject of the film , and his wife , michel varisco . the child , rivers , is their son , not daughter .
consequently , any thoughts of cutting them from the film were fairly quickly disregarded .
the film had already screened at january ' s sundance film festival . in addition , gleason and varisco showed it to a hometown crowd in june at the orpheum theater in new orleans . in both cases , it was enthusiastically received .
sundance film forward is a touring program which introduces a new generation of audiences to the power of story through the exhibition of film and conversations with filmmakers to create greater cultural awareness .
steve gleason with his wife and son . photograph : allstar / open road films
steve gleason is the man leading the battle against als , or lou gehrig ' s disease . diagnosed at 34 , gleason ' s body began shutting down .
on the one hand , it ' s a stark and honest portrait of what it ' s like to live with als . but it ' s also a multi - layered love story - between gleason and varisco , between gleason and new orleans , between gleason and his father , and between gleason and his unborn son .
the final push to finish gleason began in earnest in the winter of 2015 , with the goal of submitting the film to the 2016 sundance film festival . the filmmakers had seven months to whittle down more than a thousand hours of footage into a coherent , feature - length narrative .
fostering artists at the convergence of film , art , media , live performance , music & technology .
programs for utah audiences to experience independent film , theatre , and music through free screenings and discussions .
woven throughout is an inspirational story that lives up to the
no white flags
mantra gleason has preached through his team gleason foundation ever since his 2011 diagnosis .
amazon studios has bought u . s . rights to clay tweel’s steve gleason documentary “gleason , ” four days after its premiere at the sundance film festival . “gleason” centers on the former nfl player who revealed in 2011 that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also known as lou gehrig’s disease . the disclosure came five years after [ … ]
the former eight - year nfl veteran explains the story behind his new film , which details gleason’s struggle with als and how it ' s affected him , his wife and young son .
john cooper , director of the sundance film festival , said , “the sundance film festival is truly a place for discovery . we have seen an increase in younger audiences in recent years , showing that the next generation of independent film fans is culturally adventurous and drawn to the diverse lineup we offer each year . ”
buy dvd distributor open road films and amazon studios runtime 110 min rating r year 2016 director j . clay tweel screenwriter j . clay tweel cast steve gleason , michel gleason
amazon has partnered with open road films to co - release gleason over the summer .
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the film - making might not be particularly polished , but the subject matter of this documentary is wrenching .
diagnosed with als , former nfl football player steve gleason starts to record video journals for his unborn son .
gleason
movie times , release date , and more : urltoken
scott fujita , a friend and former saints teammate of gleason ' s who came on board to help produce the film , describes what the team called
fireside chats
over beer and pizza in the backyard of fellow
gleason
producer kimi culp , an old college friend of varisco ' s .
if this film portrait stirs deep emotions , they spring from a breathtakingly unsentimental embrace of life at its most challenging .
one comes to distrust gleason ’s pathos , because the documentary always appears to be selling something .
tweel has crafted a film that goes beyond the facts of gleason ' s football life . it promotes an awareness of als that trumps any well - intended ice - bucket challenge - and ranks as a profound achievement .
gleason manages to instill those triumph - of - the - human - spirit feelings despite , or maybe because of , the unvarnished and uncomfortable look into the life of gleason and those around him .
variety and urltoken both report that amazon studios has picked up distribution rights to gleason , j . clay tweel ' s documentary about former new orleans saints player steve gleason and his battle with als :
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on the day director clay tweel screened his first cut of gleason for its two central figures , former new orleans saints safety steve gleason and his wife , michel rae varisco , a handful of the couple ' s closest confidants gathered in their living room . in addition to tweel , gleason and varisco invited two of the film ' s producers , seth gordon and kimi culp , as well as michel ' s father , team gleason executive director paul varisco . the mood was one of apprehension , anxiety , even panic .
gleason opens at the theatres at canal place , amc elmwood palace and nationwide friday , july 29 .
the blocked punt embodied the tenacity and resilience of the city , and later , of gleason himself .
gleason is the man leading the battle against als , or lou gehrig ' s disease . als is a terminal disease with no cure . diagnosed at 34 , gleason ' s body began shutting down .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
it is so rare to experience an honest film even in documentary circles which often are laced with political , theoretical or philosophical agendas . this film packed a punch and was so hard to watch yet was so refreshing to experience . must see ! !
