I just got this and I watched the opening ten minutes at work. The video quality isn't the best (of course, my computer at work doesnt have the best graphics card), I'd say it's definitley VHS quality. The subtitles are difficult to read at times. It is presented in widescreen (I think 1.85:1). I plan on watching it in full tomorrow.

Right now this VCD is all over the place. Ebay appears to be inundated with them and there doesn't seem to be much demand. You could porbably pick one up off of Ebay for about US $4 with shipping. Otherwise, DDDHouse is a good option.



[Edited by Solskjaer on 06-21-01 at 06:23 AM]

I just watched my VCD of Battle Royale and it was a very good movie... I recommend it if you've been curious about this film or if you don't have a complete disgust for VCDs. It wasn't as "artsy" as I thought it would be, lots of cool killings. The ending wasn't a strong as I would have hoped, but it was a great movie up until then.

I also watched Bio-Cops which was a pretty good "campy" zombie movie. Not as good as "Living Dead" series or "Dead Alive" but better then the rest of the zombie movies.

solksjaer :
looks like all VCDs on ebay are about 9.99 min right now .. one bid i saw was 15.99 ..

ah well ..

So I checked out the VCD.

To be perfectly honest it's one of the better VCDs I've seen. Definitley VHS quality though. It's a good movie (it's not perfect, though, it did have some issues) but I was well entertained. It's not as violent as people make it out to be (I've seen worse), I think the real issue is the age of the characters. Overall I'd probably give it **** out of ******

Sometimes the subtitles are hard to read, and the chinese subtitles get in the way sometimes, but otherwise it's a decent production, I think it was definitley worth the $7 bucks I spent (minus shipping).

I can't wait for it to come out on DVD I think some of the cinemotagraphy will show through really well, and this movie has got to have a kickass soundtrack!

As to it's current price on EBay:

When I posted dicussing this, some seller had a few auctions ending that day that had 0 bids, started at $.99 and had $3 shipping rates. Now they seem to be starting at $12.99. As you can tell no one is bidding on them.

Sorry for being so long winded, but I would just get the VCD from http://www.dddhouse.com. They provide good service.

I can't wait for the DVD. It's gonna kick some serious butt - and then some.

As one school girl says as she is dying (from multiple gun shot wounds) in the arms of the boy she has a crush on "You're so cool."

-Cheers

got mine from asiandiscs.com very quick (priority) shipping you get for your 3.99

the VCD is a nice quality... even the sound is better than i thought ... and i have to admit .. it is one of the better movies i have seen this year ... like it quite a bit ..

as to that often mentioned "you are so cool" line .. i guess this just reads pretty bad in english .. i have to ask a japanese friend if it is really THAT campy ...

and yes .. some of the killings are pretty mean (like what this girl in the yellow sweat suit does with a knife

also : the opening: we get to see last year's winner ... that was the most wicked smile i have seen in a while .. goosebumps !!!

P

I got mine from pokerindustries.com . They are here in the US, too. Purchase over $50 bucks and they pay for shipping. Also, use coupon code DVDPS07 (expires 06/30/01) to get 10% off a $50 purchase.

Does anyone here know the official release date for the DVD version of Battle Royale. I thought the VCD was cool but would like to get my hands on the DVD version.

I believe it is available for rental. It isn't scheduled for Retail release until September.