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The Host (2006)
The Host (2006) poster

The Host (2006)

괴물

Horror, Drama, Science Fiction • 1h 59m

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Best English-friendly release

Updated 1 year ago

Best video release

DNR-affected, low-res original 2K DI upscaled but strong compression and Atmos


About the film

A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her.

TSPDT
2026: #980
2025: #986
2024: #988
2023: #988
2022: #988

More from Bong Joon Ho

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Director: Bong Joon Ho

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

UK Artificial Eye 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray releasing January 2027

Best Video:

France The Jokers 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

France The Jokers 4K Blu-ray has the least DNR (UK Artificial Eye might be similar? Both better than Universal 4K Blu-ray)

Criterion even though doesn’t have 4K, it has the B&W version and a lot of extras.

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Best English-Friendly:

UK Artificial Eye Blu-ray

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Best English-Friendly:

US/UK Blu-ray

Director: Bong Joon Ho

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Curzon/Artificial Eye UK 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Korea disc is near-identical, caps

Director: Bong Joon Ho

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Director: Bong Joon Ho

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

More from Artificial Eye

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Director: Gaspar Noé

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK Artificial Eye 3D Blu-ray

Director: Roy Andersson

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK Curzon/Artificial Eye Blu-ray

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

4k transfer. Shochiku Blu-ray is similar

Director: Céline Sciamma

Best English-Friendly:

Artificial Eye UK Blu-ray?

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

Curzon 4K Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release

Best Video:

Pyramide France Blu-ray

Streaming in 4K on Netflix

Video Notes:

Supposed to have better translation than Criterion.

Director: Wong Kar-Wai

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

4K · Disappointing
Best English-Friendly:

2010 US Kino Lorber or 2012 UK Artificial Eye

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

2017 JP Kadokawa Blu-ray

Video Notes:

2017 JP Kadokawa Blu-ray has the best encoding out of all the older discs.


Kino Lorber and Artificial Eye Blu-ray use the same master, between the two the PQ on Kino's release is slightly better, but the difference is negligible.

The 4K restoration (Criterion, 4K etc) are cropped to 2.35:1, have revisionistic colour grading and other changes.

Caps: old master, old master vs 4K restoration

Wong Kar-Wai on the framing:

With Fallen Angels, I have changed the format to cinemascope, because it was originally what I had intended to release the film in. When we were cutting the film, we accidentally turned the Steenbeck on anamorphic instead of standard. I felt that the film looked much more interesting because it enhanced the distance of the characters on top of the extreme wide angle that we shot on. Back then, it was impossible to shoot a film in standard and release it in anamorphic. With this restoration, we have successfully fulfilled this wish.

Director: Claire Denis

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK Artificial Eye Blu-ray

Additional Info:

US IFC Films Blu-ray features exclusive commentary and video essay.

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Best English-Friendly:

Theatrical Cut: UK Artificial Eye Blu-ray

2023 "Director's" Cut: Unreleased

Passion According to Andrei Cut: MosFilm Youtube Stream

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Theatrical Cut: Netherlands Lumière Blu-ray has best encoding

2023 "Director's" Cut: Unreleased

Passion According to Andrei Cut: MosFilm Youtube Stream

Video Notes:

Theatrical Cut: UK Artificial Eye Blu-ray > Criterion

Passion According to Andrei Cut: MosFilm Youtube Stream > Criterion Blu-ray

Passion According to Andrei Cut: MosFilm Youtube Stream > Criterion Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Theatrical Cut: 2011/2018 RU Blu-ray

Passion According to Andrei Cut: ??

Director: Robert Bresson

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Director: François Truffaut

Best English-Friendly:

UK Artificial Eye Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK Artificial Eye vs France Carlotta no comparison

Director: Roman Polanski

Best English-Friendly:

Artificial Eye UK Blu-ray

More Horror on Blu-ray

Director: Roman Polanski

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

UK 4K teased by 88 Films https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=24252379

Video Notes:

Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray > Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray (better encode on Carlotta without any low-pass filtering, more extras and English subtitles on Vinegar Syndrome)

Director: Roy Del Ruth

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration of the original 3D left eye and right eye camera negatives

Directors: Ernest B. Schoedsack & Merian C. Cooper

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Director: Bernard Rose

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Scream Factory/Arrow 4K Blu-ray or Turbine 4K Blu-Ray

Additional Info:

SF and Turbine also have the 2004 Audio Commentary with Bernard Rose, Clive Barker, Alan Poul and actors Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd and Kasi Lemmons

Director: Fede Álvarez

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Director: Peter Jackson

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow US/UK 4K Blu-ray or Turbine Germany 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Both will look identical in motion but the Turbine looks marginally better due to a higher bitrate allocation by each cut being given its own disc, whereas Arrow had FiM seamlessly branch the two onto one. However, Arrow has both cuts in Open Matte (on Blu-Ray) and corrected the opening Universal logo's aspect ratio. https://slow.pics/c/McvVcYDG

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray also includes exclusive "Reborn Cut"

Director: Lam Nai-choi

Best English-Friendly & Video:

88 Films UK or Vinegar Syndrome US Blu-ray (preference)

Video Notes:

Different color gradings, 88 Films disc is encoded by FiM but Vinegar Syndrome encode (by Marcus Johnson) is more than robust

Audio Notes:

Vinegar Syndrome potentially has better audio than 88 Films, due to VinSyn possibly having EQ'd the audio mix after Fortune Star scanned the track in a way that makes it sound too hot, whereas 88 left it alone without addressing that issue. However, no direct comparisons exist

Director: Tobe Hooper

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

4K Blu-ray has both the original Dolby Stereo mix and a 5.1 remix.

Additional Info:

HBO Max Streaming includes the theatrical version with original credits, goofs. 1080p with the 5.1 remix

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering, 1.85 ratio restored for US Cut; both US and International Cuts are 4K.

Best Audio:

US Cut: 1999 WB DVD/Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

No Blu-ray or DVD release until the Criterion 4K Blu-ray has presented the US in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The International Cut has never been presented in it's OAR of 1.66:1 in any home video releases.

The packaging on the back of the WB 4K Blu-ray incorrectly states it as 1.85:1 when the movie is actually 1.78:1 as is the original Blu-ray. 

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· last reviewed 1 year ago

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