[movie 2006] The Host 괴물

A monster is hiding in the waters of the Han River. A monster who looks like nothing Song Kang-Ho's family has ever experienced. And the fight against the suffering and misfortune the presence of the ominous figure creates is at the center of Bong Joon-Ho's third feature. After the masterful Memories of Murder, Bong could have done anything he wanted, but the young director ended up making something of such ambitious scale that the entire industry sat down and watched as he first revealed an impressing casting (Song Kang-Ho, Park Hae-Il, Bae Doo-Na, Byun Hee-Bong, Oh Dal-Soo), and then tried to conceal some precious information, something that the press tried to grab from him from the beginning.

What we know is that the scale of the project is huge, with shooting going all over the Han River in dozens of locations, with a lot of money spent on special effects to render the 'creature' as realistic as possible, and a story which will not come second after the spectacle. Combining bizarre characters with an obsessive attention to detail, a love for great storytelling, and the kind of panache only great directors showcase, Bong has been able to establish himself in the elite of Korea directors after just two films. Even though the stakes now are higher, 'The Host' could mean further International exposure for the man, or even Korean Cinema as a whole. [Twitch - 2006 Korean Cinema Previews]


Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-Il, Bae Doo-Na, Go Ah-Sung, Lee Jae-Eung, Lee Dong-Ho, Kim Roi-Ha, Park No-Shik, Go Su-Hee, Yoon Je-Moon, Im Pil-Sung, Oh Dal-Soo, Paul Lazar, Maeng Bong-Hak, Jung In-Ki, Han Se-Ah, Baek Do-Bin, Scott Wilson, Brian Lee, David Joseph Anselmo
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Screenplay: Bong Joon-Ho, Ha Jun-Won, Baek Cheol-Hyun
Producer: Choi Yong-Bae
Cinematography: Kim Hyung-Goo
Music: Lee Byung-Woo
Editing: Kim Seon-Min
Art Direction: Ryu Sung-Hee
Sound: Choi Tae-Young
Lighting: Lee Kang-San
Stills: Han Se-Jun
원안: Bong Joon-Ho
Special Makeup: Hwang Hyo-Gyun, Kwak Tae-Young
Special Effects: Kevin Rafferty, Weta, Orphanage, Creature Workshop
Korean Website
Japanese Website
International Website
International Trailers: ComingSoon.net | AintItCool.com | Moviecentre.net | Apple.com
Theatrical Trailer (YouTube)
Theatrical Trailer (Downloadable, 9mb, Windows Media)
Theatrical Trailer (Streaming, 300k, Windows Media):
mms://media1.maxmovie.com/av/maxhost_t2.wmv
Theatrical Trailer (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media):
mms://wms06.bcst.krn.yahoo.com/c/cine21.com/movie/trailer/2006/06/Host_main_tr_700K.wmv
Teaser Trailer (YouTube)
Teaser Trailer (Streaming, 300k, Windows Media):
mms://203.238.140.27/Previews/monster.wmv
Teaser Trailer (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media):
mms://vod.cine21.com/cine21.com/movie/trailer/2006/03/Host_tr_700K.wmv
Teaser Trailer (Downloadable, English Subtitles, 3mb, Windows Media)
Teaser Trailer (Downloadable, 6mb, Windows Media)
Japanese Teaser (Downloadable, Quicktime)
Japanese Teaser (Embedded Flash)
Making Of (Downloadable, 8mb, Windows Media)
Making Of (Streaming, Windows Media):
mms://media1.maxmovie.com/av/kmonster_making_Directer.wmv
Sina Report (Monster Included) (Streaming, 128k, Windows Media):
mms://zjm2.nv.sina.com.cn/ent/2006/05/25264465.wmv
Sina Report (Monster Included) (Streaming, 350k, Windows Media):
mms://nv.sina.com.cn/ent/2006/05/25053436.wmv
Sina Report - Edited Version (Money Shots Only) (Downloadable, 1.5mb, Windows Media)
Bong Joon-Ho's Cannes Presscon (Quicktime)
YTN Report (Downloadable, 5mb, Windows Media)
YTN clip (YouTube)
Section TV clip (YouTube)
Bae Doo-Na's Archery Training (YouTube)
Message From The Actors (Streaming, 500k, Windows Media):
mms://wms07.bcst.krn.yahoo.com/c/cine21.com/movie/making/2006/06/Host_mf_actor_700K.wmv
Guest Special (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media):
mms://wms07.bcst.krn.yahoo.com/c/cine21.com/movie/making/2006/06/Host_mf_guest_700K.wmv
Character Making Of (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media):
mms://wms06.bcst.krn.yahoo.com/c/cine21.com/movie/making/2006/06/thehost_character_story_700k.wmv
YTN Live - Press Screening (Downloadable, 13mb, Windows Media)
Budget: 10 Billion Won (~$11 Million)
Produced By: Cheongeohram
Distributed By: Showbox
International Sales: Cineclick Asia
Rating: 12 and Over
RELEASE: July 27 2006
South Korea Box Office: 13,019,740 admissions
[Info from X's Korean Film Databank]


