At around late
December 2000, a visit to Aint It Cool News
reported on a "sick" new Japanese film
called "Battle Royal" (sic). Captivated
by the idea of a large group of students forced
to kill each other, I would spend the next 6
months researching the movie, looking for anyway
humanly possible to see it (other than visiting
Japan or the US... I ain't that well off!). 6
months of Japanese fansites that I couldn't
understand a word of, reviews from various
sources and a lot of bad, misleading information.
I opened a file on my hard drive titled "br"
and threw every picture, file, webpage,
soundclip, trailer I could get my hands on from
the movie. Downloading the trailer for BR was the
first real domino to fall in a chain reaction
that would continue up until today...
It was 1min 48secs. It was completely in Japanese.
It was simply fantastic. I watched it and watch
it and watched it. You're probably thinking to
yourself "Jesus! This is one sad man!".
Its not as if I sat in front of the computer and
literally played it over and over but anytime I'd
need reassurance on the film, I'd open Media
Player and let it rip. By this stage I was
devoted to BR and I'd go out of my way to see it
no matter what....
Then the ray of light I had waited for. June 1st
2001. DDDHouse make a preorder for a VCD
available! Being an avid online shopper, ordering
from a store I'd never used before in Hong Kong
didn't stop me from "Proceding to Checkout".
2 weeks of impatient emailing and my disc arrived.
Friday 15th June 2001. I watched it. I loved it.
You can probably guess the rest of the story.
Since then I've seen it countless times (literally...
I've actually lost count!) The VCD was my saviour
and I was a happy camper. I never thought I'd get
to see it in a theatre.
Roll on September 14th 2001 and Battle Royale
finally gets a release in the UK and Ireland. A
very limited release... but a release none the
less! So limited in fact that it was playing in
ONE cinema in the whole of Ireland. And so I had
a new goal... After the tragedy in New York,
there was a day of mourning and so that cinema
was closed (and rightly so, it is a deeply
saddening ordeal). So I waited a week.... a l-o-n-g
week, I tell you! But Friday came and the only
choice I had was to skip college and make the
journey to the Irish Film Centre in Temple Bar,
Dublin.
After a tiring and arduous bus journey (ok, so it
wasn't that bad.... I slept and listened to a
walkman, I'm just trying to liven up a
particularly boring tale!) I had arrived at the
capital and met with a friend who lives there.
Another Battle Royale fan, who has as much a love
for it as I do (and an unhealthy love for
Kiriyama might I add.... Barry! Get a room! ....
Just kidding...don't kill me)
So we took our seats at 4.20 and sat through some of the most
mind-numbingly bad adverts I've ever seen (although the trailer
for "The Iron Ladies" looked interesting) There was
a small group present there. About 20 or so in the whole theatre.
Mostly middle aged people as well. "Eh?" I asked myself.
I didn't think BR had that appeal. Go figure. And then it started.
The Toei Logo hit the screen and BOOM! Verdis "Requiem"
blasting out over all the speakers. I knew I had never seen Battle
Royale properly before at this moment. Goosebumps rose on my arms
and the hair stood on the back of my neck (No, I'm not kidding....
sad isn't it?) Constant grin on my face for the next hour and
fifty-three minutes. The small gathering reacted to all the scenes
appropriately. The most interesting reaction was at the Kiriyama/Kusaka
& Yukiko "Call For Peace" scene. At the line "Yukikos
always had a crush on you..." there was laughter from the
audience which was suddenly halted by the sound of gunfire. I'm
glad there were no "Gore-hounds" there. The kinds of
people who get off on violence. My feeling is, is that if you
watch Battle Royale simply for the violence, then you're missing
the point of the whole thing. Other high points of the showing:
the incredible bass when Kitano threw the knife at Fujiyoushi;
the rear surround channels were a treat considering I had been
weaned on a bad quality VCD; staying for the credits and finding
out from the credits that Takeshi Kitano actually painted that
painting.
I had seen BR many times before the IFC showing (some
would say too many times) but seeing it on a big
screen with surround sound is one of the most
memorable cinema experiences I've had. Its
heightened my feelings for the movie and sparked
an even greater interest in the film for me.
Since the theatrical release, this site has
recieved a huge boost in hits and I'm very
grateful for them. Its nice to see the site
getting recognition after 5 months of being
online!
So in closing... I'll say this. See Battle Royale
in a cinema. Forget VCD. Forget bootlegged copies.
They may tide you over, but this is a theatrical
experience and is intended to be seen in all its
glory. Run... don't walk to the cinema, slap your
hard earned cash on the counter and buy as many
tickets as possible.
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Written on
28th September 2001 by
webmaster - < bawp-sherep >
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