Video: The Host is presented in anamorphic widescreen. The image is clear and sharp. Color reproduction is excellent. It’s vivid like a region 1 transfer; more so than many Asian ones, which are commonly softer. The opening scenes near the river, and the hospital interiors, are bright. When the Park family pursues the creature, it’s gloomy and rainy outside. These scenes, and the underground / sewer / storm drain settings, are moody and atmospheric without being too dark. Detail is sometimes lost in the darkest areas of the image. This contributes to the picture looking overall a little more digital than film-like, but it’s by no means bad, just…modern? Grade: A-

Audio: The two main audio options are Korean Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, and Korean DTS ES. The Dolby track sounds good. All of the dialogue, music, and sound effects are well reproduced. I don’t yet have a DTS system, so I can’t comment on that option. The third audio option is a visually impaired track. It includes a narrator describing the on-screen action (in Korean) for the benefit of sight-impaired viewers. (Remember the Descriptive Video Service track on the original Terminator 2 DVD?) Grade: A

Extras / Menus: There is a host of extras to go through on this 4-disc set. On disc 1 with the feature film there are 3 audio commentaries: One with writer / director Bong Joon-ho and the 3 actors who portray the Park siblings, a solo track with the director, and one with 4 staff members. All are in Korean with no subtitles. Also accessible from the setup menu is “After Commentary,” 2 minutes of additional comments from the actors and director.

Pop in disc 2, and you have two options: “Beginning” and “The Host.” The “Beginning” section includes: “Wake Up, Monster” (9 min.), a very general overview of pre-production; “Hyun-seo’s Family” (4 min.), the Park family actors comment on their characters; “Cartoon Creature” (8 min.), scenes presented as storyboards and animatics; “Training Hunters” (5 min.), the actors learning to shoot; “Practical Effects” (5 minutes), planning and filming live-action effects; “Treasure Hunting” (6 min.), conversations with the young actors who end up in the beast’s pantry; and “News Clip” (5 minutes / 6 chapters), extended versions of faux news reports used in the film. There is a “Preproduction Still Gallery” divided into 3 sections. One has 52 images of location scouting and prep, one has 27 images of the actors in costume tests, and the other has 37 images of architectural and design work. There are also 2 Easter eggs: 1 minute of casting tapes for small roles, and 1 minute of comments from the “other” schoolgirl.

“The Host” includes: “Designing Creature” (11 min.), several designers showing a wide variety of looks for the creature; “The Fellowship Of The WETA” (6 min.), sculpting the creature at Weta Workshop (The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, King Kong ’05) in New Zealand; “Creature Animation” (21 min.), The Orphanage in San Francisco (Superman Returns, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) brings the beast to life with CGI; “Creature Making Process” (16 min.), 5 creature scenes, each shown in 5 stages of completion (all individually selectable); “Creature Animatronics” (7 min.), making and filming the full-size animatronic monster head built by John Cox’s Creature Workshop (Pitch Black, the upcoming Rogue); “Creature’s Gag Reel” (4 min.), humorous animations; “Kevin’s Korean Life” (7 min.), VFX Supervisor Kevin Rafferty’s stay in Seoul; “Creature And Its Behavior” (14 min.), the director explains the actions and habits of the monster; and “Sound Effects” (9 min.), voicing the monster and creating sound FX. Then, there is a “Creature Still Gallery” divided into 5 sections: 40 images of storyboards and illustrations, 8 minutes of creature designs narrated by the designer, 30 images of creature designs (many radically different than the one used), 31 images of the animatronic head, and 26 images of computer renderings. There is another Easter egg as well, 2 minutes of comments from creature victims.

On to disc 3. The first option is “Production Making Film.” This includes: “Memories Of Sewer” (10 min.), the cast and crew describe the hardships of filming in Seoul’s massive sewer system; “BONGTAIL” (3 min.), comments on the director’s style; “Actors’ Hard Work” (3 min.), the lead actors in action; “Supporting Actors” (5 min.), they comment on their roles; “Mise-en-scene Specialist” (9 min. / 5 chapters), making props and background items; “Behind Story Of Staffs” (5 min.), anonymous (voice-altered) crew complaints; “The Host Guests” (2 min.), set visitors (including directors Tsui Hark and Park Chan-wook); “Behind Story Of Production Team” (9 min.), comments from the cast and staff; and “Staff On The Screen” (4 min.), pointing out staff cameos. Then, there is a “Production Still Gallery,” consisting of 3 sections: 61 images of the cast, 51 images of the staff, and 44 images of sets and props. There is also an Easter egg; 1 minute with the pretty lady who gets snatched by the creature while listening to music.

