 |
Better than i was expecting after the critical drubbing it received . It's not a masterpiece but it's definitely worth a look .
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great old school movie, worth a watch
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This and this and Baby Metal are the best things that have come out of Japan
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Battle Royale is a lovely fantasy romp. Following the economic collapse of Japan and the disintegration of discipline and motivation in schools; a class of 'delinquent' japanese teenage school children are hijacked by the state military and marooned on an island. Forced to take up arms against each other, they have 72 hours to eliminate their classmates. The last one standing will be accepted back into society. Lethal necklaces monitor their progress and threaten to detonate, if their battles between the elements, time and their fellow students fail. Beneath all the action and the bloody gore, friendships are made and broken, social groups emerge through the paranoia and mistrust. Through it all we see humanity and society through the eys of youth, we catch a glimpse of the upbringing that made them what they are. Who will survive? how many will die? Who will win? This film twists and turns, but it never fails to keep you on the edge of your seat.Read full review
Battle Royale can only be fully understood when the viewer understands certain aspects of Japanese society the West will generally be unaware of. Keigo means 'honorific language' and is a variety of the Japanese language reserved for when a Japanese person speaks to someone in a higher position than they are to show their respect. This idea is not completely alien to the West who know they are meant to be polite to those who are at a higher level than them. However who we see as deserving the honorific language changes greatly between the East and the West. In Japan children live by the rule of sempai-kohai. This places anyone older than them at a greater level and they must respect their elders (something that has broken down in Western culture). In return they learn from their elders and this can mean a child one year old than another becoming a sensei (teacher) to them. Battle Royale bases much of the film on the break down of sempai-kohai and in the story is the very reason for the Battle Royale Act. Clearly stated in the book but not so much in the film is the time and setting of Battle Royale. It is based in an alternate world; it's an alternate world where Japan has won the Second World War by using the A Bomb on America. Since Japan (within this alternate world) has won the war, they began to take on the American way of life and Japan is in the middle of a great downfall. Unemployment is at a high percentage and discipline in schools in breaking apart and the adults have lost all command over the children. The Battle Royale Act was brought into fruition to give power back to the adults and teach the children they cannot carry on the way they are. One of the first clear acts to show this break down of sempai-kohai is when one of the students slashes one of the teachers with a knife. This moment of a student harming a teacher within school is a link to the events at Columbine. It is suggesting that American society is to blame for such an action ever taking place, and Japan has fallen into such a deplorable state because they have taken on the Western worlds morals. This is the basis for the film, but all that aside it is visually a stunning piece and surely one of the greatest ever to have come out of Japan. With an all star cast (maybe not so recognisable here, but no doub)t someone will notice Gogo from Kill Bill and Kitano as Takeshi from Takeshi's castle) this is a must for fans of action films or for someone looking for something new.Read full review
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in DVDs & Blu-rays
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on DVDs & Blu-rays
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
![[DISC ONLY] Battle Royale DVD Action & Adventure (2002) Yamamoto Taro](https://ir.ebaystatic.com/rs/c/prpweb-src-images-space-98af7172.gif)