Blades of Blood
Encyclopedia
Blades of Blood is a 2010 South Korean action drama film directed by Lee Joon-ik. The film is based on the graphic novel Like the Moon Escaping from the Clouds.
The film had its international premiere at New York Asian Film Festival
on July 8, 2010 where it was the festival's closing film. Lee Joon-ik won the Jury Award for Best Director at the Fantasia Festival
in Montreal Canada. Blades of Blood was one of six films considered as Korea's submission for the foreign-language Oscar award.
gave the film a mixed review, stating that "political infighting on the eve of a Japanese invasion is told with unnecessarily broad, imagistic strokes that let character-generated conflicts slip between the blades" as well as that "the film easily outdoes numerous gimmicky f/x extravaganzas, explaining its early pickup by several European and Asian distribs."
Production
Actor Hwang Jung-min expressed his difficulty playing a blind character in the film. Hwang went to schools for blind people to observe their movements but stated that "it still wasn’t an easy role to play".Release
Blades of Blood premiered on April 29, 2010 in Korea.The film had its international premiere at New York Asian Film Festival
New York Asian Film Festival
The New York Asian Film Festival was first held in 2002, growing out of the previous year's New York Korean Film Festival...
on July 8, 2010 where it was the festival's closing film. Lee Joon-ik won the Jury Award for Best Director at the Fantasia Festival
Fantasia Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996...
in Montreal Canada. Blades of Blood was one of six films considered as Korea's submission for the foreign-language Oscar award.
Reception
Film Business Asia gave the film a rating of seven out of ten, praising action and characters calling it a "cut above most Korean swordplay dramas." VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
gave the film a mixed review, stating that "political infighting on the eve of a Japanese invasion is told with unnecessarily broad, imagistic strokes that let character-generated conflicts slip between the blades" as well as that "the film easily outdoes numerous gimmicky f/x extravaganzas, explaining its early pickup by several European and Asian distribs."