Disc One: Battle Royale: Special Edition and Disc Four: Special Features

Battle Royale: Special Edition, also known as the Director’s Cut, is an interesting exercise in framing. Though the film is only eight minutes longer, the added footage is a beautiful and moving addition to the film. The big change is the inclusion of a series of flashbacks to a basketball game. They define the dynamics between the students and serve to remind the audience that these are children fighting to the death. Mistuko also receives more backstory than her initial fight scene provides and a trio of requiems that add just a bit more joy to the proceedings. I prefer the Special Edition to the original because of the added focus on the class dynamics and would rate it 10/10. Obviously, if you haven’t seen the film, start with the original. The director’s cut is for the die hard fans who want just a bit more flash and backstory.

While the Special Edition is a great bonus, the special features disc is a great letdown. There is a series of short documentaries about the creation of Battle Royale focusing on different elements. One interviews most of the 42 students about their own thoughts on the film. Another shows Fukasaku’s demanding directorial style.

The problem is that the subtitles on these special features are atrocious. The directorial documentary is almost unwatchable. Fukasaku talks a lot to the crew and cast, yet we get maybe one subtitle per scene in the documentary. He says a lot more than one sentence, so clearly we’re losing a lot in translation.

The one completely subtitled scene was the promo scene to sell The Complete Collection. It is a look into the first reprimand in the introduction to the games. Fukasaku forces Beat Takeshi, who plays the teacher, to throw a piece of chalk at a talkative student over and over. He even screams that the girl was hired to be hit with chalk and that Beat Takeshi needs to throw the actual chalk–not the stunt chalk–harder for the scene to work. If the rest of the doc showed Fukasaku’s approach with translations, I would be very happy.

Sadly, the translation issue goes beyond not subtitling the cast and creative team’s words. The features are useless to anyone who hasn’t committed the film to memory. Huge scenes of dialogue from the film are shown without a single word translated. If you don’t remember all 42 tributes, what they say, and why they die, you’ll be lost. End of story.

This fourth disc is so disappointing after the incredible quality of the transfer of the three films. A Battle Royale fan who wants both versions of the first film and the sequel should still go ahead and buy The Complete Edition Blu-ray. Everything from the sound to the color to the presentation of the menus will drive a fan wild. Otherwise, the special features and sequel probably aren’t enough to convert those with only a passing interest in the franchise. Stick to the one disc Blu-ray at half the cost and be thankful that you can see this amazing film in glorious detail.

Thoughts? Love to hear them.

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