The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used except with the prior written permission of The Digital Bits, Inc. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.

Sent to a remote island under the guise of a field trip, they awake (after having been gassed) in a warehouse under military guard and are told by their old teacher Kitano (played by Takeshi Kitano, aka Beat Takeshi) that they have three days to fight each other to the death.The narrative is defiant and angry, establishing the characters within moments of their on-screen appearance and then stripping their emotions down to the core. Playing like a turbo-charged hybrid of Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game, the final completed work by veteran yakuza-film director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Graveyard of Honor) helped launch a new wave of appreciation for Asian cinema in the 21st century. Those foreign production companies have also realised that they are on to a good thing if companies like Arrow, Eureka, and 88 Films are willing to shell out for those restorations, as they wind up getting the cleaner transfers as well.

Arrow Films, also known as Arrow Video, is an independent UK distributor for Asian Cinema, Spaghetti Westerns, Italian Cinema, Horror, Cult Classics and Action. But I will say the only additional parts which I thought added anything essential to the film were a flashback to Mitsuko's childhood (be assured it's as creepy as one might reasonably expect), and a re-telling of Noriko's dream in one of three "Requiems" at the end of the film. In the disc 1 digipack, you’ll find a 52 page booklet with cast lists for both films, although the essays, two new and one from 2010 are for Battle Royale. Having been selected as this year’s participants, the class are taken to a remote island where they will be forced to fight and kill each other until only one remains. For those of you who may already own previous editions of these films on disc, the good news is that everything from the 2012 Starz/Anchor Bay Blu-ray has carried over here, as well as all of the extras from the 2010 Arrow Video UK Blu-ray release, and the 2002 Tartan DVD too.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.

Overseeing the carnage is ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano ( Sonatine, Hana-bi, Zatoichi) as the teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges. Including one card for the rules of the game, there are 42 cards featuring the characters, and their vital statistics.Kinji Fukasaku (深作 欣二), born in Mito, Japan in 1930, is known for his work on a number of action/yakuza themed films throughout this career.

There’s not a lot between the two versions, and I feel like the Special Edition was a smidge softer. ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS - Brand new 4K restoration of the Original Theatrical Version and Special Edition Director’s Cut of Battle Royale from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by Kenta Fukasaku - 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation of both versions of Battle Royale in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) - High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Battle Royale II: Requiem theatrical cut and the Battle Royale II: Revenge extended cut - Original 5.All told, Arrow Video’s new Battle Royale: Limited Edition is a spectacular box set for fans of this film.