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A No Name Spy Reviews The BATTLE ROYALE DVD!!
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
It is items like this that make a region-free DVD player a must in any film geek’s home. Don’t believe me? Then check this out...
Hey Harry
Great site and all those pleasantries. Just writing in with a brief spoiler note on the GREAT Battle Royale Special Edition.
The DVD is great, comes in a chrome tin with the Battle Royal stamp on it. Extras include a Tarantino Battle Royale trailer, a documentary, Battle Royal Happy Birthday Video (very funny) and lots of other to-good-to-be-true goodies. NO REALLY; TO BLOODY MANY!!!!
But is it worth getting if you already have the original film? YES, because the film has been changed around, a directors cut if you will. Bits added, extended blah blah blah.
Most noticeably is a basketball match that is used through out the film to show how each main character was perceived as a person or acted off the island. This comes together at the end with three Requiems. One is the climax of the basketball game. Another one is the dream with Kitano in (but with sound, explains ALOT!)...... but I'll let you see for your self the rest.
This is the REAL Battle Royale. IT takes nothing from the original but adds to it in a GOOD way. More character and story explanation (I mean an alternate ending YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!)
Anyway, just get it and check it out!!!! Hopefully at the cinema!!!
THEN GO BUY THE CHROME DVD!!!!!
All the best
No Name SpyHey... I’m sold.
"Moriarty" out.
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Is anyone gonna release this crap in the U.S. Where is there a good place to pickup an all region copy of this crap.
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How about some ordering details? If not endorsing a specific web site, then a little better detail on country of origin and official title? (and if it's USA, what with the Tarantino trailer, then what's that bizness about region-free players? Seriously, when you post something like this, whether you wrote it or someone else did, there should be a coda with some better information, links, whatever.
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A trip to Google shows that this version is Region 2 currently. It may be other regions as well - but any R2 on-line shop should be able to get it for you.
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The dvd is an english (PAL) region 2 release, but for those unlucky fools out there who don't live in the greatest country in the world ^_^, it can be bought at http://www.aznfilms.com. The film is great BTW as are the excellent special features.
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No i'm afraid there won't be a US release because for some reason (not sure exactly why) it has been banned in the USA, aswell as in over 11 other countries around the world. But for people who want to get it on import, it is definetly worth it.
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The Battle Royale SE is codefree, (it says Region 0 on the back) and it kicks ass!! Could be PAL, though.
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Yeah you're right actually, both the SE and LE are in fact region 0, presumably because Tartan know a lot of the sales are gonna be people in other countries who wanna see the movie. Thanks for pointing out my mistake ;) and you're right it does kick ass
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I must say I'm really getting sick of this. Every time you go out and buy a DVD you end up having the REAL version released 3 months later. Its bullshit. I don't remember all this crap with VHS. I guess I'll just have to buy a superior quality chinese bootleg off of ebay like I did for the original version. teeheehee. Ebay. One stop shopping for all your HTF DVD needs........
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The Tartan Video release of the Special Version of Battle Royale is R0 PAL, which means it won't play on a typical American DVD player (not because of region encoding, but because of video standard incompatibility).
The transfer isn't particularly good, although anything is better than Tartan's first release of BR, but it *is* the only way to see the Special Version with English subs (the Region 3 release has poor, almost nonsensical translation on their English subs).
Also, the Tartan release comes with another little extra the reviewer failed to mention--a collectible film frame clipped from an actual print of Battle Royale. -
Oct 07, 2002 1:36:20 PM CDT
Video standard incompatibility is only an issue on some players
by royce
because most players (including the american X-Box) can convert PAL input to NTSC output. For example, i have an R2 toshiba DVD player that can covert NTSC to PAL but it is chipped to automatically change region to the disc it detects in the bay. So when I watch american R1 NTSC discs or japanese R2 NTSC discs i get them fine because my player converts the picture. So what you have to do is check the specs of you're player to see if it can convert the picture. I'm not sure what it would say because i'm not a technical genius but i do know some people who live in the states who have the region free PAL disc of "The Ring" (can't wait to see the remake!) and for them it works fine, so it all depends on the player. Hope this helps
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PAL to NTSC conversion is much less common than NTSC to PAL conversion, and players that can do the conversion without screwing up the aspect ratio are even rarer. The Malata 996 and 520, the Classic 102, and two Apex models that use a different chipset than the rest of the Apex line are the only players I am aware of that can go from PAL to NTSC without screwing the aspect ratio up on anamorphic discs. Having said that, an all-region, PAL to NTSC converting player is a must have for any self-respecting movie geek.
