Friday 29 February 2008


看住时间
别让它在再流浪
从前我太适应悲伤
你的出现在无意中
却深深撼动我
一起走着没说什么
心是满足的
这个瞬间
随时都要崩塌
我没有其它的愿望
假如明天将消失了
趁现在我爱着
只想记得,被你抱着
温热的感受
Love's beautiful
so beautiful
我失去过
更珍惜拥有
多庆幸我是我
被你疼爱的我
紧紧牵住的手
不要放手
永远守护我
Love's beautiful
so beautiful
我很快乐
你会了解我
我不会再哭泣
是因为我相信
我们勇敢的爱着
每秒钟
都能证明一生的美丽

这个瞬间
随时都要崩塌
我没有其它的愿望
假如明天将消失了
趁现在我爱着
只想记得,被你抱着
温热的感受
Love's beautiful
so beautiful
我失去过
更珍惜拥有
多庆幸我是我
被你疼爱的我
紧紧牵住的手
不要放手
永远守护我
OH~~~~
AH~~~
OH!!
OH~~
AH~~
OH
AH~
Love's beautiful
so beautiful
我失去过
更珍惜拥有
多庆幸我是我
被你疼爱的我
紧紧牵住的手
不要放手
永远守护我
Love's beautiful
so beautiful
我很快乐
你会了解我
我不会再哭泣
是因为我相信
我们勇敢的爱着
每秒钟
都能证明一生的美丽
Love's beautiful
so beautiful



Thursday 28 February 2008

Sha gua and me :P if , we argue.

If , we argue. XD

(tibo) erm.. i'll take the right,

(esther) oh no, not that way, the left, to the left

(tibo) no mah, not left aaarg

(esther) you silly tibolintje ...(argue argue)

really funny lol !! XD

Dj session in SMK Seri Serdang.

Early in the morning , arriving school , was kinda late , i mean for this dj session that been held for two weeks now , man , my partner were waiting for me in front of the teacher's main office.Well , at first i thought like , " oh sorry Prishan , i was late , aww my father seems to wake up late every morning so , really can't wake him up easily. " but then she told me that nah ~ is ok, because teacher hasn't come yet so , we'll wait for here until she arrive , she has the key with her.

=.='''' i thought i was the one who always late . haiz... even teachers... haiz...

so while we were waiting , man another stupid teacher came and saw prishan wearing this t shirt and treasuits , and erm , honestly , the t shirt she was wearing that day was kinda ... fits... and was small , i don't know , but it actually shown her waist line out , so in my school which , is a malay school , all muslim together , even chinese or indian teacher were lesser , there might be some tradisional thoughts that hasn't throw away that fast . So this teacher of mine , she started to scold , well she did scold people every day , is like one of her habits for sure. :p she scold me alot of time , but then is all about asking me to do something for her . she is moody , orang kata apa , kejap baik , kejap tak baik . cheh , after all her scolding and stuff , she would definately be good and kind to me somehow again , ( well that means i m depentable , and reliable , that's why she still love me , cheh heheh !! ) ok back to the point , she scold her , wearing those shirt , well is againts the school rules if you wear shirts tat doesn't have any of our school logo , and plus that shirt was tide , really tide , the body waist line all shows up. She was angry of it of course, but then what i don't really agree is that , school rules are school rules , you doesn't have to scold people fat because of the shirt was tide ? man she scold her fat and what shows up all those fat meat and all that =.=''' ... i don't see any related to our school rules... man oh man that was really one rude teacher. But oh well , erm... was funny , blek! =P hehehe !! hahah !!

