1 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Shot for just $3.0M β micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#01
Save the Green Planet!
"I caught a dirty rotten alien."
2003 1h 57m KO
π
7.0
SOLID
π
89%
FRESH
π
70
METACRITIC
β
7.1
IMDB
β
7.0TMDB Β· 260π
89%Rotten Tomatoesβ70Metacriticβ
7.1IMDB Β· 11,130
ComedyScience FictionCrime
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
A young man believes that his country's leaders are actually toxic reptilian aliens sent down to launch a takeover of his beloved Earth. So he decides to abduct them and force the truth out on camera in his basement that doubles as a film studio and torture chamber.
βI caught a dirty rotten alien.β
Where to watch Β· US
Cast
Shin Ha-kyun
Lee Byeong-gu
Baek Yoon-sik
Kang Man-shik
Hwang Jeong-min
Su-ni
Lee Jae-yong
Inspector Choo
Lee Joo-hyun
Detective Kim
Ki Joo-bong
Squad Leader Lee
Kim Dong-hyun
Tae-sik
Kim Kwang-shik
Detective Seo
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Jang Joon-hwan
- Writers
- Jang Joon-hwan
- Languages
- Korean
- Countries
- South Korea
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts πΏ
2 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Released 23 years ago.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Jang Joon-hwan, shot by Hong Kyung-pyo. Note their partnership β DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Lee Dong-jun. Worth a dedicated listen after β most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Park Gok-ji shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Shin Ha-kyun and Baek Yoon-sik and Hwang Jeong-min carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "I caught a dirty rotten alien.".
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0354668 β still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Jang Joon-hwan directs. Hong Kyung-pyo behind the camera. Lee Dong-jun scores. Park Gok-ji cuts. Produced in South Korea. Dialogue in Korean.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Shot for just $3.0M β micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
- 2Released 23 years ago.
- 3Directed by Jang Joon-hwan, shot by Hong Kyung-pyo. Note their partnership β DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Original score by Lee Dong-jun. Worth a dedicated listen after β most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 5Editor Park Gok-ji shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Shin Ha-kyun and Baek Yoon-sik and Hwang Jeong-min carry the top of the cast.
- 7Marketing tagline: "I caught a dirty rotten alien.".
- 8IMDB entry: tt0354668 β still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Classified under 15 themes, including "saving the world", "kidnapping", "space invasion", "slapstick comedy".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Hong Kyung-pyo
- Original score
- Lee Dong-jun
- Editing
- Park Gok-ji
- Production design
- Jang Geun-yeong
- Makeup / hair
- Shin Jae-ho
- VFX supervisor
- Jang Seong-ho
- Stunt coordinator
- Kim Min-soo
- Runtime
- 117 min Β· 1h 57m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $3,000,000
- Original language
- KO
- Certification (US)
- 18
- Rotten Tomatoes
- 89% π Fresh
- Metacritic
- 70/100
- IMDB rating
- 7.1/10 Β· 11,130 votes
- MPAA
- Not Rated
- US box office
- $15,516
Awards
22 wins & 8 nominations total
- Silver George for Best Director
Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.
Also by
Jang Joon-hwan
Stills Β· wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames β open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- badelfβ 10/10
I am reviewing Bugonia (2025) and Save the Green Planet (2003) together because I watched Bugonia before I discovered that it was a remake. As a rule, I don't watch remakes, especially Hollywood versions, because my experience is that they are never as good as the original. In this case, however, both of these films were excellent. My understanding is that Jang Joon-hwan was scheduled to direct the remake but was unable due to health issues. The choice of Lanthimos as replacement was perfect - I can't imagine anyone else truly understanding the wacky, dark humor of this narrative. Both films operate as a brilliant, hilarious, and deeply sardonic condemnation of mankind's worst impulses; the corporate titan at the center is a symbol of everything the industrial revolution unleashed upon the world. The films ask: what if the real aliens are those who've become so disconnected from humanity, from the earth itself, that they've transformed into something monstrous? The conceit, played with dark absurdist humor, becomes a funhouse mirror reflecting our own ecological devastation, our worship of profit over life, our willingness to sacrifice everything for growth, expansion, conquest. Hwang Jung-min and Emma Stone both deliver spectacular performances as the corporate head, each bringing completely distinct energy to the role. Hwang embodies a certain kind of entitled arrogance with physical precision; Stone brings her signature intensity, that coiled spring quality that can snap from charm to menace. Similarly, Lee Byeong-gu and Jesse Plemons as the alien hunter couldn't be more different in their approaches, yet both are utterly compelling. Lee's manic desperation contrasts sharply with Plemons' measured, almost gentle menace; it's fascinating how the same narrative can accommodate such divergent interpretations and still maintain its strange, unsettling power. The South Koreans currently own the world when it comes to dark cinema, and Save the Green Planet deserves its 10/10 for sheer creativity, audacity, and tonal control. It's a film that shouldn't work, that juggles too many genres, too many tones, and yet it becomes something wholly original. Bugonia follows closely at 9/10, and honestly, it's gutsy as hell for a Western production. In an era when Hollywood too often sands down edges and softens blows, Lanthimos preserves the original's willingness to go to uncomfortable, absurd, and uncompromising places. Both films understand that sometimes the only appropriate response to our collective madness is laughter, and laughter is the vaseline that lets Joon-hwan insert the probe, er, I mean film's message.
Production companies
Who made it
CJ Entertainment
KR
Sidus
KR
Key crew
- ProducerKim Sun-ah
- Executive ProducerLee Kang-bok
- ProducerTcha Sung-jai
- EditorPark Gok-ji
- Stunt CoordinatorKim Min-soo
- Martial Arts ChoreographerKim Min-soo
- Action DirectorKim Min-soo
- Art DesignerKim Kyeong-hie
- Visual Effects SupervisorJang Seong-ho
- Special Effects Makeup ArtistShin Jae-ho
- Assistant DirectorJung Hun-woong
- VFX ArtistBaek Sang-hoon
- AnimationKim Sang-joon
- StuntsPark Ju-chun
- Set DecorationGang Chang-gil
- Lighting DirectorYu Yeong-jong
- Makeup & HairLee Gyeong-ja
- Production DesignJang Geun-yeong
- Special Effects SupervisorJung Do-ahn
- ColoristLee Yong-ki
- ProducerNoh Jong-yun
- Sound SupervisorChoi Tae-young
- StuntsChoi Choon-beom
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- saving the world
- kidnapping
- space invasion
- slapstick comedy
- alien
- conspiracy theory
- revenge
- torture chamber
- torture
- eclipse
- electrical torture
- genre bending
- abducted
- abduction
- lunar eclipse
Release history Β· US
When it landed
- Physical2005-10-2818
Also known as
International titles
- Jigureul jikyeora!KR
- Save the Green PlanetUS
- Save the Green Planet!US
- Save the Green Planet!KR
- ΠΡΡΡΡΠ²Π°ΡΠΈ Π·Π΅Π»Π΅Π½Ρ ΠΏΠ»Π°Π½Π΅ΡΡUA
- Cα»©u lαΊ₯y hΓ nh tinh xanhVN
- Β‘Salva el planeta verde!AR
