Battle Royale (2000) (Universe Hong Kong DTS DVD)

Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

Produced by Kataoka Kimio, Kobayashi Chie, Fukasaku Kenta & Nabeshima Hisao

Starring Fujiwara Tatsuya, Maeda Aki, Yamamoto Taro, Ando Masanobu, Shibasaki Kou, Kuriyama Chiaki, Takeshi Kitano

Per many people out there, I too had fallen for the ludicrous amount of online hype surrounding "Battle Royale" and was eager to know more. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the film's director was none other than the sorely under-rated Kinji Fukasaku whose "Triple Cross" (1992), with Japanese cinema veterans Sonny Chiba & Kenichi Hagiwara, won my undivided attention on original release. Now there was a wild movie! Plus it contained one of the few screen appearances of Japanese metal-heads Jacks 'N Jokers (utilised to good effect, I might add!). Fukasaku's "Battle Royale", from the novel by Takami Koshun, is an equally wild ride albeit an extremely controversial one due to the machinations of its central theme. The idea of turning high school age children into relentless killers is not one our moral guardians are about to champion. Nor was it one I found particularly shocking, lest we forget William Golding's "Lord Of The Flies" in too much of a hurry…

In a nameless near future, where society has collapsed and anarchy runs rife, the statistics speak louder than words. 15% of the population (10 million) are unemployed, 800,000 students have boycotted their schooling. Social unrest and an ever-widening generation gap between adults and youth force the government to implement the Millennium Educational Reform Act, or Battle Royale Act. The Act allows random classes of teenage school children, voted upon by national lottery, to be isolated from civilization then encouraged to fight to the death until only one survivor remains victorious. That's a helluva way to keep the kids in check, and an even harsher measure to keep the threat of population explosion at bay. But there's a nasty little upshot of the contest that ensures each round is played out to the end: each participant is fitted with an explosive electronic collar that, should there be more than one survivour, is detonated killing all that remain, and rendering the match void.

Believing they are going on a field trip, forty 9th Grade students are piled into a bus, promptly gassed into unconsciousness only to awake on a coastal island, staring into the face of their former school-teacher, Kitano (Kitano). After explaining the rules, and killing a female student in cold blood, as well as detonating another student's collar so as to make the levity of the teenagers' situation clear, they are set loose with supplies and weapons to begin the game. Students Shuya Narahara (Fujiwara) and Noriko (Maeda) are clearly set out as the major protagonists from the outset, but they are surrounded by a number of equally identifiable class-mates who are just as much at odds with their new environment. Add to this already eclectic bunch former winner of the BR, Kawada (Yamamoto), the devilish "there just for fun" Kiriyama (Ando), as well as progressively deadly turn-coat Mitsuko (Shibasaki), and the question becomes not so much who will survive, but more who will be the next to die? As the death count rises once classmate turns against classmate, a subtitle appears at the foot of the screen detailing who has just been killed…and how many participants remain.

The first time I encountered the work of Kinji Fukasaku, was back in the mid seventies with the late-night sci-fi horror favourite "The Green Slime" (1968), a film that both succeeded in putting the willies up me and grossly entertaining me. Later came the definitive Pearl Harbour epic "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970), then Japanese "Star Wars" make-over "Message From Space" (1978) and eventually the full length 155m version of end-of-the-world opus "Virus" (1980). I missed "Samurai Reincarnation" (1981) with Sonny Chiba but caught the superb "Triple Cross" (1992) in the late nineties thanks solely to John Brennan of Eastern Heroes fame. When "Battle Royale" came along, it was time to re-acquaint myself with Kinji's hybrid brand of commercial Japanese cinema.

As Orwellian styled future shock, "Battle Royale" works exceedingly well. The central narrative was controversial from a mainstream standing, however having already experienced (Hong Kong) students gone wild in Tsui Hark's "Dangerous Encounters - 1st Kind" (1980) and Ringo Lam's "School On Fire" (1988) there was nothing so shocking here that this viewer was mortally offended. In fact, a common oversight seems to be the heady undercurrent of delicious black comedy present that diffuses much of the more shocking imagery. There were moments when I laughed, and laughed hard, as seems to have been Fukasaku's quirky intention. Alan has already noted the social commentary of the piece, so I'll leave you with a few of my thoughts on the other facets of the film.

The cast are uniformly excellent, all largely unknown to Western audiences bar Takeshi Kitano whose character is offbeat, thoughtful, humorous and soulful. His initial acts of violence will catch the average viewer off guard, but as the story progresses you may just find yourself warming unusually to his favour. Maeda and Fuijwara are delightful young actors, being the sole point of reason for the viewer to cling to as all around them descends into chaos. Additionally, Ando and Shibasaki make for beautifully constructed villains, desirable unstoppable killing machines. Cinematography by Katsumi Yanagishima is quite striking in its execution, capturing extraordinary vistas of both sumptuous beauty and bold, shocking horror. His eye for captivating visuals enhances Fukasaku's direction with richly layered colourful tapestries, unique and magnificently entrancing.

And as a footnote, Masamichi Amano's orchestral score is one of the best afforded a film of this kind in some time, capturing the essence of the emotional core of the piece, eloquently lifting what could have been little more than a trashy exploitation piece, into a realm of pure class. Amano augments his already rich score with delicate excerpts of varied classical pieces (inclusive of "Swan Lake"), enriching the visuals as only Kubrick had achieved prior in "A Clockwork Orange" (1971). A veritable mini-masterpiece that may just go on to become a cult classic in its own right. As Bart Simpson often says…"Su-poib!"

And what of Universe's "official" DVD release, I hear you all sing after that marathon? Although advance word had us shivering in our boots that this would be a less than perfect 4:3 fullscreen transfer, it is in fact a non-anamorphic letterboxed version. Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85, the image quality is a marginal step up from their recent "Brother" disc. Although there are no apparent artefacts or image issues, and colours are well rendered, the image displays an overall softness. Don't get me wrong, it does play particularly crisp and with a good level of detail, but there are passages where I'd have to admit that the clarity could have done with a bit of tweaking. Shadows are lacking, but generally the print is of a consistently good definition and detail. Well, I thought it looked alright anyway, the colour palette and camerawork coming across very similar to Kinji's "Triple Cross".

Three audio choices, all the original Japanese language soundtrack. A DTS track (which I didn't have time to check, as this was a review "on the fly"), a Dolby 5.1 track that is engagingly LOUD, vibrant and lively, and the standard boring old Dolby stereo 2.0 track (that is significantly lower than the 5.1 track). Only had time to listen to the 5.1 track, but what I heard impressed me no end. Extras are limited to the Theatrical trailer, a Takeshi Kitano biography, and an attraction trailer for the multi-director anthology film "Tales Of The Unusual" (2000) (which actually looks really cool! Can anybody out there confirm if it is, or isn't?). Although lacking anamorphic enhancement (which Tartan's disc will no doubt offer), the disc does contain optional subtitles, that are fairly free of errors (which Tartan's disc probably won't offer, as they seem to opt for theatrical prints with burned-in subs). Undoubtedly a Japanese disc will probably contain all manner of extra features this one doesn't, so there's the rub. Non 16x9, DTS and optional subs, or 16x9, burned-in subs and (probably) Dolby surround, or a Japanese Special Edition that will probably cost the combined price of the other two discs? Either way, the choice (if you're thinking of purchasing this one) is entirely your own. All I can say is…I've got mine, and I'm extremely happy with it! :)

Review by M.C.Thomason