District 9 [Blu-ray] | ![District 9 [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zUTvylIUL._SL160_.jpg) | Director: Neill Blomkamp
Actors: Norman Anstey, Anthony Bishop, Anthony Fridjhon, William Allen Young, Mike Huff
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $18.99
as of 11/23/2009 02:56 CST details
You Save: $20.96 (52%)
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  121 reviews
Sales Rank: 39
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Blu-ray
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 112 Minutes
UPC: 043396292260
EAN: 0043396292260
ASIN: B002SJIO5E
Theatrical Release Date: 2009
Release Date: December 22, 2009 (In 29 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Not yet released
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| 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)
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 121
 Terrible November 23, 2009
Russell E. Chatham Jr. (Atlanta, Ga)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I saw this movie when it came out in theatres. I fought the urge to get up and leave thru the entire movie and when the end came I really wished that I had left. That is two hours of my life I will never get back. Don't waste your time on this movie the whole documentary style filming was just irritating and distracting. If you have two hours to waste I would use it doing something else.
 district 9 November 20, 2009
N. M. Hernandez (new york, new york)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
a first time director with a 10,000 budget created this eye popping and jaw dropping movie. the movie is hitting the millions in profits. one of the best movies that i have ever seen as a critic and one of the most intense metaphors ever putted on motion. must see
Restored my dwindling faith in Science Fiction November 20, 2009
Harkanwar Anand (Corona, New York)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
And just when I'm convinced that Science Fiction films are arbitrary garbage, from the phoenix of that garbage, comes out District 9. An absolutely riveting display of the power of the thought. Powerhouse performances.
This bought back memories of Children of Men, which remains a fantastic film.
Loved District 9.
One of the better sci-fi flicks to come along in the last 5 years November 18, 2009
buru buru piggu (New York, NY USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
District 9 is a refreshing break from the slew of mediocre big-budget sci-fi action flicks produced by Hollywood every year. Made on a tiny budget of $30 million by South African director Neill Blomkamp, it's amazing what he and his crew have been able to accomplish for so little money (comparatively speaking). The story is tightly woven and wonderfully acted by Sharlto Copley, a South African actor who plays the protagonist, Wikus van de Merwe. Blomkamp knows that the story drives a film, not the CG. The CG aids the storytelling, but shouldn't take center stage, something that many of the $150+ million Hollywood CG stinkers forget (ahem... G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen). In D9, the CG (provided by Vancouver-based SFX house Image Engine) is perfectly blended into the environments and feels natural and realistic. It never sticks out or takes you out of the sense of immersion.
The story is about an alien ship that came to Earth 20 years ago and stopped over Johannesburg, South Africa. There it stayed motionless until the government sent in cutters to open up the ship, where they found a race of cricket-like beings huddled in squalid conditions. Leaderless, malnourished, and numbering over one million, they are given refuge on Earth and confined to slums on the outskirts of the city. Rife with crime, poverty, and violence, the District 9 is policed by a private military contractor called MNU (Multinational United) and controlled by a profiteering Nigerian warlord/illegal arms dealer and his thugs. At the beginning of the film, Wikus, whose doofy appearance and demeanor is reminiscent of a young Peter Sellers, is tasked with evicting the alien residents of District 9 and relocating them to another settlement. During a search for contraband, without giving away too much of the plot, Wikus makes a discovery that changes his life, turning him from an MNU agent into a reluctant hero.
Visually, the film has a very coarse look. As widely publicized, the story is based on South Africa's struggle with apartheid, and was filmed in an actual township in Soweto to give the film a dirty and gritty sense of authenticity, using handheld Red digital cameras to heighten the documentary feel. The story is smartly written and the themes of corporate greed, racism/xenophobia, poverty, and corruption are not hard to believe. Replace the alien refugees with humans and you can find this kind of squalor in many parts of the developing world, like we saw in Slumdog Millionaire (India) or City of God (Brazil). Crime in South Africa is rampant and it's one of the most dangerous places on Earth in real life. Some of the alien weaponry is very cool and people explode like watermelons. Limbs get severed and there is a good amount of violence and gore in the film, so be forewarned if you are sensitive to such imagery. The climactic showdown at the end is also very exciting and well done.
Stated influences for the film include the Alien and Terminator series, Robocop, Predator, and others, so if you enjoyed these films, you'll probably enjoy D9. Highly recommended for the sci-fi fan.
Brilliant social commentary. November 17, 2009
John S. Harris (Memphis, TN)
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have two educated friends who saw this movie before I did and advised me not to see it because it was "terrible". But I saw it anyway and I thought it was brilliant. Those two friends are still my friends, but now I know not to take their advice on certain matters.
"District 9" isn't a movie about aliens from outer space, though it does feature them. It is a movie about xenophobia, Apartheid, corporate greed, and other real-life issues.
"District 9" is a movie directed toward your social conscience and, in the end, your heart. If you only see it as just another shoot-'em-up, blow-'em-up action film, then you are missing the point. You may enjoy it for those elements too, but if you enjoy it JUST for those elements, then you probably need to learn a little bit more about the world around you to take this film in its proper social context.
The special effects are top-notch, and I look forward to seeing this in either Blu-Ray format or even on regular DVD.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 121
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