DVD
Battle Royale:
DTS Two Disc Special Edition

Starring: Beat Takeshi, Fujiwara Tatsuya and Maeda Aki
Tartan Video (Asia Extreme)
RRP £22.99
TVD 3457
Certificate: 18
Available now


At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is in a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and violence amongst the nation's youth is spiralling out of control. A beleaguered and near-defeated government decides to introduce a radical new measure: the Battle Royale Act. This Act decrees that periodically a randomly chosen school class be taken to a deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death, the Act dictates that only one pupil be allowed to survive the punishment...

Part of the Asia Extreme range from Tartan Video, Battle Royale is a black comedy which pits friend against friend in a mass fight to the death. Look around your workplace now and ask yourself whether, if you had to, you would kill everyone around you to ensure your own survival. Most of us would like to think that we wouldn't but, once placed in an environment where it's you or them, the fight for self-preservation soon sets in. Paranoia is a powerful thing and, like the youngsters depicted in this movie, the chances are you will be forced to kill someone in self-defence.

The Battle Royale act itself is an unfair one - because not every class will be unruly and some pupils do want to learn. Part of the charm of this movie is that we can relate to these children. While hardly any of them voluntarily go to school, they are not totally evil children. In fact, the majority of the class want to stick together and ensure no one kills anyone. The only problem with that is that at the end of the battle there can be only one survivor.

Each pupil is given a bag which contains a map of the island, provisions and a random weapon - which can be anything from a saucepan lid to a machine gun. All the pupils are electronically tagged with an explosive device which is programmed to explode if tampered with or if the pupils are in certain zones of the island at certain times (information on these danger zones is broadcast on a PA system across the island). If after three days there is more than one pupil alive, all remaining contestants will be instantly killed. The winner isn't really a winner because they will have had to kill people they care about, and now have no friends to speak of.

Just about every possible way of killing someone is explored - from suicide to decapitation. The humour plays an important role in the movie. Given a choice, almost all of the children don't want to take part in this ridiculous charade. So asking if your friend is "alright" when he is running around with an axe in his head is pretty amusing - it's the sort of thing you would say, and at the same time is a stupid question to ask.

There are an impressive array of extras on the second disc, but the only ones that are really worth giving your full attention to are the two documentaries and the special effects comparison. On the actually movie itself, there are an additional eight minutes of footage and an extended ending.

To be totally honest, the movie itself is worth the asking price and the extras are just the icing on the cake. The DTS soundtrack isn't really necessary (this film doesn't really warrant it, and the 5.1 surround track is adequate) but it is great to see that Tartan are releasing a number of DTS DVDs at present.

It doesn't get much better than this. Along with The Matrix and Akia, this is one movie that should be on everybody's "must buy" list. And Tartan Video have ensured that serious film collectors will not be disappointed.

Darren Rea

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£17.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
   
£19.99 (Blackstar.co.uk)
   
£19.99 (Streetsonline.co.uk)

All prices correct at time of going to press.