DVDs/Blu-rays
DVDs in Collection: 2,327
Page # 1867

zjp| The Host
ID:
South Korea 2006
Comments:
Director: Joon-Ho Bong
Screenplay: Chul-hyun Baek, Joon-ho Bong, Won-jun Ha
Producer: Yong-bae Choi, Neung-yeon Joh, Junyoung Jang, Lewis Kim
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeon, Hae-il Park, Doona Bae, Ah-sung Ko
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Running Time: 119
Aspect Ratio:  1.85:1 (NTSC )
Sound: Dolby Digital EX
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Features:
Studio:  Magnolia Home Entertainment DVD Region:  1 R
DVD Release:  Jul 2007 Discs:  1 (Cloud) []
Purchase: 
Reviews:  South Korea turned in a great motion picture with this! Like "Gojira" in Japan, or for most of you -- myself included -- "Godzilla" from 1954, this is a truly frightening film (remember "Godzilla", being in the '50s, nuclear bombs, and fall-out shelters had most people shivering in there nice comfortable theater seats). Again, like "Jaws" in 1975 where, when seeing that film, makes all of us afraid to get in the water!

I don't want to go into the plot, but it has a bittersweet ending, like "Godzilla" or "Jaws." Yea, SciFi with the monster, but with drama -- loads of drama!

Watch it if you dare!

~ kevin

———————————
The biggest Korean film of the year comes to DVD! Released in July 2006, Bong Joon Ho's monster film The Host ripped through the box office like a force of nature. Breaking every record on the book, The Host became the first Korean film to sell 13 million tickets, surpassing the all-time record held by King and The Clown. It topped the box office for five consecutive weeks, writing a new page in Korean cinema history. Perhaps the only thing more impressive than its box office record is the score of awards the film has picked up. The Host won Best Film and Best Supporting Actor at the 27th Blue Dragon Awards, Best Film at the 43rd Baeksang Awards, Best Director at the 44th Daejong Awards, and Best Film and Best Director at the 5th Korean Awards, and Best Film and Best Actor at the 1st Asian Film Awards, amongst many other accolades.

Although monster films have a strong tradition in Japan and the U.S., they're typically relegated to bargain bins in Korea. When Bong Joon Ho, the critically acclaimed director of smash hit Memories of Murder, announced he was making a monster movie, the film industry was unsure of how to react. But this was the film Bong was always meant to make. Bong rounded together an illustrious cast led by Song Kang Ho (JSA), Byun Hee Bong (Crying Fist), Bae Du Na (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), and Park Hae Il (Rules of Dating). Meanwhile, a monstrous budget and state-of-the-art CG technology gave birth to the proverbial beast. The result: The Host not only conquered the box office, it garnered almost universal acclaim, winning over critics and moviegoers alike from Cannes to Korea. More than just a creature feature, The Host delves into a raw, suspenseful world of unspeakable horrors, politics, conflicts, and emotions in one family's relentless fight against the monster that rose from the Han River.

Gang Du's (Song Kang Ho) family is the epitome of dysfunctional. His brother Nam Il (Park Hae Il) is a cursing, molotov-throwing unemployed college graduate; his sister Nam Joo (Bae Du Na) is a professional archer with self-esteem issues. Gang Du spends his days running a snack stall near the Han River, and his only hope, indeed the family's hope, is on the shoulders of his daughter, Hyun Seo (Ko Ah Sung). Unbeknownst to everyone, however, a horrible monster has been growing in the polluted waters of Han River, and it snatches Hyun Seo from their life. Unable to get any help from the authorities, the family is determined to get Hyun Seo back on their own, no matter what it takes.


Click on Title for International Movie Database link, click on Cover for Amazon link!

Close window


Created using DVDpedia on MacOS X Panther