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Oct 07, 2002 3:04:25 PM CDT
How Many Versions of This Film Must I Buy?! / Anyone seen THE SU
by nocureforfools
i saw the one of the two US screenings of the film at BAM in Brooklyn and, of course, instantly fell in love with it. after much searching i found this weird VCD Chinese version of the film for like 10 bucks, which was good for watching it onthe computer, but, not as good as a DVD (watching BR in quicktime just isn't the best way to go). Then i found a DVD bootleg that inexplicably contained no extras and which cut off the first few seconds, where you see the ocean crashing and the music starts up. it inexplicably begins with the first official scene of the film, with the helicopter landing and the news people going nuts about the little girl who won the BR. but, at least it's on DVD, so that's cool. now i have to buy this version! am extended version! how can i not own it? BR is easily one of my favorite movies. i have watched it many, many times. i'm in love with Mitsuko, and really think she and Kiriyama would have made a good couple, but alas. Chigusa is also a big favorite. i can't wait for BR2 and, thank god, i'm moving to Japan soon, so i'll be able to see it in the theatres! sweeet! speaking of which, why was this film banned in the US? it is violent, but so was Scream, and it was violence with a point, t had a social satire element to it -- dealing, i think, specifically with the extreme pressure and competition endemic in the Japanese school system which, although it produces the most intelligent students in the world, also drives many kids nuts. a Japanese friend of mine actually tried to commit suicide because of fear of the university entrance exams and the amount of pressure she felt becase of them. anyways...***** so, has anyone ever found THE SUICIDE CLUB on DVD? this is another amazing entry into the "new japanese cinema". really a brilliant, funny and truly horrifying film. great social satire, etc... but nobody ever talks about it for some reason...
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Personally, I own nine different versions of Battle Royale. In fact, I've compiled a little database that might be worth perusing by some of y'all:
http://video.battleroyalefilm.com
The table includes recommendations on where to buy each version. It's a work in progress, so there may be gaps or inaccuracies, but most of the information is correct, much verified firsthand. -
I've yet to see Suicide Club...it only recently came out on home video in Japan, which is probably why it hasn't made quite a splash yet around these parts; it'll probably take a release of a subtitled version on home video for people to really start talking about it.
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The good deal, the misprice at Amazon has been corrected, so I'd wait on this set. It's expensive and there have been sooooooooo many releases of BR legal and illegal...there will be more. Who knows maybe someone, like Troma, will unleash BR goodness on the R1 American Public.
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Battle Royale was not banned in the US, what happened is that no US distributer would touch it with a ten foot pole. Rightfully so, look at how much nonsense happened over Dogma or Last Temptation.
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Found it a few days ago, at Poker Industries. Claims to be all-region NTSC. Haven't gotten it yet so don't know for sure. http://www.pokerindustries.com/acatalog/battleroyaleNTSCdvd.htm
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The original "Battle Royale" DVD version is worht-it as more of a 'shortsharpshock' but this version is worth it too if you love the movie like I do!! Mind you, Tartan (the distributors of the BR dvd's in the UK) before this really make sloppy DVD transitions (the R2 version of "Hardboiled" for instance), I only hope they can keep the high standard of this one, even if they do cost more!! -
Oct 08, 2002 2:52:11 PM CDT
I wanna see the sequel Battle Royale - With Cheese staring Hulk
by nick soapdish
had to be said! anyway, finally living here rules, i can pick this baby up everywhere!
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I picked up the Japanese DVD of Suicide club. It doesn't have any subs at all, but I understood about 90% of it. The movie is, well, weird! The opening scene is really haunting. It is definitely not as good as BR, and I don't know that I would call it a social satire because of the way it ends up. I think they missed a good opportunity. Anyone seen the Korean release of the BR SE? I've been meaning to pick it up but haven't yet.
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I have it. The print is better than the UK SE, but the English subtitles are poorly translated--some of them don't even make any sense. Moreover, there are no English subtitles on the extras, only Korean ones. Definitely just for the completist. I guess the best BRSE experience would be to watch the Tartan DVD, commit the subs to memory, then watch the sub-less Japanese release, which has a pristine, flawless picture. :) -
The x-tra special chrome-cased-with-all-the-trimmings version reviewed in the article above? Wanna see wanna see! Where do I buy--or is it not out yet? Help! Toppu o Nerae!
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Thanks, royce! This baby is mine come the weekend. Hee hee. Cute little Japanese kids forced to wax each other. It's so. . .kinky. ^_^;; Toppu o Nerae!
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Reason One:
Due to the tendancy for Americans to blame/sue anyone else for anything they/their children do.
Reason Two:
It involves lot's of kids shooting each other which seems to happen with alarming frequency over there.
Remember Kids:
Guns don't kil people, it's just the bullets they fire.
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