The hallway fight scene in Oldboy is not only one of my favourite scenes ever, but one of the best fight scenes put to film. After 15 years of imprisonment Oh Dae-su (Min-sik Choi) is mysteriously released and is out for vengeance for who locked him up, whilst getting information about the man who imprisoned him he looks to find himself facing 25 bloodthirsty men.
There is not really any camera trickery or unique style to this scene it uses some of the most camera movements and techniques in film history. With a simple tracking shot from the side of the corridor and a long take with no editing or tampering. This is one of the reasons this scene is so amazing, there is no need for shaky cam to make the fighting look more real or quick cutting from hit to hit or even adrenaline filled music to match the scene. It’s the most basic fight scene you’ll ever watch.
The main reason this scene is so ball bustingly amazing is the fact that Oh Dae-su has no real fighting experience to 15 years worth of imaginary training in a room, he is not an unstoppable killing machine who feels no pain and beats up men like tearing through a wet paper bag. He gets his ass kicked for a lot of the fight and fends them off by holding one of their own guys as a shield. At one point he even gets stab in the back and just sits there on the floor for a second like a real person would in that situation and then gets a second wind to get up and keep fighting thanks to the element of surprise.
Min-sik Choi’s acting in this scene is another reason this scene is awesome, he perfectly emulates a man who doesn’t have skill but because of the amount of anger he possess from being bottled up for 15 years is released in a fit of rage. No words are spoken by him just shouts and moans in agony. Nearing the end of the fight you can clearly see that he is just shattered by the amount of fighting he has done (Being done in one take probably doesn’t even makes this acting) he simply falls over trying to walk away. The way he reacts to being hit also is a major factor in the realisticness of the scene, the way he takes being hit by a wooden 2×4 makes me winch.
The way the scene ends is also masterful, mixing elements of intense seriousness with comedy has nearly become a trademark of Chan-wook Park (Director) and works perfectly in this context. This scene took 17 takes over three days to get right and boy was it worth it. It’s the perfect example to younger filmmakers that you don’t need gore or even cutting to make a fight scene great sometimes a guy getting his ass kicked and barely winning is more relatable and better to watch. Also nobody is killed in this scene they are all left on the floor in pain, not even murder is needed to make a scene brutal and memorable.
Films I Love 