Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Bereamic Awesome Movie

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

refresh daemon This film is an interesting one. The story is adapted from the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liasans). It's an 18th (maybe 17th?)century French novel of intrigue and scandal and the movie is set in... 18th century Korea, during the Chosun period. If you've seen Dangerous Liasans or a modern-day adaptation, Cruel Intentions, you've basically got the plot down. Male womanizer and scheming female near relative make a bet that womanizer can't seduce a pure woman. And stuff goes crazy from there.So I decided to watch this film because it was a massive box-office opener in Korea, beating out all of its competition at the time. A few things that I noticed: 1) I like watching Korean period films, especially those of older Korea because the costumes and set design tend to be very aesthetically pleasing. The art direction is beautiful.2) The acting was actually quite impressive--certainly better than Cruel Intentions, which is the only other version of this film that I've seen.3) There are a few graphic sex scenes (and many suggested ones), so if you can't handle that, don't watch the film.4) The tragedy is tragic and the love story is surprising. The ending was quite moving and was tragic because the flaws of the characters led to their own demise and loss of the things that they love.5) Cinematography and direction are very strong and the primary actresses are particularly strong.In the end, this was a well rendered adaptation, so much that I'm curious as to what the original source material is like. I really like the plot lines and the story because it converges so many different themes into a tragic tale of human weakness and yet manages to paint the weak, fallible and sometimes wicked characters in such a way that you still have some sympathy for them, showing that there is something in everyone that was or is beautiful, but it can get buried under the vices of this world.All the actors are not strong and the film suffers a little from slow pacing, but in the end, it's a very watchable film that has a lot of strengths, even if the film isn't one of the great films of all time. If you can handle the content, I recommend this film. 8/10.

Pro Jury *** May contain spoilers. ***Certainly, serious talent and skill came to bare in producing SCANDAL - JOSEON NAMNYEO SANGYEOLJISA (UNTOLD SCANDAL). The photography and direction are far above average. Set design, costumes, acting and music are all blended together with polish and flare. Unfortunately, the story does not ring true. Surely in his life the seducer would have come across young ladies far, far, more innocent and sincere than the lady he sort of comes to love. There was nothing unique or special about her. In fact, she was so distrustful that she seemed more worldly than many. And that the seducer left her to seek sex with his kissing cousin points more to him never loving her at all.Another problem is that all of the seduced young people in this film are always exactly dumb enough or inert enough to be tricked at every turn. The seduced people were boring puppets.The story is introduced from a fictional book, and is told from the dead seducer's point of view (using his voice over at the end). The story is clearly presented as a unbelievable fantasy. Professional reviewers see UNTOLD SCANDAL as being a comedy? I agree with the amateur reviewers -- UNTOLD SCANDAL is a comedy for sadists. The fantasy is ugly and unpleasant. It is entertainment for the cruel.Apply the photography, direction, acting, set design, costumes and music to a better story, and then we could have a world class movie.

daejeeduma What can I say... 18th century century Korea is almost a picture perfect combo of "east meets west" with 18th century France. Many will probably judge Untold Scandal with the John Malkovich version of Dangerous Liaisons. Both versions need a little help, but "love story" was more profound and more touching in this version. Malkovich seemed like the faking unfaithful perp till the end, but in Untold Scandal you genuinely see the transformation in him from a seducer to a man desperately in love. While i didn't give a $hit about the characters in Dangerous liaisons since they are all pretty much ruthless bastards, you really care for everyone in Untold Scandal which made the ending even more depressing. Lastly, the simple and beautiful scenery of 18th century Korea is in itself breathtaking enough to see the film. I recommend both versions, you might want to see them back to back.

Tan karhui No reviews here, except for a MAJOR SPOILER which i feel the need to air. ..and it concerns how our beloved Korean Cassonova has his life ended. Being a skilled martial arts exponent, as we are led to believe from the earlier fighting sequences, how is he blissfully unaware of the ruffled footsteps of the assassin approaching from behind? I wasn't told he was hard of hearing. This begs the question : why does he even turn his back on somebody who has shown every intent to kill him? Did he really believe his assassin's knife was made of rubber? Hell, i'd watch my back if anyone carrying a dildo threatens to stap me with it! There can be only one conclusion : He already decides to die, much like Paulo Coelho's beloved Veronika, and he chooses death by a-huge-gaping-hole-at-the-back-of-the-body.