the trio developed an immediate rapport , and despite gleason ' s deteriorating health , there was much in life to enjoy and capture on film , from newborn rivers to the launch of team gleason , a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of als and providing cutting - edge technology , equipment and services to those stricken with neuromuscular diseases .
amazon studios and open road have released the first trailer for the emotional and captivating documentary “ gleason . ”
updated : amazon studios and open road said today that gleason will open on july 29 in north america .
we see the ups and downs of steve gleason ' s public battle with als in a heartwarming documentary .
you don ' t need to know steve gleason ' s name to be enraptured by his extraordinary story .
the power of clay tweel ' s tear - jerking documentary , based on gleason ' s video diaries , comes from the honesty and humour with which gleason presents the gradual loss of control over his bodily functions .
there are no featured audience reviews yet . click the link below to see what others say about gleason !
( at the outset , gleason worked with sports filmmaker sean pamphilon , who wound up releasing some damning behind - the - scenes saints footage without gleason ' s permission that helped document the
bountygate
scandal . pamphilon is not mentioned or credited in the doc ; reps say that a small portion of the final film was shot by him . )
gleason , very raw and real in every way . steve is such an amazing inspiring human being ! ! ! gleason ' s documentary of the twisted insane roads he and his loved ones must come to . . .
soon , though , the story of gleason developed another twist , one that reshaped the film yet again . the following spring , pamphilon left the project altogether , and gleason described himself in a statement as
deflated and disappointed .
pamphilon had become , per the title of a 2012 gq profile ,
the man in the middle of bountygate .
one comes to distrust gleason ' s pathos , because the doc always appears to be selling something .
park city , utah - - days after its sundance premiere , the documentary gleason was purchased by amazon to be released this summer . the announcement was made on january 28th about the film documenting the spokane native and former nfl star’s battle with als .
in january , five years after gleason ' s diagnosis , gleason debuted at the sundance film festival , receiving praise for the dauntless depiction of als that this tight - knit family of filmmakers and subjects had created during years in the trenches together . open road films and amazon signed deals for theatrical and streaming distribution ; michel , whose talent for drawing features prominently in the film , sold 10 prints at a post - premiere event , her first public showing of her art . in a sense , the response signaled an end of an extended period of tumult and the beginning of a new stage . call it gleason ' s unseen epilogue .
that april , against gleason ' s wishes , pamphilon released a four - minute compilation of excerpts from his recording .
it would ' ve been easy to play gleason ' s story for sentimental uplift meant to inspire others to live life to its fullest , or as a feature - length fundraising ad for the team gleason charity assisting those living with als ,
variety ' s geoff berkshire wrote in his review of the film .
' gleason ' may accomplish both of those things anyway , but any such benefits come honestly and without manipulation by inviting viewers along on an intimate journey and holding nothing back .
for new orleans saints hero steven gleason and his wife , michel rae varisco , however , it was anything but typical .
when it does , it will accomplish one of gleason ' s main goals , which is to raise awareness of als .
“gleason” open in select theaters in new york , los angeles , san francisco , seattle and new orleans on july 29 .
the director of the documentary said they were handed 1 , 300 hours of private video from gleason and his wife michel .
this particular carpet had been rolled out just for them , as it turns out , and for the premiere of the documentary
gleason ,
a film praised as both powerful and inspiring - and , at times , unexpectedly funny - - for its chronicling of their family ' s struggle since learning in 2011 that gleason was suffering from the degenerative neuromuscular disease als , or lou gehrig ' s disease .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
at the age of 34 , steve gleason , former nfl defensive back and new orleans hero , was diagnosed with als . doctors gave him two to five years to live . so that is what steve chose to do : live . this film incorporates personal video journals from gleason for his then - unborn son to footage of his adventures undertaken as part of his mission to live his life to the fullest .
amazon has bought theatrical , tvod and svod rights , and is partnering with open road films to co - release “gleason” theatrically .
