"The Great Sea Battle" - Korean movie "1 in 3 people watch"

In its first week in theaters, “Roaring Currents” (English title: Roaring Currents) created a record fever with 150 million viewers. It can be said that 1 in 3 Koreans watched this movie. “Roaring Currents” became a new icon of historical cinema.

Official poster of "The Great Sea Battle"

Recently, the most attractive topic in Korea is not “My Love from the Star” or Kim So Huyn, nor “What is love” and “Jo In Seong” but the blockbuster historical film “Roaring Currents” (English name: Roaring Currents) by director Kim Han Min, with the participation of famous actors Choi Min Sik (Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, Lucy), Ryoo Seung Yong (Miracle in Cell no.7, The Target), Jo Jin Ung.

The film is set in a naval battle in 1597, telling the story of 12 Korean warships in a critical situation still overwhelmingly defeating 330 ships of the Japanese army.

The film premiered in its home country on July 30, and has so far attracted over 150 million viewers, setting a new record. Not only that, it was only released in the North American market on August 15, but just 3 days later, the film earned around 562 thousand dollars, becoming the first Korean film to achieve high revenue in this competitive market.

So what is the appeal of the film?

1. "Credible" actor and director

Director Kim Han Min is known for the film "Homicide Case on Paradise" (2007). Right from his first "battle", he "reaped success" with the prestigious Korean Blue Dragon Film Award for the category of excellent director and screenplay. In addition, his film "The Last Weapon" also achieved the highest box office achievement in Korea in 2011. Therefore, Kim Han Min has great confidence in "The Great Battle".

The main cast of "The Great War" are all famous figures. Veteran actor Choi Min Sik, famous for the series "Oldboy", "I Saw the Devil", "Lucy", and actor Ryoo Seung Yong, "Miracle in Cell no.7", "The Target" are all talented people.

Film crew

2. Low investment cost but high efficiency

The production cost for “The Great Battle of the Seas” was around 15 billion won, which is quite “modest” for a film that combines both “historical and sea battles” in such a grand manner. The producers mainly relied on CG effects to make the magnificent scenes in the film come to life. This is truly astonishing. Previously, the film “Red Cliff” directed by John Woo had to spend 6 times the budget to create the wonderful effects in the film.

In the film, with only 12 warships, General Yi Sun Sin had to fight against 330 warships from the Japanese army. But in reality, when filming at sea, the film crew only used 1 large boat and 3 small boats, the rest was taken care of by special effects.

This dreamlike scene is all thanks to special effects.

In contrast to the modest number of ships, the number of costumes for “The Great Naval Battle” was up to 1,000 sets. Of which, the armor for the Korean army was made by South Korea, and the armor for the Japanese army was made by Japan. The armor worn by actor Ryoo Seung Yong cost about 28 million won… In addition, the cost for weapons was also very large, up to thousands of millions of won.

The costumes in the film are carefully invested.

3. Epic music

In addition to special effects, music is also a strong point in “The Great War”. Kim Tae Seong, who is responsible for music direction, said: “The amount of music in “The Great War” is more than any other film I have ever participated in.” The film uses a symphony that is more than 2 hours long, with more than 100 musicians participating in the performance. In addition, the music accompanying the battles in the film is all live trumpets and flutes, or when the Korean army wins the battle, everyone also uses a piano to celebrate. Indeed, the film crew invested a lot in music, making everyone who watches it feel “happy to the ears”.

4. Content that appeals to the viewer's "psychology"

One of the reasons why “The Great War” was a box office success was that it stimulated patriotism and national pride. The film chose a historical theme, one of the themes that if not carefully handled could either make the film boring, dry and rigid, or it could also anger the audience by conveying false information.

But “The Great Water Battle” avoided both of the above risks, with the smart choice of the battle against the invaders, the director recreated the “glorious history” of their nation on the big screen, making movie-loving audiences love history even more and be proud of their country. That is why the film is suitable for all ages: the elderly, children, youth, middle-aged people… all can enjoy the water battle party without worrying. That is called a “psychological blow”.

In short, the film has truly become a new monument in the historical film genre in Korea, promising films with the same attractive theme in the future in the land of Kim Chi. In Vietnam, audiences will enjoy the blockbuster "The Great Water Battle" in cinemas from September 5.

According to Depplus/MASK