Released in 2003, acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook's Oldboy is widely regarded as one of the best movies of the new millennium, and rightfully so. Loosely based on the Japanese manga series written Garon Tsuchiya and illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi, Chan-wook's film is a hardcore revenge thriller that's equal parts unapologetically gruesome and artfully executed. It's also kind of balls-to-the-wall genre flick that both stuffed-shirt critics and lively fanboys can love together. And it's also a film so universally cherished that it could only be re-imagined by a bold and, most importantly, fearless director.
Enter Spike Lee, the independent filmmaking titan who's always played by his own rules. He's also one of the few working directors whose reinterpreted vision of a property as sacred as Oldboy would be an instant must-see. Even better, he's got an excellent cast behind him. In Lee's 2013 take on Oldboy (in theaters November 27), Josh Brolin stars as Joe Doucett, an innocent man who's just spent 20 long years in solitary confinement, and, now that he's out free, he's ready to get his vengeance, one broken bone and pool of blood at a time. Also joining Brolin in Oldboy are Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Sharlto Copley (Elyisum), and Lee's old friend Samuel L. Jackson.
Oldboy reunites Lee and Jackson after 22 years apart, following their work together in 1991's Jungle Fever. Playing the mysterious "Chaney" (all details about the character are being kept under wraps), Jackson's guaranteed to be the movie's showiest component, thanks to that wicked yellow you can see in the Complex-exclusive Oldboy image seen above (courtesy of Film District). As Spike Lee points out in the video clip below, the always surprising Sam Jackson is no stranger to bizarre and memorable on-screen hairdos.
In honor of today's exclusive Oldboy image premiere, we've compiled the following companion piece: a gallery of Samuel L. Jackson's 10 craziest looks in movies. Something tells us that, once we've seen Oldboy, these rankings may need some tweaking; for now, though, peep Spike Lee's thoughts on Chaney's mohawk and reacquaint yourself with Sam "motherfuckin'" Jackson's wildest hairstyles.
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10. Russell Franklin in Deep Blue Sea (1999)
9. Lazarus Woods in Black Snake Moan (2007)
8. Reverend Fred Sultan in The Great White Hype (1996)
7. Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Elijah Price in Unbreakable (2000)
5. Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown (1997)
4. Bob Satterfield in Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
3. Stephen in Django Unchained (2012)
2. The Octopus in The Spirit (2008)
1. Romulus Ledbetter in The Caveman's Valentine (2001)
