Product Details

• Actors: Suk-kyu Han, Min-sik Choi, Yunjin Kim, Kang-ho Song, Johnny Kim
• Directors: Je-kyu Kang
• Writers: Je-kyu Kang
• Producers: Kwan-hak Lee, Moo-Rim Byun
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: Korean (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: April 9, 2002
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000633R6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,803 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Shiri" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A dazzling action movie from South Korea, Shiri follows two South Korean government agents, Ryu and Lee, as they pursue a female super-assassin from North Korea. Meanwhile, an elite paramilitary squad from North Korea has stolen a shipment of CTX, an undetectable liquid explosive of enormous power, which they've planted all over the city of Seoul. As their investigations are successively foiled, Ryu and Lee begin to suspect that there is a mole within the ranks of the agency--and it may be one of them. Both hyperstylish and hyperrealistic, Shiri rips along as a smooth fusion of Hong Kong and American action movies. Ryu's troubled romance with his alcoholic fiancée adds a striking emotional counterpoint to the blazing gunfights and high-speed chases; the ending is unexpectedly moving. It's not surprising that this film beat Titanic's box-office records in Korea. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

A phantom sniper methodically assassinates key figures in a South Korean intelligence investigation. Special agen Ryu and his partner Lee suspect North Korea's most lethal female operative.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of Korean cinema February 27, 2004

By Daniel Jolley HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I was excited about having a chance to watch this movie; after all, Shiri became South Korea's most successful and most-watched film of all time, surpassing even the mighty Titanic. It seems only right that a Korean film should hold the box office record in South Korea. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from Shiri; I knew it was an action film involving a deadly female assassin from North Korea and that the plot revolved in some way around the idea of Korean unification, but that was the extent of my knowledge going in. Shiri definitely delivers, offering up heaping platefuls of suspense, action, and gritty violence; it also, much to its credit, carries an emotional payload of love, friendship, betrayal, duty, all of the angst that surrounds the question of unification. The special effects are well done (Shiri had a budget of only five million dollars, but that qualifies as a big budget in Korean cinema), the cinematography is beautiful, and the overall presentation of the film serves to touch the viewer in any number of ways.

I do have to admit that I found parts of the film somewhat confusing, especially early on; I also had trouble keeping some of the characters straight in my mind. I think this is explained by my American viewpoint and the fact that I could not devote all of my attention to the events on the screen as I had to depend on subtitles to follow the dialogue. Additionally, the whole theme of reunification obviously doesn't impact me the way it would a Korean audience. Even I can see how ambitious and daring the plot of this film was, though; this is truly a film borne out of the very soul of Korea.

Hee is North Korea's most infamous assassin, and as the movie opens, she seems to have reappeared for the first time in a year. South Korean special agents Ryu and Lee have been charged with the task of ending her reign of terror; this is no easy job, as she has left a trail of very important corpses right under their noses for years. As it turns out, Hee is not working alone now, and this only complicates things. Working alongside her now is a special, seemingly rogue element of the North Korean military. This group manages to steal a number of containers of a new super-incendiary device called CTX, and they stash these awful weapons throughout the metropolis of Seoul. These revolutionaries make demands that cannot be met, but their true goal is only made manifest in the final stages of the film. Against this backdrop, you have a highly visible cultural joining of both Koreas in the form of a soccer game in Seoul, the symbolism of which is made most obvious by the mutual attendance of the leaders of both Koreas. For special agents Ryu and Lee, the job of finding and eliminating the infamous Hee takes on incredibly emotional dimensions neither man could ever have anticipated, and it is on this highly personal level that the true heart of the movie plays out.

A 1999 film offering two distinct ideas about Korean reunification was definitely a risk for South Korean filmmaker Kang Je-Gyu. Of course, the greater the risk, the larger the possible reward, and this film proved the very opposite of divisive. South Koreans flocked to see Shiri, it is said that North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il arranged to see a stolen copy of it, and the South Korean government itself treated foreign diplomats to a free screening of this historic block-buster. Those who crave action and realistic violence will find much to their liking here, but it is Shiri's surprisingly powerful emotional impact that really sets the film apart as something special.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood needs to pay attention to this movie!! July 21, 2004

By Brainy Babe

Format:DVD

Explosions and car chases...check. Intrigue and espionage...check. Romance...check. Requires a brain to watch...check. This is quite possibly the smartest and most well-rounded action movie in the history of action movies. I loved it. The plot is interesting and makes you see the North Korea/South Korea conflict from a different perspective. (I told you it's smart.) The action leaves you breathless. Normally, I don't like romance in my action movies because it's usually just a cheap attempt to get a woman's top off and a few seconds of sex. The romance in this movie, however, is understated and appropriate. (I never thought I would write something like that in a review of an ACTION movie.) I do have one piece of advice for viewing Shiri: watch it in its native language with English subtitles. Under no circumstances should you listen to the dubbed English soundtrack. It is disappointing and disgusting to see the actors on screen giving it their all while their voices sound like they're watching paint dry. There are several extras, but the music video "When I dream" is the best of them. The song is absolutely beautiful, not to mention heartbreaking. (I even bought a CD by the singer, Carol Kidd, after watching this movie.) For anyone who thinks action movies can't be entertaining and brainy or who still think Godzilla is the true measure of foreign films, watch Shiri. You won't be disappointed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars designer kitten =^-^= May 31, 2004

By =^-^= designer kitten=^-^=

Format:DVD

Shiri
Dubbed by the local press as the 'small fish that sank Titanic', "Shiri (Swiri)" is the most successful film in South Korean box office history.visuals rivaling both Hollywood and Hong Kong action movies, the star power of popular Korean actors Han Suk-kyu ("Christmas in August") and Choi Min-shik, and a story centered around the continuing Cold War tensions between North and South Korea, this espionage action-thriller easily won over domestic audiences when it was released in 1999. "Shiri" also marked a turning point in the evolution of South Korean cinema.That said, the film's action sequences are rather fun to watch, and probably the film's only saving grace. Though the film was made for a paltry $5 million US (which is six times the typical budget for a typical Korean feature), the production values, particularly in the action department, are top-notch.So if you like action films then you will love this film.I give it 5stars because its one better action movies i have seen in good while.