Film of the Week #12 - Battle Royale

Karl Hungus

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/

Absolute masterpiece of a film, this one.

It's an odd combination of B-movie sensibilities and ultra-slick direction, because plot wise, it's a half way between Lord Of The Flies and an 80's low budget sci-fi action movie. However, under Kinji Fukasaku's direction, it becomes one of the slickest pieces of action and brutality there is. The tension in many scenes is unreal, and I won't give anything away, save that it's one of the most edge of the seat films I've seen.

I think it's an incredibly important film aswell, as it was one of the first Japanese films (Along with Ring) to have spearheaded the still rising popularity of cinema from the far east. Who knows what it would've been like if there was no Battle Royale?

Anyway, amazing film.

johnny_ultimate

One of my all time favourites, this little beauty of a film.

Anyone I knew whod seen it had always talked along the lines of 'ZOMG! Uber-violent-pwnge!'. So I had always kind of put off watching it as I assumed it was just going to be a disposable action film.

But when I finally got around to seeing it (within the last six months or so) what appealed to me about it was how realistic it was. Ok, not in a storyline sense - kids shoved on an island to kill each other is hardly the pinnacle of realistic story-telling.

But its the way the teenagers act in the circumstances that is so credible. Theres such a wide variety of characters - some won't participate, some will just because they are selfish, others are forced to question their own morals. The characters are extremely deep - they aren't just your average Hollywood portrayl of idiot, vain students. The scene in the Lighthouse is a great example of the realism (won't go into it for anyone who has yet to see it). Apparantly its all the more effective if you have a good understanding of Japanese culture.

But a great, great motion picture.

qwertplaywert

sensational,one of the first foriegn films[and any film ,for that matter] i ever saw, and i credit it as the one ,along with interal affairs,that pursauded me to watch more forgiengn movies

Carcharodon

Didn't really fall for this mvie like some people have, I found it cheesy and corny with a plot that never really seems to get explained fully, its too silly to make sense.
I probably was expecting too much because of the hype, I think it appeals to people that want controversial mind provoking films but it is very "Hollywod" in alot of ways, there isn't much depth in the characters and I found the whole satire on Japans society a bit off...
I was just a bit let down but would still recomend it to people, might give it another watch myself but i dont think I will change my mind too much

projectmayhem

qwertplaywert wrote:

sensational,one of the first foriegn films[and any film ,for that matter] i ever saw, and i credit it as the one ,along with interal affairs,that pursauded me to watch more forgiengn movies

i'm in the same boat as you. one of my first exposures to foreign film outside of manga (dubbed). made me actively seek out foreign (primarily asian) film, and i've never looked back since.

stunning movie...

Makaveli

Like projectmayhem and qwerty it was my introduction to Japanese film outside of anime (actually, now that I think about it, it's not. I'd seen a few Kurosawa films before, so contemporary Japanese cinema). I'd already seen a lot of Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat films so I had experienced some Asian cinema. I hadn't seen anything like this though.

I find it an enjoyable film. The over-the-top violence has it's place as it's effectively a manga comic adaptation (or did the manga come from the film?). Either way it works well within the context of the film. I really just take it at face value though and don't really look into the political and social subtext of the film.

I think it's well worth recommending to people. If people enjoy it they will probably be intrigued and actively search out more Asian films. I know that's what I did. At first I was looking for more ott stuff like Ichi the Killer but once you get into it and start to notice that the films you are enjoying are all coming from certain directors you start to look into more and expand from there.

Zapp Brannigan

Great film, apparently better as a book though. (Haven't got round to reading it myself!)

Awful, awful, awful sequel though

qwertplaywert

aye,one of the worst swquels ever

also not got round to reading book, cant find it anywhere cept ebay, and have a policy to not buy books off ebay[have done in past,nearly all of them ripped ]

eamon234

yep sequel was a stinker

Galvasean

I loved it. It was just a great satire on modern life. that and it had schoolkids killing each other. Oh yeah

arcade1

qwertplaywert wrote:

aye,one of the worst swquels ever

also not got round to reading book, cant find it anywhere cept ebay, and have a policy to not buy books off ebay[have done in past,nearly all of them ripped ]

i got the book in waterstone in cork before christmas.

unreggd

Legend of a film, good ol Takeshi "Beat" Kitano


you should check out Zatoichi, also savage and Written, directed by, and starring Kitano

qwertplaywert

arcade1 wrote:

i got the book in waterstone in cork before christmas.

thanks, will order their

ballroom blitz

Excellent film I was going to check out the sequel but from the comments above maybe I shouldn't bother?

qwertplaywert

well its your own opinion really,im a completist,so ,if i was you,i would seek it out

johnny_ultimate

ballroom blitz wrote:

Excellent film I was going to check out the sequel but from the comments above maybe I shouldn't bother?

