'No Other Choice' extended cut, 'Colony' head to streaming

Some of the most talked-about films from last year and this year are making their way to home screens. Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice" will reach viewers in an extended cut featuring new scenes, while Yeon Sang-ho's "Colony" — hailed as a new chapter in K-zombie cinema — and "Wild Things," which drew attention for its cast's bold transformations, are also heading to streaming platforms.

Park's "No Other Choice," which earned widespread praise from audiences and critics at home and abroad after its theatrical release last year, is now available in an extended cut as of Thursday. According to CJ ENM, the extended cut can be accessed through IPTV services — KT Corp's Genie TV, SK Group's B tv and LG Group's U+tv — as well as digital cable TV via Studio Choice and online and mobile VOD services.

"No Other Choice" follows Mansu (played by Lee Byung-hun), a salaryman who felt his life was so fulfilling he could say "it is finished," only to be suddenly laid off. The story unfolds as he wages his own private war to win back employment — fighting to protect his wife and two children and hold on to the home he worked so hard to buy.

The extended cut runs 157 minutes, 19 minutes longer than the 138-minute theatrical version, with previously unseen scenes woven in throughout.

The new sequences include everyday moments shared by Mansu, Miri (Son Ye-jin) and Riwon (Choi So-yul) after leaving a cello practice room; scenes that explore the relationship between Miri and Riwon in greater depth; a new episode set at Oh Jin-ho's (Yoo Yeon-seok) dental clinic; and a sequence in which the truth surrounding Siwon (Kim Woo-seung) comes to light.

The extended cut also expands on scenes at a job-training center, the family's daily life, the relationship between Mansu and Miri as a couple, and key moments that follow the central incident — all rendered with a slower, more deliberate pace and new dialogue.

Coupang Play will make Yeon Sang-ho's "Colony" available for individual purchase starting Thursday. The zombie thriller is set inside a sealed-off building amid an unidentified outbreak, where isolated survivors fight for their lives against infected people who evolve in unpredictable ways.

"Colony" drew early attention for its strong cast — Jun Ji-hyun, Goo Kyo-hwan and Ji Chang-wook among them — and received strong reviews after its world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in May. The film also marks Jun's return to the big screen for the first time in 11 years since "Assassination" (2015). It has drawn more than 5.9 million admissions at the domestic box office.

Son Jae-gon's "Wild Things," which has drawn buzz for the bold transformations of Gang Dong-won, Eom Tae-goo, Park Ji-hyun and Oh Jung-se, will also arrive on Netflix on July 31. To reach viewers worldwide, the film will be supported by subtitles in 32 languages — including French, Portuguese and Chinese — and dubbing in 15 languages, including English, Spanish and Japanese.

"Wild Things," which opened June 3, is a comedy about the members of a once-popular mixed-gender group called Triangle, who disband after an unexpected incident and then, 20 years later, embark on a reckless bid for a comeback.

The film won domestic audiences over with relentless laughs amid unpredictable situations and the chemistry of its distinctively drawn characters. The dramatic transformations of Gang Dong-won, Eom Tae-goo, Park Ji-hyun and Oh Jung-se struck audiences as refreshingly unexpected and generated considerable buzz.

Lotte Entertainment, the film's distributor, said it hopes "to carry the enthusiasm built in domestic theaters into the global market through Netflix," adding that the release "will be a great opportunity to show that Korean comedy films can also build a global fandom, transcending cultural barriers."