Battle Royale (R1) DVD Review:


The Movie

Before I go any further I must first say this, if the film ever receives a proper stateside release, it will quickly become a cult favorite. Sadly, it probably never will, and once again, film audiences loose. We will instead be treated to another crappy SNL spin-off "comedy" or yet another mindless horror flick featuring a cast of pretty young stars and starlets with the acting range of tuna.

Okay, enough with the main stream film bashing and on with the review:

The world of Battle Royale is one where, because of the rise in poverty, juvenile delinquency is at an all-time high. In order to combat this violence, the government institutes the Battle Royale Act. A class is chosen
at random and sent to a deserted island where the students are given weapons and told to kill each other. When there is one kid left alive, the game is over and he or she may return home. If there is no sole survivor after three days, the collars that the kids wear explode.

In an American film, the kids would come together (except for one or two that will try to kill em all) under the command of the silent loner, they would rise against their adult oppressors, free themselves, and escape the
island.

Not in this film. Here, the kids, knowing that killing each other is the only way off the island, kill each other. Or at least most of them do. True, as would probably happen in real life, some band together. But also, like in
real life, mistrust would tear this groups apart.

The film is shot decently. There are bits and pieces that can be nitpicked about, such as some poor day for night shots. But Fujusaku is competent enough to make use of what he has to work with. He blends a web of drama, action, and dark humor that could put most American blockbusters to shame.

Beat Takashi is fun as Kitano, the class' old 7th grade instructor. He is so perfectly evil. We can see his delight when he sees the panic on the faces of the kids after one of their own is murdered. Yet, he is not over the top enough for audience members to think that he's nothing more than a very bad man. He's simply a man who is fed up with the arrogance that the youth of
today is showing. He is pleased to see the kids being fed a little bit of their own medicine for once.

As for the violence in the film, yes, the kids do murder each other on screen. But many of the murders are either cartoonist-like over the top (there is a scene in which the necklaces are established and we are shown how they work, much to the horror of our hero who watches his best friend's throat become a shower of blood.

This sounds far more violent than it actually is.) or the deaths are very Hollywood-esque. After seeing the film City of God, I realized that there is absolutely no reason that this film should not be released in America. City of God's child on child violence is far more graphic and disturbing than anything in Battle Royale.

9 out of 10

The Video

The transfer is decent. Although, having not seen the film in theaters and not knowing Asia Extreme (the company that released this version of the film) reputation, it's possible that the transfer to DVD made the day for night scenes completely obvious. I just can't tell for certain.

8 out of 10

The Audio

There's only a single audio track and it's the original 5.1 Japanese track. Unlike some other import DVD's I've had, this track is perfect. I did not notice any flaws.

8 out of 10

The Extras

There are few extra features: The original trailer, a stills gallery, the filmographies, and a brief synopsis, comments by Mark Wyatt.

Nothing special here. Mark Wyatt's comments aren't that interesting to read, the filmographies are useless since most of the films listed are very difficult for American audiences to find (but worth looking into if one is really that impressed by Fujisaku or the cast and crew).

2 out of 10

Overall

This is a film destined for cult status. When will a studio grow balls and release this? This film is nowhere as violent as some of the films that have been released over the last few years. I urge everyone to look for Battle Royale, and buy it.

Overall DVD Rating: 9 out of 10

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