previous exclusive : amazon studios is closing a deal for all u . s . rights to gleason , one of the most acclaimed documentaries to premiere at this year’s sundance film festival . the docu focuses on steve gleason , a former nfl defensive back who played for the new orleans saints and was a local hero there who blocked a punt in the first game when the superdome reopened after the devastating hurricane katrina . he was diagnosed with als at age 34 and given five years to live . through vividly shot video journals that are a big part of the film — gleason wanted to leave a record of his life for his unborn son — director clay tweel shows how gleason took that to heart to live life as fully as one possibly can . since his diagnosis , gleason has : gone skydiving , interviewed pearl jam , spoken at the united nations , starred in a super bowl commercial , attended the state of the union address , helped pass the steve gleason act , founded the largest als research project in the history of the disease , and started one of the world’s most recognizable als organizations , team gleason . and most importantly , he became a father . the footage was shot over a period of four years .
the fate of the project was unclear . david lee , hired by pamphilon earlier that year , texted gleason saying he was still available to shoot . on easter sunday , lee filmed a family barbecue ; within weeks , gleason asked him to record the placement of a feeding tube in his stomach , putting lee into the kind of private , uncomfortable situation that distinguishes gleason from similar documentaries .
the seattle - based documentarian made run ricky run , a documentary about former saints and miami dolphins star ricky williams in 2010 for espn films ' popular series 30 for 30 . pamphilon approached gleason in the spring of 2011 about collaborating on a film and contributing to gleason ' s growing video archive — which the father - to - be saw as a chance to communicate with his child before the worst ravages of als took hold .
tweel , who previously directed finders keepers , is also editor of gleason and the film is produced by seth gordon ( the oscar winning sports docu undefeated ) , kimi culp , scott fujita , tom lavia , kevin lake , mary rohlich and thomas mceachin . mark shapiro and will staeger are exec producers . the docu was financed by img films , a division of the sports agency , along with a large group of donors / supporters surrounding team gleason that includes exec producer paul varisco and new orleans saints quarterback drew brees . microsoft and go pro also supported the film , which premiered sunday at the marc theater .
though gleason and michel continued to film each other throughout the rest of 2011 , setting up and shooting became more difficult as gleason ' s illness progressed , and the amount of footage pamphilon wanted to gather was too much for the couple to handle on their own . with pamphilon splitting time between seattle and new orleans , the decision was made to bring on a part - time videographer . that summer , 22 - year - old ty minton - small , just out of college , responded to a craigslist ad and prepared for his first assignment : recording the birth of rivers varisco gleason .
i ' m biased , but i have to say that ' gleason ' will break your heart and make it more whole than ever before ,
duplass said .
it will kill you and resurrect you with new life . it ' s hard to exaggerate the beauty and impact of this film .
( l - r ) 11 . 22 . 63 , credit : alex dukay ; sundance film festival , credit : jemal countess ; eagle huntress , credit : asher svidensky .
in opposing public statements , gleason and pamphilon disputed the terms of a four - page agreement reached at the beginning of their collaboration . gleason claimed that the release of any footage related to the project required his
explicit approval .
the filmmaker defended his actions , saying he ' d followed the agreement , that a mutually agreed upon mediator had approved the release , and that it was the
right thing
to do . ( yahoo ! sports reported at the time that the contract did not specifically prohibit either gleason or pamphilon from releasing audio or video prior to the completion of the film . )
it was pamphilon , tweel says , who captured one of gleason ' s most devastating moments : the sight of michel crying on the banks of bayou st . john as gleason struggles to complete the last leg of their miniature
jazz fest triathlon ,
four months after his diagnosis .
for lee and minton - small , who ' d spent years caring for gleason , playing with rivers and helping michel around the house , gleason ' s gathering momentum came with mixed feelings . on the one hand , according to minton - small , it was exciting , after so many false starts , to see the film begin to crystallize . on the other , lee says , reconciling with new voices and viewpoints after being so close to the project was challenging .
