Extras. Dragon Dynasty is presenting this as an "Two-Disc Ultimate Edition." It does contain a good selection of bonus material.
Disc 1
- Commentary. The track features director/star Ryoo Seong-wan. I sampled portions of it; it offers up some good information regarding the shooting and what he was aiming for. It is in Korean, so you will need to turn on the subtitles.
- Blooper Reel. This runs nearly three minutes and consists of your standard onset flubs.
- Trailer Gallery. Includes the original Korean trailer as well as the Dragon Dynasty promo trailer.
Disc 2: Broken down into three sections.
- Pre-Production:
- The Evolution of Action. This features interview footage with Ryoo Seong-wan and plenty of footage from all of his films. He talks of the influence of Hong Kong cinema, his use of angles and varying speeds, and what he likes versus what the movie needs. (12 minutes)
- Creating Emotive Action with Action Director and Star Jung Doo-Hung. This is a good interview that shows the development of Doo-Hung's style and what he seeks to bring to each sequence that he choreographs in relation to the realism and emotion of the individual sequence. (8.5 minutes)
- The City of Violence: Development and Pre-Production. This goes into the desire to make a realistic action film. Budget concerns are discussed as is the involvement of the Seoul Action School. (10 minutes)
- The Art of War Conceptual Designs. This looks at the design of the various locations to add a little flavor to the proceedings. It includes some of the concept graphics and 3D pre visualization that were used. (6.5 minutes)
- Battle Plans: Technical Tests and Pre-Training. This looks at how they selected the shooting format and the various shooting styles and split screens that were used. (6 minutes)
- Production:
- Performance Management: Interviews with the Cast of The City of Violence. Just what it says, this featurette speaks to the primary performers and the creation of the characters and how they were portrayed. (11 minutes)
- Blow by Blow: A Behind-the-Scenes Exploration of the Action Scenes from The City of Violence. From start to finish, this has footage from the training prior to production through all of the big set pieces. It was cool looking at all of the different takes. Lots of good footage. (35 minutes)
- Two Against the Rest: The Making of The City of Violence. Interviews and more footage from the film. Plenty more on the influence of Hong Kong, American, and French cinema. There is also talk of the evolution of action cinema and the desire to try something different. (47.5 minutes)
- A Walk on the Wild Side. This is an interesting featurette that ventures inside the walls of the Seoul Action School. We get a look at the training that goes on and the importance of the school to the Korean film industry and how they worked on The City of Violence. (42 minutes)
- Council of War: A Commentary on the Movie's Action Sequences with Action Director Jung Doo-Hung. Another look at the action sequences and how they designed them. (17 minutes)
- Post-Production:
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary. Nothing terribly groundbreaking, none of them would have added much back to the movie. (8 minutes)
- Behind the Scenes at the Venice Film Festival. A look at the festival appearance and the panels and such they go through. There is a discussion of Kill Bill comparisons, and a few shots with signs for Korean screen quota (though I am not sure what it was in reference too). (~4 minutes)
- Designer Action: The Development of the Artwork for The City of Violence. This was a look at the design of the posters for a film. It was a challenge since it did not star a well known face. The designs all looked pretty good. (4 minutes)
Bottom line. This is not a great movie and it sags a bit through the middle, but there is no denying that this is an adrenaline-filled blast. It is a fun action film that never takes itself too seriously, yet is not a comedy. The performances are good, the action is explosive, and you will want to keep watching and see what is going to happen. This DVD releases is another winner for Dragon Dynasty which has burst on the scene as a top provider of Asian action in the US.
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