More posters/stills here / here / here / here / here

OST

<credit: daramji* @ Drama and Movie OSTs thread>
Also via We Love Asian OSTs

mms://aod.mylisten.com/aod/2/95/073295_0948978.wma
to
mms://aod.mylisten.com/aod/2/95/073295_0949017.wma

01. Prologue - deu nul beun han gang, gwe mool eun ja ran da 드넓은 한강, 괴..
02. baek joo eh dae seub gyuk 백주의 대습격
03. jab hi ji ahn neun son 잡히지 않는 손
04. dduh na neun ga jok 떠나는 가족
05. no ran virus 노란 바이러스
06. gol baeng ee @ 골뱅이 @
07. gwe mool house 괴물 하우스
08. uh doom sok eh hyun suh 어둠속의 현서
09. han gang chan ga (B4-A3) 한강찬가 (B4-A3)
10. bit sok eh gum moon 빗속의 검문
11. hyun suh ya! 현서야!
12. hut chong jil 헛총질
13. bae go peun hyung je 배고픈 형제
14. bae go peun gwe mool 배고픈 괴물
15. shi goong chang eh oh noo ee 시궁창의 오누이
16. sae byuk, pok woo geu ri go dae hyul too 새벽, 폭우 그리고 대혈투
17. jut jeun shin moon ji 젖은 신문지
18. soo bae jun dan 수배전단
19. bi gwa se gi ta so deuk 비과세 기타소득
20. do bal ee eh chun jae 도발이의 천재
21. hee mi han message 희미한 메세지
22. guh book ee 거북이
23. we ro oon jil joo Ver.1 외로운 질주 Ver.1
24. sae shik goo Ver.1 새 가족 Ver.1
25. No Virus
26. won hyo dae gyo nuh muh ro 원효대교 너머로
27. so nyuh, dal ri da 소녀, 달리다
28. bi myung 비명
29. dah ji ahn neun son 닿지않는 손
30. Agent Yellow
31. noh eul soo uhb neun son 놓을수 없는 손
32. jae hwe 재회
33. we roo oon hwa yum byung 외로운 화염병
34. shin goong 신궁
35. sae shik goo Ver.2 새 식구 Ver.2
36. han gang chan ga (Trumpet Ver.) 한강찬가 Trumpet Ver.
37. buh ryuh jin no rae 버려진 노래
38. noon oh neun mae jum 눈오는 매점
39. han gang chan ga (Vocal Ver.) 한강찬가 Vocal Ver.
40. we ro oon jil joo Ver. 2 외로운 질주 Ver.2