ok then , dj session , my friend there were still trying to avoid from teacher of course , so i started my job then , open the whole PA system stuff , and teacher does bring a laptop that day , asking me for the cd's well then i gave her. The funny thing was that , those PA system was just for a mic , which it will be broadcast on air together with the thing we said. But what about the songs ? and the cd's ? Those sound could not be broadcast on air . only our voices , so what i do was , teacher she had a laptop , and through the speaker , i use my mic to near the speaker and the sounds did came up , as you can see here , our school PA system was sucks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ahhhhhh !! the whole thing that funtioned was just only the mic !! the mic !! ahhhhhhhh !!!
And that teacher !! don't even know which one is the speaker ( laptop there ) and she show me the wrong places for that !!! No wonder i don't hear any songs broadcast on air !! But our my silly voice and my partner's as well !! shit shit shit !!! this time is really sucks !!
i still said , " well this time for this really beautiful morning here , i 'll play you guys a very fascinating music that you guys definately never heard of , haha !! SO EVERYBODY ! Aruarian Dance !! By Nujabes !! ENJOY !! " it ends up , nothing came up. *sigh*
So , i was curious and try to find the speaker , there i found it , is between the above key and the under surface. sucks !! man oh man teacher !! you really play a fool on me this time !! cheh !
And the dj session only last for 10 minutes ! what ?? hello !! i could just play two songs !! ?? a day !?? what the hell !??
fuck !!!

Thursday 21 February 2008

I m always hurt

This world is black... well , the arguing and stuff that day really makes me vomit. I will try to stop this argue between us as soon as i can , but there are still people who wanna to win and mess up all the things between you and them . sucks... and lastly , you would be blame for nothing. But they , will never apologize to you . never. even though if you say sorry to them ? they will say , well of course you did felt sorry, its your fault for sure. *sigh*

going to anime events , in timesquare , meet ps , jes , and lam . Insulted again , T.T , the meaning by jes was obvious. But , my gueses was right , jes did bring along ps , to meet me. And when i saw them , i saw ps , he was trying his insulting skills on me again , " HELLO esther" =.=''' am i only the target for them ? And why ? weird people they were for sure. of course , lam was doing nothing, and jes , was trying to create those funny insulting phrases on me . haha , can't blame him , i was the one who did trust him. keep sending message asking where am i ? Funny, I know about that earlier , saying to myself , must be ps beside him. And i m right.

But , i didn't even look at ps . because i don't even know him. Not interested with any one of them.

I m always hurt. that's why. just get use to it .

Monday 18 February 2008

我越来越喜欢他了~

我越来越喜欢他了。。。 天教我该怎办?

Saturday 16 February 2008

TOKIO HOTEL , Through the Moonson

Tokio Hotel is a German rock band. The quartet has scored four number one singles, two number one albums have sold nearly 3 million CDs and DVDs in their homeland.[4] So far they have had much chart success in Germany and Austria. They also had some chart success in France, [5][6] Italy,[7][8], Israel[9], Sweden, Belgium [10], and Switzerland. [11]. However, they have had little chart success in English-speaking countries despite having released English language versions of Scream and Ready, Set, Go! in the UK. [9]

History

Twin brothers Tom and Bill Kaulitz met Gustav Schäfer and Georg Listing after a concert in Magdeburg. Originally formed in 2001 under the name Devilish, the band began playing in talent shows and small concerts. After Bill Kaulitz's participation in a children's Star Search in 2003 (which he lost in the quarter-final), he was discovered by music producer Peter Hoffmann. Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel ("Tokio", the German language spelling of the city Tokyo, Japan, which they love, and "Hotel", due to their constant touring and sleeping in hotels), and Sony BMG took them under contract. Hoffmann hired David Jost and Pat Benzner into the team of creators and authors, and had them give the children instruction on songwriting and instrument playing. However, shortly before publication of the first album, Sony terminated their contract. In 2005, Universal Music Group took Tokio Hotel under contract and developed a marketing plan. Several DJ's such as Basement Jaxx, Melodik Pinpon, Bob Sinclar and Givichy Universal have remixed Tokio Hotel songs.[citation needed]



Band members


Awards

2005

  • Comet: Best Newcomer 2005, Supercomet
  • Bambi-Verleihung: Pop-National
  • 1live-Krone: Best Newcomer

2006

  • Echo: Best Newcomer
  • Goldener Pinguin: Best Newcomer
  • Radio Regenbogen Awards: Pop-National
  • Steiger Award: Newcomer

