Cool News
BATTLE ROYALE being remade for TV' BATTLE ROYALE II getting a special edition'
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with some interesting info from the BATTLE ROYALE universe. I have yet to watch BATTLE ROYALE 2 due to my unending love for the first film... I've heard such mixed and negative things about the film that I'm a little weary of tainting the original with a viewing of a shitty sequel... One of these days I'll bite the bullet and watch it. Hopefully the added 20 minutes will make the difference. Also really interesting stuff about a mini-series based on the original book that inspired the original BATTLE ROYALE. Take a look!
Thought you might find this cool:
Last month in Tokyo, Kenta Fukasaku screened an extended version of
Battle Royale II, which adds about 20 minutes worth of footage
originally cut from the film. There's some added character
development (which the original cut was in dire need of) as well as
extended battle scenes, and reportedly those in attendance liked the
improvements (though I guess the people who would put themselves
through BRII a second time must've liked the original cut in the first
place). Kenta Fukasaku is trying to get a theatrical release for this
Special Version (re-titled "Battle Royale II: Revenge" instead of
"Requiem"); a direct-to-video release was originally scheduled for
September, but has since been postponed, which may mean Fukasaku is
making headway in his efforts.
By the way, the original cut of BRII has just been released in
region-free form in Korea, so Americans can import this version and
watch their government get vilified clumsily on their Region 1 DVD
payers.
Oh, and the big news: the original movie and novel is currently being
remade in this hemisphere as "Sangre FrÃa" ("Cold Blood"), a 13-part
TV miniseries scheduled to air next month on the Telefe network in
Argentina. The official synopsis of the series makes it sound like
it's a traditional slasher, but I think it's because the producers are
making an attempt to make the actual premise a surprise. The series
transplants the BR program from an island in Japan to the mountains of
Patagonia, and instead of ninth graders, the participants are students
at a prestigious university (so the cast is obviously much older,
consisting of Argentinian soap regulars and some faces from
Argentinian indie cinema)...so I don't anticipate anything being
recognizable from the original except for the basic premise. I don't
know if and when I'll be able to see this series when it airs, but
many people in the States with C-band satellite dishes and those with
DirecTV's Spanish channel lineup will be able to tune into the Telefe
network and watch it.
For more information on Sangre FrÃa, check out
THIS SITE. And as always, for the latest goings-on in the Battle Royale universe, please visit
http://www.battleroyalefilm.net.
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+ Expand All
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but fun nonetheless with some great psychos, and fugly hot chiyaki!!
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Jun 16, 2004 3:19:11 AM CDT
oh no.....here it comes...i can feel it......o lordy....
by chickengeorgevii
....must fight....temptation.....to....use....AICN catchphrase......starring....Hulk...Hogan....as the....baddie.......must fight....losing....must gather strength.....to resist.....BROTHER!...And thus, It slipped out! - - - George, The 7th Chicken!!!!
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Jun 16, 2004 7:07:27 AM CDT
Pah... while the first BR was watchable, though extremely overra
by salvatoregravano
...BR II was just a typical, B-grade cardboard flick. Oh, and in both films the best part was the music.
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Jun 16, 2004 7:54:15 AM CDT
A TV miniseries sounds cool, and might actually work better.
by alienboy
Those who've read the novel should agree that a miniseries would fit the plot more, giving the characters more time to develop and restoring much of the story that the movie didn't have time to fill. As for the sequel, "bleh" was my reaction. Didn't hate it, but nowhere near the original. Though I still think a third movie could be cool if there was a new writer and director. Takashi Miike might be an obvious choice, so I'll throw out a few less obvious ideas: Sogo Ishii, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (with Koji Yakusho as the new teacher), maybe even Shohei Imamura?
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wouldn't making the kids university students (and thereby, adults) basically undermine the whole idea that these are innocent kids being forced to kill each other? people have less sympathy for 19-22 year olds... i know i do.
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I mean, making a film in post-911 world in which a terrorist who blows up buildings could be the hero. (although the movie plays its cards very close to its chest as to with whom, if anyone, its sympathies lie) That's what I really loved about it. Because at the end of BR I, the implication is he's going to go fight the government, and the audience is cheering him on because the government is "evil" and he's "good." And then at the beginning of BR II, it smacks you over the head with EXACTLY what his fight against the government would mean - and forces the audience to struggle with whether they still approve. It's a wonderful, evil way of beginning the movie, but in some ways, it's perhaps the most coherant statement made about the "war on terror" made yet.
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BR2 was pretty cheesy, but i'll still check out an extended addition - more Riki Takeuchi is never a bad thing! Anyway, ever notice how the teacher character was much more sadistic in the book than the film? Same with the manga. I liked Kitano in BR1, and I think his frustration with his own daughter (and getting slashed in the 455 by one of his students, even though it looks to me like an accident) could've explained why he chose to play the role he did in the game. One more thing about BR2: the idea to have them paired up was great. Take that concept, subtract the bit about chasing after Shuya, make it a "side story" instead of a true sequel and you've got gold.
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Jun 16, 2004 3:01:30 PM CDT
The real reason why the BRII Special Edition release was postpon
by themikejonas
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20040616p2a00m0dm006000c.html
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I would never even consider seeing an extended cut because watching the original cut was torturous and interminable enough. I feel that the orignal BR is one of the few truly great works of this century thus far and to say that the sequel is a disgrace would be an understatement of gross proportions. Tarantino needs to literally drop everything he's doing right now so that he can focus all of his attention on writing and directing an American remake of the original phenom, because he's one of the only auteurs in Hollywood that could get away with it. The fact that there has never been a proper domestic release--be it theatrical or on video--of Kinja's masterwork is perhaps the biggest disgrace of all.
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I had the displeasure of sitting through this rubbish a couple months back. I haven't hated a film so much since Batman and Robin. I'm sure Harry likes it though.
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Jun 16, 2004 8:10:34 PM CDT
QUINT, DO NOT WATCH BRII. You will be sorry you did. Kinda lik
by alcamaeon
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Killing puts 'Battle Royale' DVD release on hold:
DVD sales of a version of the controversial "Battle Royale" movies have been put on hold following a fatal stabbing in Nagasaki Prefecture in which an 11-year-old girl murdered her classmate, it has been learned.
Toei Video had planned to release "Battle Royale II Special Edition Revenge" in September, but the firm said it had now decided to extend the date for releasing the film.
"In consideration of the current environment, we decided to put off its release until later," a company official said.
The 11-year-old schoolgirl killer from Sasebo, Nagasaki, was reportedly obsessed with "Battle Royale," a story that tells of classmates dumped on a deserted island and forced to kill one another until only one remains.
About one month before the June 1 killing, the girl borrowed "Battle Royale II," which was released in July last year, from a local video store.
The special edition contains scenes that have not been released previously.
The 11-year-old girl, who remains in custody, killed her 12-year-old classmate, Satomi Mitarai, using a paper cutter. Satomi was the daughter of Koji Mitarai, chief of the Mainichi Shimbun Sasebo Bureau. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, June 16, 2004) -
That's strange... Quint misuses "weary" in place of "wary" exactly like the mystery reviewer for Spiderman 2 (comparing it's greatness to Empire Strikes Back) did in saying, "...when they announced he would be the lone villain in this film, I was weary."
Warning: Be weary of weary/wary misuse contagion! May make infected person wary and/or sleepy.
Or, perhaps, this reveals Quint as the mystery reviewer for Spiderman 2? Could the AICN guys be writing their own scoops, but attributing them to other people? Hmmmm..... Blast this anonymous internet!
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