Customer Reviews

Volcano High

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

The first side of this movie has the 80 minute American MTV version dubbed by rappers and the like - and is quite honestly crap. It is supposedly the directors cut - but the way it is cut changes the original storyline and is confusing especially if you have seen the original.

There are three cuts of Volcano High the original Korean version
(122 min) the International version(100 min) then the American version (abt 80 min). If you flip the disk over it does contain
the original Korean version(with Eng subtitles) this does redeem
the movie to some extent.

The basic plot stays the same in all three movies a good boy with supernatural powers who has been kicked out of 8 or 9 high schools gets one last chance at Volcano High where everyone
in the school knows martial arts and is after a secret manuscript.

my recommendation is for the International version of the movie
(it is not too fast -nor too slow) then the original version
then lastly the American version.

If you're in the mind for a over-the-top, crazed, charged, genre-bending action-comedy movie, then VOLCANO HIGH is a good choice. It has great energy and interesting performances from the stars. The anamorphic picture is quite good and the sounds is very good. It is really nice to have the original Korean movie, as i find the MTV version nearly unwatchable, but the real annoyance here is that the english subtitles are CC english subtitles, which means there are things like, "[Thinking]" or "[Rumbling]" that show up in teh subtitles, which are just too irritating.

4 stars for the movie
-1 star for the bad subtitling.

I don't know why they have Hip Hop stars adorning and overpowering the DVD cover. They are not even in the film they just do the english audio and soundtrack. Maybe they thought that would attract north american movie buyers. Anyways if you look closely at the tiny images at the top of the cover you will see the fine young korean actors.

This is a cool "Korean" kick-ass fantasy film in the veins of "Dragon Ball Z". You can watch it with english subtitles and the original korean audio track and you still be blown away.

Don't listen to the naysayers; some people just don't believe in live and let live. Sure the MTV version is a butchered and mercilessly chopped-up version of the original, but the hip-hop voice acting and soundtrack make it a fun movie for more casual viewers. But for those who want a deeper experience, there's the original, which viewers will find has a more complex plot, expanded editing and larger roles for much of the supporting cast which were greatly marginalized in the MTV version. Now if they could only offer a third alternative: the original cut, with the original script, but dubbed with the hip-hop voice-overs and soundtrack. MTV didn't need to Americanize it so much that they had to remove so many extensive scenes from the original; give some credit to the viewers to be able to enjoy another country's art and culture without worrying that they'll reject it, or worse, defect from the union. For having both versions (and hopefully it's the complete version of the original) this is very much a worthy buy.

OK, I'll try to keep this short, but this release really has me PO'd!! If it was possible, I'd give ZERO stars!!!
DON'T BUY THIS PIECE OF JUNK!!!! And, that was putting it mildly!! The original version (yes, there is another version!) of this film is a GREAT mix of martial arts, action, comedy and SFX. It is an absolute blast to watch!!! But, this US released version has been COMPLETELY changed. First, it has been cut buy 19(!!!) minutes. Second, it has been rearranged. Third, it was DUBBED by rap and hip-hop stars!!!!!!
The tag line is "Where Hip-Hop and Martial Arts Collide". The original has NOTHING to do with hip-hop or gangs or anything like that!! It is basically a story of a guy who has "special" powers (it's explained) and is trying to graduate from high school but he always gets into trouble because no one will leave him alone. There is also another storyline dealing with the "secret manuscripts".
I own an Asian cinema DVD shop in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and I have been watching this movie since 2002. You can find the original almost anywhere online and, if my memory serves my right, Amazon sold it for awhile through the Tai Seng distributor. Buy the original. ENJOY!!!
But US distributors mutilating Asian films is nothing new! (MIRAMAX is the worst of the distributors) Why is it we (Americans) always have to change things if they aren't American?!!! Ninety-nine percent of all Asian films are cut, rearranged or DUBBED!!! Why? Are Americans (yes, I was born here!!) that dumb? Acutally I'm afraid of that answer! Who are we to change other peoples works of art? Even "Hero" was slighty altered. (The subtitles at the end were made to be more acceptable to the Western-i.e. Christian population). Can't we leave anything alone? Would it hurt to learn from other cultures, especially those that have been around for thousands of years and we haven't even been here for 300 years?
It seems, and I know I am going way off the original subject, that we have the attitude, "If it ain't American, it ain't good. If it ain't American, we MAKE it American!". It is ashame that the American based ditributors of foreign films feel this way. At the very least we should be given a choice of the versions of some of the greatest films in cinematic history. Let the viewer decide. If you want a crappy, cut-up, dubbed American version, FINE!!!! But give the others out there who want to learn about and appreciate other cultures the option of doing so.
Well, so much for keeping it short!! Until next time.....
If it ain't American, we'll make it American. It seems that is a view held by alot of people in our government. Hmmmm....

