Post by The Warden on Sept 25, 2012 11:55:37 GMT -5
Review written by: Timothy Ira
"Aaaah, nothing more relaxing than a cold, red, thick, beverage after a hard evening of digging another grave. For you sick minded people it's V8, not blood, I'm no vampire...yet. Today we review "Battle Royale" another foreign horror film that comes to us from Japan based on a novel written by Koushun Takami. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku and adapted to film by Mr. Takami himself and Kenta Fukasaku. Starring Takeshi Kitano, who also was our belovd Zatoichi the blind swordsman, Chiaki Kuriyama, who played Go-go in Kill Bill, and Tatsuya Fujiwara, who voiced Light Yagami in the fantastic Death Note series.
Battle Royale is a film about a future where Japan is losing it's identity and in an effort to discipline the nation's people as well as entertain them for corporate dollars it established the Battle Royale Act. Japan fears that it's youth are slipping away from national pride, old time traditions and cultural identity and instead of taking a calm educational method to bring them back into the fold; it adopts a much more strict form of bringing them in line: they kill them. They not only kill them they televise it and rake in the millions of dollar it's sagging economy so badly needs to help re-vitalize itself. Seems like an okay plan right? And they would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those pesky kids! Just to make sure we're all paying attention and to show the film is trying to take itself seriously it starts off by showing the winner of that years Battle Royale and zooms in on a smiling girl covered in blood and holding a gore stained plushie. She is billed as the first time a girl has won Battle Royale and marks a historic occassion.
This is just chicken feed compared to the rest of the film but you must pay attention that is for sure. It can get a little confusing as adapting this from abook to a film means cutting out a few significant parts of the story that I think would have really added weight to the film. Alas, there is only so much time a film can adapt for. The acting at times is a little over exaggerated but it can be excused as many of the actors at this stage in their lives are first timers and teens. Takeshi Kitano brings his usual fantastic grim face to really add weight to the character we all love to hate as the teacher. And the shots are very well done to help bring that element of shock and suspense and it certainly does NOT shy away from the more bloody scenes.
Unfortunately, it is sub titled and I don't think there is a dubbed version out there, although I haven't really looked, sometimes different voices take away from the feeling of the film so I think you should see the subbed version. The subtle political messages are not lost but again you must really pay attention but it is very thought provoking in the direction a country takes when backed against the wall of potentional cultural extinction.
The only downsides I can think of in being completely honest is that some of the acting is a little hammy, a lot has been cut from the book and there is a need to want to know more about other characters who get killed off instead of a few seconds of dialog. The picture is a little dark and it DOES add to the feel and tension but during the night scenes it makes thigs a tad difficult. So with that in mind this film will not be entering the grave and instead be erected within the tomb of treasured horror films and it deserves all 8 out of 10 skulls!"
View the original Grave Reflections entry here: www.facebook.com/#!/groups/horrorfans1978/doc/416865065027450/
"Aaaah, nothing more relaxing than a cold, red, thick, beverage after a hard evening of digging another grave. For you sick minded people it's V8, not blood, I'm no vampire...yet. Today we review "Battle Royale" another foreign horror film that comes to us from Japan based on a novel written by Koushun Takami. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku and adapted to film by Mr. Takami himself and Kenta Fukasaku. Starring Takeshi Kitano, who also was our belovd Zatoichi the blind swordsman, Chiaki Kuriyama, who played Go-go in Kill Bill, and Tatsuya Fujiwara, who voiced Light Yagami in the fantastic Death Note series.
Battle Royale is a film about a future where Japan is losing it's identity and in an effort to discipline the nation's people as well as entertain them for corporate dollars it established the Battle Royale Act. Japan fears that it's youth are slipping away from national pride, old time traditions and cultural identity and instead of taking a calm educational method to bring them back into the fold; it adopts a much more strict form of bringing them in line: they kill them. They not only kill them they televise it and rake in the millions of dollar it's sagging economy so badly needs to help re-vitalize itself. Seems like an okay plan right? And they would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those pesky kids! Just to make sure we're all paying attention and to show the film is trying to take itself seriously it starts off by showing the winner of that years Battle Royale and zooms in on a smiling girl covered in blood and holding a gore stained plushie. She is billed as the first time a girl has won Battle Royale and marks a historic occassion.
This is just chicken feed compared to the rest of the film but you must pay attention that is for sure. It can get a little confusing as adapting this from abook to a film means cutting out a few significant parts of the story that I think would have really added weight to the film. Alas, there is only so much time a film can adapt for. The acting at times is a little over exaggerated but it can be excused as many of the actors at this stage in their lives are first timers and teens. Takeshi Kitano brings his usual fantastic grim face to really add weight to the character we all love to hate as the teacher. And the shots are very well done to help bring that element of shock and suspense and it certainly does NOT shy away from the more bloody scenes.
Unfortunately, it is sub titled and I don't think there is a dubbed version out there, although I haven't really looked, sometimes different voices take away from the feeling of the film so I think you should see the subbed version. The subtle political messages are not lost but again you must really pay attention but it is very thought provoking in the direction a country takes when backed against the wall of potentional cultural extinction.
The only downsides I can think of in being completely honest is that some of the acting is a little hammy, a lot has been cut from the book and there is a need to want to know more about other characters who get killed off instead of a few seconds of dialog. The picture is a little dark and it DOES add to the feel and tension but during the night scenes it makes thigs a tad difficult. So with that in mind this film will not be entering the grave and instead be erected within the tomb of treasured horror films and it deserves all 8 out of 10 skulls!"
View the original Grave Reflections entry here: www.facebook.com/#!/groups/horrorfans1978/doc/416865065027450/