bis22

I want the NTSC Tartan version since it will play on my player, but $30 is a lot to shell out for a disc with no extras of a movie I haven't seen. Any chance it will come to region 1 or at least be available cheaper anytime soon?

Matthew Chmiel

There's a Korean edition of the Special Edition cut of the film which is R0 and NTSC, but the subtitles are poorly translated in the scenes added to the film and there are no English subtitles on the bonus features. Then again, it is a few dollars cheaper than the now OOP Tartan NTSC edition (it runs $25).

There's a VCD available for $10. It's above VHS quality (split across two CDs) and includes English (and Chinese) subtitles. VCDs play on most DVD players, so you know...

Other than that, it's just crappy bootlegs (which all cut out the first 40 seconds of the film and are either taken from the non-anamorphic R3 or the VCD).

gutwrencher

no...I doubt you will ever see it as an R1. I'm happy with my few editions including the Starmax. I just ordered BR2...should be here Monday.

asianxcore

which BR 2 did you order. I've seen tons of bootlegs on Ebay but I am interested in getting that 2 disc NTSC Region 3 version of it (thats legit right?), I just got my player to do all region so I was thinking of going for that rather than the "all region" bootleg.

Darryl

The region 3 official 2 disc of BR2 is worth buying from legit retailers such as DiabolikDVD, Xploitedcinema, HK Flix and Pokerindustries. Their average price is $16, but you may find it even cheaper from other HK related online stores.

asianxcore

does that region 3, BR2 disc have english subs?

Draven99

Yes it does! It's a really nice set.
I got mine from dddhouse.com for about 9 bucks.

gutwrencher

Hi-

yup...ordered the R3 2 discer from xploited.com.

asianxcore

quick question, since I just ordered a BR 2 disc

I found out how to hack my Oritron dvd player via remote, so I tried to play a PAL Region 2 disc my dad had in the house. It played the disc, but it made it black and white. Can I assume correctly, because it played the disc, that with the remote all region hacking I can play NTSC Regions 1-6, but I can't play PALs correctly?

just wondering because i want to get a 2nd option on if the NTSC Region 3 Battle Royale 2 disc will play judging by that experience I just listed. THANKS!

Fandango

It would seem as if your player does not do pal to ntsc conversion.

fnordboy

I never understood why people use to say that BR would never come out here in the US. There is nothing "bad" about the film and it would probably do great over here.

Of course, now with BRII out I think I have to join that camp. BRII is extremely anti-american and pro-terrorist and I doubt any R1 company has the balls to put it out here. So they most likely wont want to bring BR1 over either.

A lot of people don't like BRII, personally I did. There is a thread over in the International forum all about this disc and movie. You should check it out.

And the R3 of BRII is a great release.

Moefuscious

I would say that we won't see BR because of the fact that it's kids killing kids. Probably because of Columbine...I don't know. As long as it is just adults killing adults then I guess it is fine.

Such a shame a lot of people still won't be able to see this great movie here in the states.

matome

It's true. We're too "sensitive" here to see this kind of stuff. Our kids might try this stuff at home.

Here's a good place to get a nice R1 copy. The extras aren't subtitled unfortunately, but the movie presentation is excellent.

daved23

matome:

Are the subtitles on that edition any good? I have a different DVD version, but the horrible subtitles can't compare to my VCD. Looking for a happy marriage between great image and subtitle quality.

Groucho

I thought the reason for no Region 1 release was because they were hoping for a theatrical release first?

matome

The picture & sound quality are excellent. Unfortunately, if you're looking for high quality subtitles, this one may give you hesitation. I'm not a huge stickler on it, but there is bad placement a few times and some gibberish characters pop up here and there. I also have a Korean R3 disc which had better subtitles, but it wasn't anamorphic and had no DTS. I didn't want to go the PAL route but maybe someone else can help you out with those editions.

fnordboy

I have the UK Directors cut that came in the tin realeased by Tartan and it is PAL. The subs were fine on this release. The extras are subbed, but IIRC they for some reason didn't sub *everything* said during the extras...probably nothing important though.

The two choices of releases are the Korean and the R2 UK one. Everyone seems split on those two though. If you can do R2 and PAL, I say go for the R2 UK. If you can only do NTSC go with the Korean release.

KSC2-303

Right now, you're pretty much stuck with the Tartan R1 release. The cost is so high right now because of the demand with the release of BR 2, the short supply, and the UK pound being worth nearly twice the amount of the dollar.

But I'll tell you this, though. Buy it now, because spending $30 now won't be nearly as bad as spending $50 6 months down the pike.

As for the SE...the Tartan tin is the best, but it's PAL and suffers from PAL to NTSC ghosting. I bought it really for the extras, though, which is where this release is superior over all others.

BR2...I hated, so I can't help you there. Right now, the best release for most people is the 2 disc HK release, region 3.

dyerjp

nobody wants to pay the amount for the rights to release the film in the US is the reason why it hasn't been released here. Toei is charging too much for them.

KSC2-303

I also heard that Toei was close in negociations with a major studio for a U.S BR release, but Toei would only sell it if they could get a wide theatrical release (500+ theatres). The studio knew that would be money down the drain and so negotiations stopped.

Toei thinks since it was big in Japan it's the Asian equivalent of the Titanic. We won't see a U.S release until they realize how ridiculous their expectations for it are here.

duz

http://battleroyalefilm.net/
For any info you need.

steebo777

Great Site.





...Royale with cheese.

ehonauer

As others pointed out above, it's all about money (and currency rates). The yen is high against the dollar, that's why Japanese DVDs cost an arm and a leg. It also means that the US distribution rights to a Japanese movie are costly.

A low-budget Japanese film (e.g. a Miike movie) has a better chance of getting distributed in the US than a blockbuster like Battle Royale. The only reason we saw Ring in R1 was because Dreamworks bought up the distribution rights with their deep pockets when they did the remake.

I don't hold much hope that there will be an R1 release of Battle Royale in the US, unless:
A) a distributor loved the movie so much it was willing to lose money over it, or
B) some influential maniac decided to remake it (Quentin Tarantino?)

offline69

Matome -

Is that disk you mentioned both R1 and NTSC?

Thanks!

Sessa17

You will NEVER, ever see either BR 1 or 2 released ligitimately in the US. BR 1 will never be released b/c of the content. With so many contemporary school shootings in US society, a movie of school kids wielding guns & weapons & brutally murdering each other will just NEVER be picked up by a US distributor. BR 2, on top of having all that going against it for the US, is also an EXTREMELY anti-American movie, so that has even less of a chance of being released here. (not to mention it's just a bad movie in general).