Battle Royale Limited Edition [4K Ultra-HD] [Blu-ray]

Product Information

Although newcomers may find the lite version - The Hunger Games - robs this 2000 cult classic of some of its originality, it's still got some bite as a no-holds-barred survival horror... with school kids. As someone who’s been a fan of this film since it first came out, and has owned multiple copies of the book, it’s a set that I’ve been excited about for a while. And it didn’t dissapoint. Even though I’ve got other special edition versions and limited sets for this film this one is able to offer something new and exciting, and I loved every minute of it. A Tribute to Kinji Fukasaku, featuring scenes of Kinji Fukasaku on the location of Battle Royale II The Making of Battle Royale: The Experience of 42 High School Students, documentary featuring footage from the shooting of the film and cast and crew discussions

In the attempt to define ‘Battle Royale’ in the category of genre, the term ‘action’ gets thrown around a fair bit when it’s being discussed but, personally, I don’t see it as an action film by any level of trait but a film that has action in it to serve the point it’s trying to get across to the audience. What I mean by that is that the film doesn’t do fights or explosions for the sake of them, but as an extreme level of pulling the audience into the horrifying situation the characters are having to go through. No one attempts highly choreographed fight scenes, it’s messy, sudden and brutal and a lot of the time when one student is trying to kill another, it never goes according to plan and where the film shines in its depiction of violence is that it isn’t easy (other than the psychopathic exchange student) for the killers to go through with their actions cleanly and they have to get their hands dirty. A Tribute to Kinji Fukasaku, featuring scenes of Kinji Fukasaku on the location of Battle Royale II Lossless sound is available on both discs in the original Japanese in 5.1 and 2.0 in DTS-HD Master Audio format. The soundstage is medium wide across the front, with clean and well-centered dialogue. The score is presented with excellent fidelity, supported by firm and satisfying bass. This isn’t an especially boisterous or dynamic mix, but the surround channels are used for modest but constant ambience and you will hear the occasional directional sound effect in action scenes. Optional English subtitles are included. Of course, Battle Royale had arcs beneath its ostensible mere existence as the poster-boy for increasingly imaginative deaths, as you follow the 'hero' through the bloody landscape, but really the joy is pure and simple - wondering who is going to die next, and how. It is classic horror movie territory, with the survival aspect successively giving it some drive and focus, as various kids attempt to defeat the game, defeat the collars, or just avoid killing - with questionable success. Somewhat ironically, adult actor Takeshi "Beat" Kitano ( Sonatine, Hana-bi and the more mainstream Ghost in the Shell) is easily the star of the show despite a vastly limited runtime, giving the narrative a curiously whimsical bent, whilst imbuing it with some palpable emotional weight too. For those of you who may already own previous editions of these films on disc, the good news is that everything from the 2012 Starz/Anchor Bay Blu-ray has carried over here, as well as all of the extras from the 2010 Arrow Video UK Blu-ray release, and the 2002 Tartan DVD too. That’s virtually all of the special features that have been produced over the years (save for a few items created by Capelight Pictures’ for recent German BD releases). Here’s a disc by disc breakdown of what you get… DISC 1 – BATTLE ROYALE: ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (4K UHD)Behind the scenes footage of Kinji Fukasaku working with the cast through the audition process, stunt preparations and character moments.

Coming of Age: Battle Royale at 20, an exclusive new 42-minute documentary about the legacy of Battle Royale restoration of the Original Theatrical Version and Special Edition Director’s Cut of Battle Royale from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by Kenta Fukasaku Set in a future where chaos reigns, the Japanese government has come up with a solution for the unruly students that seem to be making the teachers lives hell. The BR Act is employed and a bus-load of kids are delivered to a military installation where they are informed by their at-the-end-of-his-tether teacher that they are to be transported to an island where they must kill all of their fellow students in a game of survival until only one remains as the winner.

Picture: Battle Royale II

Playing like a turbo-charged hybrid of Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game, the final completed work by veteran yakuza film director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Graveyard of Honor) helped launch a new wave of appreciation for Asian cinema in the 21st century. A newly filmed documentary about the legacy of Battle Royale featuring interviews with Kim Newman, Kaori Shoji, Mark Schilling, Paul Smith and Yoshiki Takahashi. It's utterly comprehensive - the kind of treatment you'd want every film to get, however big or small An interview with ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano during the filming about his life, career and character in the film going into further detail about the process from what was mentioned in previous featurettes on the first disc as well as a discussion on the violence in the film.

Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new essays by Matt Alt and Anne Billson and archival articles. Bloody Education: Kenta Fukasaku on Battle Royale, an interview with the film’s producer and screenwriter

Introduction: Battle Royale

Playing like a turbo-charged hybrid of Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game, the final completed work by veteran yakuza-film director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Graveyard of Honor) helped launch a new wave of appreciation for Asian cinema in the 21st century. Kinji Fukasaku trailer reel, a collection of original trailers for Fukasaku’s classic yakuza films from the 70s For this review I’m only able to work off the first two discs in the set featuring the first film in both the original and special edition cuts and their bonus features, as those were the only discs I received.