Hey, you 2 reviewers...
Just going on the info that was presented by Amazon and every other place I have looked! Whether it has both versions or not is not the real point. The fact is that some stupid American company was dumb enough to destroy a really cool movie in the FIRST place!! Just like most American companies change and destroy almost all movies that aren't American!
How can you say the director should get the highest reviews, when this TURD isn't even the real movie?!!!!
Get your facts straight about the ORIGINAL movie!

For those of us who are over the age of 25, back in the day we would all watch classic kung-fu movies on Saturday morning/afternoon TV. We remember that those movies were full of action but on the flipside they were also full of the most horrendously done dubbing of English voices that would make you laugh for virtually no reason. Nowadays we can relive those days thanks to Spike TV and their new "Films of Fury" series on Saturday afternoons, but last year MTV (Spike TV's big brother channel) decided to try a little experiment.

The experiment was to take an actual live-action movie and do the exact same thing the old-school movies did, however the film would be more recent (2001) and the dubbers would be those that the new-schoolers could feel (some of the most popular hip-hop artists around) The end result would be Volcano High, which did originally air on MTV last year and gets an official DVD release this year.

The MTV version, which is a truncated version of the original Korean film (also on the disc)focuses on Kim (voiced by OutKast's Andre 3000), a young man who has a little problem with the fact that he possesses an amazing power but it has gotten him kicked out of 8 schools. So Kim is sent to his 9th school, the titular school. Once he arrives he already finds himself hounded by the school bully Jang Yang (voiced by Lil Jon), attracted to a fellow student (voice: Mya) and has a slight run-in with the top student of the school, Hakrim (voice: Snoop Dogg).

When an incident occurs that sends the school's beloved principal to the hospital and Hakrim to jail for attempted murder, the evil Vice Principal (voice: Pat Morita) begins to take over with extreme discipline and rules that are enforced by a group of the meanest substitute teachers around, led by the stone-faced Mr. Ma (voice: Method Man). When the students learn that an even more insidious plan is in store for the students, Hakrim reveals to Kim that his powers are the only way the principal and Mr. Ma can be stopped.

The film is a fun little trip back for some and a total head-trip for others but it does feature some unintentionally funny moments (listen carefully and you'll hear Andre 3000 say a rather OutKast-ian variation on a phrase that made me bust a gut the first time I heard it) It also features something for the old heads that grew up with this type of film and those of us that are more hip to what's hot. It may not appeal to all but this is one class that you might like to attend...

i bought this movie today and i think tha MTV verson was funny and k but tha orginal was way better do to tha fact that i wasn`t edited...

Why is everyone putting down this dvd release!? It has BOTH versions of the movie on it. The original AND the MTV version. I am going to get it because once again it has BOTH versions of the movie. Stop bashing something that you have no idea what you are talking about. Get some facts people.

I really gave this movie one star because it is the average of four stars that I would have awarded to the Korean version and negative two stars that I generously bestow upon the MTV version. Seriously. You can purchase this DVD, that's fine by me, but after opening the package for the first time please follow these instructions carefully:
1) Locate side A of your DVD which contains the MTV version.
2) Rub vigorously with 60-grit sandpaper until you can no longer see your reflection in that side of the disc.
3) Insert side B of the disc, watch, and enjoy.
Following these steps will prevent you from accidentally witnessing the perversion that MTV has committed in trying to "gangsterize" this film.

Ok, it isn't like this film was the Film of the Year or anything, but it was entertaining... until MTV got ahold of it and ghetto'd it up with a bunch of rappers doing stupid voiceovers. The voice acting on this is sooo out of place and honestly embarrasing. I would ask "what where they thinking" but judging from the cover art, it is clear. You can practically hear the Viacom execs saying, "Hey the kids like those rappers and that Wu Fu Clan game is popular! Let's get rappers that can't act do the voices for a Korean fighting movie! Word!" Yep, it is that sad. Buy the import, avoid this turd.