Battle Royale
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. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing their teachers, a beleagured and near-defeated government decides to introduce a radical new measure: the Battle Royale Act.
Overseen by a former teacher, (Takeshi Kitano), and requiring that 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. He or she will return, not as the victor, but as the ultimate proof of the lengths to which the government are prepared to go to curb the tide of juvenile disobediance.
Likened to Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' by many critics, this explosive film shocked a nation with its violent portrayal of a society in ruins.
Battle Royale 2
Three years after the events of the original Battle Royale, survivor of the game Shuya Nanahara is now an internationally-known terrorist and, leading his group known as Wild Seven, is determined to bring down the government.
To counter this new threat, the government enacts the "New Century Terrorist Counter - Measure Alternative" program, (a.k.a. the Battle Royale II act), and sends the forty-two students of Shikanotoride Junior High Class 3-B to hunt Nanahara and his cohorts down in their island stronghold. Shiori Kitano, the daughter of the late headmaster of Nanahara's first Battle Royale, signs up for the program, to avenge her father. In order for the government to study the benefits of "teamwork", the new students are forced to work in pairs with their collars electronically linked so that if one of them is killed, the other dies as well. They must kill Nanahara in three days or die...
Director Kinji Fukasaku died during the making of the film and so it fell to his son Kenta to complete this apocalyptic vision, in the process turning it into an even bigger box-office smash than the original in Japan. Liberally soaked in black humour and satirical comments on current world affairs, it's set for cult status, endorsed by Tarantino in 'Kill Bill - Vol 1'. The fight for survival is on!
Region 0
Disc : 2
Languages : Japanese
Subtitles : English, Chinese
