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El Diaro Del Macho Borracho
Old school like Aztecs but new in other aspects: horror, video games, wrestling, culture, and nonsense. Also, this is the place to check for new features/updates on the tech side of Bloody Good Horror.
Blast From the (Recent) Past - Battle Royale
Submitted by mark on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 16:13.
"Blast from the (Recent) Past" is a periodic feature where I reflect on films I saw and loved before the O.G. version of Bloody Good Horror bit the dust. Now that we're back in the saddle I owe it to the classics of (not so) old for getting me into the genre in the first place.
Release Date: 2000
IMDB Rating: 8.0 (as of post date)
Synopsis
Forty-two delinquent students, three days, one deserted Island: welcome to Battle Royale. A group of delinquent students from a Japanese high school have been forced by legislation to compete in a new forum of reality television.The students are each given a bag with a randomly selected weapon and a few rations of food and water and sent off to kill each other in a no-holds-barred (with a few minor rules) game to the death, which means that the students have three days to kill each other until one survives--or they all die. The movie focus on a few of the students and how they cope. Some decide to play the game like the psychotic Kiriyama or the sexual Mistuko, while others like the heroes of the movie--Shuya, Noriko, and Kawada--are trying to find a way to get off the Island without violence. However, as the numbers dwell down lower and lower on an hourly basis, is there any way for Shuya and classmates to survive?
I stated once on the podcast that my true test for a horror film is being able to show it in front of a group of non-genre friends (or civilians, as my friend Adam calls them) and have them enjoy, or at least react to the film. I can't think of a single horror flick that has passed that litmus test more handily than Kinji Fukasaku's 2000 joint "Battle Royale." As the plot summary suggests, "Royale" feels a bit more like watching an ultraviolent video game than a classic horror film. Don't let the ultra-high rating on IMDB fool you, "Battle Royale" is in no way a perfect film or even a totally coherent film in parts, but it has inspired a rabid cult following, of which I am a card carrying member.
On the surface, the political and social message behind "Battle Royale" is heavy handed and powerful. Although even at my most cynical I can't imagine things getting THIS out of hand, the premise is presented so matter-of-factly that its hard to dispute its validity. Once you get to "know" the characters, you are in no way surprised that they are colossal pains in the ass that can only be dealt with "Royale" style.
Poor translation, wacky weaponry, and enough nut stabbings to make even a woman flinch are just a few examples of over-the-toppitude that "Battle Royale" reaches. When you see Takeshi Kitano (a.k.a. MxC's Vic Romano) receive multiple grievous gunshot wounds only to (spoiler) get back up and answer his phone before dying, you know that you've just survived something unique, and absolutely fucking crazy. This movie comes up in conversations I have revolving around horror STILL, and I'll always cross my fingers for a video game adaptation (on the Wii perhaps?) although it will never come to be.
Until then, give the Battle Royale drinking game a try!
Theatrical Trailer
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Such a good film
I utterly love this film, which disturbs my wife to no end. Too bad the sequel is such a trainwreck and totally misses the point of this one.
"I like it when they lie still like that."
I too am a big fan of this
I too am a big fan of this film, I rememebr a non genre fan friend telling me about saying he couldnt believe it was about a load of kids killing each other and how wrong it was that when he mentioned it I said what a great it film it is
And yeah the second was bad, especially the strange private ryan esque beach landing scene.
www.myspace.com/devil2pay
I've never actively pursued
I've never actively pursued seeing the 2nd one, probably because I don't want to ruin my image of the first. The concept sounded passable, but I haven't heard any positive enough feedback to pique my interest.
Is it bad that I never for a moment thought it was reprehensible to have kids killing each other in a movie? To be fair, they are "teenagers," not too much younger than the average age of the folks that get knocked off in say, Sleepaway Camp 2 or the sort.
I have the 2nd one sitting
I have the 2nd one sitting in my closet and I've never bothered to watch it. The feedback for the sequel has been so poor, I'm really not interested in seeing it and having it tarnish my love of the first film.
There was talk of the Battle Royale being remade but I don't think it will ever see the light of day. Remakes are generally a bad idea but a remake of Battle Royale? Sacrilegious. I say that but I actually didn't hate The Condemned with Stone Cold...but that's because he's such a hardcore badass who drinks beer and listens to AC/DC.
One problem sequel
My one problem with the copy that I had, is there were these pointless basketball scenes interspersed throughout the film for no reason whatsoever. Plus, after the film is rightfully over they go back and show more basketball. If I recall, it was some type of special edition by the director. I have no idea if these scenes were in the original cut.
Also, there's a guy who gets shot a bunch of times at the end and then he hops back up and answers his cell phone like nothing's wrong. As much as I loved this movie that giant leap of logic really pissed me off.
As far as the sequel, the original director died half way through so his son finished the film. Guess he wasn't as good as his pops.
Battle Royale & sequel
There's no basketball scenes in the version I have, none at all. The ending does go off the rails a little bit especially with Beat Takeshi answering the phone after being shot.
The director actually died before they had really shot anything on the sequel and his son was certainly nothing like the director his father was. But the script too was pretty terrible.
"I like it when they lie still like that."
Here it is
Here's the version I have. Via Wikipedia:
A special version of the film was released after the original which has eight extra minutes of running time. Unusually, the extra material includes scenes newly filmed after the release of the original. Inserted scenes include (but are not limited to):
* Flashbacks to a basketball game which is used as a framework for the entire story.
* A flashback that explains Mitsuko's personality.
* Three epilogues (referred to as "requiems"). The first is an extension of the basketball scene. The second is a vision of Nobu telling Shuya to take care of Noriko. The third is a scene between Kitano and Noriko, who talk casually by a riverbank.
* Additional shots of the lighthouse after the shootout
* Additional reaction shots in the classroom, and extensions to existing shots.
* Extra CGI throughout the film, used to enhance blood effects.
Now I have the Harlem
Now I have the Harlem Globetrotters theme stuck in my head.
comic
The basketball stuff sounds like it might have come from the original comic. It's been a long time since I looked at those but I know basketball is really big in manga.
"I like it when they lie still like that."
<3
I love this movie. The first one. So stark, so deep. The second one could have been amazing but they let it slide.
Definitely one of my faves
BR is probably in my top 5 fave. I remember discovering this film a couple of years back and I just kept reading about it. I got a nice region-less copy on ebay and after watching it my mind was completely blown! I also have the novel which is great as well. Just an awesome, awesome film! ^_^
-Tanya
Catchin' bullets with her teeth since 1977