District 9 [Blu-ray]

This is a testament that shows with a low budget, no major Hollywood backing, a movie can be made that has the power in story telling, character development, and action. I believe this film was budgeted at 30 million? That is what I had read. Peter Jackson was going to have this new comer Neil Blomkamp direct the Halo movie then that fell apart, he felt bad and basically told this young maverick I'll back your next movie... low and behold we have District 9.I couldn't believe the production values here, if this movie were made for 30 million, it looked like 100 million on film, top notch special effects, no name actors, a great story that pulls in the viewer, and the Aliens, giving them almost a Human element. So the film starts off with an alien race stranded in Johannesburg South Africa for like 30 something years, where the Aliens known as Prawns are herded into these slums and kept under a watchful eye of the MNU, a UN type agency. Then there is the protagonist named Wikus who at the beginning of the film, you get a sense he's a man way over his head, but yet a nice guy, never associate him to be the hero type but your average Joe. He get's a promotion at the MNU (MultiNational United) Wikus is a man who just follows orders, kinda nerdy, xenophobic, has a fear of the unknown, maybe too ambitious, selfish, conniving, his job is to relocate the Prawns to a new location away from human population, being more isolated from human contact. Wikus is a character the audience would balk at... In the film we see him going around District 9 evicting the Prawns using intimidation, force, lies, one particluar scene he discovers a shack with dead cow carcasses and prawn eggs, which is illegal to have. So he demonstrates an abortion and he doesn't feel sorry, he doesn't view the prawns as an equal. So Wikus doesn't think twice as he kills the prawn eggs, and they torch the shack and hear the eggs popping and he casually says, "You hear that, that popping? It's the eggs, sounds like popcorn" one would argue he is just doing his job for the MNU. BUT then as the film progresses Wikus is being hunted by the same Company he worked for. He holds the key to what the MNU really want from the Prawns---- their futuristic weapons. I think it is believable that any Nation who would come in contact with another race and they had the technology and advanced weaponary we would want it. Let's face it, Humans have been at war for 1,000s of years, it's a natural order, of course a Government would want to harness that power and use it on their enemies and show who is the Super Power. Anyways Wikus still seems manipulative, conniving as he transforms, his DNA bonding with Alien DNA thus metamorphosing into a Prawn, and his only hope is the Prawn Christopher. I think we would all do the same thing if we were in Wkius' shoes. He's desperate, scared and really just thinking about himself and how to turn back to human again. What drives him is the fear of the unknown.Then there is Christopher the alien Prawn who has found a power source that can ultimately send his race home--- what they had always wanted to do in the first place. Ironically it is Christopher even though being "alien" has human traits, has emotions. He wants to help Wikus. There is a nice scene in MNU headquarters where Christopher finds out what really is happening to his race, they are being dissected, tested on, being used essentially as guinea pigs. Wikus never knew that this is happening, it's MNU's dirty little secret being kept under wraps. Wikus realizes the Prawns never meant no harm, they ultimately didn't do anything to the Humans, it was the MNU cleverly disguising their real intentions in the form of supposedly Humanitarian efforts. One scene Wikus tells Chris and his young Prawn that the reolcation spot would be worse that District 9.The last 30 mins or so is astounding not just visually with the special effects but the action sequences. There is one scene where Wikus who towards the end runs away and we as the viewer feel a sense of anger maybe because he Leaves Chris to his fate which is certainly death but then Wikus comes back.... his ultimate redemption. He Realizes his fate is sealed and he must live with it now and that it's not about him, and ultimately finds sacrifice, he wants to help Christopher get to the mother ship, ultimately Wikus knowing that it's the right thing to do. This is what drew me into this film, the humanity, it wasn't just mindless action, if you want that go see Transformers II. I think we know that under the surface there is the allegory of Apartheid in which happened in South Africa, The War on Terror, the War in Iraq happening now. All cleverly disguised in a Sci/Fi movie.A splendid movie that must be watched.

After reading some of the reviews here I felt I needed to write my own.It is a well written movie. People saying there would be no way to evict 1.5 million aliens in one day forget it wasn't just the main protagonist, he had a team helping him, going around as he was doing the same thing. It was one of the first few scenes too, where he talked to the team.Also, the reactions from the aliens are legitimate, and 1.5 million aliens would not cause an uprising because there was air support not to mention the thousands of armed people. We did see in the movie that some aliens did have a violent reaction which resulted in their death.There is also the fact the main protagonist IS a simple bureaucrat, that's the point of the movie. It wouldn't work with an average civilian being dumb or the head of MNU, it had to be the guy who didn't know any better then to touch things he doesn't know about. Though I personally disliked the building of making it seem as a bio-weapon when it was not.Another point is that people say the UN would have stepped in- No, it wouldn't, because the UN doesn't have to exist in this universe. Movies events do NOT exist in our universe thus have different histories leading to different events. If that was the case, in 1981 when the aliens arrived, there would have been commentary on possible Soviet weaponry or something. Do NOT apply our history to a movie when the events are NOT in our universe.As a whole I enjoyed it especially because the movie made points on the statement of the refugee crisis that had been going on for the past two decades at the time of conception for the movie. The writers made it CLEAR they were making an example of the blatant racism, and xenophobia of refugee camps. Aliens in terms of people are just people that came from another place (xenophobic) and the entire movie just replaces human aliens for extraterrestrial aliens. I suspect people calling this bad writing are actually feeling called out for their blatant racism and degradation of refugees, especially because refugee camps are almost EXACTLY like the ones then and even now.They also then hint at animal testing and other forms of inhumane behavior done and how they are not treated ethically, or with respect. This is exemplified by all the bio lab scenes.This movie is just a giant call out post against racism, bigotry, xenophobia, animal testing, etc and I wholly suspect those that don't like it saw it and didn't like feeling called out like that. It is a good movie, the actors played their parts well. Even the head of MNU or whoever he is, the father in law to the protagonist, he was conflicted on helping his son in law, or helping the genetics testing and that was very evident. The one thing I did not like was near the end, how quickly the protaginist change his mind about things but given the circumstances it makes sense too. He recognized the transformation was inevitable once the ship crashed, so he might as well help his friend escape.An especially important thing to note is the fact the MNU didn't want the aliens to actually leave. They wanted to move them to degrade them more. Not escape, but to degrade a clearly very advanced civilization even more.

