“District 9” Gets Long Overdue 4K Upgrade

District 9 really came out of nowhere. There was a great trailer and a director no one had heard of outside South Africa. But in 2009, Peter Jackson's name meant a lot, coming off the Lord of the Rings trilogy and that stellar King Kong remake. And his stamp of approval really made this low-budget alien invasion thriller a must-see. The film ended up earning more than $200 million worldwide and receiving four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. It also proved to be a high bar director Neill Blomkamp could never reach again, failing to find the same success with the prescient but ineffective Elysium and the instant punchline Chappie. But that doesn't take anything away from his impressive feature debut.

While it missed the film's 10th anniversary last summer, Sony is finally giving the film a 4K upgrade.

The new release will provide a sharper picture and upgraded sound. Two new special features include a panel from Comic Con (remember when you could still go to conventions?) and remastered trailers. All the content on the original Blu-ray will also be included: deleted scenes, Blomkamp's commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes and a special on those incredible visual effects.

District 9 will make its 4K UHD debut on Tuesday, October 13.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.