(South Korea 2003)

Original Title: Jigureul Jikyeora! 지구를 지켜라!

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Directed by Jang Joon-hwan Produced by Kim Seon-a, Cha Seoung-jae Starring: Shin Ha-kyun, Baek Yoon-shik, Hwang Jung-min, Lee Jae-yong, Lee Ju-hyeon, Gi Ju-bong, Kim Dong-hyun, Ye Soo-jung, Kim Ki-chun Reviewing: Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-ray Release Genres: Sci-fi / Drama / Comedy

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Rating: 4.5 / 5

Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-ray Synopsis: In 2003, the same year as Oldboy and Memories of Murder, Korean cinema welcomed its most audacious debut: Jang Joon-hwan's delerious Save the Green Planet!. Manic yet focused, outrageous yet grounded,this genre-defying smorgasbord was destined to become South Korea's ultimate cult classic. The world is in grave danger but no one seems to realise it. Thankfully, Byeong-gu (Shin Ha-kyun, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) is our salvation. To everyone else, Chairman Kang (Baek Yoon-sik, The President's Last Bang) is a pillar of society, but Byeing-gu sees him for who he really is: an alien from the Andromedan galaxy. Byeong-gu's only course of action is clear: kidnap the chairman and extract the truth via torture. With his tightrope walking girlfriend by his side and city cops on his heels, he must use any means necessary to prove himself to the world and save us before it's too late. Boldly blending sci-fi, horror, comedy, procedural, and social commentary, Save the Green Planet is the gift that keeps on giving. Returning to the home video market after two decades with an electrifying new director-approved 4K transfer, this tale of conspiracy wrestling with reality beams down just when we need it the most. (118 Mins)

 

Tartan Asia UK DVD Synopsis: Byung-Gu is an ordinary young man. He believes that all of the earth's social ills are the result of evil doings of aliens. That's why he knows that, unless he can meet the prince from Andromeda before the total lunar eclipse, planet Earth will be destroyed. However, to meet the prince, he must find an extraterrestrial representative living on earth. So he kidnaps the most logical suspect; the boss of a multi-national company and thus begins a battle of wills between himself, who's trying to uncover the secret alien plot to destroy earth, and the boss, who thinks Byung-Gu is nuts and tries desperately to escape. With only four hours until the lunar eclipse, will time run out for planet Earth? Can Byung-Gu single-handedly save the green planet? Possibly the only film that can be said to be a combination of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Red Dragon... (113 Mins)

 

Views: This very fun wacky sci-fi action-comedy from 2003 has seemingly been forgotten about since it's original UK DVD release back in 2005, courtesy of Palisades Tartan. Thankfully, it's now getting restored and released on 4K UHD Blu-ray thanks to Arrow Video. A young conspiracy theorist called Lee Byeong-gu, has convinced himself that aliens are soon going to be invading earth. Along with his circus performer girlfriend Su-ni, Lee kidnaps Kang Man-shik, an executive of a well-known pharmaceutical company, who he believes is an alien. While imprisoned in his basement, Kang gets put through a number of torturous tests to stop him contacting other Aliens, but things soon get out of hand which unleashes the memories of Byeong-gu's troubled past, a number of murders, and plenty of other problems that are out of this world!

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I don't think I've ever quite experienced anything quite like Save The Green Planet – a movie that takes you on an emotional roller-coaster. It makes us laugh, cry, cheer, and fear. But most of all, and as fantastical and wild as it all turns out to be, it blatantly shows the human race just why, someday soon, we will be the cause of our own downfall. Much like Hayao Miyazaki's works from Studio Ghibli, that teach us how important it is to care for each other and the planet, Jang Joon-hwan hits us where it hurts with a similar message – albeit with a stronger, darker, and realistic approach than Miyazaki's works. Touching on mental health, abuse and love, Save The Green Planet is an experience and a half, and one that will sit with you for a long time after. It's no wonder that the film bagged Jang the Best Director award at the 4th Busan Film Critics Awards shorty after it's release, which was quite the win for his debut film who came up with the idea for the script after watching Misery (1990). While I have not yet seen any other feature works of his since, I wouldn't say no if they ever became available...

