Audio: There are four audio options: The film’s original Korean language, and an English dub, each presented in both Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround. Overall sound quality is very good. Of course, the 5.1 options are stronger and fuller all around. Just pick the format that works best for your system. As for the languages, stick with Korean. The English dub is plagued with poor voices and awkward dialogue. (Some of the English roles from the Korean version, such as the mortician’s assistant and Sgt. Donald, have been re-dubbed.) Dubbing is for kids; adult viewers need not bother with it. Grade: A

Extras / Menus: Disc 1 of this 2-disc set is identical to the single-disc edition that is available separately. The extras on disc 1 are all carried over. First up is a feature-length audio commentary (entirely in English) by director Bong Joon-ho. The moderator is British film critic Tony Rayns, who asks questions and guides the general direction of the conversation. It’s informative but not terribly deep. Unfortunately, the film’s many political undertones are addressed only briefly. Discussion of special effects technique is limited to pointing out which FX shots were physical and where CGI was used. This is for the best, since overly technical commentaries can become tedious. Besides, there are plenty of FX-related extras on the second disc.

The other special features on disc 1 are: Deleted scenes, deleted news clips, and director Bong Joon-ho’s reflections. The deleted scenes run 23 minutes, and are divided between “people scenes” and creature shots. Running 5 minutes, the news clips are extended versions of faux news reports used in the film. The director’s reflections are 5 minutes of Mr. Bong apologizing to several groups of people for various things related to making the film. All these extras are in Korean with optional English subtitles. There is also a very brief, easy-to-find Easter egg.

When disc 1 first starts, there are previews / promos for Dynamite Warrior (a Thai action movie), Severance (a slasher satire), The Signal (either a Pulse rip-off that’s a year late, or a Cell rip-off that’s a year early), and HD Net that play automatically when the disc starts up. They can be skipped through. There isn’t an option elsewhere on the menus to access them later. The main and special features menus are animated with sound; the others are silent, anamorphic still images.

Disc 2 includes: “Making Of The Host,” “The Creature,” “The Crew,” “The Cast,” a gag reel, “Saying Goodbye,” and Korean trailers. The first four are divided into multiple sections, each with a “Play All” option as well. “Making Of The Host” is divided into 8 sections: “Making Of The Host With Director Bong Joon-ho” (10 min.), a very general overview of pre-production; “Storyboards” (8 min.), scenes presented as storyboards and animatics; “Bong Joon-ho’s Direction” (3 min.), comments on the director’s style; “Memories Of The Sewer” (10 min.), the cast and crew describe the hardships of filming in Seoul’s massive sewer system; “The Film Departments: Set Design” (9 min.), making props and background items; “Physical Special Effects” (5 min.), planning and filming live-action effects; “Sound Effects” (9 min.), voicing the monster and creating sound FX; and “Composing The Music” (6 min.), composer Lee Byeong-woo (A Tale Of Two Sisters) developing the score. There is another brief, easy-to-find Easter egg on the “Making Of” screen; it’s one minute of CGI animatics.

“The Creature” is divided into 7 sections: “Conceptual Artwork: The Birth” (8 min.), early creature designs, both drawings and models; “Designing The Creature” (11 min.), several designers showing a wide variety of looks for the creature; “Bringing The Creature To Life” (21 min.), The Orphanage in San Francisco (Superman Returns, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) brings the beast to life with CGI; “Building The Creature” (6 min.), sculpting the creature at Weta Workshop (The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, King Kong ’05) in New Zealand; “Puppet Animatronix” (7 min.), making and filming the full-size animatronic monster head built by John Cox’s Creature Workshop (Pitch Black, the upcoming Rogue); “Animating The Creature” (16 min.), 5 creature scenes, each shown in 5 stages of completion; and “Why Did It Do That?” (14 min.), the director explains the actions and habits of the monster.

“The Crew” has 3 sections: “The Staff” (5 min.), anonymous (voice-altered) crew complaints; “The Production Team” (9 min.), behind-the-scenes difficulties; and “Visual Effects Supervisor: Film Production In Korea” (7 min.), VFX Supervisor Kevin Rafferty’s location work in Korea. “The Cast” is divided into 7 sections: “Casting Tapes” (6 min.), casting the young actors who end up in the beast’s pantry; “Training The Actors” (5 min.), the actors learning to shoot; “The Extras: Behind The Scenes” (5 min.), comments from actors in smaller roles; “Monster Appeal” (2 min.), set visitors (including directors Tsui Hark and Park Chan-wook); “The Family: Main Cast Interviews” (4 min.), the Park family actors comment on their characters; “Additional Cast Interviews” (5 min.), supporting actors comment on their roles; and “The Extras: Casting Tapes” (1 min.), auditions for small roles.