“gleason” centers on the former nfl player who revealed in 2011 that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also known as lou gehrig’s disease . the disclosure came five years after gleason had memorably blocked a punt on the night the louisiana superdome reopened for the first time after hurricane katrina .
by the time gleason entered post - production in march 2015 , the combination of gleason ' s worsening condition , the growing number of caretaking duties and the consistent presence of cameras had worn down this small
entourage ,
as michel calls it , until the idea of continuing seemed untenable .
with any luck the film will raise awareness for a horrendous disease , and it ' s well worth a watch for its honest portrayal of a man fighting back against tremendous adversity .
one night , while traveling with gleason and michel in peru , lee declined to film the former saints star being showered off after soiling himself , because he felt that doing so would have been
crossing some sort of line .
minton - small also began to question whether it was appropriate to shoot footage of certain events .
after the film ended , there was silence . for michel , watching gleason was an
out - of - body experience
— nerve - wracking but ultimately cathartic . paul , on the other hand , was
taken aback
by its raw , unflinching portrait of two people — husband and wife , patient and caretaker — facing the rapid advance of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( als ) , with which gleason was diagnosed in 2011 , while raising their young son , rivers .
this is the best documentary i have ever watched . steve gleason is an inspiration and a hero . his wife michel is amazing too . wow !
the documentary chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring story of steve gleason , a gonzaga prep and washington state university alum who became a defensive back for the new orleans saints . gleason immortalized himself in team history in 2006 , when he blocked a punt the saint ' s first home game after hurricane katrina .
gleason , who has relied on assistive technology known as augmentive / alternative communication ( aac ) since losing his ability to speak , needed only four words .
“gleason” is incredibly frank about gleason’s physical suffering and the toll his terrifyingly implacable physical deterioration takes on his marriage . while the director’s vision never strays too far from the positive message that he and the gleasons doubtlessly wish to impart , the movie winds up being most effective at doing what cinema cannot avoid doing .
we had two guys pretty much living with us who would film any events we went to or any trips we went to ,
varisco said .
and at the house , steve has a vision - he ' s got big vision - - and he would let them know what he wanted to film . . . . it became a part of our lives .
it was the latest stop , but by no means the last one , on what has been a long , often difficult road for varisco , gleason and their little film that could . but as
gleason
prepares for a staged national rollout beginning july 29 , which is when it opens in new orleans , as well as in a handful of other select cities , including new york , los angeles , san francisco and seattle - - it ' s also one that has brought its own rewards .
but in january 2011 , when gleason called fujita from san francisco with the official diagnosis of als , the outlook was grim — so much so that fujita and former saints tight end eric johnson , both of whom reside in california , drove together to northern california to see gleason , taking him on a sunrise hike .
he film - making might not be particularly polished , but the subject matter of this documentary is wrenching . shortly after he retired from professional american football , steve gleason was diagnosed with als or motor neurone disease . this brutally candid film is partly an account of his response to the disease – he founded a charitable organisation to help other sufferers – and partly a collection of the messages he composed for the son who was conceived just after the diagnosis . the resulting movie is an unabashed tear - jerker that juggles themes such as religious faith , marital stress and the toilet - based indignities of the disease – the latter an earthy strand of humour as crucial for gleason and his family as it is for the audience .
the moment was the culmination of a process that had begun in october 2010 , when gleason , exhibiting the first symptoms of als . he decided to document his experiences in a series of video diaries . in time , the project evolved into a record for rivers , a fraught family album , a feature - length documentary and a sundance film festival selection , but at the time no one knew principal shooting on gleason had commenced — or that the tale of its making would be a compelling drama in its own right .
it paid off . in january ,
gleason
- directed by clay tweel (
make believe ,
finders keepers
) and featuring an original song by pearl jam ' s mike mccready - - made its debut at the prestigious sundance film festival . it was immediately embraced by those who saw it , with some declaring it an oscar contender .
despite the twists and turns of its long gestation , gleason is what gleason envisioned in october 2010 : a record , a document , of a family fighting through unimaginable circumstances to emerge , changed but closer than ever , on the other side . only now , audiences will be able to see that experience through their eyes .
as lee and minton - small continued to collect new footage , gleason and michel entrusted culp and fujita with shepherding the film forward . in the coming months , the pair hashed out countless ideas over pizza and beer at culp ' s los angeles home , scrawling each one on whiteboard to see what stuck . they even formed a production company , dear rivers productions .
if
gleason
makes one thing clear , it ' s that living with als isn ' t easy . it ' s not easy for gleason , and it ' s not easy for varisco , who abruptly went from becoming her husband ' s travel partner on their globe - trotting adventure vacations to his full - time caretaker .