2007

  • Jan 2007: European Border Breakers Award (for the album "Schrei")
  • Jan 2007: BZ-Kulturpreis: (Rock)
  • Mar 2007: Echo: Best Music Video
  • Apr 2007: Bravo - Goldener Otto: Superrockband
  • May 2007: Viva Comet: Supercomet
  • May 2007: Viva Comet: Best Band
  • May 2007: Viva Comet: Best Music Video
  • Jul 2007: Jabra Music: Die Beste Band In Die Welt )(The Best Band In The World)
  • Sep 2007: Festivalbar Premio Digital
  • Sep 2007: Goldene Stimmgabel: Best Rock International
  • Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best Video
  • Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best Album
  • Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best Pop
  • Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best New Artist
  • Nov 2007: MTV Europe Music Awards (Munich): Inte r Act
  • Nov 2007: Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards (Milão) - Best Band

2008

  • Jan 2008: NRJ Music Awards 2008 - Best International Band
  • Jan 2008: Rockbjören Awards 2008 - Best International Band
  • Feb 2008: Goldene Kamera 2008 - Musik National

Albums








I'm staringg at a broken door
Theres nothin left here anymore
My room is cold, it's making me insane
I've been waiting here so long
Another moment seems to've come
I see the black clouds coming up again

Running through the monsoon
Beyond the world
Til the end of time
Where the rain will turn
Fighting the storm
Into the blue (?)
And when I loose myself I think of you
Together we'll be running so anew (?)
Through the monsoon
Just me and you

A halfmoon fading from my sight
I see your vision in its light
I know it's gone and left me so alone
I know I have to find you now
Can hear you name and don't know how
Why can't we make this darkness feel like home?

Running through the monsoon
Beyond the world
Til the end of time
Where the rain will turn
Fighting the storm
Into the blue (?)
And when I loose myself I think of you
Together we'll be running so anew (?)
And nothing can hold me back from you
Through the monsoon
Hey!
Hey!

I'm fighting all these powers coming in my way
Let it take me straight into you I've been running night and day
I'll be with you soon
Just me and you
We'll be there soon
So soon

Running through the monsoon
Beyond the world
Til the end of time
Where the rain will turn
Fighting the storm
Into the blue (?)
And when I loose myself I think of you
Together we'll be running so anew (?)
And nothing can hold me back from you
Through the monsoon
Through the monsoon
Just me and you
Through the monsoon
Just me and you


Thursday 14 February 2008

Sweet ~

Like the little school mates in the school yard ,

we'll play jackson and Uno cards ...

I'll be your best friend , and you've be mine...Valentine...

Yes you can hold my hands if you want to , cause i wanna holds yours too...

We'll be playmates and lovers and share our , secret world....

Tuesday 12 February 2008

PLS , let me cry....

sometimes , i feel like crying... but the weird thing was , i can't manage to do that... but my heart felt pain and hurt ... who can save me from this ?

Monday 11 February 2008

When I fall in love

When I fall in love...

It will be forever ...

Or i never fall ... in love...


The last dance


A movie where there is a part that touches my heart , and my soul as well.


Two couples together with a nice career , as Latin dancers , were both dancing in the middle of the night... in one of the most beautiful city in Europe , Prague , above Charles Bridge. They were falling in love with each other so well , and their love story was amazing as Vlinders (butterfly)flying together in the air , so as them , dancing together as butterflies were flying and dancing together as well...both of them were amazing ,they dance and looking at each other eyes ,both were happy ,for sure.But you will never know what they had been through all along with their unblessed love.

Just all of a sudden , the bridge were cracked , the whole city was moving.And was stoping them from running to no where.They've tried to run ,but couldn't manage to do that , they know they are about to die soon.

The man who was holding the women , said to her quickly in a soft , sad tone ,

 'I just want to tell you that , i will love you forever no matter what , and i won't leave you , we will meet in heaven ok ?Just , i felt sorry for didn't full filling my promise to let us getting marry, i m so sorry. "

The women , that's the man's couples , kissed him , and look at him. with a calm smiling faces

" I just want to have the last dance with you , that's all , could you do that for me ?I love you ."

