Snowpiercer

Earlier this year, the release of "Snowpiercer" was the center of the film world's attentions -- and for all the wrong reasons. After rumors that its distributor would cut the English-language film (shot and first released in South Korea, the film -- concerning lower-class passengers on a post-apocalyptic train trying to overthrow their richer superiors,) by 20 minutes, the film did end up getting released in director Bong Joon-ho's preferred 125-minute cut.

However, the ostensibly commercial action movie still failed to receive a wide release; instead going out via video-on-demand outlets, a nearly unprecedented choice for a movie of this scope. It was a decision that spurred a lot of conversations.

Instead, the attention should have been payed to the film itself: To the way Bong lays out each car as its own universe defined by ultra-specific production design and color choices; the way actors like Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton build the mythology of the narrative into their own weathered voices; the way each shot and cut provides a new piece of information, as if it were a Hitchcock sci-fi movie. (After five films, it seems definite that the Master of Suspense is Bong's greatest influence.) "Snowpiercer" commanded attention as the year's most radically rolled-out film -- we should've been recognizing that it's, more simply, the year's best.

At least distributor Radius-TWC has given the film a home video release worthy of that designation. You get numerous extra features here: An audio commentary with a number of noted film critics (Bong doesn't speak English, hence his exclusion,) for starters, as well as 15-minute featurettes on the making of the film, and on it's ensemble of characters. There's also an animated prologue and interviews with a number of the performers.

There's one additional extra included on the disc: A nearly-hour-long documentary that takes a close look at the process by which Bong adapted the source, a comic book, to the big screen. (Essentially everything other than the general concept was changed, although Bong maintains a great admiration for the original comic.) It shows you the great detail that Bong puts into every choice of the film; it shows you how one of our greatest filmmakers does his work.

"Snowpiercer"
Blu-ray (2-Disc Set)
$29.99
RadiusTWC.com