This ultra violent satire from Japan tells of 42 teenagers taken to a remote island where they are told that if they wish to survive they must kill all of the others!
Kinji Fukasaku had a long and storied career as one of Japan's modern master filmmakers. His final completed feature, Battle Royale, is testament to his talent in laying bare society's ills and weaknesses. The story takes place in the not so distant future, at a time when the youth of Japan is running wild, committing crimes rampantly and being generally very naughty. The establishment's solution is the Battle Royale Act. The act declares a 3 day last-man-standing killing spree for one randomly selected class of 9th graders. The class is transfered to a deserted island, specially equipped for the tournament, each student is given a weapon and told to kill his classmates. Not unlike the Highlander, there can be only one survivor of Battle Royale. The kids in this year's class are joined by a couple of outsiders who promise to make the tournament a bit more challenging. Fukasaku's film proceeds to show us how, even in times of extreme duress, cliques and social order still prevail. Dozens of lives at stake doesn't change who your real friends are, it will, however, take those on the fringe and turn them into enemies very quickly. Several romantic subplots weave their way somewhat weakly through the film and, save for one, really make no impact. However, the violence and socail commentary more than make up for it. This is one of the finest, and blackest, films to come out of Japan in the last decade and certainly one worth viewing. This DVD is the original theatrical version and offers very little in the way of extras of any substance. Battle Royale speaks for itself, however, and for this reason I can still highly recommend it.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is in a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and violence amongst the nation's youth is spiralling out of control. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing their teachers, a beleagured and near-defeated government decides to introduce a radical new measure: the Battle Royale Act. Overseen by a former teacher, (Takeshi Kitano), and requiring that a randomly chosen school class be taken to a deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death, the Act dictates that only one pupil be allowed to survive the punishment. He or she will return, not as the victor, but as the ultimate proof of the lengths to which the government are prepared to go to curb the tide of juvenile disobediance. Likened to Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' by many critics, this explosive film shocked a nation with its violent portrayal of a society in ruins. Actors Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Masanobu Ando, Kou Shibasaki, Chiaki Kuriyama & Takeshi Kitano Director Kinji Fukasaku Certificate 18 years and over Year 2000 Screen Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic Languages Japanese - Dolby Digital (2.0) Stereo Subtitles English Duration 1 hour and 53 minutes (approx)
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