Battle Royale Directors Cut
buy bestselling dvd movies, videos find reviews, ratings, prices
|
 |
List Price: $19.95
Our Price:
$19.95
Features
• AC-3
• Color
• Director's Cut
• Dolby
• Full Screen
• NTSC |
| [ + Zoom ] [ Buy Now ] |
DVD : Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
|
Battle Royale Directors Cut description
With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence, it's only fitting that Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale is being touted as a Clockwork Orange for the 21st century. Based on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a series of fleeting images of unruly Japanese schoolchildren, whose bad behavior provides a justification for the "punishments" that will ensue. Once the prequel has been dispensed with, the classmates are drugged and awaken on an island where they find they have been fitted with dog collars that monitor their every move. Instructed by their old teacher ("Beat" Takeshi) with the aid of an upbeat MTV-style video, they are told of their fate: after an impartial lottery they have been chosen to fight each other in a three-day, no-rules contest, the "Battle Royale." Their only chance of survival is through the death of all their classmates. Some pupils embrace their mission with zeal, while others simply give up or try to become peacemakers and revolutionaries. However, the ultimate drive for survival comes from the desire to protect the one you love. Battle Royale works on many different levels, highlighting the authorities' desperation to enforce law and order and the alienation caused by the generation gap. Whether you consider the film an important social commentary or simply watch it for the adrenaline-fueled violence, this is set to become cult viewing for the computer game generation and beyond. --Nikki Disney |
|
Battle Royale Directors Cut Customer Reviews
|
|
|
|
♥♥♥♥♥ |
Bloody, Unsubtle Social Satire. But Appealing Characters Make it Work.
|
"Battle Royale" was much talked-about in the United States back in 2001, but it took a while to get here, allegedly because distributors were reluctant to promote 2 hours of teenagers on a killing spree. The film is based on the popular Japanese novel by Koushun Takami, whose considerable length condenses surprisingly well to a fast-paced feature film. In a dystopian future, Japan is at risk of societal collapse from high unemployment, economic stagnation, and general discontent. Youth bully their teachers and boycott school. The "BR Act" is passed, authorizing the government to select classes of 9th graders to be confined to a deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death until only one student remains.
Shuya (Tatsuya Rujiwara) is a thoughtful young man who lost both of his parents to Japan's bad times. On a class trip, he and his classmates are drugged, transported to the island where they will be forced to take part in the Battle Royale, and fitted with electronic collars that monitor their movements. Their bombastic teacher Kitano (Beat Takeshi) explains the rules of the game and distributes a survival kit and one weapon to each of the 42 students, including 2 mysterious "exchange students". If more than one person survives 3 days, they all die. We follow Shuya and his friend Noriko (Aki Maeda) as they come to grips with their situation and try to survive with the aid of Kawada (Taro Yamamoto), an older student whose purpose is not at first clear.
The film strays from the book in some details but is substantively similar. We don't get to know the secondary characters as well, so questions of trust are not as complex as in the book. The instructor Kitano is fleshed out more in the film and comes across as a lonely and strangely pathetic man. It's interesting to observe how the various personalities react to the game, from the young lovers who commit suicide to the sickle-wielding vamp Mitsuko (Kou Shibasaki) who is determined to win. The politics behind the "BR Act" is simplified and more coherent in the film. Adults fear youth, because their refusal to accept the values of their elders will exacerbate social collapse. The "BR Act" forces young people to compete ruthlessly or perish. Kitano's sick sense of humor provides comic relief. "Battle Royale" is a bloody, unsubtle satire, but it's entertaining. |
|
Battle Royale Directors Cut dvd movie.