Quick Movie Review - Battle Royale (Japan) (20198 hits)
Category: Movies & TVRating: 1.58 on 18 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by emoh ruoy ni si odrieW tneK (View user info) at 2005-12-21 22:44:53 EST
At the beginning of the new millenium, the country of Japan was hitting the skids worst than ever. Thousands were unemployed and out on their asses, and youth violence was at an all-time high, probably because of the fact that "decadent rock music" and things of the like had been outlawed. The problem only became worse when several students at schools across the country began boycotting school. Some of them didn't bother to show up, others would aggressively attack their teachers.
With adults getting their shit ruined on a daily basis by these violent youth, the Japanese government decided to incorporate a new law, the Millenium Educational Reform Act, also known as "The BR Act", hoping to stifle youth violence everywhere.
We open with a ninth-grade class on a bus, heading out for a class trip. Along the way, they don't seem to notice the military trucks that track the bus every step of the way...
After a strange (for them) jump in time, they all wake up in a dark classroom, confused, afraid, and fitted with these strange metal collars around their necks. Arriving with several armed soldiers, the class' former teacher, played by Japan's Beat Takeshi, informs them that they've been chosen to play in the annual Battle Royale game.
The rules are as follows: The class of students is stranded on an island out in the middle of the ocean. Over the course of three days, the students must kill eachother off until only one remains. The champion wins a ticket back home.
If there is more than one student remaining after three days, the tracking collars around their necks explode, killing them all, and no one wins.
Still riddled with disbelief and fear, the children are sent out of the abandoned classroom one by one, equipped with a bag of provisions and a random weapon (or dud; it could be anything), and thus the game begins.
Sort of like Lord of the Flies, Battle Royale is probably one of the best films I've seen in years, and it's not just because of the vast amounts of blood and gore, with all of the schoolgirls running around hacking and shooting eachother up and all that.
...Well, a huge part of it is, but there's a lot more to it than that. It's really hard for me to describe.
Excellent soundtrack, for one. There are a lot of orchestra tracks that probably came out of some music library, and we've all heard them a thousand times (Blue Danube, Dies Irae, etc.), but they work amazingly well with this film.
Chilling, creepy atmosphere. Surrounded by their classmates, armed with guns, knives, grenades, even pot-lids, and trapped out in the middle of nowhere with the promise of salvation through murder... No one knows who to trust. They're scared. Many of them don't know if their best friend will stick with them 'til the end, or just-plain stick 'em. Others relish the opportunity to kill everyone off.
One major snag is that this film is extremely hard to find in the states, due to the fact that the production company that distributed it around Japan (Toei) has set their US distribution standards a little too high. However, if you have a local art-house/international/cult film rental/retailer around your neck of the woods, chances are they've imported/bootlegged it for your viewing pleasure. That's how I was able to see this film for the first time a few years ago. If not, you could probably get a regionless copy from a movie site somewhere.
I've never been one to explode over how much I enjoy a particular film ("GO SEE IT IT'S FUCKING KILLER IT'LL ROCK YOUR FUCKING ASS!"), but if you ever have the opportunity or desire to view this film, then do it. It's fucking killer. It'll rock your fucking ass.
Here are some screenshots that I found while looking for pictures. I've put them in an animated GIF.
User Reviews
Submitted by Wazza (user info) at 2005-12-30 01:27:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You put a lot of work into that ,gotta be worth the extra .
Submitted by Kent_Weirdo (user info) at 2005-12-23 06:22:01 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by Magic_Monkey (user info) at 2005-12-22 21:14:13 (#)
Ranking: 2
You should check out Eko Eko Azarak
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I actually saw a trailer for that one on a movie that I rented a few years back (I think the movie was either "Wild Zero" or "Bio-Zombie", both asian zombie films - I can't remember which). I heard that it was pretty rad for an asian spook-film.
Submitted by Kent_Weirdo (user info) at 2005-12-23 06:20:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by r1nce (user info) at 2005-12-22 21:42:15 (#)
Ranking: 0
While you're reviewing recent movies, why don't you do one for 'Gone with the Wind'?
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Because Gone with the Wind was a piece of shit.
Submitted by r1nce (user info) at 2005-12-22 21:42:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
While you're reviewing recent movies, why don't you do one for 'Gone with the Wind'?
