DVD Review: A comprehensible transfer with ‘Attack the Block’

“Attack the Block” was one of last year’s best films and more evidence that we may be living in a new Golden Age of genre films — what might very loosely be referred to as B movies. The story concerns a group of London gang members and civilians who unite to fight off an alien invasion on Guy Fawkes Night. The aliens are furry, sharp-toothed monsters with glowing eyes; they may seem unbeatable, but they chose the wrong apartment project to invade.

It’s a nice enough transfer, with a strong sound mix. The package includes a lot of extras: Start with the three commentary tracks, all with writer/director Joe Cornish, talking to the teenage cast members, then with the older cast members, and finally with executive producer Edgar Wright, director of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”. In addition, there is an hourlong “making of”; a 20-minute look at the staging, acting, and effects creating the aliens; a short piece about the cast; another showing the storyboards for a scene that had to be cut; and a quick montage of cast members rapping.

In one way, the home video is better than seeing it in the theater: English subtitles clarify a lot of dialogue rendered incomprehensible by thick accents.

“Attack the Block” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray, $35.99; DVD, $30.99)

-- Andy Klein