The DVD Filter

By Logan Hill
Published Jul 22, 2007

Inside the beast's pantry, in The Host.

(Photo: Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)

Avant-Garde 2: Experimental Cinema from 1928 to 1954
A portable art house: More films by Stan Brakhage, Marie Menken, and others. NR; $29.95.

Zodiac
David Fincher’s killer thriller. R; $29.99.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Tom Twyker’s off-kilter thriller about a man with a super-nose. R; $29.99.

Les Enfants Terribles
Jean Cocteau and Jean-Pierre Melville take sibling rivalry to operatic (and taboo) extremes. NR; $39.95.

A Bit of Fry and Laurie: The Complete Collection
Hugh Laurie, premed. NR; $79.98.

Weeds Season 2
Mary-Louise Parker, pre-Emmy? NR; $39.98.

Henrik Ibsen Collection
The perfect antidote to summer TV: ten essential BBC productions, starring Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, etc. NR; $59.98.

OUR PICK
In this two-disc edition for The Host, the film’s charming director, Bong Joon-Ho, casually explains how he managed to pull off such a spectacular hybrid of underdog comedy, War on Terror satire, monster-movie mayhem, and moving melodrama. His technical commentary is precise (he estimates that they cut 50 to 60 creature scenes, out of 180 total, to make their budget), and his political commentary is revealing (he compares the monster’s nonexistent contagious virus to Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction). And one of the sweetest extras we’ve ever seen helps explain every bit of the film’s heart: “For the actors who only appeared in the deleted scenes, I’m sorry,” he says, in a hysterically sincere, almost endless apology to everyone slighted during the shoot. “To the two guys who catch the baby monster but are wearing hats so you can’t see their faces, I’m quite apologetic... I apologize to the people who had to suffer traffic jams...to all those who moved the bicycles...” The list of victims goes on—each a worthy mention. NR; $29.98.