Josh Brolin Says ‘Oldboy’ Hammerfight Scene Took Five Weeks to Prep, Sets Tone for Film

To fans, there are certain aspects of Spike Lee‘s Oldboy that have to be consistent with Chan-wook Park’s original. One of those is the hallway scene. In the original, Oh Dae-su wreaks havoc on a bunch of thugs in a hallway with nothing but a hammer. And it’s breathtaking sequence. Having seen trailers for the new film, you know the fight is in there; having seen the entire movie, I’ll say it takes the idea up a level. Literally.
In fact, Josh Brolin, who stars in the film, said the scene was so crucial and physically demanding, his personal physical preparation for just that scene (which is presented in one long take) informed his entire performance. Lee and crew prepped the scene for five weeks and they got it on the seventh take. Read Brolin’s story about the scene below.