So are they , dancing the last dance in the last moment of their life . And kiss with souls. And die.

If , in the last moments of our life , we still would finish the last dance with the one that we love the most , then , it could be the most beautiful things in the world. No regrets . No pain .  

Sunday 10 February 2008

第六感

我想跟随自己的 第六感 说不定下次运气会好转。。。

我相信简单我相信偶然相信直觉会有答案。。。

管他受伤是为了谁过去丢了也无所谓。。。

I need a hug ...

I need a hug ..Just a hug... could anyone pls lend me a hug for hours ? Well , pillow would be good but , is different.

Saturday 9 February 2008

Listen to me

I just want my parents to leave me alone !!

Ana's song ... Silverchair

Ana's song

Please die Ana
For as long as you're here we're not
You make the sound of laughter
and sharpened nails seem softer
And I need you now somehow
And I need you now somehow

Open fire on the needs designed
On my knees for you
Open fire on my knees desires
What I need from you

Imagine pageant
In my head the flesh seems thicker
Sandpaper tears corrode the film

And I need you now somehow
And I need you now somehow

Open fire on the needs designed
On my knees for you
Open fire on my knees desires
What I need from you

And you're my obsession
I love you to the bones
And Ana wrecks your life
Like an Anorexia life

Open fire on the needs designed
On my knees for you
Open fire on my knees desires
What I need from you
Open fire on the needs designed
Open fire on my knees desires
On my knees for you


Thursday 7 February 2008

Nujabes , Counting Stars ...

starlit nights...

the ocean...

with the light of the moon in our eyes

reflecting its silver beams and feeling that....

love is eternity made possible....

I have a captured soul...it longs to be as a butterfly

Your kindness is the beauty Ester,that light shines in your eyes

Words by : shane blynn

music : Nujabes , counting stars

Introducer : Tibo :)

The first poem for me....

To Ester

~Upon shores of destiny is the azure tides of fate~~Sometimes shallow yet oft time it may seem sedate~
~Is this the fragments of a million shattered dreams?~~Lovers voices echo with the resonate thoughts serene~
~The eyes;a doorway not just to the soul but to the heart~~Languid motions of love are heaven in shattered shards~
~Friends know the whispers of this in those fragments shared~~A tender gesture of touch but even softer words of care~
~The soul which strikes a chord in me most is the lotus flower~~She grows in the darkest conditions and the blackest hour~
~Miss dearest wish to reach those shores yet not alone~~To share the kiss of tears,years and a soul felt at home~

From Shane Blynn
XoXoX

thanks shane , hugs and kisses for you ^^ . ui bent zo leuk ,vertenderend , and
verbazingwekkend . My best soul friend forever !! ^^

Wednesday 6 February 2008

The King and The Clown Movie

The King and the Clown Part 1











The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 2







The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 3







The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 4





The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 5




The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 6





The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 7




The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 8





The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 9




The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 10




The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 11




The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 12




The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) 13


The King And The Clown





인연 (Fate)

약속해요 이순간이 다 지나고
yak sok kae yo I sun gan ni da ji na go

다시 보게 되는 그날
da shi bo ge dwe neun keu nal
모든걸 버리고 그대 곁에 서서
mo deun geol beo li go keu dae gyeot te seo seo
남은 길을 가리란 걸

nam meun gil leul ga li ran geol
인연이라고 하죠 거부할 수가 없죠
in yeon ni la go ha jyo geo bu hal su ga eobs jyo

내생에 이처럼 아름다운 날
nae saeng e I cheo leom a leum da eun nal
또 다시 올수 있을까요
ddo da shi ol su iss seul gga yo
고달픈 삶의 길에 당신은 선물인 걸
go dal peun sal me gil
le dang shin neun seon mul lin geol
이사랑이 녹슬지 않도록
I sa rang I nok seul ji ahn do rok
늘 닦아 비출께요
neul dakk gga bi chul gge yo


