The Mini-Series
All About Eve is a Korean television mini-series that through
twenty highly dramatic and gripping episodes tells the tale
of two girls and how their lives were destined to intertwine.
For better or for worse, their interactions affect the outcome
of their lives and more importantly, those around them. This
series provides a great platform for an entertaining romantic
drama, filled with stories of deception, greed, jealousy,
lust, and love. It's a very good series that has a wonderful
cast and an amazing story that will leave you wanting more.
One of the strongest points about this series is its cast.
Like many other successful television dramas, this series
does very well with its characters. They're presented in a
manner that leaves you feeling for and really caring about
them. This was one aspect of the series that I felt was really
strong. Simply because as the characters developed and unfolded
throughout the series, it was easy to get lost in their emotions.
When they felt pain, love, anger, and happiness, it was almost
as if it had struck me. The series also does a very good job,
by taking really likeable characters and twisting them into
just the opposite, leaving you disliking and distrusting them.
It's a typical love to hate role, but they're done very well.
The four main characters in this series are Jin Sun-Mi (Chae
Rim), Huh Young-Mi (Kim So-Yeon), Kim Woo-Jin (Han Jae-Suk),
and Hyung-Chul (Jang Dong-Gun). Sun-Mi is your typical girl
with a heart of gold. In some series, the overly good demeanor
can get annoying, but Sun-Mi is the kind of character that
you just have to love. On the other hand, Young-Mi isn't your
typical girl. Unlike Sun-Mi, she was raised without the finer
things in life. But after a live-altering event, Young-Mi
was given the opportunity to flourish. However, she's the
kind of girl who is willing to do just about anything to get
what she wants. She's a dark and twisted individual, who brings
a great deal of emotions like fear, anger, and hate to the
series. Woo-Jin is Sun-Mi's best friend from childhood. He's
another good guy, but after meeting Young-Mi he slowly turns
into a dark and bitter person. Lastly, we have Hyung-Chul
who could have almost anything he wants. He's rich, smart,
and has a very good station in life. He's surrounded by friends
who care about him. But like everyone else in the world, he
has his own personal problems. In addition to the main cast,
there are several support characters. Each of whom are presented
and developed very well. They all add their own wonderful
perspectives to the series.
The major strength of this series is the interaction between
the cast. Considering that the bulk of this series is based
upon that concept, I was pretty happy that it was done well.
The character interaction provides some great entertainment,
as well as some wonderful opportunities for each character
to really develop. One of the most exciting aspects about
the character interaction revolves around Young-Mi's personality.
Because of her troubled past, she has a mentality that is
filled with jealousy, hate, and fear. This becomes Young-Mi's
greatest weapon as she advances in life, with the sole goal
to take everything that Sun-Mi has. Young-Mi repeatedly uses
misdirection to manipulate innocent and meaningless situations
to prey upon the fear of the individuals that she is manipulating.
It's a wonderful, yet dark aspect of this character, and the
resulting interaction is simply entertaining. Young-Mi's interaction
with the other characters also provides a strong foundation
for the development of characters like Woo-Jin. He was a once
good hearted guy, who becomes dark and bitter. It's simply
amazing to watch him be repeatedly manipulated by Young-Mi.
Additionally, the way that Young-Mi manipulates everyone around
her rival, Sun-Mi is great. She consistently molds various
situations to make Sun-Mi look like an awful person.
The relationships that develop throughout the series also
provide another exciting aspect about the character interaction.
My favorite was between Sun-Mi and Hyung-Chul. They seem to
be rightfully made for each other. Anyone who's a sucker for
sappy love stories will fall head over heels for this couple.
Watching their relationship unfold and develop is really a
positive experience. As well, the relationship of Sun-Mi and
Young-Mi is pretty fascinating. As mentioned before, the trickery
that Young-Mi uses against Sun-Mi makes for some great stories.
There's also some other great relationships, with a couple
of devastating love triangles. She loves him, but he loves
another girl. This really helps with the character development,
making more than one person filled with jealousy.
In general, the episodes are slightly repetitive. Each episode
seems to present the same kind of issue, but in a slightly
different context or with different characters. In some cases,
the repetitiveness can ruin the demeanor of a television series,
but in this case, it is something that makes the drama in
this series simply gripping. We repeatedly see situations
similar to a previous one, but they provide deeper insights
into the personalities of the cast. In effect, it promotes
character development, which in turns really helps to make
this a gripping series.
Prior to my viewing of All About Eve, I had never witnessed
the kind of drama that Korean television has to offer. In
the past, I've viewed a few Japanese television dramas, none
of which can compare. I was really blown away, head over heels
in love with this series and its cast. It's a wonderful romantic
drama, filled with other intriguing elements like deception,
greed, and jealousy. In the end, it all adds up to make for
a truly entertaining and gripping series.
The DVD
Video:
The picture quality of All About Eve is in a word, stunning.
The video is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture
clarity is excellent, depicting detail nearly without flaw.
There is a very slight grain in the picture, but most of the
time it's difficult to even notice that it's there. In comparison
to most television on DVD releases, the picture quality is
very good.
Audio:
Like the great picture quality, the audio sounds great. The
audio track that is supplied with this DVD release is in Korean
2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The dialogue sounds a little
flat, but is very clear. There is also music that sounds very
full and rich and adds a wonderful element that enriches the
dramatic moments in this series. The subtitles in this feature
are in both English and Chinese. I was quite impressed with
the near-accuracy of the English subtitles. There were a few
grammatical errors, but for the most part it provided dialogue
that was very easy to follow.
Final Thoughts:
At the very beginning of this Korean television mini-series,
I thought that the show was a little dry. It seemed to start
off a little too slow, lacking any entertainment value. However,
as I started to get through the first episode, I found that
my initial impressions were very wrong. Sure, the first episode
started off a little slow, but once things got rolling, I
was hooked. All it took was a wonderfully detailed cast, some
riveting interactions, a few sappy loves stories, and some
truly deceptive plots. So if you're looking for a very entertaining
and gripping drama, this series has a lot to offer. I highly
recommend it.
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