years after its initial release, it remains of the most ground-breaking pictures to ever come from Asian cinema.

There’s also an abundance of poor-quality CG effects—some of which have been improved in the Revenge cut, but not enough to make a real difference. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our site, provide personalised content and advertising, analyse our traffic, and ensure you see more of what you love. As Japanese society descends into anarchy, new laws are passed in an attempt to deter the country's wayward youth, and a class of high school students is chosen at random and dumped on a deserted island, where they're forced to kill each other until only one remains. As much as the 4K restoration brings extra clarity and sharpness to the visuals, it can’t reveal shadow detail that has never been present. Though conceivably motivated from a story perspective, the concept would have required careful and nuanced writing and direction to pull off, not to mention a story that was far more thoughtful and restrained.org, one of the premier destinations on the web to discuss DVD releases from The Criterion Collection, Masters of Cinema, and other DVD production companies from around the world. The film is an adaptation of Koushun Takami’s 1999 novel of the same name, with the film’s screenplay written by Kenta Fukasaku, music composed by Masamichi Amano, and distributed by Toei Company. That’s virtually all of the special features that have been produced over the years (save for a few items created by Capelight Pictures’ for recent German BD releases). I laugh every time when he claps along with the chipper TV instructor as she tells the students how best to knock each other off.

There’s not a lot between the two versions, and I feel like the Special Edition was a smidge softer. Overall detail is a bit muddy looking, with the image having a soft and digitally-processed appearance (it’s likely baked into the original DI).

Overseeing the carnage is ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano ( Sonatine, Hana-bi, Zatoichi) as the teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges. The Original Theatrical Version on Disc 1 gets a 4k restoration of the original camera negative which you can read more about in the booklet with the first disc. With schoolchildren all over the country growing increasingly delinquent, the Japanese government takes decisive action and introduces the Battle Royale Act. In expanding the target of the teen characters’ rage from the authoritarian Japanese government that wronged them to the entire world of adults—a deliberate commentary on the real-life bloodshed happening around the globe at the time—the filmmakers muddied their story and served its characters poorly.

Each of the discs is packaged in its own cardboard and plastic Mediabook, which then tuck into a sturdy slipcase, all of it adorned with great new cover artwork. That isn’t in a good way either, as he overacts his way through the entire film, full of grand gestures and histrionics that make him seem more like a game show host. It’s a great soundtrack, and an excellent addition to the collection, although the end theme by Dragon Ash is notable by its absence. Compared to the previous Anchor Bay Blu-ray release—which often looked washed out, with grayed blacks, and excessive DNR and edge enhancement—the improvement in image detail is absolutely tremendous.It is better than the DVD release, although the aspect ratio does suggest that there has been some degree of cropping (or open matte). I noticed that some of the killings have had blood-spatter digitally added - it's incredibly obvious but since most of the deaths were nowhere near as messy as they should have been it sort of helps.