I SAW THE DEVIL gets North America distribution

Buzz for I Saw The Devil isn’t dying down from TIFF.  Some say it is the best of the fest.  It stars Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) and Lee Byung-hyun.  I Saw The Devil is directed by Kim Ji-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters, The Good, The Bad, The Weird).  Here in North America might be seeing a release as soon as early 2011.  Read More for the details.

From the Press Release:

Toronto – September 15, 2010 – The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnet Releasing, genre arm of Magnolia Pictures announced today that it has acquired North American rights to KIM Jeewoon’s (The Good, The Bad and The Weird and A Tale of Two Sisters) I SAW THE DEVIL at the Toronto International Film Festival. Shockingly violent and stunningly accomplished, I SAW THE DEVIL transcends the police procedural, pushing the boundaries of extreme Asian cinema in ways that will surprise and thrill fans of the genre.

The Good, the Bad and the Weird’s Lee Byung-hyun stars as Dae-hoon, a special agent whose pregnant wife becomes the latest victim of a disturbed and brutal serial killer, captivatingly played by Oldboy’s Choi Min-sik. Vowing revenge, Dae-hoon blurs the lines between hunter and hunted and good and evil, eventually becoming a monster himself in his twisted pursuit of revenge.

“I SAW THE DEVIL is one of the most riveting and unrelenting films I’ve ever seen.  It is an undisputable masterpiece,” said Magnet SVP Tom Quinn. “Unparalleled in it’s brutality, Kim Jeewoon deftly takes the serial killer thriller to new, profoundly disturbing heights. It’s hard to imagine curating a genre label that didn’t include this remarkable achievement.”

The deal was negotiated by Magnet’s Quinn with Youngjoo Suh from Finecut. Magnet will release I SAW THE DEVIL theatrically in first quarter 2011.

Check out the South Korean version of the trailer below: