Talk:Battle Royale (film)

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"Issues" in translation[edit]

These are not "issues" with the translation. For examples, switching the names to the Western convention of given name first followed by family name is quite common in a wide array of media. Also the problems with translating keigo into English have more to do with the language than the film itself. These are standard practices and I think this section should be removed.

--66.235.50.103 07:22, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I disagree. There is no such thing as a standard translation. Almost all sub-titling efforts fall short, but this particular scene falls radically short and misses the whole point of the social commentary of the movie. Look at the recent comments about Casshern. It is important for readers to know what to look out for when watching these movies, or rather from the encyclopedic standpoint, to know exactly what it was that this was about to begin with. In other movies recently, I've seen the Japanese word for shit variously translated as damn, asshole, etc. When you hire an academic to do these translations you invariable miss out on street language and connotations. The things said in this scene in Battle Royale are not the sort of thing you are even permitted to discuss with a teacher of Japanese, so good luck finding a "standard" translation. Jok2000 18:32, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I came to this discussion page to say nearly the exact same thing as the first comment here: the 'translation problems' section just pads out an already overlong article, and is uninteresting and useless. It's generally understood that something is "lost in translation" whenever anything is translated from any language to any other language, that's why we have such a ubiquitous figure of speech. This is not an extraordinarily pressing case. Tiny issues may seem of vital importance to fans, considering considering the film's status as a "cult classic." Please remember that only a small minority of people who read this article will have seen it, and of those who have, only a very tiny group will care about its very minutia. This article is for the purpose of general information. Translation issues deserve a minor mention in another section. They do not deserve their own section.Youdontsmellbad (talk) 04:51, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]


It's also worth noting that subtitles aren't a transcript of a film, but there for people to understand what's happening. You'll notice that dialogue is often simplified or shortened in same language subtitles, so I don't think we need this paragraphe 15:24, 23 May 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hrcolyer (talk • contribs)

High Importance[edit]

This article is rated high importance for the WikiProject Japan. What?!?


Region 0? Really?[edit]

I received the Tartan release of the film in the mail today after ordering it from the UK. I used it on my American DVD player and it would not work, despite the fact that I have used Region 0 DVDs that worked just fine before. Why is this clearly marked Region 0 copy useless?

--The previous unsigned comment was made by Jsnruf on 08 July 2007.
I have answered this question on Jsnruf's talk page. In summary, Jsnruf's DVD player in the USA is likely using the NTSC format and, despite the Region 0 encoding, cannot play the Tartan DVD, which is from the UK using the PAL format. Freedomlinux (talk) 19:57, 16 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comments[edit]

I just watched this film tonight, definetly a very good film, and I havn't seen one like it for a long time, I was expecting a different ending from the start where that young girl is said to have "won", but I guess that was just a BR from the "past". Ranks in my top 10 anyway, definetly a film to see before you die.

-same with me, I was thinking that the girl won but it was just the previous

- Not for me. Just brutal violence, totally weird, as a critic of the society we are in, okay.... but... still. That's not funny, that's not cinema, that's not... maybe if I will have rose in Japan and understood the cultural habits around education, I may would have a clue, but here... that's just crude violence around teenagers. If you are seeking blood and emotion in a film, you may prefer a Romero's or even something more rated for adults, but there...

And by the way, the girl who has won in the beginning could have been the girl that the veteran supposed to have killed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.13.143.245 (talk) 22:51, 29 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Special Version[edit]

Does anyone have a little more information on this? I spotted it just short of going mad: a recent TV showing was missing several scenes I'm convinced I've seen, I even rewatched my DVD copy, but there was no basketball scene. However I know exactly the one the article's cast list refers to. It's a strong team work contrast to the island game, as well as a minor but emotional epilogue with Kuninobu boucing the basketball to Shuya from the gallery above. ((I'm not making this up right?)) --J-Kama-Ka-C 10:06, 20 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You are correct. The Special Version aka Director's Cut is about ten minutes longer than the original cut. It adds the basketball game, Mitsuko's flashback, the three epilogues at the end, etc. Monsieurxander 12:29, 15 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

YouTube links[edit]

This article is one of thousands on Wikipedia that have a link to YouTube in it. Based on the External links policy, most of these should probably be removed. I'm putting this message here, on this talk page, to request the regular editors take a look at the link and make sure it doesn't violate policy. In short: 1. 99% of the time YouTube should not be used as a source. 2. We must not link to material that violates someones copyright. If you are not sure if the link on this article should be removed or you would like to help spread this message contact us on this page. Thanks, ---J.S (t|c) 03:42, 10 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

ARE YOU SERIOUS?74.195.3.11 18:23, 9 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Has the YouTube Link been removed? I can't find it anywhere. Tinkleheimer 05:54, 10 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It was removed when the notice was posted there. The point being that if you see any youtube links which violate copyright on other articles, those should be removed as well. Doctor Sunshine 13:18, 10 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Which is a little absurd and not necessary.199.80.117.24 20:39, 9 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Why is it uneccessary? It violates copyrights. I personally don't agree with most of the copyright laws, but...--Orthologist 14:28, 10 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Screenshots[edit]

Could someone please look around for good screenshots to explain the plot? I'm thinking one of all of them in the classroom, and then two or three others that show the main characters.--Supernumerary 06:22, 30 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I went ahead and found some. However, I would be really grateful if someone would cut this image in half leaving just the top one.--Supernumerary 06:05, 7 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Shogo's 'revenge'?[edit]

In the article, it's said that Shogo's resolve for fighting on the island is to avenge his dead girlfriend, but that's not entirely correct? In the film, anyhow, Keiko dies with a smile on her face, and this confounds Shogo. He wants to unravel the 'riddle' of why she smiled, that is his given reason for returning.

It's basically the SAME thing I GUESS, but really, he isn't getting revenge, since he was the one who kills her. Effef 08:16, 3 January 2007 (UTC)—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Effef (talk • contribs) 08:16, 3 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

  • Kawada wants revenge on the government and the Program itself, and in doing so he can avenge Keiko. Kitano realises this, as is subtitled - unsubtitled is his reference to Mimura attacking the school, and Kitano confirming that the successful one was Kawada not Mimura. With his death, Kawada does find out why she sacrificed herself for him (a joint aim) - she had found a true friend for whom she was willing to die in him, just as he did with Shuya and Noriko. Addyboy 15:46, 2 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

References in pop culture[edit]

I'm moving this whole section here, since it's totally unreferenced, and degrades the quality of the article. If someone wants to write an actual encyclopedic section about Battle Royale in Pop Culture, then maybe these will come in handy - if you can reference them. Otherwise, this article definitely doesn't need yet another list of unverifiable trivia. --21:02, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

  • In Fox's "The OC" Season 4, Ryan finds out Taylor bribed Roger to pretend to like her with a "Kitano action figurine" to make Ryan jealous.
  • Also in the television show "The OC", a fictional film titled Yakuza Prep makes a few appearances and is based on the same storyline and characters of Battle Royale.
  • The anime series School Rumble features a spoof of Battle Royale in episodes 2 and 3 of the second season. The main characters of the series all engage on a "survival game" to determine what the theme of their gig for the year's culture fest is going to be. They capture the spirit of the movie with School Rumble's unique comedic air, down to characters revealing their love for one another before dying and characters committing suicide mid-game.
  • Two references to Battle Royale appear in Shaun of the Dead. First when Shaun and Ed are being attacked by a zombie in their flat, a stylized poster from Battle Royale is on their wall. Second when Shaun uses ties his tie around on his head, and the wrap looks much like the head wrap for Kawada in the film. Most American viewers would see the appearance of the tie wrapped around his head being a reference to the Rambo character from First Blood, but Simon Pegg himself states that it was a reference to The Deer Hunter. At one point in the movie, a few seconds of Pegg wearing the tie, cigarette in mouth, checking a switch in semi-darkness almost exactly parallel a few from Battle Royale.
  • In the film Thank You for Smoking the main character's boss is named BR for what he did in Vietnam. As this is said red X's are drawn through the faces of a black and white photo to make the reference even more obvious.
  • An episode of Invader Zim entitled Dark Harvest has Zim having a "hall pass" collar placed on his neck which will explode should he leave his school's grounds.
  • In issue 9 of Warren Ellis' Global Frequency comic, a member by the name of Takashi, while speaking to a ex-comrade about his past in the organization, references Battle Royale as an actual event he investigated. He stated in anger, "You sent me to an island to rescue children trying to kill each other and turned on me..."
  • In the movie Wrong Turn 2 one of the characters has started a survival reailty show with a group of older teens, they all get paired up in 2 couples ( like BR 2 ) and have to go inside a forest complenting missions and find food.

The character that is trying to get his show down has a BR T-shirt with the logo of Battle Royale —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.172.170.26 (talk) 13:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I think that the survival game depicted in episodes 2 and 3 of School Rumble - Second Term does not spoof BR closely enough to warrant it being considered as referencing BR for the following reasons:

  • the survival game is decided on and self-organized by the students, not by the gov't
  • the setting is the school, not an island
  • Class 2-C is largely split into 2 teams with 2 smaller ones, with the intent being that the winner be a team, not an individual
  • practically everyone is issued a firearm, vs. random issuing of weapons
  • there are no penalties associated with an exploding collar or other similar device - no danger zones or time limits
  • the whole objective of the game is to decide what the class will do for the school cultural festival

BrokenSphereMsg me 06:12, 14 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've cleaned this up a bit[edit]

I've added a fair bit to the article that was needed. It took several edits as I did it by section, so look through the history to see the changes. I've cleaned up the plot synopsis substantially, as brazen errors such as the claim that Kitano picked the class himself were present, along various other ommissions. I've also added to the list of differences between the film and novel and the additions in the Special Version - the section for which should never have been labelled a director's cut, because it was never referred to officially as such.

Still needed however is a section on the under 15s version and the cuts made for other versions, notably the German one which was butchered in order to get past the censors. There are of course still other needs as well, anyone willing to help with this has my gratitude - the BR articles have been somewhat farcical (they were all together at one stage, and multiple AfDs have been called against the character articles), and I think a real effort to make them genuinely good would be fantastic. Addyboy 15:51, 2 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Galleries in character pages[edit]

Several character pages have galleries with screenshots from the film. In most cases, there are already pics in place showing what the character looks like. Thus, these galleries can be considered decorative and an overuse of fair use images. There is a push among some editors to limit the number of fair use images on articles using this rationale, and as an example it has hit the Naruto character pages pretty hard. I can't say that I totally agree with the rationale, but I do agree that in some instances fair use images are being overused. I am thus making attempts on several other pages I work on to limit the number of fair use images used so that the editors of those pages can make the decision as to what to keep and what can go, as opposed to a 3rd party coming in and deleting all the images. Because the galleries in the character pages appear to be window dressing, especially for the supporting/minor characters, these can go. BrokenSphereMsg me 21:32, 31 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Remake?[edit]

Forget it keep hoping or just forget about it? cause ti seems un clear.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.122.105.214 (talk) 19:40, 21 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

  • As per WP:OR wait until something is published.

Want to add creation information?[edit]

http://www.battleroyalefilm.net/video/relatedvideos.html

Then let's get the Tartan Special Edition DVDs, plus let's see what these other related videos have. WhisperToMe (talk) 06:09, 7 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

North american distribution[edit]

Am I missing something? the movie is available on netflix, I've rented it from there and it's still offered now. doesn't that put this issue to bed? I'm not changing anything without more info, but I don't think there's any really problem finding the film in america. On Thermonuclear War (talk) 05:19, 4 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I don't understand what some of this paragraph is saying...[edit]

Maybe it's just me, but the second paragraph under Production > Creative Process doesn't make sense. I wouldn't even know how to attempt a rewrite to make it clearer, because I don't understand what is being stated:

This is (more or less) fine:

When asked in an interview with The Midnight Eye if the film is "a warning or advice to the youth," Kinji Fukasaku responded by describing the words "warning" and "advice" as "sounding very strong to me" as if they were actions which one tries to accomplish; therefore the film would not be "particularly a warning or advice." Fukasaku explained that the film, which he describes as "a fable," includes themes, such as crime by young people, which in Japan "are very much real modern issues." Fukasaku said that he did not have a lack of concern or a lack of interest; he used the themes as part of his fable.

This is confusing:

When the interviewer told Fukasaku that he asked the question specifically because of the word "run," the end text, which the interviewer describes as "very positive." Fukasaku explained that he developed the concept throughout the film. Fukasaku interpreted the interviewer's question as having "a stronger meaning" than "a simple message." Fukasaku explained that the film has his "words to the next generation" so the viewer should decide whether to take the words as advice or as a warning.[3][4]

I am not sure where the word "run" comes from. Is he talking about the last line of dialogue? I've seen the movie four times now and I have no idea what this means. What does "the end text" mean? This article is about the film, no? I have other problems with the above but it is too confusing to pick apart - it just seems like a mishmash of information with no flow or structure. Can anyone please shed some light on it, or provide a rewrite that makes the meaning of the above clearer?