Submitted by Magic_Monkey (user info) at 2005-12-22 21:14:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You should check out Eko Eko Azarak
Submitted by sinna (user info) at 2005-12-22 09:46:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
That film was fan-fucking-tastic. It was on TV here in the UK a year or so back. Sick shit.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2005-12-22 08:49:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by Cracked_out_cali (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:41:13 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Hammy_Bob (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:20:41 (#)
Ranking: 1
I agree, Battle Royale is a great movie. Check out Oldboy if you like twisted asian movies. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. Very suspensfull, very twisted, and it has probably the most realistic and coolest fight scenes of all time. The entire scene was shot straight on with zero cuts. No shaky cam, no quick cut backs, and no punches that throw people 10 ft back against a
wall, just 1 guy with a hammer against about 30 others. Check it out.
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You'd better be right... I just bought it on ebay.
I hope it doesn't turn into another Shaolin Soccer disapointment
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Oldboy did in fact rock, but the fighting scenes weren't that "real" they just didn't have all the kung-fu window dressing that most asian, and most US post matrix movies have.
I will have to check out BR.
Submitted by Nellypaal (user info) at 2005-12-22 08:28:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
It is a kickass movie.
Submitted by Kent_Weirdo (user info) at 2005-12-22 02:30:57 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
If you're into ultraviolence and over-the-top depravity, another one worth checking out is Ichi the Killer
Submitted by Walker (user info) at 2005-12-22 01:04:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Yeah, old boy is favourite film of the year (released this year in Spain). Its a movie that practically spans all human emotions and I've hardly ever seen that pulled off correctly in a movie to date.
BR is teh r0x0rz!
Submitted by Cracked_out_cali (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:41:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Hammy_Bob (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:20:41 (#)
Ranking: 1
I agree, Battle Royale is a great movie. Check out Oldboy if you like twisted asian movies. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. Very suspensfull, very twisted, and it has probably the most realistic and coolest fight scenes of all time. The entire scene was shot straight on with zero cuts. No shaky cam, no quick cut backs, and no punches that throw people 10 ft back against a
wall, just 1 guy with a hammer against about 30 others. Check it out.
====================================================================
You'd better be right... I just bought it on ebay.
I hope it doesn't turn into another Shaolin Soccer disapointment
Submitted by Kent_Weirdo (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:36:36 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by supadupapupa (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:26:01 (#)
Ranking: 2
The reason battle royale is such an awesome movie is because it realistically portrays the present attitudes of Japanese youth. No one cares, senseless and violent crime is rising, it's just stupid. The unrealistic part of the movie is of course the guns... Anyway, it's an excellent flick I would also highly recommend it.
BR2 sucks ass btw
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I was surprised at the horrendous shittiness of BR 2. It's probably due to the fact that it wasn't based off of anything other than the first film.
Submitted by Cracked_out_cali (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:28:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck it... +2 just for the fact that Chiaki Kuriyama looks a bit pre-pubescent in these pics...
NSFW
http://www.celebrities.pl/chiaki_kuriyama/chiaki9.html
http://www.celebrities.pl/chiaki_kuriyama/chiaki23.jpg
http://www.celebrities.pl/chiaki_kuriyama/chiaki21.jpg
http://www.celebrities.pl/chiaki_kuriyama/chiaki1.jpg
http://www.celebrities.pl/chiaki_kuriyama/chiaki7.jpg
Submitted by supadupapupa (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:26:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
The reason battle royale is such an awesome movie is because it realistically portrays the present attitudes of Japanese youth. No one cares, senseless and violent crime is rising, it's just stupid. The unrealistic part of the movie is of course the guns... Anyway, it's an excellent flick I would also highly recommend it.
BR2 sucks ass btw
Submitted by Hammy_Bob (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:20:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I agree, Battle Royale is a great movie. Check out Oldboy if you like twisted asian movies. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. Very suspensfull, very twisted, and it has probably the most realistic and coolest fight scenes of all time. The entire scene was shot straight on with zero cuts. No shaky cam, no quick cut backs, and no punches that throw people 10 ft back against a
wall, just 1 guy with a hammer against about 30 others. Check it out.
Submitted by Cracked_out_cali (user info) at 2005-12-21 23:14:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I agree, it is an enjoyable movie for the shock value alone. However, the story does get pretty slow in some places, and having to get through it while reading sub titles can get a bit strenuous.
Its actually pretty damn easy to find on ebay. I've had my copy for a couple years, and was very happy with it.
A couple other notable Japanese thrillers are 'Versus' and '2DLK'
Versus is an action Zombie flick. LOTS of gore, and the character's are pretty funny. (Not to be mistaken as 'Comedic Funny')
2DLK is about 2 actress roommates going for the same movie role. They end up beating the living shit out of eachother in the middle of the night.
Fucking CRAZY bitches
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-12-21 22:50:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
kents the man, even when he posts shit like this that i have no interest in reading. It still rocks.
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2005-12-21 22:47:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
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