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the assembled moments recording gleason’s physical deterioration become all the more moving when the film flashes back to him in more able days . similarly , a brief shot of an empty wheelchair , seeming to wait for its inevitable inhabitant , produces a shudder . in such instances , the movie goes beyond conventional ( but very worthy ) human interest concerns and offers something more rich and strange .
almost immediately after its sundance screening , the rights to
gleason
were snapped up by amazon studios , which brought open road films on board to release it theatrically .
when it gets down to it ,
gleason
is a difficult movie to describe , for the very reason that it functions so well on a number of levels .
“gleason” is rated r ( under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) for language , despite its family - friendly themes . running time : 1 hour 50 minutes .
i would think it ' s rare for an independent , almost an art - house film , to be playing at theaters across the country ,
fujita said .
you don ' t see films like this playing in green bay or kansas city or columbus , ohio , every day . amazon and open road want to make sure all those markets get a chance to see the film , which is great .
gleason ' s intimate , often harrowing depiction of its subjects ' confrontation with als — and , at times , with each other — is the result of the kinship lee and minton - small forged with gleason , michel and rivers over the course of the next three years , during which the pair recorded more than 1 , 300 hours of footage .
the two had met when fujita joined the saints in the spring of 2006 , not long before gleason ' s blocked punt in the team ' s home opener against the atlanta falcons made him a hero of the who dat nation , and a symbol of the city ' s determination to come back from hurricane katrina and the levee failures . fujita remembers gleason ' s generosity , extending an invitation to see dave matthews band at the new orleans jazz & heritage festival , and his idiosyncratic charm , which comes through clearly in gleason .
in a 2006 football game against the atlanta falcons , the new orleans saints safety steve gleason made a bold headlong leap that blocked a punt . the recovery of that ball led to a touchdown for the saints , and gleason and his team , representing the city that had been so terribly battered by hurricane katrina in 2005 , became national symbols of indomitability .
i thought , ' oh my god , this is exactly what my uncle was experiencing in the early stages ,
says fujita , now one of gleason ' s producers .
that includes some moments that varisco admits to cringing over when she watches them onscreen today . but she also realizes that those moments are some of the film ' s most powerful and most honest , and therefore the most resonant .
ultimately , that ' s the main reason that
gleason
- culled from an astounding 1 , 300 hours of footage , according to fujita - - is as powerful as it is . the cameras are there during moments of triumph , such as the family ' s visit to denali national park in alaska . they ' re there for moments of heart - wrenching defeat as gleason ' s condition inevitably worsens . and they ' re there for moments of turmoil as gleason and varisco work through the relationship issues that are all but inevitable under such strain .
the films includes footage shot over four years of gleason’s post - diagnosis activities , which include becoming a father , skydiving , speaking at the united nations , attending the state of the union address , founding an als research project and the organization team gleason — which has a mission to improve the lives of those who have als , the symptoms of which include gradual paralysis .
that’s what steve gleason , the former safety for the new orleans saints , tells his wife michel varisco in an early scene from “gleason , ” a documentary about his struggle with als ( amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ) , formerly known as lou gehrig’s disease . he’s pointing the camera at michel at first , and then he gives it over to her , and suddenly he’s looking us right in the eye . “a good filmer asks good questions to get really good material , ” steve tells michel . and wow , does “gleason” make good on that bit of advice .
the films includes footage shot over four years of gleason’s post - diagnosis activities , which include becoming a father , skydiving , speaking at the united nations , attending the state of the union address , founding an als research project and the organization team gleason - which has a mission to improve the lives of those who have als , the symptoms of which include gradual paralysis .
the hit documentary from the 2016 sundance film festival goes inside the life of steve gleason , the former new orleans saints defensive back who , at the age of 34 , was diagnosed with als and given a life expectancy of two to five years . weeks later , gleason found out his wife , michel , was expecting their first child . a video journal that began as a gift for his unborn son expands to chronicle steve’s determination to get his relationships in order , build a foundation to provide other als patients with purpose , and adapt to his declining physical condition—utilizing medical technologies that offer the means to live as fully as possible .
