{"id":24218,"date":"2022-10-20T17:59:22","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T15:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1725497"},"modified":"2022-10-20T18:17:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T16:17:11","slug":"park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"Park Chan-wook explains Hitchcock influence on new film Decision to Leave"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 20 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in 2022, Park Chan-wook\u2019s latest film Decision to Leave has seen many viewers draw comparisons with the work of Alfred Hitchcock, particularly his 1958 classic Vertigo.<\/p>\n

Given Park has often claimed Vertigo is his favourite film of all time, those comparisons might not come as too much of a surprise, but in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com<\/a> the director revealed that he only really noticed the similarities after he\u2019d finished his film<\/p>\n

\u201cThese two films didn\u2019t cross my mind when I was making this film,\u201d he said when asked about comparisons with both Vertigo and Paul Verhoeven\u2019s Basic Instinct. \u201cBut of course, now that I\u2019m finished and after seeing it, I can see where the connection is happening \u2013 especially with Vertigo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>Park \u2013 whose previous films include Oldboy and The Handmaiden \u2013 went on to explain that although he wasn\u2019t consciously thinking of Hitchcock when writing the script, there were a couple of scenes where the Master of Suspense\u2019s influence was definitely felt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe connection is visible in a particular scene where the detective is pursuing the suspect,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s an outdoor scene during the daytime and the camera is pursuing the suspect from an aerial view.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe follow him and it jumps from rooftop to rooftop and he reaches the edge of the rooftop and we see the camera kind of look over his shoulder and look down, and there\u2019s an effect that elongates the distance from the top of the roof to the bottom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat effect is basically a reference to Vertigo, and that\u2019s very much intended \u2013 I wanted to give a nod to Vertigo and that shot.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--full=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=300%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?quality=90&resize=300%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=355%2C235,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?quality=90&resize=355%2C235,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=405%2C268,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?quality=90&resize=405%2C268,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C367,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?quality=90&resize=554%2C367,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C410,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C410,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=408%2C270,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?quality=90&resize=408%2C270,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=556%2C368,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?quality=90&resize=556%2C368,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-841565\" align=\"\" size-full=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--full=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/James-Stewart-1-4b7abc4-scaled.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C410"\" width=\""2560"\" height=\""1694"\" alt=\"""\" title=\"""\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"><span class=\""caption-copy"\"><i class=\""icon-arrow\" icon-camera-circle=\"\"\/> Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s Vertigo.<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\""im-image-caption"\"> <i>SEAC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<p>He added: \u201cBut then there\u2019s also another scene where I realised that I was heavily influenced by external films. At the end of the film, when Seo-rae is completely submerged, there is a slight whirlpool that\u2019s created above her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was so critical to me \u2013 I tried so hard to create that whirlpool on the location practically, and then I had to add the effects to it. And I added even more sound effects to heighten that whirlpool because it was the metaphor that these two people would look quite peaceful on the outside but inside there\u2019s huge turmoil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if you look at Vertigo, this vortex pattern is quite pronounced all throughout the film. For example, the female character\u2019s hair, how it\u2019s tied, looks like a small vortex and that\u2019s also seen in a portrait, the hairstyle in the portrait. That pattern of the vortex can be recognised all throughout Vertigo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, in hindsight, I saw that connection to Vertigo, but I didn\u2019t create that whirlpool consciously making the connection to Vertigo \u2013 and if I didn\u2019t watch Vertigo or if Vertigo did not exist I think I would have made the same whirlpool for that scene.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--full=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=300%2C200,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?quality=90&resize=300%2C200,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=355%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?quality=90&resize=355%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=405%2C270,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?quality=90&resize=405%2C270,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=408%2C272,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?quality=90&resize=408%2C272,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=556%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-1725598\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--full=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Park-Chan-wook-93a6efd.