Downloads
Watch on YouTube / Crunchyroll
Direct DL: cHinKy's mOviE sPoiLer / Drama Crush / Idols Unlimited / silentregrets.com
Single CD:
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD-eSH4Re.avi|736077824|B308C32D2757C990D75EAEA12C70799A|
or
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.x264.AC3.2CH-JJH.avi|733841408|A88AB67D0F43137B50010FE946914B26|
2CD:
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.CD1-PosTX.avi|733673472|D33D4554906E8691C3A2176102CE244E|
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.CD2-PosTX.avi|730220544|7D14128769BA18EE89A48CC085C352AF|
or
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.AC3.CD1-JUPiT.avi|733577216|6816C862829FAB98696B9A1B458D80E4|
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.AC3.CD2-JUPiT.avi|735707136|49AE2FF950B0C4E4537554E9E8EF3E78|
or
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.AC3.CD1-eSH4Re.avi|733962240|4E546B19C60A3367F5FBF73B3BE73431|
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.AC3.CD2-eSH4Re.avi|735401984|EB7762DE91D0AC2049060668DB1A5C3B|
or
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRiP.XViD.AC3.iNT.CD1-BAKAS.avi|734234624|79A51D7AA3C9328AF0AF6F78865F538B|
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRiP.XViD.AC3.iNT.CD2-BAKAS.avi|734722048|F0EEF98B7EB2735A0B27EDE0FF0754C7|
3CD:
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.AC3.CD1-eSH4Re.avi|734498816|393591E9980A681A2803848ECF4CD98B|
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.AC3.CD2-eSH4Re.avi|733341696|40C04F0F54E77062341C6795A787917D|
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.DVDRip.XviD.AC3.CD3-eSH4Re.avi|734994432|CF32EF27C866BC2BE48EBFF3A855CE01|
or
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.XviD.AC3.CD1-WAF.avi|734416896|4E64E740C17D2DA8E061E88F58DD385E|
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.XviD.AC3.CD2-WAF.avi|734093312|642456FDBFB921BC515E310FA91E7B2F|
ed2k://|file|The.Host.2006.XviD.AC3.CD3-WAF.avi|734371840|58ED88E69296BA2230BFE39ABDC52350|


http://blog.naver.com/thehost2006
http://cafe.naver.com/thehost
Naver | Cineseoul | Daum | HanCinema | IMDb


More articles from Twitch:
Memories of Murder cast together again for Korean film The Host
Bong Joon-Ho talks about (The Host)
Song Kang-Ho Talks About (The Host)
Cine21 Interviews Bae Doo-Na
The Host. by Joon-ho Bong. Almost Fifty Percent of the Budget on FX?!
(The Host) Wraps Up Shoot
The Monster is Starting to Appear - Finally Some (The Host) Footage
Want... Monster? New (The Host) Stills
(The Host) Teaser Trailer Released
(The Host) Poster Released
The Monster Is Loose! Bong Joon-Ho's The Host To Premiere At Cannes!
Of Teeth and Monsters...
Not to repeat myself...
The Monster Is Coming. And Soon.
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Monster?
Bong to Fix His Baby Monster Before Korean Release
Three New Posters for Bong's Baby Monster
The Han River, The Family, And...
(The Host) Getting Wide Release in Japan
[PRESS SCREENING] (The Host)
You Lucky Canadians. (The Host) goes to Toronto
How Do You Say (The Host) in English?
Japanese Teaser For The Host Online!
Monster Opening for (The Host)?
[K-FILM SPOTLIGHT] Bong Joon-Ho Talks (The Host)
(The Host)... DVD?
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A Wee Look At The Host
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The Host Sweeps 5th Korean Film Awards
Pssst...How Much Cheddar Did The Mutant Tadpole Take In?
Yum, Korean Set of 'The Host' Is Nice, And It's Sooner Than Expected.


"... there was nothing to hold onto - except each other"
(Invasion of The Body Snatchers, 1956)

In 1990, Bong Joon-Ho was a young student, who drew cartoons for his school newspaper and took various part time jobs at film companies. Although his major at Yonsei University was sociology, his lifetime dream was to become a filmmaker. So after finishing college, he enrolled in the Korean Film Academy, from which he graduated with a short film called 지리멸렬 (支離滅裂, Incoherence). The short won him awards overseas, and great acclaim at home; he became one of the hot new kids on the block, creating a lot of expectations in the industry. But he never jumped the gun, slowly climbing towards the upper ranks of the industry. He helped write the script of 모텔 선인장 (Motel Cactus) and 유령 (Phantom: The Submarine) in the late 90s, and then it was time for his feature debut. In 2000 he made his big splash in Chungmuro with 플란다스의 개 (Barking Dogs Never Bite), an off-kilter black comedy which received great praise. But between his first feature film and the incredible critical and popular success of his second, the memorable 살인의 추억 (Memories of Murder), Director Bong was preparing something else. When Choi Yong-Bae of Cheongeoram asked him to work together, he had something in mind, something he dreamed of making since he was in college. But he already knew it was something which could take years to make. But what was that project about, and why would it take so long?

