Review Wanted: BATTLE ROYALE (R3)
10-17-01, 10:40 AM
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Review Wanted: BATTLE ROYALE (R3)
I wanted to know what you thought about the film itself and the DVD? How is it?
Thanks in advance
From HKFlix:
Thanks in advance
From HKFlix:
Thinking they are about to enjoy a field trip, a class of 9th graders calmly boards a bus that brings them face-to-face with the worst instincts of mankind. Director Kinji Fukasaku decided, at the age of 70, to make a film warning young people not to trust adults. The message may be obvious, but its delivery is chilling. It’s a nightmare teenage version of “Survivor,” a deadly game with no talk show appearances awaiting the victor. And your host for the carnage is the stone-faced Takeshi Kitano, a past teacher of the students.
Kitano explains the rules. Each student is given a backpack with minimal supplies and one weapon (some of which appear completely useless). They are given a limited time to kill each other off; failure to do so will result in their own termination, via bomb-enabled collars affixed to their necks. The disbelieving teens are shocked into action when Kitano demonstrates the deadly force of the neck collars, and the murdering quickly begins. Some students band together, some try to figure out how to avoid killing anyone, and some give in eagerly to their basest instincts in order to exact revenge. The question changes from “Who will survive?” to “Who wants to, when the price is so high?”
Kitano explains the rules. Each student is given a backpack with minimal supplies and one weapon (some of which appear completely useless). They are given a limited time to kill each other off; failure to do so will result in their own termination, via bomb-enabled collars affixed to their necks. The disbelieving teens are shocked into action when Kitano demonstrates the deadly force of the neck collars, and the murdering quickly begins. Some students band together, some try to figure out how to avoid killing anyone, and some give in eagerly to their basest instincts in order to exact revenge. The question changes from “Who will survive?” to “Who wants to, when the price is so high?”
10-17-01, 02:59 PM
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Battle royale
10-18-01, 08:26 AM
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Originally posted by Tee
Here's my review Battle Royale
Here's my review Battle Royale
Or, has anyone else seen this to be true?
10-19-01, 07:47 AM
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Originally posted by Tee
I'm in the UK but have a converted player - when I tried to watch it on the R1 setting it didn't work therefore I believe it's R3 only.
I'm in the UK but have a converted player - when I tried to watch it on the R1 setting it didn't work therefore I believe it's R3 only.
Thanks for checking though 
07-13-02, 10:25 PM
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The review is on the R0 Collector's Edition. Grade: 9/10
Battle Royale (BR) is a very disturbing film about 42 ninth graders on an island that have to kill each other in order to survive. BR will shake up anyone who is in their full senses while viewing this film. The violence is very graphic and impossible to escape. Nonetheless, the film has a very solid theme, trust. Where does trust stem from? Choices that we make everyday are reflecting on what and who we can trust, and this is depicted with an honest brutality in BR. On top of the trust theme there is love, friendship, anxiety, identity crisis, loss and jealousy intermingled into a brutal drink that the audience while have difficulty swallowing.
Formula of BR: Choice --> Action --> Consequence --> Trust?
DVD SMURF
Battle Royale (BR) is a very disturbing film about 42 ninth graders on an island that have to kill each other in order to survive. BR will shake up anyone who is in their full senses while viewing this film. The violence is very graphic and impossible to escape. Nonetheless, the film has a very solid theme, trust. Where does trust stem from? Choices that we make everyday are reflecting on what and who we can trust, and this is depicted with an honest brutality in BR. On top of the trust theme there is love, friendship, anxiety, identity crisis, loss and jealousy intermingled into a brutal drink that the audience while have difficulty swallowing.
Formula of BR: Choice --> Action --> Consequence --> Trust?
DVD SMURF
. . .
07-14-02, 01:51 AM
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I got the R3 disc. I love that DTS track. I will always stay away from Tartan discs unless there is no alternative (i.e. Ring, Ring 2). I'll stick with the R3. I got it for about $7 so no complaining there. The image could be better -- the transfer seems to have a gun metal blue tint. The classical soundtrack is wonderful and to hear it along with machine guns blazing in DTS is good enough for me. DOWN WITH TARTAN!
07-15-02, 09:36 AM
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Originally posted by Cornfed
I got the R3 disc. I love that DTS track. I will always stay away from Tartan discs unless there is no alternative (i.e. Ring, Ring 2). I'll stick with the R3. I got it for about $7 so no complaining there. The image could be better -- the transfer seems to have a gun metal blue tint. The classical soundtrack is wonderful and to hear it along with machine guns blazing in DTS is good enough for me. DOWN WITH TARTAN!
I got the R3 disc. I love that DTS track. I will always stay away from Tartan discs unless there is no alternative (i.e. Ring, Ring 2). I'll stick with the R3. I got it for about $7 so no complaining there. The image could be better -- the transfer seems to have a gun metal blue tint. The classical soundtrack is wonderful and to hear it along with machine guns blazing in DTS is good enough for me. DOWN WITH TARTAN!
I also have the R3 disc and agree with Cornfed's comments.....
07-17-02, 05:12 PM
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I just watched my R3 release of this last night and I have to say I was impressed. It's much better than I expected and while yes it doesn't fail to shock it's quite compelling and well executed.
During the movie, I kept thinking, if I HAD to relate it to another movie, which would it be... For me the answer was obvious, "Natural Born Killers". Did anyone else feel the same way. I kept thinking, if you liked NBK (which I did), you'd be okay with this movie too, otherwise you'd probably miss some of the point... Anyone else?
I also found the first "death" and "third" death to be the most shocking. I saw the second 'death' coming a mile away but the first and third were NOT expected.
Finally, I'd add that my one disappointment of the film was that the "silent back-of-the-class boy" was an 'easy out'. I was disappointed by that because the movie is generally uncompromising and this character existed purely to move things along. He had no motivation, no 'real' explanation of why he was there in the context of the 'rules. This movie goes right to the edge but holds back on this point for no real good reason...
During the movie, I kept thinking, if I HAD to relate it to another movie, which would it be... For me the answer was obvious, "Natural Born Killers". Did anyone else feel the same way. I kept thinking, if you liked NBK (which I did), you'd be okay with this movie too, otherwise you'd probably miss some of the point... Anyone else?
I also found the first "death" and "third" death to be the most shocking. I saw the second 'death' coming a mile away but the first and third were NOT expected.
Finally, I'd add that my one disappointment of the film was that the "silent back-of-the-class boy" was an 'easy out'. I was disappointed by that because the movie is generally uncompromising and this character existed purely to move things along. He had no motivation, no 'real' explanation of why he was there in the context of the 'rules. This movie goes right to the edge but holds back on this point for no real good reason...
07-18-02, 08:23 AM
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I have the R3 disc and (got it for $15 on Ebay) am very impressed with it. Non-anamorphic, but the picture quality was pretty damn good and the DTS track even better! I was considering getting the R0 disc for my other non-hacked players, but the $30+ price is a little steep when I have a perfectly fine copy already.
07-19-02, 11:26 PM
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I must be the lone dissenter on the DTS track on the R3 disc. It is god awful. The bass is REALLY horribly exagerated. There should NOT be a 30 Hz thump when someone is STABBED. It was so annoying that I was stuck with the Pro-Logic track until the excellent Tartan disc was released. It is much more balanced I feel.
07-20-02, 01:26 PM
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No I agree, the bass is all messed up on the R3 DTS release, it's just way too loud, as is the rest of the soundtrack. The link to my review above is old and broken, if anyone wants to read the Battle Royale review on my site, click here
