Doomsday Book (Blu-ray) (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Trailer-Doomsday Book Trailer-Tai Chi 0 Trailer-Nightfall Trailer-Bedevilled Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	113:20 (Case: 115)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Pil-Sung Yim Kim Jee-Woon
Studio Distributor	Zio Entertainment Madman Entertainment	Starring	Doona Bae Joon-ho Bong Seung-beom Ryu Jun-hee Ko Kang-woo Kim Ji-hee Jin
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Mowg

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Korean DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (1920Kb/s) Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

“The End is just Another Beginning”

    Doomsday movies are a dime a dozen, and after the topical 2012 “prophecies” some new contributions could only be expected. So comes Doomsday Book from the prospering South Korean motion picture industry. Doomsday Book however differs in that it offers an anthology of three very different doomsday scenarios, with two entries having a decidedly humorous slant on proceedings, whereas the middle entry is a lot more cerebral and deliberately vague as far as "the end" is concerned.

    Chapter 1 – Brave New World. Directed by Yim Pil-sung, Brave New World is another entry in the zombie apocalypse genre which doesn’t take itself very seriously at all. Nerdish Seok-woo (Seung-beom Ryu) is tasked with cleaning the apartment while his unsupportive parents leave for an overseas trip. For whatever reason the premises becomes absolutely filthy, and the dirt adverse Seok-woo struggles to clean it up. During the process an apparently tainted apple ends up into the food chain and over time is incorporated into the beef from slaughtered cows. On a date with his new girlfriend they eat some restaurant barbequed steak and along with a number of others begin to turn into zombies. As the news reports of an abnormal virus starts to circulate, those familiar with zombie characteristics can easily see the signs that the walking dead are taking over and that the end is nigh. The Adam and Eve analogy is obvious as is the laboured humour which for me doesn’t really work so well. This is no Sean of the Dead played for laughs, and the mix of moral metaphors and humour left me unsure of the message by conclusion.

    Chapter 2 – Heavenly Creature. The most interesting entry of the three is Heavenly Creature directed by Kim Ji-woon. Park Do-won (Kang-woo Kim) Is a robot technician in a world where it seems that robots have taken over as companions of choice and have become central to human life. His professional credentials are threatened when called to check a robot named In-Myung who works as a guide in a Buddhist temple. In-Myung is believed to have reached Buddhist enlightenment, and appears to have human qualities that should be missing in a robot. In Park's diagnosis the robot’s computer systems appear normal, however it is clear that there is something very different and spiritual with this machine. In response to this abnormality the chief managers of the robot manufacturers company UR International visit the temple, and despite the protests of the monks decide to terminate In-Myung. Is it possible that machines could gain a soul if treated as humans? Heavenly Creature seems to suggest that not only could this be true, but that over time the difference between humans and robots could become irrelevant. Similarity to I, Robot is obvious, although in this case In-Myung is a much more benign and thoughtful subject.

    Chapter 3 – Happy Birthday. Again directed by Yim Pil-sung, Happy Birthday deals with the unlikely prospect of an online purchase resulting in the end of the world. When little girl Min-seo (Ji-hee Jin) buys a replacement number 8 billiard ball for her 8-ball mad father, she did not expect it to be delivered in the form of a 10 kilometre wide asteroid hurtling towards Earth. As news telecasts focus on the impending doomsday Min-seo realises that she might be able to avert doom by canceling the purchase if only there is time. Being already installed in a home-made underground bunker however means an unreliable power source and no UPS backup for her computer. Can mum and dad pedal the electricity generator hard enough for her to cancel the delivery and save the world? Similar to Brave New World, this entry in the trilogy uses humour to portray the blight of consumerism and superficiality. The newsroom scenes are genuinely amusing as the co-anchors fight over their love lives and on-screen prominence despite the shadow of death hanging over all of them. Although amusing enough, this final entry is however a little too shallow and therefore fails to round off Doomsday Book in a satisfying manner.

    In an anthology the premise is that the individual components, although different, together make a whole. Doomsday Book however fails on this count as in my opinion the only really thought provoking segment is Heavenly Creature. It is also constructed in quite a different manner and style to the other two entrants which results in a discordant flow to proceedings. As a single entry Creature is undeniably strong, but in weaker company its thought provoking message is diluted. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Doomsday Book promotions and artwork all centre heavily on the Heavenly Creature component with the bookending segments as support features only.

Video

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Menu

    The menu featured looping audio with animated background.

Movie Trailers

    All playing sequentially before the opening menu. HD video and Dolby Digital 2.0 at 192 Kb/s. Tai Chi 0 (1:09) , Nightfall (0:56), Bedevilled (1:36).

    Selected from the "extras" menu: Doomsday Book (0:57). HD video Dolby Digital 2.0 192 Kb/s.

    The region A release seems identical to this version.

    As a concept putting three different doomsday scenarios into one package seems creditable. In practice however the strong Heavenly Creatures is offset by the weaker opening and closing segments so much so that the overriding concept is diluted. Mixing comedy with pathos is fine, but if the comedy isn’t funny or dark enough then it presents as filler only without contributing the whole. Nevertheless Doomsday Book is a creditable entrant from the South Korean movie industry that is well worth a look.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The extra are poor.

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