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Special Features
Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus
Director's commentary
Deleted scenes
The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker's Log -- three-part documentary Innovation: Acting and Improvisation
Conception and Design: Creating the World of District 9
Alien Generation: Visual Effects
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A provocative science fiction drama, District 9 boasts an original story that gets a little lost in blow-'em-up mayhem. Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, District 9 begins as a mock documentary about the imminent eviction of extraterrestrials from a pathetic shantytown (called District 9). The creatures, it turns out, have been on Earth for years, having arrived sickly and starving. Initially received by humans with compassion and care, the aliens are now mired in blighted conditions typical of long-term refugee camps unwanted by a hostile, host society. With the creatures' care contracted out to a for-profit corporation, the shantytown has become a violent slum. The aliens sift through massive piles of junk while their minders secretly research weapons technology that arrived on the visitors' spacecraft.
Against this backdrop is a more personal story about a bureaucrat named Wikus (Sharlto Copley) who is accidentally exposed to a DNA-altering substance. As he begins metamorphosing into one of the creatures, Wikus goes on the run from scientists who want to harvest his evolving, new parts and aliens who see him as a threat. When he pairs up with an extraterrestrial secretly planning an escape from Earth, however, what should be a fascinating relationship story becomes a series of firefights and explosions. Nuance is lost to numbing violence, and the more interesting potential of the film is obscured. Yet, for a while District 9 is a powerful movie with a unique tale to tell. Seamless special effects alone are worth seeing: the (often brutal) exchanges between alien and human are breathtaking. --Tom Keogh
> District 9 downloadables (Click for pdf file)
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Product Description
From producer Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and director Neill Blomkamp comes a startlingly original science fiction thriller that "soars on the imagination of its creators" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). With stunning special effects and gritty realism, the film plunges us into a world where the aliens have landed... only to be exiled to a slum on the fringes of Johannesburg. Now, one lone human discovers the mysterious secret of the extraterrestrial weapon technology. Hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he will discover what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet.
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
At first, the plot and characters in this movie seem quite bizarre, but it eventually becomes apparent that the movie is clearly and faithfully illustrating a theme which is natural to the human condition. That theme revolves around what happens when a minority group lives in the midst of a majority group, with the division into different and opposing groups being established based on their differences in ancestry, appearance, language, diet, and other cultural traits.
In such a situation, the majority group may grow to detest the minority group and unjustly blame them for many of their own troubles, and they may even be tempted to exterminate the minority group (ie, genocide), but their instincts will usually tell them that that's going too far. Instead, the minority group will usually be allowed to continue to exist, but they'll be geographically cordoned off and their rights will be limited, so that they suffer deprived circumstances, including epithets, physical abuse, poverty, exploitation, and crime.
Again, the movie illustrates this (important) theme well, and in a way that there's no question about who the minority group is and the ways in which they're being mistreated. I found the movie gripping, and I suspect that I'll remember it for a long time.
If I have to come up with a negative criticism of the movie, I would say that perhaps some of the violence is over the top, and I wonder if it was necessary to include Nigerians among the really bad guys (given that their reputation is already bad enough).
Nevertheless, I do recommend this movie. It's much better than I expected, and it does its job well enough to warrant a full 5 stars.
In such a situation, the majority group may grow to detest the minority group and unjustly blame them for many of their own troubles, and they may even be tempted to exterminate the minority group (ie, genocide), but their instincts will usually tell them that that's going too far. Instead, the minority group will usually be allowed to continue to exist, but they'll be geographically cordoned off and their rights will be limited, so that they suffer deprived circumstances, including epithets, physical abuse, poverty, exploitation, and crime.
Again, the movie illustrates this (important) theme well, and in a way that there's no question about who the minority group is and the ways in which they're being mistreated. I found the movie gripping, and I suspect that I'll remember it for a long time.
If I have to come up with a negative criticism of the movie, I would say that perhaps some of the violence is over the top, and I wonder if it was necessary to include Nigerians among the really bad guys (given that their reputation is already bad enough).
Nevertheless, I do recommend this movie. It's much better than I expected, and it does its job well enough to warrant a full 5 stars.
