District 9 is a sci-fi drama about aliens stranded in South Africa which became one of the surprise hits of the year with its clever mix of action, politics and dazzling SFX.
After being recruited to do the aborted Halo movie by Peter Jackson, director Neill Blomkamp revived a short film of his which was a science-fiction thriller where stranded alien refugees are exiled to a slum in Johannesburg.
The story explores what happens to a South African bureaucrat (Sharlto Copley) assigned to relocate the creatures, derogatorily referred to as “prawns”, after he is infected with a strange liquid.
A combination of many alien films and TV shows from Alien Nation, V and even Independence Day, it mixes political allegory with a more conventional thriller narrative.
Copley gives a strong performance in the central role and the visual realisation of the aliens is stunning with the designs coming from WETA Workshop and effects by Image Engine.
Funded by QED, it was picked up by Sony who did a shrewd marketing campaign and achieved one of the summers genuine breakthrough hits, without any recognisable stars, a first time director and working from little known source material.
In a year of overblown and tedious sci-fi/action fare such as Transformers 2 and GI: Joe, this was a breath of fresh air.
The extras on the DVD and Blu-ray are as follows:
DVD
- 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- English DD5.1 Surround
- English Audio Description Track
- English HOH and Hindi subtitles
- Director’s Commentary
- The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker’s Log Three-Part Documentary
- Deleted Scenes
Blu-ray Disc
Coded for all regions (A, B and C), extras are presented in HD. The transfer on the Blu-ray looks fantastic and is one of the best presented discs I have seen all year in terms of picture quality. Features include:
- 1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
- English and French 5.1 DTS-HD MA
- English Audio Description Track
- English*, English HOH, French and Hindi subtitles (*also on extras)
- Director’s Commentary
- The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker’s Log Three-Part Documentary
- Deleted Scenes
- BD Exclusives:
- BD-Live: movieIQ & cinechat
- Featurette: “Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus”
- Featurette: “Innovation: The Acting and Improvisation of District 9”
- Featurette: “Conception and Design: Creating the World of District 9”
- Featurette: “Alien Generation: The Visual Effects of District 9”
- Joburg from Above: Satellite and Schematics of the World of District 9” – Interactive Map
> Buy District 9 on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon UK
> District 9 at the IMDb
> Official site