the hit documentary from the 2016 sundance film festival goes inside the life of steve gleason , the former new orleans saints defensive back who , at the age of 34 , was diagnosed with als and given a life expectancy of two to five years . weeks later , gleason found out his wife , michel , was expecting their first child . a video journal that began as a gift for his unborn son expands to chronicle steve ' s determination to get his relationships in order , build a foundation to provide other als patients with purpose , and adapt to his declining physical condition - utilizing medical technologies that offer the means to live as fully as possible .
this movie ( and the trailer ) get me every time . for me , seeing gleason videotape his fatherly advice for his unborn son while he ' s still able to is the ultimate act of love .
gleason is assembled from footage shot over a course of several years by director j . clay tweel , as well as by steve and his family , providing a terrifyingly intimate portrait of a rowdy and adventurous man’s gradual entrapment within himself . steve and michel are established to be free spirits who travel the world , searching for visceral experiences and generally drinking in life . their casual simpatico provides gleason with an initial jolt of pleasure that inspires foreboding . a clock hangs over the film , as we know that steve will get steadily worse . this suspense is exacerbated by steve’s video journals , which are intended for his initially unborn child , who’s delivered over the course of the film’s running time and revealed to be a boy they name rivers . as the child grows older , developing his motor skills , his father regresses , placing michel in the awkward and demoralizing position of raising two physical children , causing her to feel nearly as constrained as her husband .
and so , while she was often surrounded by cameras , often during very personal family moments , she was so distracted by the all - consuming new trajectory of her life with gleason that she hardly noticed them .
the critically acclaimed feature has roughly four years of footage , including personal and surprisingly humorous video journals shot by gleason , and clips of his globe - trotting adventures that he took to live life to the fullest .
his documentary started as a memory book and love letter to his unborn son . gleason ' s voice was stripped away at an alarming rate , so he recorded the stories he wanted to read to his son .
gleason learns to use an eye - triggered speech synthesizer , and soon makes distributing these machines a focus of team gleason , the group he starts to help others with als . tweel chronicles both the rampant success this effort has and the strain running things places on his family life . even after she hires a friend to be gleason ' s caregiver , michel can hardly keep up with tending to both her husband and an infant .
i ' m wearing you down to bones ,
he types out on his screen one day . several scenes later , we witness an exhaustion - fueled fight that , given the devotion between the two , is heartbreaking .
i ' m happy , and i get happier as we show it to more people and more people are being positively impacted by it ,
varisco said .
the more i hear that , the better i feel about the film and the whole experience .
in order for the project to attract investors and achieve the widest possible distribution , the film needed a director with extensive experience and prior credits , which function as currency in hollywood . culp and fujita interviewed more than a dozen candidates . one stood out : clay tweel .
in addition to those announced today , selections for the u . s . and world competitions , next , midnight and new frontier sections have been announced . an announcement of the short film program is forthcoming . for a full list of films announced to date , visit urltoken .
but it was , indeed , possible . driven by the vision and charisma of gleason , who still has full cognitive function and communicates with the help of a computer that tracks his eye movements , the project grew still more .
lee and minton - small moved to los angeles to help tweel with the editing process . the director conducted on - camera interviews with fujita , michel and other figures in the film , finding the major themes — marriage , fatherhood and the courage of als patients and their caretakers .
in cinema , the critic andré bazin noted , “the image of things is likewise the image of their duration . ” more bluntly , the subject in david cronenberg’s 2000 short film , “camera , ” observes , “when you record the moment , you record the death of the moment . ”
this marvelous documentary , directed by j . clay tweel , takes all of its cues from that early scene . steve gleason retired from the national football league after eight seasons and has been struggling with als since , trying to raise public awareness of the disease and agitate for a cure with help from team gleason , a nonprofit group founded by michel . the whole movie is as unaffected and direct as a documentary can be . nothing is off - limits here : moments of doubt and fear , disgust at failures of the body , the challenges that a debilitating illness poses to marriage and parenting ( gleason’s son , river , was born shortly after his diagnosis , and figures heavily in the story ) .
