Pido nunmuldo eobshi

For a couple of years now, I'd worn down my region 3 DVD copy of "No Blood No Tears" and nearly despaired when the thin plastic at the center of the DVD cracked, making it hard to play. Thankfully a Region 1 DVD edition is now available, and we can all enjoy director Ryu Seong Won's fun, Tarantino-esquire crime caper/action comedy.

In a nutshell, "No Blood No Tears" is about two down-and-out women, who spy a chance to make some quick money, enough to change their dead-end lives, inadvertently setting off a six-sided gang war over the missing funds. The film is also noteworthy for the first on-screen appearance of South Korea's most accomplished action director/martial arts choreographer Jeon Du Hong ("Fighter in the Wind, Arahan") as "The Silent Man", a mob enforcer.

Stylishly shot in browns, reds and inky blacks, "No Blood No Tears" only drawbacks are two chase scenes, one on foot, the other a car chase, that are a bit unconvincing. Otherwise, "No Blood No Tears" is really fun stuff. It's definitely worth a try, if nothing else for the impromptu "cage match" between Jeon's "silent man" and Jeong's "Bulldog" a washed up ex-boxer, one of the best fight scenes I've seen in some time.

Although at times I found the movie too dark to see what exactly was going on, I thought it was well written and well played.

The cast of characters is wide, but like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, it all makes sense in the end. And it's funny, too. The action scenes are...quite intense, and not being knowledgeable about martial arts beyond 'that's cool!', I was really impressed.

All in all, I recommend it!

It's got a lot of hot and heavy action. Cops versus criminals. Criminals versus criminals. Two women trying to escape everyone. Dodgy deals. Backstabbing. Violence. Dogfights. Underworld gambling. Money-making schemes. Power and greed. Oh and the union of disabled gangsters. WHO I LOVED!

There is a pivatol moment where the lead protagonist; a female cab driver's taxi; is hit by the mobster's girlfriend in his car and they crash at an intersection! They start arguing and the girlfriend wants to pay back and she gets the cab driver's contact details.

From there they end-up hanging out and becoming 'associates'. Except it gets really messy as the girlfriend is betrayed by another gangster and it all explodes on action in huge fights!

It's really well-made and the choreography is exceptional. The stunt team did a staggeringly-good job and the hotel escape is one really technically-proficient piece done superbly! Editing is also accompished and efficient.

The car chases are a bit ott but the style is sequenced well. The banter between characters is fabulous. It's very dark humoured. There's lots of chraacter-development.

Script-wise it is not a unique movie but it is executed very well and the professionalism of the team to keep it entertaining and fun for nearly 2 hours deserves praise.

It's a really fun movie with some excellent hard-hitting performances. Out on the amazing Third Window Films. Their very first release in the UK on digital video disc. Thank you!

I read about this at Kungfu Cult Cinema and was not disappointed. On the surface it's kind of like "Thelma and Louise" meets "lock, stock and 2 smoking barrels", with some super bad-ass martial arts stuff here and there. Humorous, gritty and stylish, the movie really gets you rooting for the two protagonists, hoping for them to come out on top after being held down so long. It was also reminiscent of "Bound", which is kind of "Thelma and Louise"-ish in it's own right. This was a lot better than that movie(thelma...) to me though. I liked the characters better, anyway I really enjoyed it and I think anyone looking for something cool will like it too.

What this film does have a lot of: blood, cigarette smoke (*cough*), profanity (if you want to learn Korean swear words this is your flick) and double-crossings. All for a bag full of Won.

I prefer to see my fight scenes as if I'm watching a ballet. I want to be able to see the whole stage. "Pido" films its fight scenes as if the viewer was a referee in a boxing match. This frustrated me. Both sexes get equal opportunity pummeling.