Second one has a promising starts but nose dives after the arrival on the new island. Really nose dives. Like, vertical.
Don't ruin your memory of the first. It's that disapointing.

TheIrishGrover

johnny_ultimate wrote:

Second one has a promising starts but nose dives after the arrival on the new island. Really nose dives. Like, vertical.
Don't ruin your memory of the first. It's that disapointing.

Yeah, I mean, if people want to check it out as completists then just rent it. It's fairly shocking how bad it is. I mean, c'mon, where're the binlids as weapons. And that girl who explainted the rules (Funiest bit in original I thought)

adonis

karl hungus wrote:

I think it's an incredibly important film aswell, as it was one of the first Japanese films (Along with Ring) to have spearheaded the still rising popularity of cinema from the far east. Who knows what it would've been like if there was no Battle Royale

i think its more important in that it exposed a lot of people to the "extreme" side of asian cinema..
Akira kurosawa/earlier kitano(sonatine etc) /john woo movies (hard boiled) and films like farewell my concubine and raise the red lantern raised the bar for asian cinema in europe

RAIN

First time i saw this me and my mate watched it again straight afterwards.Brilliant.
Sequel is crap.

corblimey

Compared to the first, the sequel is poor enough, but still compelling enough until it all goes a bit Rambo-esque in the last 10 minutes. Before that, though, some great ideas (

the idea of people being in pairs, the idea that the kids from the first movie being 'the enemy', etc

)

The first movie, though, oh blimey.

theKED

Carcharodon wrote:

Didn't really fall for this mvie like some people have, I found it cheesy and corny with a plot that never really seems to get explained fully, its too silly to make sense.
I probably was expecting too much because of the hype, I think it appeals to people that want controversial mind provoking films but it is very "Hollywod" in alot of ways, there isn't much depth in the characters and I found the whole satire on Japans society a bit off...
I was just a bit let down but would still recomend it to people, might give it another watch myself but i dont think I will change my mind too much

Karl Hungus we are all entitled to our opinions but please
Battle Royale

After sitting through what I can only describe as a monotonously bad movie, I am completely at a loss to come up with a reason why. Is it just cool to say you've seen this? Is it just cool to claim to like it? Or do people out there genuinely think this is a great film? Does this touch a chord out there that I just don't have the capability of understanding? How can I possibly be so far off the mark? How can a movie that is reportedly so riveting and aesthetically engaging literally be putting me within a blink of boredom-induced sleep?

It's based on the novel by Koushun Takami, which reportedly does a much better job fleshing out the allegorical qualities, as well as the commentary on Japanese culture and more feeling for the characters. Not having read it, I'll defer to the opinions of those who have. There's very little to the plot of the actual movie, however. 42 teenage students are taken to a remote deserted island, each given three days to kill each other until only one is left, or everyone dies, as they all wear a deadly collar that tracks them and will explode should they try to remove it. They are all armed with survival kits and one weapon or device to assist in their goals.

Yes, that's actually a movie plot you see above. :eek: It has a premise that might remind you of a "reality TV show" and an execution that derives from almost every dumb teen slasher movie you've seen many times before. At first glance, it would seem like an amusing premise for a satire, yet for large stretches the film takes itself seriously on the one hand, then completely goes for bad over-the-top theatrics and schlock in the other. Basically, everything remains on the level of the visceral, and while it does evoke a reaction when the plot is first introduced, after you've seen the first few teenagers die, the film becomes crippled by its own mechanical plotting. In addition, it's never really clear what the ultimate aim of the "battle royale" program really is, leaving you to the conclusion that the main point of the film is to show lots of titillating violence and sensationalistic elements, and leave the intellectuals to come up with a half-baked theory on what it all is supposed to mean. :eek:

There are some attempts to incorporate a theme of friendship to the mix, as if we are supposed to be mortified that peers can kill peers, even if they know and like each other, but most of the characterisations seem a bit too shallow for us to really give a damn. Instead, there's a lot of flirting where girls still flirt eyes at the boys, some of whom are even still putting on make up, even though they have literally hours left to live. There isn't a heartfelt emotion to be found anywhere among the cast, and writing so inept, it actually is futile to even laugh at.

