I noticed on Imdb, that a US theatrical release is slated for release at the end of January (2007)...

and

a listing from YesAsia (streeting Dec. 27)
that has two versions:

http://us.yesasia.com/assocred.asp?C...id-1004580399/
$30

http://us.yesasia.com/assocred.asp?C...id-1004538807/
$45

is there not a less expensive version?

Its a Korean release, so I am sure it will appear on CDWow soon and hopefully they will have a good price.

EDIT: In fact they have the R2 release up on the site now, here. Sadly it is not released until Mar '07, but I am sure the r3 will appear.

http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvdasian/23205.html

R3 Standard Edition (1-disc) -- $19.95 12/12/06
R3 Special Edition (3-DVD) -- $31.95 12/22/06
R3 Limited Edition (3-DVD + 1-CD + book; limited to 10,000 copies) $42.95 12/22/06

I kind of want the 3- or 4-disc, but I know I'll never look at any of the extras (and they're unlikely to be subtitled anyway). Will probably end up ordering the 1-disc (awful cover art, though!), but I'd like to see what CD-Wow offers up for a price.

i think the 1-disc may be the rental edition coming down in price as the retail (3 and 4-disc) sets appear. there's said to be a HK disc in december, that will be cheaper but it may not match the quality - there was that same issue last year with 'lady vengeance' which was initially botched in HK and perfect (but hard to come by, comparatively expensive) in korea. go for the korean one, for safety.

Thanks for the link Cosmic Bus, I especially like the write up for the film, since it basically confirms what I have been reading about the film - a commercial and critical success.

UK DVD

WOW looks good. I'll pick up the Korean 3 disc set since there's English subs.

Don't really care for the subs in the extras since I want this for the movie and for the collection purpose of it since it's limited to 10,000.

Saw this a couple of weeks ago at the AFI film festival.

Very, very good, I highly recommend it.

Please god, no remake.

it's inevitable

I saw it in Paris last week, it's simply fantastic. LE for me!

the remake rights have already been bought. the r3hk dvd comes out on the 3rd of dec

I'd like to see the actual packaging for these. Both are shown with the same cover. Actually, I doubt that the image shown is the actual cover art. It's probably just a poster shot.

so, I'm a little confused, there seems to be quite a few release dates

12/22
12/12
12/29

given it's 12/6 I'm surprised YesAsia or DDDHouse doesn't have the standard edition up for preorder.

Thank goodness for all those YesAsia $5 off coupons I racked up from the past several weeks! Money is kind of tight for me all thanks to Nintendo and present-buying in general (plus all those $50+ purchases I made to get those damn coupons in the first place), but I think I can still treat myself to The Host LE.

My coupons expire by mid-January though and I don't know if I will be using them all. Are $5 off YesAsia coupons transferable? (EDIT: No they're not, unfortunately.)

Just watch though... Those two non-movie DVDs in the set probably won't be subtitled.

i spotted the one disc edition nyc's koreatown on friday...

Thanks. I think I've got more than I need right now though, but I'll remember to contact you some time after January 17th. :P

If only I can use up all these $5 coupons in one shot, but it's one per order.


Probably not. Major Korean LEs, which tend to be box sets, usually don't have photos like poster art slapped on the whole front panel. I could be wrong with this one though.

Where is koreatown in nyc?

check it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koreatown,_Manhattan

Agreed. The Host was a hollywood/popcorn film in Korean, which makes it perfect for 15-20 year olds in the US.

The DVDASIAN description is interesting since although I enjoyed "The HOST" (for the most part), I think what they are trying to suggest "The Host" ISN'T, is exactly what I thought "The HOST" was in the end;

"....Or simply, they are poor epigones of Hollywood blockbusters with flimsy stories."

I also ordered the LE set from yesasia with $5 coupon last week.
Got email from them yesterday said the set is delayed and will ship around Jan 17th.

I went ahead and picked up one of the single-disc copies yesterday. Very awesome movie.

I just watched the Korean single disc version of THE HOST. It's an okay movie. I don't know what the whole fuss is about the movie. Sure, it has good monster special effects, but the story and the over-acting was basically at the same realm of a live action anime movie. The theme of family and government in this movie had as much depth as an anime movie as well - still 2-dimensional. THE HOST is a professionally-made entertaining movie, but it's just a popcorn flick that's not worth watching again. It has a few jumps, but it's been done before endlessly and certainly will not match the level of scariness and jumps of ALIEN. There is one awesome girl vs. monster scene. I'll just say one thing about this scene - don't mess with a monster, even when it's sleeping!

Sure it ain't a Hollywood film, but it's just as predictable and follows the same format as a typical Korean blockbuster film. For example, the overacting, the classical music score during action scenes, the dialogue of characters fantasizing about what they are going to do in the future once they escape the conflict, and the typical ending.

The single disc DVD is of perfect audio and anamorphic video quality. There are absolutely no extras. The english subtitles are very good.

MOVIE: 7
DVD VIDEO: 9.5
DVD AUDIO: 9.5
EXTRAS: 0

I ordered the non-gift set and the Kill Bill Vol. 2 Premium Box from Japan (on sale for $38!) with my coupon. I'm considering placing another order before that $5 coupon deal goes belly up...

Hm... If anything, I hope that your review sets my standards really low (it's been pretty high for a while) so that I'm blown away by the movie.

Thanks toddly6666... I was starting to wonder if I was the only person who didn't understand the hype. I think you had a similar experience as I did. I can't help but wonder if this isn't getting a "pass" because it's Asian/S.Korean.