The next option from the main menu is “Deleted Scenes.” These are divided into “Drama Part” (25 scenes, 20 min.) and “Creature Part” (11 scenes, 3 min.). They can be selected individually or played en masse, with or without commentary. Next up is “Bong’s Apology,” 5 minutes of the director apologizing to several groups of people for various things related to making the film. “Original Soundtrack” is divided into 3 sections: “Making Of OST” (6 min. on the film score), “Alternate OST” (2 versions of one of the film’s poignant closing moments, each with different music), and “Music Video.” The video is 3 minutes, plays like a condensed version of the movie (sans creature action), and oddly enough the song doesn’t appear in either the film or on the CD.

“Promotion Scenes” includes 5 sections. “Promotion Tour In Korea” is 7 minutes of Korean showings introduced by the cast and followed by audience reactions. “Promotion Tour In Abroad” has footage from film festivals around the world (13 min. / 5 chapters), an international poster gallery (10 images), 5 international trailers and TV spots (6 min.), and a montage of international articles and magazine covers. “England Critic Tony Rayns Interview” runs 4 minutes. “Trailers” includes 5 Korean trailers (6 min). “Poster Gallery” consists of 10 Korean posters. There is also a 2-minute casting tape for an Easter egg.

Moving along on the main menu, “Saying Good-Bye To The Host” is 5 minutes of the cast and staff reminiscing. Next is Sink & Rise, a short film from director Bong Joon-ho. It concerns a bet between a food stand owner and a customer over whether or not boiled eggs will float in the Han River. According to Koreanfilm.org, the film was originally part of Twentidentity, a 20-part omnibus film made by alumni of the Korean Academy of Film Arts, on the occasion of the school's 20th anniversary. Presented in non-anamorphic widescreen, it runs 7 minutes (including an introduction by the director), and has optional English and Korean subtitles. The last option is 6 minutes of DVD credits, with some brief comments on the DVD production. Finally, there are 2 short animatics hidden as Easter eggs on the main menu.

All of the extras on discs 2 & 3 are in fullscreen, with film clips in non-anamorphic widescreen. (The deleted scenes are anamorphic.) Except for Sink & Rise on disc 3, there are no English subtitles. The menus on disc 1 are anamorphic, animated with music, and everything is labeled in both Korean and English, making navigation a snap. The chapter select menu is cleverly set up like the Park family’s wanted poster. The menus for discs 2 and 3 are fullscreen, and animated with music. Disc 2 has a biological motif, while disc 3 is set up like a map. All of the main featurettes / sections on both bonus DVDs are labeled in both Korean and English (chapters and subsections in Korean only). The Easter eggs can all be found by simply playing with the direction arrows on the DVD player remote.

The fourth and final disc is a CD of the film’s original soundtrack. The composer is Lee Byeong-woo (A Tale Of Two Sisters). It has 40 tracks, and clocks in at 63:20. There is no track listing included. This is an artful, symphonic score. The music ranges from a suitably creepy opening, to some hectic, comedic-sounding numbers that may at first seem inappropriate for a monster movie. The music works well in the film, though, and is also pleasant to listen to on its own.

Finally, there are 2 booklets included in this set. One is an 80-page script, all in Korean (except for brief passages of English dialogue). The other is over 200 pages of storyboards. Most are hand-drawn; a few are CG. The drawings are excellent! The book shows almost the entire film, up through the final confrontation with the monster, but not the touching denouement. What a set! Grade: B+ (Make it an A+ if you understand Korean.)

Final Analysis: For the Korean market, this beautifully packaged and extremely in-depth set is certainly worthy of the most popular domestic film ever. What about international kaiju fans? The film comes with optional English subtitles. There are a couple misspellings, but the grammar is good for an Asian disc. However, the extensive extras aren’t subtitled. Of course, language isn’t a barrier with the storyboard book and soundtrack. So, the decision to purchase for English-speaking fans depends on whether you’ll settle for a more basic, less expensive edition of the film, or if you want to have the biggest, most complete Host package likely to be released anywhere. Final Grade: A