I suppose there are people who will sit and study this film, probably trying to read a lot into it, but I say, "Why bother?" Even if at its core there is some sort of social commentary to be found, it doesn't really excuse bad storytelling or ridiculous teen suspense gimmicks in order to achieve it. I won't succumb to the controversy or the hype, :cool: and I will concede that a good movie could have been made with the same premise by someone who had better ideas for how to go about it. But with a story this ludicrous and motivations this inane, your mind has to really work overtime trying to come up with your own conclusions as to what is going on , and in a film this action-packed and violent, the fact that you can sit and conjure up theories as to what is going on while viewing it only serves to show how boring the on-screen human drama truly is.

If you want fast-food entertainment of nonstop carnage, by all means enjoy the Battle Royale "with Cheese." Those who want actual food for thought should read "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding for the same tale with real insight and characters you can really feel the tragedy of.

Karl Hungus

theKED wrote:

If you want fast-food entertainment of nonstop carnage, by all means enjoy the Battle Royale "with Cheese."

I think the main problem is you've come into this film with the wrong expectations. Entertainment and nonstop carnage are what BR is really all about. If you've expected otherwise, you were pretty much setting yourself up for a let down.

As I've already outlined, it's very much a B-movie, under better direction. I've no allusions or pretentions as to otherwise, as there's a fair few plot holes, and it really is a film that revels in violence.

It's a cult film. So when I say masterpiece, I say it in the same way that The Evil Dead is a masterpiece; I'm not saying that The Evil Dead is comparible to The Elephant Man, and likewise to compare Battle Royale to anything else with real depth is also folly.

qwertplaywert

like comparing cheeder to cheese

doctor evil

Love that film, the sequel is that as good.

stevejazzx

theKED wrote:

Karl Hungus we are all entitled to our opinions but please
Battle Royale

After sitting through what I can only describe as a monotonously bad movie, I am completely at a loss to come up with a reason why. Is it just cool to say you've seen this? Is it just cool to claim to like it? Or do people out there genuinely think this is a great film? Does this touch a chord out there that I just don't have the capability of understanding? How can I possibly be so far off the mark? How can a movie that is reportedly so riveting and aesthetically engaging literally be putting me within a blink of boredom-induced sleep?

It's based on the novel by Koushun Takami, which reportedly does a much better job fleshing out the allegorical qualities, as well as the commentary on Japanese culture and more feeling for the characters. Not having read it, I'll defer to the opinions of those who have. There's very little to the plot of the actual movie, however. 42 teenage students are taken to a remote deserted island, each given three days to kill each other until only one is left, or everyone dies, as they all wear a deadly collar that tracks them and will explode should they try to remove it. They are all armed with survival kits and one weapon or device to assist in their goals.

Yes, that's actually a movie plot you see above. :eek: It has a premise that might remind you of a "reality TV show" and an execution that derives from almost every dumb teen slasher movie you've seen many times before. At first glance, it would seem like an amusing premise for a satire, yet for large stretches the film takes itself seriously on the one hand, then completely goes for bad over-the-top theatrics and schlock in the other. Basically, everything remains on the level of the visceral, and while it does evoke a reaction when the plot is first introduced, after you've seen the first few teenagers die, the film becomes crippled by its own mechanical plotting. In addition, it's never really clear what the ultimate aim of the "battle royale" program really is, leaving you to the conclusion that the main point of the film is to show lots of titillating violence and sensationalistic elements, and leave the intellectuals to come up with a half-baked theory on what it all is supposed to mean. :eek:

There are some attempts to incorporate a theme of friendship to the mix, as if we are supposed to be mortified that peers can kill peers, even if they know and like each other, but most of the characterisations seem a bit too shallow for us to really give a damn. Instead, there's a lot of flirting where girls still flirt eyes at the boys, some of whom are even still putting on make up, even though they have literally hours left to live. There isn't a heartfelt emotion to be found anywhere among the cast, and writing so inept, it actually is futile to even laugh at.

