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The Fortress

Play trailer Poster for The Fortress 2017 2h 20m History Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
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63% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
In 1636, King Injo hides in the mountains to avoid being part of the Qing dynasty.
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The Fortress

Critics Reviews

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Justin Lowe The Hollywood Reporter 12/08/2017
Hwang competently orchestrates the film's disparate political and strategic developments, but there's little sense of stylistic inspiration or narrative innovation - it's all pretty conventional. Go to Full Review
Jake Wilson The Age (Australia) 12/08/2017
3/5
... a film that will probably mean most to viewers from Korea, where it was made - though you don't need to know much about the historical background to gather roughly what the story is meant to suggest about the present. Go to Full Review
Joe Leydon Variety 10/20/2017
"The Fortress" clocks in at 139 minutes, but feels much, much longer. Go to Full Review
Grant Watson Fiction Machine 09/06/2021
7/10
The Fortress, for all of its military trappings, is not an action movie. Viewers seeking a political drama mixed with a history lesson will find this much more to their taste. Go to Full Review
William Schwartz HanCinema 11/03/2019
That gloomy sentiment, beyond the plot, is also perfectly represented via cinematography and sound design, granting The Fortress the uniquely dark aesthetic of showing us history from the side of the losers. Go to Full Review
David Noh Film Journal International 10/20/2017
The recreation of a historic moment in Korea's constantly embattled past becomes a rather enervating epic in the too diaogue-driven hands of director Hwang Dong-hyuk. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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This Is A S Sep 28 It's hard to spend two hours with people you don't like, and frankly the protagonists of The Fortress are pretty terrible. This is mostly a behind the scenes political drama, and the characters we see are inept leaders who are bad at training their soldiers, bad at leading them, bad at politics and diplomacy, and I quit watching, hoping they all died in the siege. See more 브래디 톰 Jul 25 It's so boring and the acting is always the same, so it's not fresh! See more Mark B Feb 15 A great film that explores the dilemmas a leader faces when confronted with an invading army. Knowledge of Korean history is not required as many of the concepts transcend cultures, but it definitely made me interested to find out more about the background. See more Caley M 01/23/2024 It depicts the various stresses and dilemmas on all of the people facing an invasion force. Almost skipped due to low critic %. I guess some people only want to see boobs and explosions for 2 hours straight. See more JeeHwan L 10/02/2023 Korean audiences needs to know background of American history for watching Star Wars and world war 2 movies. Why American reviewers talk "It is bad movie" with out background. It's disgusting. This movie show amazing detail about Korean history. See more J K 06/05/2023 It is easy to miss most of the themes and important ideas in the movie for non-Korean viewers. Joseon, ancient Korea were friendly with the former Chinese nation before Qing came to power. Qing wanted Joseon to become its new ally or subject but Joseon did not believe it was honorable as it would betray their old relationship. Qing's Khan invades Joseon. Many civilians suffer especially the lower class people. The politicians and the king however are indifferent to their struggles. They are more concerned with their positions as ministers, their own self righteousness, being honorable etc. The director wants to show the value of the lives of then time citizens of Joseon. There is little chance Joseon's army can win against the vastly superior Qing military. But the incompetent king and his cabinet squabble over ideals and honors instead of being realistic while the people suffer and die. This is the predominant issue all throughout the Joseon dynasty that spans over 500 years. The little people suffering from wars, famine, and general corruption. The kings and government thinking only of themselves and devaluing the lives of regular peoples. See more Read all reviews
The Fortress

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1636, King Injo hides in the mountains to avoid being part of the Qing dynasty.
Director
Hwang Dong-hyuk
Screenwriter
Hwang Dong-hyuk, Song Hae-sung
Distributor
CJ Entertainment
Production Co
Siren Pictures
Genre
History, Drama, War
Original Language
Korean
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 6, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 1, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$138.5K
Runtime
2h 20m
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