BATTLE ROYALE (2000) - Finally found a copy of this Japanese film based on the Manga books of the same name. Wow, quite a film ! I was really into the story and the even the characters. It's about a class of H.S. Freshmen picked by the goverment to kill each other off till only one is left on this Island. They are given a little food and each a different "weapon". Alliances are made and there are some psycho students in the bunch. The dialogue of the former teacher is wild (yet the actor who played him wasn't that good). The video teaching and orientating the students to this game of death. A movie about the sick and the innocent. It was better than VERSUS in my opinion due to the concept.
(http://www.affichescinema.com/insc_b/battle_royale.jpg)
Post Edited (06-19-05 22:47)
I have heard about this film from some friends of mine who are into anime, although their interest in it was due to their interest in Asian films. I have not seen this one yet.
Very good movie. I agree, better than Versus because you feel for the characters in this movie. Very violent, but not too gory. I liked this one better than Old Boy. I am not a big fan of anime.
I haven't seen Versus yet, so can't really comment but Battle Royale is a piece of Japanese cinema history!
Its a fantastic film which I found quite powerful in how it was approached.
Kept me engaged through the entire movie [though the ending was average, not too bad, but average...]
I recently bought a copy of Battle Royale 2 but unfortunately it doesn't have subtitles [thats what i get for buying a dodgy copy] so I haven't watched it at all.
Anyone interested in [violent] Japanese films should make this a must-see.
I love this movie. It has a humorous side to it too. Like when they hand out weapons to the kids and one ends up with a frying pan.
Battle Royale impressed the hell out of me as well. It was the first film to really get me into the whole Asian cinema thing, and I've never looked back.
Scott,
You should consider an Asian marathon (if you haven't had one already). I would definently recommend OldBoy which 2xSlick mentioned. By far the best Asian film I've ever seen.
I expected some kind of dark comedy here, so imagine my horrified reaction when I realised the plot was played (mostly) seriously. Godd, but very disturbing movie if you ask me.
I second the "Old Boy" recomendation too.
Excellent movie and off the wall as all hell. I've never seen anything quite like it. The sequel Battle Royal II was dissapointing though.
Master Blaster,
Well, BR2 is decent if you go into it knowing it's not going to be like the original. If you look at it as being a "Dirty Dozen" type of flick then it can be quite enjoyable. And hell, it has Sonny Chiba in the shortest cameo ever.
It just did'nt do it for me I guess. Maybe it was too preachy, or maybe I just wanted to see school kids blast eachother and was dissapointed when it didnt happen. I thought BRII took itself too seriously, which for me sapped some of the fun out of it. It does have it's moments however.
This was the flim that got me into Asian cinema also. I also have some of the manga and read the book which is excellent. I watched BR2 at a friends house and thought it was ok. I also recommend Old Boy as well as Ichi the Killer ,9 Souls and Suicide Club.
_____________________________
"We Greeks created democracy! You also created homos!"-Ghost World
"The dialogue of the former teacher is wild (yet the actor who played him wasn't that good)."
That would be Takeshi Kitano, Japan's most popular film maker (well, live action film maker anyway). What didn't you like about his performance? I thought he was great. BTW, his face is always nearly entirely expressionless because of severe damage to it in a motorcycle accident. You might also have seen in the American films Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (or is that British? Dunno. But that's pre-motorcycle accident, and he's a lot more expressive) and Johnny Mnemonic.
Battle Royale was quite entertaining. A bit overrated, but still good fun. I loved the psychotic character (what was his name? Kiriyama?), the one who never talks and entered the contest for fun.
I liked the movie a lot, but the graphic novels are SOOO much better. They could never make them into a movie properly, because the amount of brutal violence and sex they would have to put in would be anathema to any Japanese teen-idol wanting to retain any theatrical or fan-based credibility.
Read the graphic novels. The artwork, pacing, character development and visual effects are on a par with any major movie or better. There are moments that are truly touching and inspiring, as well as gutwrenchingly violent. There are only one or two more graphic novels to go in the series, and I am so hanging out for them!
If you liked Kiriyama in the movie, wait 'til you see him in the books. He is the ultimate stone-cold psychopath, virtually a superhuman killing machine. The battles between him and the martial artist in the books are incredible.
~Archivist~
Takeshi Kitano/Beat Takeshi is also the man behind "Takeshi's Castle" the Japanese game show that was turned into "MXC" on Spike TV. He's also directed and starred in a series of modern yakuza films that people tended to be very divided over like "Sonatine", "Boiling Point", and "Hana-Bi" (Fireworks). He made an American film "Brother" a few years ago, which was his usual mix of violence, humor, and nihilism but with a yakuza guy breaking in to Amreican orgainized crime. He also starred in and directed the recent new take on "Zatoichi", and had a co-starring role in the "odd" samurai drama "Taboo" from a few years ago. A multi-talented guy and apparently a hell of hard worker considering all the projects he was involved with in various mediums. He's also a painter, writer, and was even part of a standup comedy team (The Two Beats, hence his stage name when acting in his own films) at one time.
About his face, I think only half his facial muscles are paralyzed (I knew a guy with nerve damage once who had a similiar problem). The joke is that after he returned to acting, many reviewers said it was hard to tell he had been injured since he was such a stone face actor before the accident anyway.
Yeah, I've read a little bit of the mangas. They're indeed very good, and the American releases also have a quite good translation.
BTW, I believe the novel (as in, text novel, not graphic) is what the manga is based on, so that's also worth looking into (it is available translated in the states).
I have the novel as well, but I have yet to get into it properly.
I also have the translation of the original Ring novel, which is great, and has even more bizarre stuff than the movies!
~Archivist~
BATTLE ROYALE was absorbing, touching, and disturbing as properly stated in all your post. It was a very good Japanese film with sub-titles.
The actor with the paralyzed face is some how more acceptable now that you have given me some background on the fella. : ) Thanks. An actor can add to a film based sometimes on his reputation in previous film which carries into his following films, because as your watching you have this built in aura about the guy creating atmosphere without having to explain who he is.
I qued OLDBOY up on my save list. Netflix will have OLDBOY available on August 23.
Scott,
Glad to see that you're going to be watching OldBoy. Would love to see a review of the film when you view it. Seems to affect people in different ways.
Old Boy is an excellent film. I can't remember his name right now, but the lead actor is fantastic.. Just an all-around great film. It's not the type of movie I would want to watch again and again (neither is the Godfather, for that matter), but it is really good.
Battle Royal is a very good flick. I'd heard alot of people talk about it but when I saw it I was still shocked at sme of the stuff I saw. This is one insane movie. Haven't seen Oldboy yet. It's supposed to be really good.