After a long wait, I finally had a chance to see BATTLE ROYALE 2 yesterday (it just came out on DVD here in Japan). Although I can’t say that I much cared for the ending, the first half of the film is truly excellent. I like how they’ve managed to do a nice update of the BR concept, adding new rules that make it more, ahem, explosive. And you gotta love the scene when Riki Takeuchi, taking over as the new teacher (Takeshi Kitano, the teacher in the first film, has a cameo), introduces himself as… RIKI TAKEUCHI! He’s a bit over the top in the role, but it’s what makes him so much fun to watch. Although it doesn’t beat the first film, if you were a fan of that one, you’ll probably like this one too.
2003.12.30
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Oh I loved the first one. I saw it twice at the Cinematheque Ontario and had a blast. Most people of course where a bit… “disturbed” by the images.
The DVD doesn’t by any chance feature English Subtitles?
Nope. But I think the first BR got released in North America, so expect an eventual release of the second one.
If it did then not under this name. I was looking for it after I saw it in the theater….
Amazon doesn’t list it, neither does IMDB show it as available in the US / Canada. It does seem to be available in the UK though.
The first Battle Royale never got released in north america, though I believe it’s rights were recently bought, so it’ll be out in 2004 maybe.
Anyone who’s seen it somewhere in north america has seen a bootleg. I got my bootleg battle royale dvd in Russia (with english subtitles!).
Hi Matt,
I only saw it in the Theater, an Arthouse of all places ;) Didn’t know what it was, just saw Takeshi in the announcement and decided to go catch it.
Then went back the next day for the second screening.
But if someone really bought the rights, maybe it will come out this year..
The UK DVD release of BATTLE ROYALE (well, one of the four different releases from Tartan Video anyway) is actually NTSC and region 0, so US viewers who have seen the movie may not necessarily have seen bootleg copies. BATTLE ROYALE 2 is supposedly opening in UK theaters in March this year, so I guess a subtitled dvd is not an unlikely thing to hope for.
I have the region 3 DVD from Hong Kong, which has English subs. People with region-free DVD players (and frankly, if you’re into Asian films it’s a must) probably have this version.
I loved the first film, but I wasn’t convinced by the sequel at all. After a promising start, the whole explosive collar idea is ditched in favour of blatantly silly fighting (the Japanese army do know about basic concepts like tactics, right?), protracted deathbed speech moments, and a level of implausibility that made the first film look realistic. Terrible.
I agree with you that the second half is definitely not great, but the whole intro speach by Riki Takeuchi is great, and I also love when the kids first arrive on the island. After they enter the compound, it’s all downhill.
I got br korean versian…and i live in north america and its not bootleg……..its an import from japan…its a great film….WERE CAN I FIND 2!!!
I BOUGHT A REGION FREE DVD WITH THE SUBTITLES. IT HAS COPYRIGHT LAWS ON THE DISC, ARTWORK, ETC. AS FAR AS I KNOW…..IS COMPLETELY LEGAL. REGION FREE ARE NOT ILLEGAL TO OWN, RENT, SELL, ETC. GREAT MOVIE……GETTING OVER-PLAYED……ALMOST TIME TO REPLACE IT. TAKE CARE EVERYBODY!
I LIVE IN CANADA AND THE U.S. BY THE WAY
Dave, the Region FREE DVD of BR2 (presuming you’re talking about that, and not BR) is illegal (not that I care, 50% of my DVD collection is bootlegged).
I picked up the 2-Disc Region 3 version of BR2 recently, and I must say, I was quite impressed with it actually. No, it didn’t live up to BR, but then I was never expecting it to. I thought it had some lovely moments though, and some brilliant action sequences. Plus, there’s our “Gamera 3″ chick Ai Maeda folks! :)
I loooooooved #1 but BR2 is one of the worst movies ever. The cheesy joke acting, the rip-offs of Private Ryan, and the shameless exploiting of terror because of a lack of ideas.