Inside Men (Korean: 내부자들; Hanja: 内部者들; RR: Naebujadeul) is a 2015 South Korean political action thriller film written and directed by Woo Min-ho based on Yoon Tae-ho's webtoon The Insiders that dissects the corruption within Korean society.[2] Starring Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo and Baek Yoon-sik, it began filming in July 2014 and was released in theaters on November 19, 2015.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] [13] Inside Men and the director's cut Inside Men: The Original have sold a total of 9.1 million admissions at the box office, thus becoming the top grossing R-rated movie of all-time at the Korean Box office.[14][15][16][17][18]
| Inside Men | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpeg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Naebujadeul |
| McCune–Reischauer | Naebujadŭl |
| Directed by | Woo Min-ho |
| Written by | Woo Min-ho |
| Based on | The Insiders by Yoon Tae-ho |
| Produced by | Lee Min-su |
| Starring | Lee Byung-hun Cho Seung-woo Baek Yoon-sik |
| Cinematography | Go Nak-seon |
| Edited by | Kim Sang-bum Kim Jae-bum |
| Distributed by | Showbox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 130 minutes 180 minutes (director's cut) |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$63 million[1] |
Plot edit
Lee Kang-hee, an editor at an influential conservative newspaper, raises congressman Jang Pil-woo to the position of leading presidential candidate using the power of the press; behind this is his secret deal with the paper's biggest sponsor, Mirae motors.
Ahn Sang-goo, a political henchman who supported Lee and Jang, gets caught pocketing the record of the sponsor's slush fund, resulting in a dismembered hand. Woo Jang-hoon, an ambitious prosecutor, starts to investigate the relationship between Jang and the sponsor, believing that it's his only chance to make it to the top. While getting down to the brass tacks of the case, Woo meets Ahn, who has been methodically planning his revenge. The war between the one blinded with power, the one hell-bent on vengeance, and the one eager for success begins, as prosecutor Woo becomes the "inside men" to expose the dark scheme of Lee and Jang to the people.[19]
Cast edit
- Lee Byung-hun as Ahn Sang-goo
- Cho Seung-woo as Woo Jang-hoon
- Baek Yoon-sik as Lee Kang-hee
- Lee Geung-young as Jang Pil- woo
- Kim Hong-pa as Oh Hyun-soo
- Bae Seong-woo as Park Jong-pal
- Jo Jae-yoon as Section chief Bang
- Kim Dae-myung as Go Sang-chul
- Jo Woo-jin as Managing director Jo
- Lee El as Joo Eun-hye
- Jung Man-sik as Choi Choong-sik, Chief prosecutor in Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office
- Kim Byeong-ok as Oh Myung-hwan, Secretary for civil affairs in the Blue House
- Kim Eui-sung as Editor-in-chief in Joguk Ilbo
- Park Jin-woo as Department head Lee
- Nam Il-woo as Woo Jang-hoon's father
- Kwon Hyeok-poong as Seok Myeong-gwan
- Ryu Tae-ho as Moon Il-seok
- Park Sang-gyoo as Kim Seok-woo
- Kwon Tae-won as Song Man-seob, Sponsorship chairman Jang Pil-woo
- Jo Deok-je as Detective Choi
- Park Jin-young as Member of parliament Son
Reception edit
On its first four days at the South Korean box office, the film grossed ₩13.2 billion.[20] Inside Men drew more than 2 million viewers in just six days, a record for an R-rated film; it has also set the record for the most-viewed R-rated movie in a single day—489,503 viewers.[21]
Awards and nominations edit
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | Inside Men | Nominated |
| Best Director | Woo Min-ho | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Won | ||
| Baek Yoon-sik | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Woo Min-ho | Nominated | ||
| 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Film | Inside Men | Nominated | |
| Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Won | ||
| Best Screenplay | Woo Min-ho | Nominated | ||
| 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | Inside Men | Won | |
| Best Director | Woo Min-ho | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Woo Min-ho | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Won | ||
| Best New Actor | Joo Woo-jin | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | Nominated | ||
| 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Film | Inside Men | Won | |
| Best Director | Woo Min-ho | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Lee Geung-young | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Lee El | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Woo Min-ho | Won | ||
| Best Planning | Kim Won-kook | Won | ||
| 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Film | Inside Men | Nominated | |
| Best Director | Woo Min-ho | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Baek Yoon-sik | Nominated | ||
| Best Trailer | Inside Men | Nominated | ||
| 10th Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Won | |
| Best Production Designer | Cho Hwa-sung | Nominated | ||
| 21st Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Director | Woo Min-ho | Nominated | |
| Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Woo Min-ho | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Baek Yoon-sik | Nominated | ||
| 16th Director's Cut Awards | Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Won | |
| 36th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Won | |||
| Ten Best Films of the Year | Inside Men | Won | ||
| 3rd Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Actor | Lee Byung-hun | Won | |
| 5th Marie Claire Film Festival | Pioneer Award | Won | ||
| 15th New York Asian Film Festival | Star Asia Award | Won | ||
| 4th Marie Claire Asia Star Awards | Actor of the Year | Won |
References edit
- ^ "INSIDE MEN to Infiltrate Hong Kong".
- ^ Baek, Byung-yeul (14 October 2015). "Film completes cartoon Inside Men". The Korea Times. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ Jin, Eun-soo (9 April 2014). "Lee Byung-hun has big plans". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (10 April 2014). "INSIDERS Adds LEE Byung-hun". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ Jin, Eun-soo (5 June 2014). "Jo says yes to The Insiders". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ Tae, Sang-joon (11 June 2014). "THE INSIDERS Confirm LEE Byung-hun and CHO Seung-woo". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (22 July 2014). "INSIDERS with LEE Byung-hun Begins Shooting". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Baek, Byung-yeul (4 November 2015). "Inside Men depicts world controlled by corrupt power elite". The Korea Times. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ "Inside Men demand prompts early release". The Korea Times. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Won, Ho-jung (19 November 2015). "Herald Review: Inside Men sees darkness everywhere". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ Jin, Eun-soo (20 November 2015). "Cho steps up in Inside Men". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ^ Na, Won-jeong (24 November 2015). "Lee Byung-hun contemplates betrayal, revenge". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ^ "Actor Lee Byung-hun Takes on Corruption in 'Inside Men'". NBC News. 8 July 2016.
- ^ "Is the Era of 10-million-admissions Opening for R-rated Movies?".
- ^ "Inside Men (2015)". www.koreanfilm.or.kr. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19.
- ^ "Inside Men: The Original (2015)". www.koreanfilm.or.kr. Archived from the original on 2016-01-07.
- ^ "미주중앙일보 - 미주 최대 한인 뉴스 미디어".
- ^ "'내부자들', 역대 청불영화 흥행 경신…'친구' 넘었다". 8 January 2016.
- ^ Kim, Hyun-jung (23 November 2015). "Inside Men". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ Ma, Kevin (23 November 2015). "Inside Men wins South Korea box office". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Inside Men draws record 2 million in 6 days". The Korea Times. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
External links edit
- Inside Men at the Korean Movie Database
- Inside Men at IMDb
- Inside Men at HanCinema