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\"""\" title=\"""\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"><span class=\""caption-copy"\"><i class=\""icon-arrow\" icon-camera-circle=\"\"\/> Park Chan-wook.<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\""im-image-caption"\"> <i>Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Park also added one more way in which the film bears a resemblance to Vertigo \u2013 the fact that he considers his lead star Park Hae-il to be something like a South Korean version of Jimmy Stewart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a foreign audience asked me what kind of person, what kind of actor Park Hae-il is, then I would summarise to say that he is equivalent to Jimmy Stewart,\u201d he said. \u201cHe is a gentleman at heart, but then he has a quite quirky sense of humour like Jimmy Stewart!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rather than the work of Hitchcock \u2013 or indeed the work of any other director \u2013 Park\u2019s starting point in terms of his inspiration for Decision to Leave was actually a piece of music.<\/p>\n<p>The song Mist, performed by <span class=\""LrzXr\" kno-fv=\"\" whyltd=\"\" z8gr9e=\"\">Jung Hoon Hee, is heard several times throughout the runtime, and according to the director it was listening to the song while working in London on a previous project that first gave him the idea of making the film.<\/span><\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Mist\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RyCd1MCVp0E?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u201cThat song is something that I\u2019ve always loved since I was little and it\u2019s something all Koreans know and sing,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd of course, I kind of forgot about that song growing up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen I was in London during my post-production work for Little Drummer Girl and I had been away from home for so long that I was homesick, so I looked up some Korean oldies on YouTube and I listened to the song.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe song itself is a love song,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s a tragic love song. It describes someone who is leaving into the mist and looking at the silhouette of a person who left her behind. When I was little, I couldn\u2019t really understand the lyrics fully because I didn\u2019t understand the love between adults so I couldn\u2019t really savour or enjoy the lyrics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut now that I\u2019m all grown up and I understand this is a deeply romantic lyric, I instantly was able to imagine the mood for my next film, a romantic film.<\/p> <p>\u201cI had already made up my mind that now that I had made a TV series in the UK the next project would be a Korean film specifically for theatrical release, and I already had a plan to make a police procedural film inspired by the character Martin Beck in the Swedish novel series.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now that I had really listened to this romantic song, I had the urge to make a romantic film too \u2013 and that kind of made up my mind that \u2018OK, I\u2019m going to combine these two\u2019. So that\u2019s the starting point of Decision to Leave!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Decision to Leave is released in UK cinemas nationwide on Friday 21st October 2022. <\/strong><strong>Check out more of our\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/movies\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">Film<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\""editor-content\" mb-lg=\"\" hidden-print=\"\" js-piano-locked-content=\"\" data-placement=\""Body"\">\n<p><strong>The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/radiotimes.com\/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\" data-auth=\""NotApplicable"\" data-safelink=\""true"\" data-linkindex=\""0"\">subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<a class=\""x_ContentPasted0"\" title=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/"\" href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\" data-auth=\""NotApplicable"\" data-safelink=\""true"\" data-linkindex=\""1"\">Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Patrick Cremona Published: Thursday, 20 October 2022 at 12:00 am Since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in 2022, Park Chan-wook\u2019s latest film Decision to Leave has seen many viewers draw comparisons with the work of Alfred Hitchcock, particularly his 1958 classic Vertigo. Given Park has often claimed Vertigo is his favourite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24219,"template":"","categories":[6],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave.jpg",1124,741,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave-300x198.jpg",300,198,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave-768x506.jpg",768,506,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave-1024x675.jpg",800,527,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave.jpg",1124,741,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/park-chan-wook-explains-hitchcock-influence-on-new-film-decision-to-leave.jpg",1124,741,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Patrick Cremona Published: Thursday, 20 October 2022 at 12:00 am Since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in 2022, Park Chan-wook\u2019s latest film Decision to Leave has seen many viewers draw comparisons with the work of Alfred Hitchcock, particularly his 1958 classic Vertigo. Given Park has often claimed Vertigo is his favourite…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/24218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}