Battle Royale Directors Cut

With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence, it's only fitting that Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale is being touted as a Clockwork Orange for the 21st century. Based on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a series of fleeting images of unruly Japanese schoolchildren, whose bad behavior provides a justification for the "punishments" that will ensue. Once the prequel has been dispensed with, the classmates are drugged and awaken on an island where they find they have been fitted with dog collars that monitor their every move. Instructed by their old teacher ("Beat" Takeshi) with the aid of an upbeat MTV-style video, they are told of their fate: after an impartial lottery they have been chosen to fight each other in a three-day, no-rules contest, the "Battle Royale." Their only chance of survival is through the death of all their classmates.

Some pupils embrace their mission with zeal, while others simply give up or try to become peacemakers and revolutionaries. However, the ultimate drive for survival comes from the desire to protect the one you love. Battle Royale works on many different levels, highlighting the authorities' desperation to enforce law and order and the alienation caused by the generation gap. Whether you consider the film an important social commentary or simply watch it for the adrenaline-fueled violence, this is set to become cult viewing for the computer game generation and beyond. --Nikki Disney Amazon.com

 Strange Japanese movie
You have to love Japanese movies otherwise you will switch off after 10 minutes. The story is really crazy and insane. Watch it without any expectation - it can end up being a trash horror movie or a brilliant one. April 29, 2008

 Great Movie And Thought Provoking
I actually got a bootleg version of this movie on ebay and am now just buying it from Amazon. What the amazon info gives you is most of the story of the movie but when you finally see it you will come to understand why it is such a cult icon movie both and Japan and the United States. As you see the movie you feel that the director actually got how a real-life person would react in this situation could you kill you're best friend or another person you knew to survive.The acting from all the people I felt was great and they brought out the emotion you felt that character would have in that situation.The killings though bloody aren't any worse than what you see in any PG17 or R-rated movie there are suggested sex scenarios(What I mean by that is you see in one scene a pool with a few boys in the nude dead and the girl who killed them dressing up and leaving.) For the price of this movie I say it's worth it but again just to specify this is definitely not a family viewing movie April 5, 2008

 A great movie, but only a mediocre DVD.
When one looks past the modest production values and few scenes where the acting seems a bit unrealistic (or perhaps simply to my American eye), Battle Royale succeeds in it's aims and succeeds as a movie. The fear of a situation of being pitted in a life or death situation was well-captured, and overall the acting was very good, especially considering the fact that besides Beat Takeshi, all of the other central are played by relative newcomers.

This may seem like an extremely violent film at face value, but Fukasaku tries hard not to overdo the violence and gore, and holds either a certain respect for or a certain humor of the portrayal of death (the one over-the-top scene seems more comedic than sickening, and seems fitting, due to the character's role as an antagonist). Because of the strive for realistic death, and because of the good acting in the scenes between the violence, characters are able to grow. Death of some of the more central characters begin to carry emotional weight, despite the cast of 40-odd characters packed into a 2 hour film. This is where I found Battle Royale a good film; despite amazingly short screen times for most of the characters, Fukasaku is still able to make us care about them, to sympathize with a position we will never find ourself in.

Now on to a completely different topic... As for this "Director's cut" from Amazon, I found it included some nice additional footage, from typical cast reviews to video of the whole cast celebrating Fukasaku's birthday. However, the quality of the picture of these as well as the movie was a bit grainy and of a lower quality than I'm used to, to the point where the DVD feels a bit like a bootleg. And because of the more than modest price of the DVD, I'd personally recommend you first look for other options. This copy wasn't terrible, but there are probably better versions at better prices. April 1, 2008

 This Movie is SICK...I Loved It...I Want More
Imagine a cross between Lord of the Flies and Survivor. The creepiest thing about this movie is the fact the plot doesn't seem completely outlandish. How far are we from this sort of thing in today's society? The modern equivalent of gladiators in the arena. The Battle Royale is covered by the media but not filmed. Purhaps when the public gets used to the idea.

The script could have used some polishing as far as narrative clarity. For instance, at the orientation, the students are told they will be punished if they don't keep movie but several of the students hide in one place or another for hours without their necklaces going off. Then again, everything in the movie is so deliberately bizarre, it almost dares the viewer to criticize it.

The movie discusses issues of law and order, civilization, trust, betrayal, settling old scores, friendship, love, lust and plain old survival of the fittest bloodsport. The action is exciting and bloody. Good fun for everyone. I actually wish the movie had been a bit longer so as to round out some of the minor characters.

If you have an open mind, a dark sense of humor and a strong stomach, you might enjoy watching a few dozen teenagers spend two hours torturing and killing each other.

March 22, 2008

 Bloody, Unsubtle Social Satire. But Appealing Characters Make it Work.
"Battle Royale" was much talked-about in the United States back in 2001, but it took a while to get here, allegedly because distributors were reluctant to promote 2 hours of teenagers on a killing spree. The film is based on the popular Japanese novel by Koushun Takami, whose considerable length condenses surprisingly well to a fast-paced feature film. In a dystopian future, Japan is at risk of societal collapse from high unemployment, economic stagnation, and general discontent. Youth bully their teachers and boycott school. The "BR Act" is passed, authorizing the government to select classes of 9th graders to be confined to a deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death until only one student remains.

Shuya (Tatsuya Rujiwara) is a thoughtful young man who lost both of his parents to Japan's bad times. On a class trip, he and his classmates are drugged, transported to the island where they will be forced to take part in the Battle Royale, and fitted with electronic collars that monitor their movements. Their bombastic teacher Kitano (Beat Takeshi) explains the rules of the game and distributes a survival kit and one weapon to each of the 42 students, including 2 mysterious "exchange students". If more than one person survives 3 days, they all die. We follow Shuya and his friend Noriko (Aki Maeda) as they come to grips with their situation and try to survive with the aid of Kawada (Taro Yamamoto), an older student whose purpose is not at first clear.

The film strays from the book in some details but is substantively similar. We don't get to know the secondary characters as well, so questions of trust are not as complex as in the book. The instructor Kitano is fleshed out more in the film and comes across as a lonely and strangely pathetic man. It's interesting to observe how the various personalities react to the game, from the young lovers who commit suicide to the sickle-wielding vamp Mitsuko (Kou Shibasaki) who is determined to win. The politics behind the "BR Act" is simplified and more coherent in the film. Adults fear youth, because their refusal to accept the values of their elders will exacerbate social collapse. The "BR Act" forces young people to compete ruthlessly or perish. Kitano's sick sense of humor provides comic relief. "Battle Royale" is a bloody, unsubtle satire, but it's entertaining. January 18, 2008

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