RHelg80 (talk) 14:01, 28 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Dubs[edit]

Is this movie dubbed when you watch it in the USA, or is this in Japanese with subtitles ? It may seem a detail, but I would like to know more about dubbed movies in US. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yakuzanodon (talk • contribs) 11:04, 26 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Japanese audio, English subtitles —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.150.77.42 (talk) 19:59, 2 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

CLEANUP TAG[edit]

There are a plethora of grammatical errors that need to be correct. I don't have the time to fix them at the moment. Ambiesushi (talk) 00:26, 17 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Rating[edit]

what is the age rating/age limit for this movie? Thank you.--81.191.53.129 (talk) 19:19, 23 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Depends on where you're from. See this. You should ask any non-article questions at the IMDb message boards. Wikipedia articles' talk pages are for discussing improvements to the articles. Erik (talk | contrib) (ping me) 23:43, 1 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hiding behind the passive voice[edit]

The article says an American novel "has been criticised for its similarities" and "has been savaged on the blogosphere". In other words X has criticized the novel and Y has savaged it on the blogosphere. Who are X and Y, and how good is their critical judgement, and why are their identities being hidden? 73.137.170.88 (talk) 03:26, 2 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This article could use more work to remove the remaining fan POV. I gave it a once-over but missed some stuff. The Macleans article cited doesn't really criticize The Hunger Games for being a ripoff; it just mentions the similarities and points out that many people consider Battle Royale "a direct inspiration". The other one is OK, as it's basically a direct quotation from The New York Times, which is reporting that bloggers have savaged it. If you want an annotated list of which bloggers, I think you'll have to contact The New York Times. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 05:09, 2 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

random notes....[edit]

New Century Education Reform Act, a.k.a., the BR method. Once a year, a national junior high school is chosen to fight to the death on an uninhabited island, students of the Iwaki Gakuen three-year junior high school Group B. Under the guidance of the original teacher-Kitano, food and weapons are passed to each at the start of the game.

The legal basis of the game is the "battle experiment sixth hobbyhorse program" rather than "New Century Education Reform Act": commonly known as BR method. Ncsr11 (talk) 18:35, 10 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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Missing info on prior with that influenced this[edit]

Some really obvious examples include Lord of the Flies, "The Long Walk" (King/Bachman), and The Running Man (ditto).  — AReaderOutThataway t/c 17:47, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Term "Battle Royale" Has Not Been Redifined[edit]

The following paragraph in the first part of the wiki article should be considered for deletion or major reworking.

"Battle Royale became a cultural phenomenon, and has been highly influential in global popular culture. Since the film's release, the term 'battle royale' has been redefined to refer to a fictional narrative genre and/or mode of entertainment inspired by the film, where a select group of people are instructed to kill each other off until there is a triumphant survivor. It has inspired numerous media, including films, manga, anime, comics, visual novels, and video games; the battle royale game genre, for example, is named after the film."

First, I'm not sure how much of a cultural phenomenon the film has become. Where is it a cultural phenomenon? I've seen no mention of it (the film, not the term) in the U.S.

Second, the term "Battle Royal[e]" has not been redefined. It has always meant a battle in which it's every "man" for himself. This term has been with us from the 18th century, its meaning unchanged throughout the history of its use.

Third, there is no evidence or links to cite where the current crop of battle royale games are inspired by the movie. I highly doubt they were inspired by the movie, but willing to admit that I may be wrong about my assertion. A citation would go a long way, here.

Fourth, the assertion that the movie has inspired numerous titles should be backed up with examples of such and cited.

Fifth, as I have mentioned above, the battle royale game genre is not named after the film. If it is, cite it. Who named it after the film and when? Plenty of people have heard and used the term contemporaneously before and after the movie while not linked to the movie at all. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mwatson08 (talk • contribs) 18:26, 25 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

English dub[edit]

There is an english dub of this film on Amazon Prime. Shouldn't we mention anything about it on this page or did I not read something?UpWithJimmy (talk) 20:49, 29 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Fixing some inaccurate info[edit]

It is rather odd that this article claims that the term battle royal came from this movie, especially when concerning video games, when this concept predates this movie. Battle royal, royal rumble, and free-for-all were game modes and types started in the 1990's. The idea of the shrinking battlefield came from the Hunger Games which wasn't inspired by the Battle royal movie and has more influence from the Greek myth of the Minotaur in the maze and Roman gladiatorial combat. These modes have more influence from WWE and their royal rumble then the Battle Royal film, and the WWE was a huge part of American culture in the 1990's. The influence of the film Battle Royal is seen more clearly in films, with filmaking taking certain cues from Battle Royale's style, and themes. In this case, while the Hunger games books were not influenced by the film, it is much more likely that the Hunger Games films were. Battle royal was an underground hit and became even more popular due to the incidental popularity of the the battle royal video game genre. However, it is purely incidental, as their are no reliable sources that for sure point out that this film influenced the video game genre. The sources cited often come from pop culture magazines that don't cite sources either but rather have the journalist's personal opinion on the matter. Sanctusune (talk) 08:10, 8 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

See also discussion at Talk:Battle royale game. -- ferret (talk) 18:38, 9 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]
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