Although Japan's 怪 (Kaiju, monster) culture has created a huge niche even in the West, its Korean counterpart 괴수 (怪獸, Gwesu, monster) never really had any impact on the public, both at home and abroad. Although the first tentatives of the genre started in the early 60s, with Kwon Hyeok-Jin's 우주괴인 왕마귀 (Space Monster Demon King), the genre was never able to crack into the mainstream, even with works like 용가리 (Yonggari) - which did make decent money, but probably turned the whole nation off monster films. SF had never been one of Korea's favorite genres, and monster films were often associated with cheap special effects, bad storytelling and acting. So when one of the most talented filmmakers in the country announced he was making a 10 Billion Won monster film, a lot of people had only one question in mind: why?

Bong could have made anything he wanted. After striking the ball out of the park twice with his first two films, he could have played safe, make a little film to satisfy his appetite for genre Cinema, a big star vehicle with his distinctive touch but an eye to the box office. Anything. But why such a huge budget, and why one of the genres Koreans have never shown any interest in? You could consider it a mere challenge Bong is taking, but 괴물 (The Host) won't be your average monster film, just like 'Memories of Murder' wasn't your usual whodunit thriller, and 'Barking Dogs Never Bite' your usual comedy. The film could be compared to Hollywood films like 'Invasion of The Body Snatchers', although it will still carry genre specific elements. Using the monster as a metaphor for the witch hunting created by McCarthy-ism during the Cold War era, and the powerful and menacing threat of Soviet influence, the film bears a resemblance to some of those classic Hollywood films. But it will also retain that Koreanness, that unique humour of Bong's other works.

Starring Song Kang-Ho, Bae Doo-Na, Park Hae-Il, Byun Hee-Bong and Oh Dal-Soo, 'The Host' is set for Summer 2006.

--

Instead of our usual Q&A excerpts, I tried something different for this special. Since a lot of interviews used for this article were a little old, and things changed between then and now (like scripts being completed, actors cast, contract signed), I put different comments from director Bong on separate sections dealing with the same argument.

THE HOST
"We started pre-production with the working title 더 리버 (The River). I always wanted to do a Korean style monster movie from the beginning, so I met with Cheongeoram president Choi Yong-Bae in 2001, and presented him the project. I've been working hard every day ever since. We started with a simple and slightly absurd concept: what if a monster appeared on the banks the Han River? When I was in high school, you'd always hear those news stories, like the appearances in Lochness or Mt. Baekdu, so why not Seoul? The film tells the story of a family of four people, running a small shop near the Han River. But one day a strange creature emerges from the waters of the Han River, and it starts injuring people. 'The Host' is a film about a simple family fighting with this mysterious monster."

WETA, ORPHANAGE AND CGI
"To be honest, when I started thinking about 'The Host', I was worried Korean film technology wasn't up to the standards the film required - or that it would cost too much to do it. I didn't think we would be able to make such a fully 3D creature, so that was a really serious concern at the time. Since they have a lot of experience in dealing with things like this, they [Weta, Creative Workshop, Orphanage] lifted one big weight off my shoulders by working with us, and taking care of CGI. When we first met with Weta, they were surprised we'd even make a film like this in Korea. But the next time we met Robert Taylor, he was a little anxious because [in Korea] we don't usually blow large sums of money on special effects, and was afraid we'd propose some preposterous figure. After all, it's hard to turn down someone who came such a long way to work with you. Anyway, we told him it would be US$ 3 Million, and he quickly replied, worried: 'for the entire film?'. When we told him it would be 3 Million for the special effects only, he was really happy, and told us they could certainly do what we wanted for that sum of money. That's when things started, and we worked really fast from there. They thought the kind of monster we designed had really oriental features, so we scouted famous monster designer 'hellnaut' [who worked on many Korean online games] to do it."

MY OWN GENRE
"Everyone thinks 'The Host' will be an SF film, but that's not the case. This film will have that kind of humour which lies dormant inside all my films, and comes from my own subconscious. So instead of following the basic tropes of surrealist films of this genre, 'The Host' will be much more concerned with realism, both in form and storytelling. Don't we live in an odd country? Our big, strong bridge finally collapses, a lot of people lose their lives, that supermarket which looked so solid vanishes into a pile of dust and debris in a matter of moments... so is the appearance of a monster that weird? This is a film walking the line between the real and surreal."

