Batoru Rowaiaru! (Battle Royale (DVD))

Member Name: raypdaley182

Product:	Battle Royale (DVD)
Date:	01/09/08 (11 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Totally new idea at the time

Disadvantages: Not much in the way of extras

I've seen the film at least 7 times now and it just gets better each time. I see more and more every time I watch it, spotting different things I hadn't seen before. Don't think of this as a foreign language film with English subtitles. It surpasses the fact that you have subtitles to read to follow the plot. That becomes a natural part of your movie experience. I think some of the English translations are a little weird so the characters end up saying some slightly unusual sentences where things don't always make sense.

The film is about a world in the near future where school children have decided anarchy is their weapon against the world of adults. The adults pass a law that allows them to choose 1 class every year to fight against each other until 1 child stands alive. The winner is allowed to live, if there is no winner within the 3 day time limit then the remaining players are killed by the necklaces they wear which are filled with explosives.

It's well made, and the flashback style memories to each persons life before BR doesn't seem disjointed as flashbacks generally do.
With no stars in this film there are no egos and everyone works to the best of their ability. The film looks amazing and the story is so well thought out. Buy this and watch it over and over, you will not regret it.

BR!

As I recall there aren't many extras on the dvd at all. I can only remember the feature which was basically a Q&A at the Japanese Premiere for BR where the director and cast talk a little bit about the film and its making. It's quite surreal (especially if your watching it after you've just seen the movie) to watch the cast who you've seen get killed in a variety of very convincing ways all up on the stage talking about the movie. The only other things on the dvd were trailers from the same company who made BR.

There are rumours Hollywood is considering remaking this after the sucess of The Ring. I do hope they don't as they'd ruin it.

Summary: Students in island death match extravaganza