on jan . 5 , 2011—three years after i retired from the nfl—i was diagnosed with als , a terminal disease that causes your muscles to atrophy and die . there is no cure . i learned that when i was diagnosed , which was right about the time i started recording videos sharing my thoughts about what was happening to my body . nearly 1 , 500 hours of footage later we’re releasing a film , gleason , about how my wife , michel , and i have lived our lives over the last 5 1 / 2 years .
film hawk / u . s . a . ( directors : jj garvine , tai parquet ) — trace bob hawk ' s early years as the young gay child of a methodist minister to his current career as a consultant on some of the most influential independent films of our time . world premiere
after he is diagnosed with als , former professional football player steve gleason begins making a video diary for his unborn son , as he , his wife , and their friends and family work to raise money for als patients as his disease progresses .
shortly after that diagnosis , he and new orleans native varisco learned she was pregnant with the couple ' s first child . aware of the ruthless ravages of als , which would in short order rob him of the ability to speak , walk and even breathe on his own , gleason decided to film a series of
video journals
for his unborn son so he could make sure , using his own voice , that the child - named rivers , and who turns 5 in october - - would grow up knowing exactly who his dad is .
tweel , who previously directed “finders keepers , ” is the editor of “gleason . ” producers are seth gordon , kimi culp , scott fujita , tom lavia , kevin lake , mary rohlich and thomas mceachin . mark shapiro and will staeger are the executive producers .
for gleason and michel , the diagnosis would turn out to be just the first of that year ' s life - changing developments . six weeks later , michel found out she was pregnant , and a man named sean pamphilon was about to enter their lives .
gleason
immerses the viewer in the ordeal of incurable illness . not just that of the sufferer , but of family , friends , and loved ones as well , because , as these films make clear , such misfortunes are not just personal , but communal .
what made clay so attractive is he was the first one to say , ' i need to go get on a plane and explain to steve and michel why i need to make this film , '
fujita says .
he wanted to make the pitch to them directly , and that carried a lot of weight .
when you watch our film , you’ll see elements of football—but it’s not about football . i think sports movies , in general , tend to abide by an almost clichéd storybook narrative . the journey . the struggle . the resolution . the sunset . but from my experience , real life doesn’t work like that . real life is messy .
park city , ut — sundance institute today completed its feature film lineup for the 2016 sundance film festival with the highly anticipated narratives , documentaries , episodic work and events in the premieres , documentary premieres , spotlight , sundance kids and special events sections . the festival takes place january 21 - 31 in park city , salt lake city , sundance and ogden , utah . among the films that have premiered in these sections in recent years are boyhood , brooklyn , twenty feet from stardom , life itself , the end of the tour , mistress america , frank , going clear : scientology and the prison of belief , shaun the sheep and the jinx : the life and deaths of robert durst .
you gotta start somewhere ,
minton - small says .
when i went down there i was just young enough and just dumb enough that i didn ' t really think about it that much . i do remember thinking on the plane coming down , ' oh , shit . i ' m about to film a kid being born . '
behind the scenes of anomalisa / u . s . a . ( directors : charlie kaufman , duke johnson , screenwriter : charlie kaufman ) — michael stone—husband , father and respected author—is crippled by the mundanity of his life . on a business trip , he checks into the fregoli hotel where he is amazed to discover a possible escape from his desperation in an unassuming woman , who may or may not be the love of his life . the festival will present a screening of the film followed by a q & a ; with the creators . separately , they will speak on a festival panel explaining their creative process and how they brought their extraordinary film to life . cast : jennifer jason leigh , tom noonan , david thewlis .
wiener - dog / u . s . a . ( director and screenwriter : todd solondz ) — this film tells several stories featuring people who find their life inspired or changed by one particular dachshund , who seems to be spreading comfort and joy . cast : greta gerwig , kieran culkin , danny devito , ellen burstyn , julie delpy , zosia mamet . world premiere
the movie begins with footage of gleason , speaking haltingly but with good humor , into a video camera . ( he was born in 1977 , so his high school football career — scenes from which are included here — coincided with the ubiquity of the video camcorder ; he’s clearly accustomed to the recorded life . ) mere weeks after his a . l . s . diagnosis , he learned he was going to become a father . in archival footage , a healthy gleason romps happily with his wife , michel varisco , in various far - flung locales . more cerebral than a stereotypical football player , he is matched in post - hippie free - spirit vibes by his partner . they seem like a couple you’d enjoy spending the day with at an outdoor jam band festival . when the diagnosis hits , gleason becomes determined to give his unborn child a document of himself . this movie is that chronicle , and more .