취한듯 만남은 짧았지만
chwi han deus man nam meun jjal bass ji man
빗장 열어 자리했죠
bis jang yeol reo ja li haess jyo

맺지 못한데도 후회하진 않죠
maej ji mos tan de do hu hwe ha jin ahn jyo
영원한건 없으니까
yeong weon han geon eobs seu ni gga

운명이라고 하죠
eun myeong I la go ha jyo
거부할수가 없죠
geo bu hal su ga eobs jyo

내생에 이처럼 아름다운 날
nae saeng e I cheo leom a leum da eun nal
또 다시 올 수 있을까요
ddo da shi ol su i
ss seul gga yo
하고픈 말 많지만
ha go peun mal man ji man
당신은 아실테죠
dang shin neun a sil te jyo
먼길 돌아 만나게 되는 날
meon gil dol la man na ge dwe neun nal

다신 놓지 말아요
da shin noh ji mal la yo
이생에 못한 사랑 이생에 못한 인연

I saeng e mos tan sa rang I saeng e mos tan in yeon
먼길 돌아 다시 만나는 날
meon gil dol la da shi man na neun nal
나를 놓지말아요
na reul noh ji mal ra yo



khuyến mãi thêm lời dịch nữa nài :D

Fate

I promise you, when this moment is over,
on the day we meet again

I will throw everything away and stand by you
to walk the way left for us...
It is the thing called "fate", I can't deny it
Can I have such a beautiful day again in my life?
You're a gift upon this weary path of life
I'll continue to shine this love, not to make it rust...

Though our encounter lasted a short time, like a drunken
affair
You've unbolted my gate and occupied my heart

Even if our love is unattainable, I won't regret it
because nothing is forever...
It is the thing called "fate", I can't deny it
Can I have such a beautiful day again in my life?
There're many things I want to say
but you probably already know them...
On the day we meet again after the long way round
Please, don't let go of my hand...


The love we couldn't have in this life

The fate we couldn't have in this life
On the day we meet again after the long way round


Epic movies with beautiful acting and excellent story telling don’t come often. Fortunately, The King and the Clown just happens to be the big break we’ve all been awaiting. The film is dripping with sheer enjoyment and superb acting that it has become the top-grossing Korean film of all time with more than 12.3 million viewers in South Korea itself. In addition, it has set a record as the first movie to receive 15 nominations for the 43rd Grand Bell Korean Film Awards!

lo_katc__32_This infectious comedy transports you to Korea during the 1500s, when King Yon-san (played by Jung Jin-young), a notorious tyrant responsible for many deaths of his countrymen, reigned. The movie traces the path of destiny threaded by 2 minstrels, namely the free-spirited and courageous Jing-seng (Kam Woo-sung) and the physically and emotionally effeminate Gong-gil (Lee Joon-ki) as they travel to capital, Seoul, to seek their fortune.

When they were found entertaining the crowd by satirising the king, they were threatened with death unless they performed for him and succeed in making him laugh. Fortunately, their lives are spared and they’re compelled by the king to stay in the palace and perform regularly. However, tragedy unfolds as the king becomes more enamored with Gong-gil’s beauty, invoking jealousy in his lady, Nok-soo (played by Kang Sung-yeon), who then hatches a plot for the minstrel’s death.

Actor Kam (A Bold Family, Spider Forest) manages to deliver a theatrical performance worthy of an Oscar. His mannerisms, speech and realistic acting are convincing enough for you to believe that he’s just being himself. What’s even more incredible is that the actor only had a month to learn how to walk on a rope and play the instruments of that era, things which he had never done before, according to an interview with director Lee on twitchfilm.net.

Like his counterpart Jing-seng, Gong-gil, manages to win the audience’s compassion and sympathy for him when fate backs him in a tight corner. Gong-gil’s performance is explanation enough why he may just be the next hot star. Furthermore, his god-given feminine features and porcelain skin were made even more womanly in the film, leaving him looking very androgynous and putting his real gender into question.


lo_katc_24_Still, if there was one character you had to invest your sympathy in, it’ll be king Yon-san, who’s fleshed out beautifully by veteran actor Jung (Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield). His stern demeanour when you first meet him slowly melts away to reveal a man overshadowed by his late father’s achievements. To add to his torment, his mother was sentenced to death by his own father. Although the effeminate Gong-gil offers a potential chance for redemption, king Yon-san’s gradual descent into the pits of insanity overrides any hope that he could overcome his grief.