Rented this to watch with a friend, still loved it!

"District 9" is one of the very best and thought-provoking science fiction films I have ever seen.It is a brilliant comment on the human condition. At the same time, it is a very moving love-story. Be sure you have a box of Kleenex tissues at hand when you watch this in its entirety.The DVD edition I received had 2 discs. One disc contained the film and extras. The second disc contained yet more extras. I was overjoyed at this as the extras revealed so much about the making of the film.All of the actors in this are so very good. I have to mention Sharlto Copley who plays the main character, "Wikus". I had not seen him before in any films and he is amazing. His character is unlike anyone else I've ever seen and he remains in your thoughts long after the film has finished. A real tribute to the quality of the writing and Mr. Copley's acting.HIGHLY recommended.

Una película q sorprendió al espectador me encanta

Il film proprio un vero capolavoro, ricco di tanta azione una bella storia che consiglio a tutti gli amanti del genere Fantascienza di vedere.Originale e ben diverso da tutti gli altri film con gli alieni, spero anche in un possibile seguito un giorno.La Steelbook è veramente magnifica, fuori con le immagini di cartelloni dei divieti contro gli alieni.L’interno con una bella ripresa di uno dei robot alieni che si estende su tutta la custodia.L’unica cosa che ho notato, che la qualità del materiale è un po’ scadente, se non faccio attenzione quando la apro rischio che la parte in metallo si stacchi dalla plastica.Chi è un vero collezionista deve averla assolutamente questa edizione. Soprattutto presa usata ma è come se fosse nuova, Pure il disco non presenta nessuna riga o segno.Ecco alcune foto di questa Metalbox.

Science fiction can be a very powerful medium when done right, because it can create situations that are analogies for present day situations.So here's a movie that takes south african apartheid to it's logical extreme. That may be gone from the country now but prejudice, worldwide, certainly isn't.An alien ship comes to a halt over johannesburg. But it's not full of wonderful technology. It's dirty and grimy and the aliens on there look like giant prawns and they don't know much about how it works.Thus they end up getting confined to a slum district in the centre of the city and treated like third class citizens.Flash forward several years since arrival and they're about to be moved to a new district. Wikus van der merwe, employee of the company that deals with the aliens, is in charge of the relocation. A man who got the plum job by virtue of having married the boss's daughter - for love - he's well meaning but a little out of his depth.In the meantime one of the aliens has it's own plans.And when Wikus is contaminated by a substance that starts to turn him into an alien, he a fight on to survive and stay human. And he and an alien will discover they have more in commmon that they thought...Presented in a documentary style at first that fills you in on all you need to know about the back story, this approach does then take a back seat when the wikus story gets going. Wikus is played by actor Sharlto Copley. In his big feature film debut. And none of his lines were scripted. He improvised the whole thing. In doing this he makes wikus a thoroughly believable character whom you can root for. You can imagine that if this was a british film ricky gervais would have played him and made it rather comedic. But that's not the case here.Visually imaginative, thrilling, thought provoking and with great acting at it's core, this is excellent movie making and well worth seeing.The dvd is a single disc edition.Language tracks: EnglishSubtitles; English hindiIt begins with an anti piracy trailer [not the old 'you wouldn't..' one. thankfully] and a generic one for blu ray but you can skip past these by using the next button. You then get a screen that offers either a human or alien icon. Which you choose seems to have little effect save what the next screen looks like.Extras:The blu ray trailer. Again.A director's commentary.Twenty two minutes of deleted scenes. All quite short these can be watched in a row or one at a time. The special effects in these aren't finished so you'll see how they did the aliens.A thirty two minute long making of documentary that can be watched all at one or in three shorters sections. It's very good for what it is.A pretty decent dvd for a superb movie.

