Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, Memories of Murder to get the Criterion treatment

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

If you're confused as to why you heard a celebratory roar in the distance early this afternoon, it's likely due to the fact that NEON and Criterion have announced that Criterion will issue special editions of two Bong Joon Ho masterpieces, the four-time Academy Award-winning PARASITE and the majestic crime drama MEMORIES OF MURDER. In what was recently a stunning and well-deserved move by the Academy, PARASITE made history by becoming the first foreign language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the first Korean film to win Best Director, Best International Film, and Best Original Screenplay. Additionally, as a way of adding to its many accolades, PARASITE was also Nominated for Best Production Design and Best Editing, and previously won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

In PARASITE, Bong Joon Ho's twisted fairy tale revolving around class warfare and hilariously sinister home invasion, two families, the Parks, the picture of aspirational wealth, and the Kims, rich in street smarts but not much else, find themselves on a self-made collision course toward self-destruction. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. (film description, in part, courtesy of NEON's official press release)

As for MEMORIES OF MURDER, this 2003 action-crime drama stands as the first collaboration between Bong Joon Ho and Song Kang Ho. The story takes place in a small Korean province in 1986, where two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit. Starring Kang-ho Song, Sang-kyung Kim, Roe-ha Kim, and Jae-ho Song, among others, MEMORIES OF MURDER is considered to be one of the most haunting and engaging crime dramas of the century. What's more is that up until now, the only way that collectors could own the film was by coughing up close to $500 for an official copy. Oh sure, you might be able to find it for less in some dark corners of the internet, but they'll pale in comparison to the sleek-looking version that Criterion is poised to release.

No release dates are available at this time but we’ll keep you posted.