MNU Alert: District 9 Residents Invade Homes On December 29th

The Prawns may not be welcome in Johannesburg, but hopefully they’ll be welcome in your home. On December 29th Sony Picture Home Entertainment will release District 9 on DVD and Blu-ray.

Forget alien invasions, "take me to your leader," or any other extra terrestrial cliché. In District 9 our out-of-this-world visitors are discriminated against and forced to live in a slum-like government camp called District 9. When it comes time to relocate the "prawns" to a new area, Multi-National United field operative Wikus van der Merwe is put in charge of the venture. While handing out eviction notices he comes in contact with an alien substance that begins a strange transformation that will force him to reevaluate all his views on the prawns.

Come December 29th, you have the option of purchasing a one-disc DVD for $28.96, a two-disc DVD for $36.95, or a BD for $39.95. In terms of bonus material, the single-disc version will get you filmmaker commentary, deleted scenes, and, most impressively, a three-part documentary called “The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker’s Log.” Part one focuses on the pre-production phase, part two on filming, and the third on the editing process.

Upgrading to the two-disc DVD tacks on four additional featurettes, “Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus,” “Innovations: The Acting and Improvisation of District 9,” “Conception and Design: Creating the World of District 9” and “Alien Generation: The Visual Effects of District 9.” Opting for the BD edition will get you everything mentioned, as well as “Joburg from Above: Satellite and Schematics of the World of District 9,” a digital copy of the film, Cinechat, and movieIQ. “Joburg from Above” sounds like the most promising extra. It’s an interactive map that allows you to explore the movie via satellite maps, schematics, and photo-real files.

No matter which version you opt for, District 9 will be a fantastic buy. Keep in mind, it is one of those films that’ll leave you itching for more upon its conclusion. There’s just so much information you can cram into one film, and the world of D9 is certainly a vast one. This is a movie you’ll probably want to splurge on to get as much material as humanly possible. Happy buying, and remember, prawns are people, too.

Perri Nemiroff

Staff Writer for CinemaBlend.