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"The worst piece of news I've heard all day"

Those damn corporate types must have got a message saying:

"Hey guys there's this DVD called Battle Royale that's selling lots and lots of copies and we really don't know why... wanna release a features-packed special edition and cash in?"

Hell yes.

And now here it comes: Battle Royal Special Edition - a 2 DVD box-set comprising the movie with 8 minutes of extra gore (actually a hard feat to pull off) and an alternate ending. And then a second DVD featuring all of this:
Special Edition TV spot.
Special Edition TV spot featuring Quentin Tarantino.
The Making of Battle Royale (50 mins).
Battle Royale press conference (9 mins).
Instructional video: birthday version.
Audition and rehearsal footage.
Special effects comparison featurette.
Tokyo International Film Festival 2000.
Battle Royale documentary (12 mins).
Basketball scene rehearsals.
Behind-the-scenes featurette (10 mins).
Filming on-set (10 mins).
Original theatrical trailer.
Director's statement.
Kinji Fukasaku filmography.
'Beat' Takeshi filmography.
Asia Extreme trailer reel.

(I hate them really I do, because this stuff interests me and I bought the film on its release date, because like when did films with subtitles get special edition re-releases)

grrrr....

Have you guys even seen this film..... it rules. I hate people that bad mouth things they havn't seen or dont understand and if you have seen it then....... BIG POTATOES AND MONKEY CHEESE FROM MARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Intoxicated Hippy wrote:
> The full uncut
> version is only available in Japan, most versions have a good 20
> minutes cut off

I know - I got the chinese dvd and was dissappointed to hear of the 20 minute cuts, so I ordered the Japanese DVD. The Chinese version is nasty but the Japanese Version takes the buscuit!

Shame it might not come out here because despite the excessive gore/maiming/torture/sadism/masochism etc it is actually a great film!

Mouldy Cheese wrote:
> Mystique wrote:
> I'll give you a shiny penny for it.
>
> I'll up that to £1.
*******
£1.18

Sadat-X wrote:
> On the subject of Takashi Miike
> Here's hoping Ichi the Killer gets throught the BBFC unscathed
> (unlikely as the chinese censors hacked almost a quarter of an hour
> out)

That's about as likely as Bill Gates getting laid. The full uncut version is only available in Japan, most versions have a good 20 minutes cut off. The BBFC head dude is quoted as saying

"I'm watching this unpleasant Japanese gangster film at the moment featuring sustained sadism, which is either going to have to be fantastically cut or refused a licence, It's like having your teeth pulled out."

and that's the pre-cut version he's talking about. Definetly gonna be a DVD to stear clear of.

Mr.Snuggly wrote:
> Nuts. Now I'll have to buy this too. I've still got a skaggy old
> Region 2 version of Dogma, if anyone wants it.

--

Did you go and buy the Region 1 Special Edition?....Mmm, so many special features..

I refuse to get it because of the Region 1ness. Damn Yanks. So I won't.

Speciallllll featureesss...

As this is an oriental film themed topic you may be interested in the following from Hong Kong Legends:

October 21st - The Killer - £19.99


Digitally re-mastered and restored Anamorphic Widescreen transfer

Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio

Feature length audio commentary with HK Cinema Expert Bey Logan

Art Gallery - A Series of stunning images from the movie and conceptual artwork campaigns

Interview with producer Tsui Hark and leading-man Chow Yun-fat

Interview Gallery with leading lady Sally Yeh, co-star Kenneth Tsang and cinematographer Peter Pau

Extensive gallery of rare deleted scenes

Trailer Archive

WOHOO!

On the subject of Takashi Miike
Here's hoping Ichi the Killer gets throught the BBFC unscathed (unlikely as the chinese censors hacked almost a quarter of an hour out)

But back to Battle Royale. I think you'll find that the special edition with the extra 8 minutes is in fact LESS violent. Fresh from the IMDB:

"When the movie was first released in Japan, it was classified as R-15, meaning that noone under the age of 15 could see it. However, director Kinji Fukasaku went back and edited some of the more violent scenes along with filming some new ones to create a "Special Version" which people under the age of 15 can see.

"8 minutes were added to the 'Special Version' to bring the running time to 121 mins. Around 100 edits were made to the movie including consideringly amping up the sound during the violent scenes. Among the scenes added to the Special Version were: a flashback to a basketball match that Shuya and Mimura played in school; an extended speech given by Kitano to the students; after Mimura hacks the computer system, Kitano shuts down the power to the monitors and acts very ambivalent to it; an alternate 'requiem' ending."

So they give us a less violent version with tons of extras (presumably from the Japanese DVD). Why these extras couldn't be put on the loverrrly 5.1 Progressive scan NTSC DVD is beyond me. So basically this is the third release of Battle Royale by the same company!
I'll still buy it though ;)

Mystique wrote:
> I'll give you a shiny penny for it.

I'll up that to £1.

I'll give you a shiny penny for it.

Nuts. Now I'll have to buy this too. I've still got a skaggy old Region 2 version of Dogma, if anyone wants it.