On a superficial level, The King and the Clown appears to be just another Korean movie by director-actor Lee Joon-ik, who had directed Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield, a historical film which attracted 2.9 million viewers. However, on a deeper level, the movie is actually a psychological portrayal of human nature in society.

In an interview on twitchfilm.net, Lee explains that Jung-seng is the character who fights against his given fate, while Gong-gil has learnt to accept his destiny and adapts to it. However, the most tragic figure would have to be the king, who tries to fight against his fate but ends up creating massive problems for everyone else.

lo_katc_35_The story flows brilliantly, as the level of tension and drama develops like an ocean wave, with each one rising higher than the previous, until the climax of the film where it tapers off with an excellent conclusion. You are not left hanging, as the movie has closure, but it will certainly leave you thinking about the conclusion and the events that have helped to mould the characters into who they ultimately became, for better or for worse.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well written and smooth the script was. Judging from the uproarious laughter and satisfied faces leaving the cinema, I’ll not be wrong in saying that the audience I watched the movie with thoroughly enjoyed it.

To phrase it metaphorically, The King and the Clown is like a buffet of brilliant acting and excellent dialogue with a rich philosophical soup base underlying the film. This is definitely one Korean move that you wouldn’t regret catching on the big screen. At the risk of sounding cliché, this movie is a must-see!

Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

Movie Details:

Running Time: 119 minutes

Cast: Lee Joon-ki, Kam Woo-sung, Jung Jin-young

Director: Lee Joon-ik



Set in the early 16th Century, the story takes place during the reign of one of Korea’s twenty-seven Kings during the 500 year span of its legendary Chosun Dynasty - the notorious King Yeon. Jang-seng (Gam Woo-seong) and Gong-gil (Lee Jun-gi) are street entertainers – actors, minstrels and acrobats who work for a team of travelling players, performing stunts and bawdy skits for villagers as they travel across the country. However, the manager of the troupe finds that he is able to make more money in selling the charms of the female impersonator Gong-gil to the rarefied tastes of the Korean nobles, who are attracted to the ambiguous sexuality of the young man.


Jang-seng has had enough of this abuse of his friend, and together they escape from the troupe to make their fortunes in the capital. Arriving in Seoul however, they find that the previous King has reduced the opportunities for performers, seeing them as vagrants or beggars and having most of them run out of the city. Combining forces with another group of entertainers they meet, Jang-seng has a new idea for a show that will make them famous – a risqué sketch mocking the King’s current Royal Consort, Nok-su (Kang Sung-Yeon), a once notorious courtesan. Not unexpectedly, they find themselves arrested for treason and about to be flogged for their audacity, but manage to convince the authorities to allow them to put on the performance before the King to let him decide himself whether it is funny or not. The King’s advisor Cheo-seon (Jang Hang-Seon) agrees – if the King laughs they will be released, but if he is displeased heads will roll. But Cheo-seon has an ulterior motive and, as the minstrels nervously perform their treasonable show, the King (Jeong Jin-yeong) does not look amused...


The King and the Clown, as the above description might indicate, is not particularly original in its storyline. It’s the old story of the King and his Jester, the minstrel who speaks the truth that others dare not, Jang-seng and Gong-gil revealing to the King not only how his subjects view him, but gradually opening his eyes to the corruption of his Ministers and the scheming within his Royal Court. One major revelation about his parents during the performance of a Chinese Opera in front of the Queen Mother even recalls the travelling players drama in Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, the performance having a similarly violent denouement, while the opera itself and the course of the friendship of the two performers - their success caught up in the political machinations of the period - follows to a large degree the trajectory of the Chinese Opera singers in Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine.