111 of 146 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
District 9 is something that perhaps no one saw coming, and ends up being the absolute best movie of the summer hands down. Produced by Peter Jackson and helmed by Neill Blomkamp (the director Jackson hand picked for the shelved Halo movie), District 9 depicts an alien race that came to Earth on an emergency basis a couple decades before hand, and have since become refugees in a violent slum in Johannesburg. Bureaucrat Wikus (Sharlto Copley) is charged with serving eviction notices to the alien "prawns", and through a mishap, ends up undergoing a horrifying transformation that makes him a wanted man by everyone. As he and a prawn dubbed Christopher Johnson become unlikely allies, things begin to really kick into high gear. Beginning as part mockumentary and part satire on apartheid, District 9 takes its time to become a bloody full-blown action/sci-fi opus that stays with you long after the credits are done rolling. What also helps make District 9 so good is that you truly never know what is going to happen next. The sheer unpredictability of the film helps make it so magnetic, and newcomer Copley manages to be hateable, likable, and sympathetic all at the same time as his character continues to develop and change (literally) as the film goes on. All in all, District 9 is an incredible science fiction film that features equal parts action and heart, and in a bloated summer full of empty blockbusters like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, G.I. Joe, and the like; it is indeed refreshing to see something like this on the big screen. Do yourself a favor, don't miss out on District 9.
39 of 52 people found the following review helpful
By DocSmithers
Format:Blu-ray
Going by the disparity in reviews, it seems that this is either a love or hate it type of movie for people. One thing that I have noticed, however, is that the people that trashed District 9 can't seem to spell or form coherent sentences very well.
District 9 is one of the most thought provoking movies that I have seen in years. I'm not sure what the American viewing public has degenerated into these days, but some of the comments here sadden me. This movie examines the human condition in a very unique way. Yes, it is very graphic and can be disturbing. There is no nudity or sex however. There is no pandering to audiences. It is powerful and pulls no punches. I have heard comparisons to Blade Runner, another favorite to many sci-fi fans. If that type of a movie is your cup of tea, District 9 will blow you away. It succeeds on so many levels, please give it a chance. Despite being an action based movie, District 9 is for intelligent viewers, not Michael Bay movie lovers. District 9 is a strong 4/4 star movie.
District 9 is one of the most thought provoking movies that I have seen in years. I'm not sure what the American viewing public has degenerated into these days, but some of the comments here sadden me. This movie examines the human condition in a very unique way. Yes, it is very graphic and can be disturbing. There is no nudity or sex however. There is no pandering to audiences. It is powerful and pulls no punches. I have heard comparisons to Blade Runner, another favorite to many sci-fi fans. If that type of a movie is your cup of tea, District 9 will blow you away. It succeeds on so many levels, please give it a chance. Despite being an action based movie, District 9 is for intelligent viewers, not Michael Bay movie lovers. District 9 is a strong 4/4 star movie.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing and childish.
Special effects mediocre, plot line jerky with awkward transitions, silly reasons for chase scenes, etc. Plot not well worked out, didn't engage me at all. Read more
Published 4 hours ago by Martin S. Fischer
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and Lively Movie!
Great movie! I'm a big sci-fi buff, so this was right in my wheel house. Very entertaining and lively. From start to finish, I was really in to the movie. Read more
Published 5 hours ago by T. Williams
2.0 out of 5 stars
Over the top rave reviews ruined it for me!
District 9 is the sort of film that sits just on the edge of being remembered as a great science fiction classic, but sits far below dozens of better sci-fi movies of the recent... Read more
Published 15 days ago by Natja Kristy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome movie
sci fi at its greatest by a great director! Loved every minute! Looking forward to Awesome movie his next movies too!
Published 16 days ago by Sandra K. Powers
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well done
I went into this film not knowing what to expect and was pleasantly surprised at the storyline. The story seems to transform into something unexpected and unravels into a truly... Read more
Published 23 days ago by cmleziva
2.0 out of 5 stars
Should've been just straight sci-fi, no documentary style
(Possible Spoilers)
In the early 80's a big alien ship showed up above Johannesburg, South Africa, some aliens came from it and some 28 years later the camp that was set... Read more
In the early 80's a big alien ship showed up above Johannesburg, South Africa, some aliens came from it and some 28 years later the camp that was set... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Jonnathan Ritland
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome movie
Fantastic movie, sci fi at its greatest by a great director! Loved every minute! Looking forward to his next movies too!
Published 25 days ago by Ekaj
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is Marvelous
You can't get much better cinema. Great story, immaculate main character arc, great drama, great filmmaking, provocative, an indisputable 'best actor' performance from Sharlto... Read more
Published 1 month ago by C&D
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended
This review is a note for myself. All of these notes will provide a one-liner in the title to summarize my feelings of the film.
Published 1 month ago by Gene Kim
5.0 out of 5 stars
Imaginative
This is one of the more interesting and imaginative films I have seen in my recent tour of more or less current, more or less science fiction, movies. Read more
Published 1 month ago by drkhimxz
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