the relationship between fathers and sons is the marrow of this emotional movie , expressed not just in steve’s relationship with his own father and son , but in an interview with pearl jam frontman eddie vedder by steve ( a talented , self - taught filmmaker himself ) about his own troubled relationship with his dad . this is a tearjerker of a film but also a joyous one .
trevor groth , director of programming for the sundance film festival , said , “many of our selections this year reveal that what resides at the core of captivating stories are fascinating , and at times heroic , characters . in shining light on these people , independent filmmakers are doing what they ' ve always done best : connecting the dots of human existence with a deeply charged emotional current . ”
resilience / u . s . a . ( director : james redford ) — this film chronicles the birth of a new movement among pediatricians , therapists , educators , and communities using cutting - edge brain science to disrupt cycles of violence , addiction , and disease . these professionals help break the cycles of adversity by daring to talk about the effects of divorce , abuse , and neglect . world premiere
at the age of 34 , steve gleason was diagnosed with als . doctors gave the former nfl defensive back and new orleans hero two to five years to live . so that is what steve chose to do - live : with purpose , for his newborn son , for his wife , and to help others with his disease .
sundance institute founded in 1981 by robert redford , sundance institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film , theatre , and new media to create and thrive . the institute ' s signature labs , granting , and mentorship programs , dedicated to developing new work , take place throughout the year in the u . s . and internationally . the sundance film festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas , discovering original voices , and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling . sundance institute has supported such projects as beasts of the southern wild , fruitvale station , sin nombre , the invisible war , the square , dirty wars , spring awakening , a gentleman’s guide to love and murder and fun home . join sundance institute on facebook , instagram , twitter and youtube .
when i started recording journals for rivers , who’s now four , i wanted to be sure he didn’t get the “storybook sports dad” version of me . i wanted him to see the raw , imperfect , flailing person that i am . i wanted him to see my vulnerabilities , because i wanted him to know that sharing our weaknesses is how we find our strengths . and because my goal was to share my most real self with our son , that intimacy and rawness is translated in the film for the audience . i’d like to say that i’m completely comfortable with this but , truthfully , it’s downright scary . one of the themes i try to convey to rivers as i continue to shoot video journals is acknowledge your fear , but proceed anyway . i had to take my own advice as this film was being made . acknowledge and proceed .
oh , it ' s a big deal ,
varisco said from los angeles just a few hours before hitting the blue carpet with gleason and a cadre of friends , family and supporters .
we are all excited and nervous at the same time . this is like the bigwigs here in hollywood . i ' m very nervous .
michael jackson ' s journey from motown to off the wall / u . s . a . ( director : spike lee ) — catapulted by the success of his first major solo project , off the wall , michael jackson went from child star to king of pop . this film explores the seminal album , with rare archival footage and interviews from those who were there and those whose lives its success and legacy impacted . world premiere
when gleason ' s
nfl brother
scott fujita returned to new orleans in 2010 as a linebacker for the cleveland browns , he already was on tenterhooks . the prospect of returning to the superdome in colors other than black and gold left him so emotional that he headed to lucy ' s retired surfers bar the night before the game , as he often had done during his four - year tenure with the saints — only this timae he accidentally got drunk . no amount of alcohol could have prepared him , however , for gleason ' s description of his recent medical woes , and fujita , who ' d lost an uncle to the disease 15 years prior , recognized the warning signs of als .
richard linklater—dream is destiny / u . s . a . ( directors : louis black , karen bernstein ) — this is an unconventional look at a fiercely independent style of filmmaking that arose in the 1990s from austin , texas , outside the studio system . the film blends rare archival footage with journals , exclusive interviews with linklater on and off set , and clips from slacker , dazed and confused , boyhood , and more . world premiere
two months earlier , while filming gleason and fujita at a team meeting on the eve of the saints ' playoff contest against the san francisco 49ers , pamphilon had caught williams on tape urging his players to
kill the f—king head .
in light of growing concerns over traumatic brain injuries in football , he concluded that the public should hear the audio .