Gangster High

Gangster High
Gangster High
Korean name
Hangul	폭력써클
Hanja	暴力써클
Revised Romanization	Pongnyeok Sseokeul
McCune–Reischauer	P'ongnyŏk Ssŏkŭl
Directed by	Park Ki-hyung
Written by	Park Ki-hyung
Produced by	Chung Tae-won ; Moon Woo-seong ; Jo Hyeon-jun
Starring	Jung Kyung-ho; Lee Tae-sung; Jang Hee-jin; Cho Jin-woong; Kim Hye-sung; Kim Ye-ryeong; Lee Haeng-seok
Cinematography	Kim Eung-taek
Edited by	Kim Sun-min
Music by	Lee Seung-ill
Production; company	Taewon Entertainment
Distributed by	Showbox
Release date	October 19, 2006;
Running time	101 minutes
Language	Korean

Gangster High is a 2006 South Korean action film written and directed by Park Ki-hyung.

Plot

In 1991, studious soccer enthusiast Sang-ho creates a soccer club called "Tigers" along with his friends Jae-gu and Chang-bae. Through Jae-gu, he meets an attractive, rebellious girl named Su-hee, who turns out to be Jong-suk's girlfriend, leader of a gang called TNT. The two gangs soon become embroiled in intense and violent conflict. When Jae-gu is killed in a car accident related to a gang fight with Jong-suk, the Tigers decide to avenge him. The two gangs meet in a billiards club, and, despite the pleas of Su-hee, a vicious and brutal fight ensues. Three people end up dying, and the rest permanently damaged, including some of Sang-ho's friends. Sang-ho, being the person who started the fight and the only one to walk away relatively unscathed, is charged with the murder of the three people and is sent to prison, where he reminisces upon the fact that the Tiger soccer club was initially created for the enjoyment of soccer and friendship.^[1]

Release and reception

Gangster High opened in South Korea in October, 2006, and premiered at the European Film Market in Germany on February 8, 2007. In the United States, Derek Elley of Variety described it as bleak and violent, but praised it as "well drawn in all its diversity (and with occasional humor) by a good cast."^[2] James Mudge of Beyond Hollywood gave it a positive review: "Although its premise may sound overly familiar, Gangster High certainly stands as one of the best teen violence films of recent years, with Park proving that he has not lost his touch when it comes to dealing with tales of troubled youth. Hard-hitting and gripping, it offers a different and arguably more convincing take on the usual themes, and contains enough vicious action to entertain as well as provoke."^[1]

The film was distributed in the Netherlands on DVD in 2009 by Splendid Film.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Mudge, James (24 January 2007). "Gangster High (2006) Movie Review". Beyond Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
^ Elley, Derek (15 October 2006). "Review: Gangster High". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
^ "Gangster High (2006) - Release Info". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 2013-12-22. Retrieved 2015-01-09.

External links

Gangster High at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
Gangster High at IMDb
Gangster High at HanCinema

[beyondhollywood.com-1] Mudge, James (24 January 2007). "Gangster High (2006) Movie Review". Beyond Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2012-10-19.

[2] Elley, Derek (15 October 2006). "Review: Gangster High". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2012-10-19.

[3] "Gangster High (2006) - Release Info". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 2013-12-22. Retrieved 2015-01-09.

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