MONSTER
"'The Host' is not all about the monster, but it was something we definitely had to deal with. We couldn't just put some fur on two assistant directors and let them prance around pretending they were a monster. It had to be a perfectly realistic living creature. We had a lot of up and downs, but I'm really happy with the final result. This is not the kind of Hollywood film where you see the formation of the monster after 10 minutes, its tail and feet a half hour later, and the main character having a stylish fight with it in the climax. Yes, Kang-Doo's family has to face tragedy thanks to the monster, but it's not one of those glamorous situations where a few families unite and decide to fight the monster together. The people in my film can't help but shed tears in front of their impending and tragic situation."

COMIC TRAGEDY
"Disasters might be scary and tragic, but on the other hand they might have a farcical side to them. When that mall collapsed [he's talking about a real event from the mid 90s the film was vaguely based on], I felt sad and shocked. Looking at that mess every day though, I saw people using golf clubs to search for buried money, and all the thieves in the city were there... doesn't that make you laugh? Comic and tragic seem to always go hand in hand when disasters like that happen. Especially all those families who weren't prepared for the consequences became victims of that situation, it was inevitable. As a whole, it might be a film about a family's fight against the monster, but they're not gonna use some fancy laser guns to fight it, so all that's left to them is laugh. But that doesn't mean we'll consciously try to force comedy out of those situations. Korean disasters always seem to have that feeling, just like an absurd theater play."

HAN RIVER
"We've shot so many photos of the Han River, it feels like home now. We persistently hunted for locations both in a microscopic and very detailed way: different hours of the day, different weather, different shooting angles and lenses, high, clean and dirty waters... we shot them all. I wanted to show the innumerable faces of the Han River in 'The Host', but it's not merely eye candy, it has a connection with the drama in the film. There's also a reason why we chose a lot of locations during the rainy season. It's not like we're making a video for the promotion of tourism, but if the Han River didn't have a connection with the story, why even bother shooting there? I wanted to dissect and look at all the parts that make the Han River what it is, just like picking every single one of the 200 and more bones that make a person, or the blood vessels that flow through our veins. The monster's form is the core of the production. If we can't create a realistic creature, the film will be never able to strip itself from the legacy of other monster movies. That's why we decided to work with world famous WETA, responsible for the special effects in the 'Lord of the Rings' series."

BURDEN
'Why shouldn't one be burdened by many things. I have no interest in normal films, in things you'll understand in 5 seconds. I'm thoroughly working hard to make sure everything turns out as planned. And it's been the same from the beginning, during the first, second, third... many years of preparation. It's not like we're in an embarrassing or dramatic situation, we're not on the verge of jumping off the Wonhyo Bridge. If you just work with that mentality, then you can relax and focus on what you have to do."

INFLUENCES
"It bears some resemblance to 'Signs', and even Spielberg's 'Jaws'. When I first talked about the film, people were confused about the size of the monster, expecting something gigantic like 'Godzilla'. But that's not the case, it's more like the kind of creature you see in 'Alien'. Anyway, there's really no film you can compare 'The Host' to: even when the marketing team was asking me a reference to compare 'Memories of Murder' with, I just told them there was nothing I could single out, that it was just a 'rural thriller', the 전원일기 (Lifetime in the Country) [THE family Drama in Korean TV history] version of 'Se7en'. So, in a way, you could call this the 한강수 타령 (Ode to The Han River) [a recent Family Drama] version of 'Alien'."

ISSUES
"'The Host' is full current political and social issues helping paint the progression of the story. I don't know why I did that, perhaps it's because I was influenced by my previous film. That's not only a kind of genre-specific tendency, but also also something we can put into a certain context, and help it become a topic of discussion. Kang-Doo is not one of those 'people in high places', like a staff member of 119 rescue squads, or someone doing a briefing about measures to counter the problem. He's the kind of person who would ask you what kind of sauce you wanted with your instant noodles, going as far as checking the water's temperature. But when a calamity approaches the everyday life of people like him, they can't even imagine its repercussions. And then the viewers become one with them, they relate to his problems. I can't reveal what those social and political issues will be, until the film is released in theaters. But that will be a really important element of the film, and I wanted to have a little fun with that kind of idea, like in classic Hollywood SF films. It might be a deleted scene, but in Kubrick's 'Dr. Strangelove', there's a moment when Americans and Russians fight throwing cake at each other; and then there's that moment when one character acts like a cowboy on a nuclear missile... that kind of mood, you know? That kind of atmosphere fits really well with this genre, and would give the film a very bizarre energy."




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