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Legendary South Korean director Park Chan-wook has made consistently creative films for over 20 years. Typically focusing on brutal thrillers with shocking revelations, Chan-wook is behind the renowned Vengeance Trilogy, consisting of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance, as well as the erotic 2016 thriller The Handmaiden and stylish mystery film Stoker.
One of his most celebrated movies came in 2022 with Decision to Leave, an intricate and satisfying crime noir with a sentimental flair. With mass outrage that the movie received zero Oscar nominations, Chan-wook has clearly drawn a sizable audience, and fans can delve into the films he enjoys to get a picture of his favorite influences.
10 ‘Vertigo’ (1958)
An undeniable feat in mystery thrillers and noir filmmaking, Vertigo is often said to be one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most celebrated movies. It follows James Stewart as a retired detective who secretly investigates the strange activities of his old friend’s wife as he becomes dangerously obsessed with her.
Chan-wook places Vertigo in very high regard, citing it as a seminal film in him becoming a director: “when it comes to Hitchcock, the film Vertigo, when I was watching it, I decided to become a filmmaker… that film provided [me with] one of the decisive reasons for me to become a filmmaker in the first place”.
9 ‘Nosferatu’ (1922)
An absolutely essential piece of cinema history that began the portrayal of vampires on screen, Nosferatu is an unauthorized retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that revolves around the Vampire Count Orlok who wreaks havoc among his real estate agent’s life.
Nosferatu is an immense influence on Chan-wook’s 2009 film Thirst, a subversive vampire horror-romance that in itself has influenced films like Bones and All. It’s also his favorite vampire movie of all time, as he states in an interview: “Nosferatu is my favorite vampire film out of all the classic films and even the modern ones too, with [Werner] Herzog’s remake”.
8 ‘Donnie Darko’ (2001)
Starring a young Jake Gyllenhaal in his breakout role, Donnie Darko portrays an ethereal world where a high school student begins to have prophetic visions of doomsday from a mysterious figure in a large rabbit costume.
Occupying the same strange, off kilter energy as many of Chan-wook’s films, the director has given Donnie Darko his seal of approval and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a complicated and puzzling film that has earned cult status for its strange yet captivating story.
7 ‘Rashomon’ (1950)
Rashomon is one of the most celebrated films from legendary director Akira Kurosawa, who in himself has influenced countless directors. In the 1950 psychological crime drama, multiple characters provide subjective and contradictory versions of the same event where a samurai is murdered.
Chan-wook has recommended the film, but it goes beyond a simple thumbs up approval. One of his most celebrated films, The Handmaiden, follows a very similar plot structure where multiple versions of events are told from different perspectives.
6 ‘Don’t Look Now’ (1973)
Featuring an extremely disturbing ending, akin to many of Chan-wook’s films, Don’t Look Now is a chilling look at Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as John and Laura as a married couple in Venice who are struggling as they are consumed by grief.
When asked what his favorite erotic thriller is after releasing The Handmaiden, Chan-wook responds: “The best for me is Nicolas Roeg’sDon’t Look Now, especially for the sequence where there is a fragmented sex scene between a man and his wife, interweaved with an intricate series of flash-forwards”. This sequence is raw, untamed, and ultimately a standout in the film.
5 ‘The Housemaid’ (1960)
A progressive yet undeniably brutal play on traditional male/female power dynamics, The Housemaid showcases the horrible events after a piano composer’s family moves into a new house and hires a maid to help with housework. Like many Korean thrillers, this is not for the faint of heart.
The chilling intrigue of The Housemaid was a key source of inspiration for Chan-wook, as he states in an interview: “[the director is] able to find and portray beauty in destruction, humor in violence and terror… I’m still making films that are too modest compared to his, but I will continue to work hard to make films as daring and brave as his”.
4 ‘Ms. 45’ (1981)
Ms. 45 is a brutal revenge tale centered on a young woman who, in reaction to a horrific night of multiple attacks, wanders New York City and mercilessly retaliates against the men who cross her.
Chan-wook has named Ms. 45 as his favorite movie on revenge, specifically citing “Zoë Tamerlis’ beauty”. Zoë Lund, also known as Zoë Tamerlis, gives an absolutely fantastic and manic performance, rivaling many of Chan-wook’s own protagonists.
3 ‘High and Low’ (1963)
Unique in the Akira Kurosawa filmography as it’s one of his films that isn’t based on the samurai, High and Low might be the pinnacle police procedural as it follows an extorted executive when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped and held for ransom.
Chan-wook’s love for Kurosawa is apparent, as he comments on High and Low: “I thought it would be good to see the movie first. Then I gave up. I thought, ‘No one can make kidnapping movies anymore’. I wanted to somehow chew [Kurosawa’s] movie and digest it and make my own with the nutrients. But even if I couldn’t make a movie that surpassed him, I could at least try to make a movie that felt different from him”.
2 ‘The Exorcist’ (1973)
Hailed as one of the greatest and most influential horror films of all time, The Exorcist is nearly 50 years old yet still relevant today. In the film, an actress struggles with the demonic possession of her daughter, as she seeks the help of two Catholic priests to rescue her through an exorcism.
Chan-wook hasn’t said much on the film specifically, but he has given it his recommendation. He isn’t the only director to love The Exorcist, but its influence in his own work is apparent through the more terrifying, horror-inspired sequences in Oldboy and Stoker.
1 ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976)
Martin Scorsese is known for being behind some of the most acclaimed films ever made, and Taxi Driver often makes the top of ranked lists for a reason. It stars Robert De Niro as a mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran who works as a late night taxi driver in New York City, where he becomes disgusted with his surroundings and slowly moves towards violence.
As one of the most influential character studies ever seen on film, Chan-wook’s recommendation for Taxi Driver is documented and can be seen through his newest picture, Decision to Leave. Unlike the overt machismo seen in many of his male protagonists, Hae-joon in Decision to Leave is quiet and more mindful, going through a drastic character development as the plot unfolds. This parallels Travis Bickle’s character arc in Taxi Driver, whose evolution is subtle but mesmerizing.
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