Anmerkung: Diese Bewertung basiert auf der deutschen Kinoversion, die sich aber außer der Sprache wohl kaum von der englischen Version unterscheiden wird.Habe erst 2 Wochen vor dem Filmstart einen kleinen Artikel in einer Fernsehzeitung gelesen, der mich sofort für den Filmbesuch begeistern konnte. Die Kritiken waren sehr gut. Auch ich war nach dem Kinobesuch begeistert.Fakten, Fakten, Fakten- Präsentiert von Peter Jackson- Sciene-Fiction-Action-Splatter-Thriller mit einer Priese schwarzem Humor- Mitten-drin-Gefühl durch professionelle Handkamera-Führung im Dokumentarfilmstil- realistische und nachvollziehbare Handlung- superbe Spezialeffekte- äußerst brutal und schonungslos, nur für Erwachsene- es gibt kein Gut oder Böse, Aliens und Menschen sind auf Augenhöhe- viele Filmszenen brennen sich regelrecht ins Gedächtnis, so schockierend und faszinierend- kein Patriotismus Gedöns- Actionreiches Filmende- viel schwarzer Humor- längere SpieldauerWorum geht es?Ein Alienschiff bleibt über Johannisburg stehen. Nichts tut sich. Bald dringen Menschen in das Schiff ein und finden tausende von abgehungerten Aliens auf. Diese werden in ein abgesperrtes Gebiet verlegt, District 9, ein Slum ohne Regeln. Als die Bevölkerung druckt macht übernimmt die MNU das Kommando, ein weltweiter Rüstungskonzern, der alles im Sinn hat, aber nicht das wohl der Aliens. Die hoch technologischen Waffen der Aliens können nur bei Kontakt mir Alien DNA aktiviert werden, bei Menschen sind sie unwirksam. Als District 9 geräumt werden soll um die Aliens an einen neuen Ort zu transportieren, infiziert sich der Chef der MNU mit Alien DNA und mutiert seitdem. Halb Mensch, halb Alien, flüchtet dieser vor der MNU, die Tod und Teufel in Bewegung setzen, um diesen 'Milliardenschweren-Durchbruch' in die Hände zu bekommen und für sich zu nutzen. Dabei gerät der Infizierte zwischen die Fronten, in der sich Gut und Böse nicht mehr unterscheiden lassen. Denn auch die Aliens haben bereits Pläne, wie sie ihr Mutterschiff wieder Abflugbereit machen können.Der Film ist für dich geeignet, wenn ...- du ein Fan von Sciene Fiction-Action-Alien-Thrillern bist- schon Cloverfield dich begeistert hat- du mal eine neue Machart von Film erleben möchtest- CGI verwöhnt bist- über schwarzen Humor lachen kannst- dir üble Folter- und Splatterszenen nichts ausmachen- du den ganzen Patriotismus-Quatsch satt hast- brachiale Alienwummen in Aktion erleben möchtest- Call of Duty 4 zu deinen Lieblingsgames zählt- Blood Diamond dir super gefallen hatDer Film wird dir nicht gefallen, wenn ... - Cloverfield nur deine kostbare Zeit gestohlen hat- du Independece Day 2 erwartet hast- du bei Horrorfilmen ständig die Bettdecke über den Kopf ziehst- riesige Massenschlachten erwartet hastMeine persönliche MeinungDer Stil von District 9 hat mich sofort in seinen Bann gezogen und Lust auf mehr gemacht. Die Handlung im Dokumentarfilm zu erzählen ist super und hat mich schon bei Cloverfield in seinen Bann gezogen. Zum Glück ist hier die Kameraführung aber weitaus professioneller und ruhiger. Überrascht war ich von der derben Brutalität des Filmes. Ich hatte gedacht der Film hätte eine FSK 16. Aber selbst FSK 18 ist noch gut gemeint, so oft wie Menschen in tausend Stücke zerfliegen, der Hauptprotagonist Hautfetzen von sich reißt und Aliens für Experimente ... ekelhaft. Das soll aber keinesfalls von einer löchrigen Handlung ablenken, ganz im Gegenteil. Die Geschichte ist authentisch und nachvollziehbar, soweit das bei Aliens natürlich geht. Ständig passiert etwas, der Zuschauer wird von einer brillanten Szene in die nächste gehetzt, ohne zu überfordern. Ich saß gespannt vor der Großleinwand und wollte unbedingt wissen wie es weiter geht. Vorhersehbar war dieser Film nämlich überhaupt nicht. Und als dann gegen Ende die fetten Alienwummen gezückt worden sind, ging der Spaß erst so richtig los. Aber alles gut dosiert und kein /1 Std.-Action-Kawumm Finale/, wie z.B. in Transformers 2. Super war auch das es kein Gut oder Böse gab. Die Menschen sind äußerst fiese Typen, aber auch die Aliens sind wenig zimperlich. Aber auch die guten Seiten beider Parteien kommen passend zum Einsatz, so dass der Zuschauer mit beiden Parteien mitfühlt.Peter Jackson ist mit diesem Film ein superber Genremix gelungen, inspiriert von Cloverfield und schonungslos wie Blood Diamond. Wie immer geht es auch hier nur wieder um jede Menge Geld und Macht, Verluste und Folter werden akzeptiert. Ein Film der fasziniert, schockiert und so schnell nicht in Vergessenheit gerät.