I went through my Asian movie phase beginning in the mid to late 90’s. I started with Hong Kong cinema before adding in South Korean cinema in the early 2000’s. One of the first South Korean films I watched was JOINT SECURITY AREA (2000), which was directed by the great Park Chan-wook and starred Lee Byung-hun and Song Kang-ho. It’s an amazing film so I started following the work of all the talent involved. Lee Byung-Hun would make A BITTERSWEET LIFE in 2005, and it’s probably my favorite film of his. He’s a complete badass in it. I bought my DVD of the film from a cool movie shop in Chicago when I was visiting on business back in 2011. Lee would eventually start appearing in Hollywood films like the GI JOE movies, RED 2, and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN remake, but my favorites are his Korean films, with the violent I SAW THE DEVIL (2010) a real standout. Heck, he’s even in the popular THE SQUID GAME series that’s currently playing on Netflix. I didn’t realize that until a few weeks back, so I even watched a few episodes.

Today, July 12th, 2025 is Lee Byung-hun’s 55th birthday. I’m celebrating here on the Shattered Lens by sharing a badass fight scene from A BITTERSWEET LIFE. Lee looks great in a suit or tux, but he’s also a believable tough guy who isn’t afraid to get bloody like he does here.

So, enjoy this brutal fight scene from A BITTERSWEET LIFE, and be sure to stay for the humorous punctuation from the gravediggers at the end!