The gag reel is 8 minutes of humorous animations and botched promos. “Saying Goodbye” is 5 minutes of the cast and staff reminiscing about the project. Finally, there are 3 Korean trailers that run back-to-back for 4 minutes. All of the extras on disc 2 are in fullscreen or non-anamorphic widescreen, and Korean language with optional English subtitles. The menus are anamorphic still images, except for the main menu, which has music and minor animation. This is an excellent selection of extras carried over from the Korean DVD releases. Grade: A

Final Analysis: The Host is presented well on this DVD, with very good picture and sound, and a wealth of extras covering many aspects of production. Highly recommended! Final Grade: A

Sound: Audio options are provided in English and Korean in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and 2.0 Stereo tracks with optional subtitles available in English and Spanish. The Korean 5.1 track is the ideal way to enjoy the film as it makes the monster attack scenes a lot more intense and a lot more fun. Surrounds are used quite well during a few of the more action-intensive moments in the movie and your subwoofer will definitely shake things nicely in a few key scenes. As far as the English dubbed tracks go, they're fine if you've got a serious aversion to subtitles but the voice actors just don't quite fit the characters as well as they could have and it feels forced. Watching the film in Korean allows it to play out a little more seriously and it adds some authenticity to the locations.

Extras: The primary extra feature on the first disc is a commentary track from director Bong Joon-Ho and a long time friend of his. Surprisingly enough, the track is recorded in English. This is a fairly detailed discussion wherein we learn the intricacies of mixing effects work with live actors and how much work went into getting a few of the more memorable set pieces just right. He tells us what it was like on set, why certain performers were cast in certain parts, the role that CGI played in the film, and more.

Also found on the first disc is a short featurette entitled Director Bong Joon-Ho's Reflections (5:24). This segment more or less gives the man a chance to apologize to a few different actors whose material was trimmed and not used and to talk about some of the ideas that he explored in the movie.

Also on the first disc are a selection of Deleted Scenes - 23:20 worth in total. Most of these are character bits but towards the end there are some interesting excised clips of the monster in action and the aftermath he leaves behind as well as some nifty bits with the scientists. Some Deleted News Clips are also found, 4:38 worth, and these are rather amusing even when seen out of context as they are here.

The second disc is where the bulk of the supplements are found, starting off with some interesting featurettes that take a more detailed look at some very specific aspects of the film, in turn broken down by that aspect. First up is the section called Making Of The Host and in here we find bits on Making The Host, Storyboards, Bong Joon-Ho's Direction, Memories of the Sewer, The Film Departments: Set Design, Physical Special Effects, Sound Effects, and Composing The Music. Combined, these segments give us a very in depth look at how the film came together and what roles various participants played in its creation.

In The Creature we find segments on Conceptual Artwork: The Birth, Designing The Creature, Bringing The Creature To Life, Building The Creature: The WETA Workshop, Puppet Animatronix, Animating The Creature and finally, Why Did It Do That?. Those who dig on effects footage and like to see how computers can blend live action, CGI and puppets should enjoy this as it's all quite interesting.

A section called The Crew contains featurettes on The Staff, The Production Team and Visual Effects Supervisor: Film Production In Korea. Obviously, all of this material relates to the people who worked behind the scenes to make this all happen. Some of this material is a little bit try but effects bits are quite interesting and it's nice to see some of the unsung behind the scenes heroes get some attention.

In The Cast we learn about Casting Tapes, Training The Actors, The Extras: Behind The Scenes, Monster Appeal, The Family: Main Cast Interviews, Additional Cast Interviews and finally The Extras: Casting Tapes. As you could probably guess, this material all relates to the people who show up in front of the camera. The extras are just as interesting a the main actors and there are a few fun stories told here.

Also included on the second disc are a Gag Reel, a segment called Saying Goodbye which is five minutes of the cast and crew reminiscing about working on the film together, and a few Korean trailers for the film.

Final Thoughts: Magnolia's two-disc special edition release looks and sounds great and contains a massive array of supplements, earning this a rating of highly recommended!