 

The fantastic Shin Ha-kyun turns in a powerful performance as the broken con Lee Byeong-gu – I mean, he is just incredible. Starting his film career in the late 90s, Shin exploded onto the scene as after appearing in Park Chan-wook's amazing Joint Security Area (2000). After appearing in the fun Guns & Talks (2001) just after that, he returned to work with Park as the lead of his widely celebrated Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002) alongside the equally talented Song Kang-ho. A couple more fell in between that and Save The Green Planet, and since then, Shin Ha-kyun has went onto become one of the many highly praised actors of South Korean cinema, continuing to impress in films such as Chan-wook's Lady Vengeance (2005) and Thirst (2009), Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005), The Front Line (2011), The Villainess (2017) and so much more – returning to work with Jang in his 2004 outrageous short film, Hair, which is available to watch here on the second disc. The lovely Hwang Jung-min delivers a wonderful debut role as his child-like girlfriend, a feisty circus-performer who will do anything for the love of her life. The pair would reunite as brother and sister in 2017's Room No. 7, directed by Lee Yong-seung. But perhaps it is popular actor, Baek Yoon-shik, who gets the most surprising role of all as Kang Man-shik; the ignorant and abusive pharma-boss who carries his own big secret. I really enjoyed Baek in this role and have since enjoyed him in films such as The Art of Fighting (2006), Woochi the Demon Slayer (2009), and The Chase (2017). All are joined by names such as Lee Jae-yong, Gi Ju-bong, Lee Ju-hyeon and Kim Dong-hyun, with Ye Soo-jung appearing as Shin's mother.

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Joining the stunning 'director's approved' 4K restoration is a host of bonus features including two great audio commentaries including one with producer Pierce Conran and FX artist Dan Martin, and an archival commentary with director Jang Joon-hwan and actor Shin Ha-kyun. We get an optional 2 minute introduction from the director, both before the movie plays or in the extras section, and a great Q&A session running just over 30 minutes, which was filmed at the BFI in 2024. This sees Jang questioned on stage, with his answers delivered in Korean before his interpreter translates for the audience. There are two photo galleries available – the first offering the complete Script Book with 62 images on offer at your own pace, and the the second offering 198 pages of storyboards to enjoy which was quite impressive. On the accompanying Blu-ray disc, we get even more starting with Extraterrestrial Perspectives; a new 28 minute interview with director Jang Joon-hwan where he looks back on Save The Green Planet which was great to see. Cinematographer Hong Kyoung-pyo discusses his experience on this film, in a 15 minute piece called Bringing the Truth into Focus, who reveals that he was indeed the assistant to celebrated DOP and Wong Kar Wai regular, Christopher Doyle. Exfoliating the Truth is a 2 minute unboxing video of the super-rare South Korean DVD release, which was great to see and something I would love to get my hands on! We then get some short films from the director including his stop-motion film The Lazy Mirror (1993) and Hair (2004), as well as an archival and new interview that sees him discuss 2001: Imagine in both – his short film from 1994 that plays like a pre-cursor to Save The Green Planet. The archival features offer nine 'making of' featurettes which cover SFX, stunt-action, music and more; all of which make for an exciting and lengthy watch. These are joined by six interviews from the director, cast and crew, and three promotional featurettes including footage of the Korean Premiere, and questions from the fans. Nine interesting deleted scenes are available, one of which sees Lee removing a cock-ring from Kang, that begin with an archival introduction on each by the director. And finally, some trailers and image galleries help finish things off which include the 'Hidden Gallery' that was a hidden photo gallery on the original Korean DVD release of the film. Without a doubt, a jam-packed release that will keep you entertained for hours.

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Often hilarious, wildly creative, beautifully scored and definitely hard hitting at times – with a taste of Yuen Woo Ping inspired action thrown in for good measure – I think it's only fair to say that Save The Green Planet was ahead of it's time, yet probably more relevant today than it was upon release. It's also probably worth noting that it recently just had a Hollywood remake, with Jang Joon-hwan serving as the writer and producer, under the name of Bugonia (2025) with star Emma Stone. Regardless, Save The Green Planet is a film that has only gotten better over the years, and this new 4K release from Arrow Video is the perfect way to celebrate that!

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Overall: An almost perfect movie experience, Save The Green Planet has a lot to offer and ishighly recommended for anyone looking something a little different!

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Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-ray Extras: 4K restoration, Archival Audio Commentary with Jang Joon-hwan & Shin Ha-kyun, Audio Commentary with Pierce Conran & Dan Martin, Film Introduction by Jang Joon-hwan, Q&A Session with Jang Joon-hwan, Storyboard & Script Galleries, New Interview with Jang Joon-hwan, New Interview with Hong Kyoung-pyo, Interview with Jang Joon-hwan on his short film 2001: Imagine, Short films by Jang Joon-hwan, Archival Making of Featurettes, Interviews, Deleted Scenes and Trailer, Stills Galleries

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Tartan Asia DVD Extras: Director's Audio Commentary, Original Trailer, The Lazy Mirror Short Film by Jang Joon-hwan, 9 Deleted Scenes with Director Commentary, Making of Documentary, 8 Behind the Scenes Documentaries, and 8 Cast & Crew Interviews

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