What the film most successfully achieves however, particularly through its own very nature as a colourful popular entertainment, is the power of art and drama to express emotions and communicate with audiences important messages about life, love and politics. Abruptly changing tone in the second half however, the film questions how a person armed with powerful and privileged knowledge should wield such information. Does one have a duty to make such knowledge public, or is it better to allow the people to remain “blind” to what is happening behind closed doors? It’s a small-scale theme for a relatively small-scale film, one that has no pretensions towards the epic grandeur that the period and the enormous box-office of success of the film might indicate, but the manner in which it presents this central question and handles the abrupt changes of tone, is compelling. Simply put, the film makes the very best of its modest storyline, plot development and characterisation in a workmanlike fashion that has little flair, but makes the most of its strengths which are the not overly ambitious theme of the solid storyline, the colour of the period and outstanding performances from the cast of clowns and acrobats. (It’s aided in many of these respects for English viewers with an excellent English subtitle translation, which captures the tone of the period as well as the rhyming and bawdiness of the dialogue superbly). The King and the Clown is all about entertainment and entertain is just what the film does.


The unexpected success of The King and the Clown, becoming the highest grossing film of all time in Korea, has surprised many people, the period drama - particularly one that has homosexual references - not traditionally being a genre that attracts the younger audience that is necessary to compete with Hollywood blockbusters that usually dominate Korean cinema screens. It has had many critics and Korean journalists (and no doubt studio executives) seeking to find a pattern in film viewing trends and searching for sociological changes in the make-up of the viewing public. It seems a lot simpler to me than that. I’ve said it before in my review of Memories of Murder and it still holds true – Korea is making the best, popular genre films in the world today, and The King and the Clown is the best in its field, taking on the strengths of solid traditional Hollywood cinematic storytelling, giving it a fresh and uniquely Korean twist and beating the increasingly formulaic, sequel and TV-remake reliant US blockbusters at their own game. For two hours the superbly paced The King and the Clown is utterly gripping and as pure an entertainment as you are likely to see – mixing comedy and tragedy, action and adventure, drama and political intrigue into a moving story of an unusual friendship, never faltering and never failing to convince.



DVD
The King and the Clown is released in the Korea by Art Service. It is released in a Special Limited Edition four-disc box set, which contains three DVDs and a CD of the soundtrack. The DVDs are in NTSC format and the set is encoded for Region 3. Disc One contains the Theatrical Release of the film, Disc Two the Extended Version, Disc Three the supplements. The discs are housed in a digipack within a magnetically clipped sturdy box. Also included in the box are 8 A5 sized postcards of character poster designs held in a display case, and a beautiful photobook containing cast photos and biographies, and set designs.


Video
The film is a blaze of colour in the sets, and in the bold costume designs of the performers and the Royal Court. This comes across quite impressively on the transfer, which is strong throughout and actually almost overpowering, such is the richness of the colourful costumes and sets. Colours may be slightly oversaturated and overly processed, with tints looking slightly unnatural and reds in particular being very bright, vivid and tending to bleed at edges. As I often find on Korean releases, the black levels are also rather flat, lacking in shadow detail or tone. I imagine however that few people will have any problem with these niggling details, since otherwise there is really nothing else here to fault. The image is clear and stable, free from any marks whatsoever and shows good detail, with reasonable definition even in wider shots. Judging from the somewhat clinical lighting of scenes and the overall flow of the image, it may well be that the film has been shot in High Definition Digital Video.


Audio
The audio tracks are both fine and get a good workout in the thumping of drums and surround-sound audience noise when the actors perform their open-air routines. The DTS track doesn’t have any particular advantage over the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, both mixes functionally serving up the dialogue and sound effects clearly and strongly without ever being either overly impressive or distracting.

Subtitles
English subtitles are provided, in a reasonably sized white font. As I observed in the review of the film, they are excellent at capturing the tone of the various situations, the formality of addressing royalty, the common dialogue of ordinary folk and the bawdy qualities and rhymes of the performer’s routines, which can consequently be uproariously funny. The subtitles curiously also seem to provide some background historical information during the opening title sequence, for which there is no corresponding Korean text.

