Untold Scandal (Korean: 스캔들 - 조선 남녀 상열지사; RR: Seukandeul - Joseon namnyeo sang'yeoljisa; lit. "Scandal: The Love Story of Men and Women in Joseon") is a 2003 South Korean romantic drama film directed by E J-yong, and starring Bae Yong-joon, Jeon Do-yeon, and Lee Mi-sook. Loosely based on the 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, this adaptation takes place in late 18th century Korea, during the Joseon dynasty.
Untold Scandal | |
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Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Seukandeul - Joseon namnyeo sang'yeoljisa |
McCune–Reischauer | Sŭk'aendŭl - Chosŏn namnyŏ sang'yŏlchisa |
Directed by | E J-yong |
Screenplay by | Kim Dae-woo Kim Hyeon-jeong E J-yong |
Based on | Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos |
Produced by | Lee Yoo-jin Oh Jeong-wan |
Starring | Bae Yong-joon Jeon Do-yeon Lee Mi-sook |
Cinematography | Kim Byeong-il |
Edited by | Kim Yang-il Han Seung-ryong |
Music by | Lee Byung-woo |
Production company | Bom Films |
Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 123 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Budget | $5 million[1] |
Box office | $5,762,801[2] |
In South Korea the film was given an R-18 rating by the Korean Film Ethics Commission.[3] The film was a major commercial success, and became the fourth highest grossing domestic film of 2003 with 3,522,747 tickets sold nationwide.[4]
Plot
editA beautiful but cynical and manipulative noblewoman makes a bet with her free-spirited womanizing cousin that he can have sex with her if he is able to seduce a young woman of great virtue. He accepts the challenge with enthusiasm though not suspecting the nasty trap he is walking into.
Cast
edit- Bae Yong-joon – Jo-won (Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont)
- Jeon Do-yeon – Lady Jeong (Madame Marie de Tourvel)
- Lee Mi-sook – Lady Cho (Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil)
- Lee So-yeon – Lee So-ok (Cécile de Volanges)
- Jo Hyun-jae – Kwon In-ho (Cécile's music tutor Chevalier Raphael Danceny)
- Lee Mi-ji – So-ok's mother (Cécile's mother Madame de Volanges)
- – Madam Jo's husband (Merteuil's former love, the Comte de Gercourt)
- Choi Ban-ya – Chu Wol-yi
- Choi Sung-min – slave
- Jeon Yang-ja – Vice-Premier's wife
- Seo Yoon-ah – Jung-geum
- Han Yi-bin – Eun-sil
- Jung Jae-jin – elder 2
- Kong Ho-suk – elder 3
- Na Han-il – Nobleman Yoo
Differences from the original novel
editMonsieur de Tourvel (Madame Marie de Tourvel/Lady Jeong's husband), who was away for a court case in the novel, was in the film deceased, making Lady Jeong a widow of nine years. Furthermore, Lady Jeong lived in Ganghwa Island, and in the film, she is living in Seoul as there was a plague at her hometown at that time.
Jo-won (Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont) and Madam Jo (Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil) were in the film cousins (Jo-won the younger cousin), and it is revealed that Jo-won's first love was Madam Jo, whereas in the novel, they were rivals, yet using the same tools for their revenge: sex.
Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil (Madam Jo)'s former lover is arranged to be Cécile's future husband in the novel, but in the film, his character is Madam Jo's husband. In So-ok's case, she is being made into a concubine of Madam Jo's husband for the continuity of the family lineage with the elders' consent.
Lee So-ok (Cécile de Volanges) was ushered in to Madam Jo's care to be the concubine of her husband, and is conspiring with Jo-won to make her pregnant for revenge (with Madam Jo telling her husband what really happened to So-ok at her husband's deathbed).
Chevalier Raphael Danceny was originally Cécile's music tutor in the novel, but in the film, Kwon In-ho (Raphael Danceny's counterpart) is the youngest son of Madam Jo's next-door neighbor and also Lady Jeong's cousin.
Awards and nominations
edit2003 Pusan International Film Festival
2003 Blue Dragon Film Awards[5]
- Best New Actor – Bae Yong-joon
- Nomination – Best Actress – Jeon Do-yeon
- Nomination – Best Actress – Lee Mi-sook
2004 Baeksang Arts Awards
- Best New Actor – Bae Yong-joon
2004 Verona Film Festival
- Stefano Reggiani Prize (from the Veneto's Order of Journalists)
- Best Artistic, Technical, or Creative Contribution
- Best Costume Design – Jung Ku-ho, Kim Hee-ju
- Nomination – Best Film
- Nomination – Best Director – E J-yong
- Nomination – Best Actress – Jeon Do-yeon
- Nomination – Best Actress – Lee Mi-sook
- Nomination – Best New Actor – Bae Yong-joon
- Nomination – Best Planning – Lee Yoo-jin
- Nomination – Best Adapted Screenplay – Kim Dae-woo, E J-yong, Kim Hyeon-jeong
- Nomination – Best Cinematography – Kim Byeong-il
- Nomination – Best Art Direction – Jung Ku-ho
- Nomination – Best Music – Lee Byung-woo
2004 Shanghai International Film Festival
- Best Director – E J-yong
- Best Music – Lee Byung-woo
- Best Visual Effects – Lee Jeon-hyeong
- Best Sound Effects – Lee Seung-chul
2004 Korean Film Awards
- Best Art Direction – Jung Ku-ho
- Nomination – Best Actress – Lee Mi-sook
- Nomination – Best Director – E J-yong
- Nomination – Best Cinematography – Kim Byeong-il
- Nomination – Best Music – Lee Byung-woo
References
edit- ^ "Untold Scandal". Korean Cinema 2003. Korean Film Commission(KO FIC). 2003. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- ^ "Box office by Country: Untold Scandal" Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ^ "Bae Yong-jun's 'Scandal' Causing Scandal in Japan". The Chosun Ilbo. 5 April 2004. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
- ^ "The Best Selling Films of 2003". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ^ "Untold Scandal - Awards". Cinemasie. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
External links
edit- Official website (in Korean)
- Untold Scandal at Tiscali UK/TalkTalk Group (website created by UK actor and designer Adam Jennings)
- Untold Scandal at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
- Untold Scandal at IMDb