I suppose there are people who will sit and study this film, probably trying to read a lot into it, but I say, "Why bother?" Even if at its core there is some sort of social commentary to be found, it doesn't really excuse bad storytelling or ridiculous teen suspense gimmicks in order to achieve it. I won't succumb to the controversy or the hype, :cool: and I will concede that a good movie could have been made with the same premise by someone who had better ideas for how to go about it. But with a story this ludicrous and motivations this inane, your mind has to really work overtime trying to come up with your own conclusions as to what is going on , and in a film this action-packed and violent, the fact that you can sit and conjure up theories as to what is going on while viewing it only serves to show how boring the on-screen human drama truly is.

If you want fast-food entertainment of nonstop carnage, by all means enjoy the Battle Royale "with Cheese." Those who want actual food for thought should read "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding for the same tale with real insight and characters you can really feel the tragedy of.

Reading through this thread, I lost all hope for mankind until this.

TheIrishGrover

theKED wrote:

Karl Hungus we are all entitled to our opinions but please
Battle Royale

After sitting through what I can only describe as a monotonously bad movie, I am completely at a loss to come up with a reason why. Is it just cool to say you've seen this? Is it just cool to claim to like it? Or do people out there genuinely think this is a great film? Does this touch a chord out there that I just don't have the capability of understanding? How can I possibly be so far off the mark? How can a movie that is reportedly so riveting and aesthetically engaging literally be putting me within a blink of boredom-induced sleep?

It's based on the novel by Koushun Takami, which reportedly does a much better job fleshing out the allegorical qualities, as well as the commentary on Japanese culture and more feeling for the characters. Not having read it, I'll defer to the opinions of those who have. There's very little to the plot of the actual movie, however. 42 teenage students are taken to a remote deserted island, each given three days to kill each other until only one is left, or everyone dies, as they all wear a deadly collar that tracks them and will explode should they try to remove it. They are all armed with survival kits and one weapon or device to assist in their goals.

Yes, that's actually a movie plot you see above. :eek: It has a premise that might remind you of a "reality TV show" and an execution that derives from almost every dumb teen slasher movie you've seen many times before. At first glance, it would seem like an amusing premise for a satire, yet for large stretches the film takes itself seriously on the one hand, then completely goes for bad over-the-top theatrics and schlock in the other. Basically, everything remains on the level of the visceral, and while it does evoke a reaction when the plot is first introduced, after you've seen the first few teenagers die, the film becomes crippled by its own mechanical plotting. In addition, it's never really clear what the ultimate aim of the "battle royale" program really is, leaving you to the conclusion that the main point of the film is to show lots of titillating violence and sensationalistic elements, and leave the intellectuals to come up with a half-baked theory on what it all is supposed to mean. :eek:

There are some attempts to incorporate a theme of friendship to the mix, as if we are supposed to be mortified that peers can kill peers, even if they know and like each other, but most of the characterisations seem a bit too shallow for us to really give a damn. Instead, there's a lot of flirting where girls still flirt eyes at the boys, some of whom are even still putting on make up, even though they have literally hours left to live. There isn't a heartfelt emotion to be found anywhere among the cast, and writing so inept, it actually is futile to even laugh at.

I suppose there are people who will sit and study this film, probably trying to read a lot into it, but I say, "Why bother?" Even if at its core there is some sort of social commentary to be found, it doesn't really excuse bad storytelling or ridiculous teen suspense gimmicks in order to achieve it. I won't succumb to the controversy or the hype, :cool: and I will concede that a good movie could have been made with the same premise by someone who had better ideas for how to go about it. But with a story this ludicrous and motivations this inane, your mind has to really work overtime trying to come up with your own conclusions as to what is going on , and in a film this action-packed and violent, the fact that you can sit and conjure up theories as to what is going on while viewing it only serves to show how boring the on-screen human drama truly is.

If you want fast-food entertainment of nonstop carnage, by all means enjoy the Battle Royale "with Cheese." Those who want actual food for thought should read "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding for the same tale with real insight and characters you can really feel the tragedy of.

Nyeah, so there!

jackdaw

I didn't much care for this one ....


Maybe it's the style i didn't like .. (it wasn't the violence that put me off)

i dunno .. maybe i need to see more ...