Extras
Disc 1 Extras
There are two commentary tracks for the Theatrical Version of the film - Commentary 1 by the Director and Crew, Commentary 2 by Cast. Neither commentary is subtitled.

Disc 2 Extras
The second disc contains the 128 minute Extended Version of the film, which I’ve seen listed by some retailers as the “Director’s Extended Version”. Whether it is the director’s cut I can’t say, but none of the additional scenes alter the pace or the content of the film in any significant way. Among the extra scenes I noticed an additional scene with a fortune teller on the duo's arrival in Seoul, an extended scene of the Seoul street performance duel, involving the hot coals, some fooling around between Jang-seng and Gong-gil after the minstrel auditions and a scene where two of the ministers plot the Kings downfall after the banquet scene. The quality of this feature is on a par with the Theatrical Version, containing identical specs and fully subtitled in English, though it has no commentary tracks.


Disc 3 Extras
The extra features on Disc 3 are divided into 3 sections. None of these extra features have English subtitles, although those marked * require no subtitles.

Act 1 The first section looks at the making of the film from various aspects. The Making of documentary (22:27) shows filming of the acrobatic and performance scenes and some sequences between Gong-gil and the King. It is interspersed with interviews with the director and filmmaking crew. There’s a more in-depth look at the Art and Costume Design (19:21), with interviews with the production designer. Cast interviews are divided into two sections, one (17:10) with the main cast, the other (12:43) with the “three clowns”. Six Deleted scenes (9:37) are included, some of them extended versions of scenes in the film. One of the extended scenes – the hunting scene climax – is certainly more complete in this version, the fate of one of the characters being quite evidently missing in the Theatrical Cut, but it is not in the Extended Cut either. There is also an interview with the Music Director (6:21) and a *Behind The Scenes

Act 2 The second section shows the preparation for the historical period detail of the film. "Samul Nori" Dance performance (13:49) shows footage of some traditional clown groups in performance, with cast and crew attending clown school. "Pung Mul" Dance performance (17:46) focuses on the drummers who perform for the acts. The King's banquet performance (8:20) shows rehearsals for the dances that make up part of the performance. Beyond the Movie: "Yi" - The original stage play (23:41) takes a look at the original play that the film is based on, showing scenes of the stage performance and interviewing (I assume) the original author. The True Story of Yeon San (14:31), a look at the historical background of the King and the period, is the one feature here that I wish was subtitled, as it would be very interesting to know the factual basis of the film. The Banquet Scene - Behind the scenes (5:44) shows rehearsals for the main performance piece in the film.

Act 3 The third section, the promotional material for the film, is the only section that is mainly friendly for non Korean viewers. The *Poster photo shoot (5:34), shows the cast being photographed in costume for the promotional materials (the final versions of which are included in this set as postcards). There are a couple of Q&A sessions in a Press conference (6:00) and the Footage from the premiere (4:39). The *Music video (4:19) is the obligatory plinky K-pop ballad with sweeping strings. The *TV Spot (1:04) and the Trailer (2:28) are letterboxed and contain what could be considered spoilers. A *Stills gallery (2:05) frames the images in such a way that they can scarcely be distinguished.
featurette, showing outtakes, stunts and candid shots, which has no real dialogue, but is set to music from the film.

Awards at the 43rd Daejong Film Festival
Best Film- The King and the Clown
Best Director- Lee Jun Ik
Best Script/Scenario- Choi Seok Hwan
Best Cinematography- Ji Gil Woong
Best Leading Actor- Gam Woo Sung
Best New Actor- Lee Joon Ki
Best Supporting Actor- Yoo Hae Jin
Most Popular Actor- Lee Joon Ki
Most Popular Actress- Kang Seong Yeon
Most Popular Actor Overseas- Lee Joon Ki

Main Trailer




Tuesday 5 February 2008

爱情

爱情 , 让你有一次的快乐 , 千万次的痛苦。 但你有一倍的甜蜜 , 你将会有多几倍的痛苦。