The actor who played Kitano is Takeshi Kitano, very famous actor and director, and he is also a painter. He started painting after a motorcycle accident, and in his 1997 film Hana-Bi (Fireworks), his paintings featured. The painting at the end of Battle Royale is also one of his paintings. The director of Battle Royale Kinji Fukasaku was very famous for very violent gangster films, but he wanted to make a film that could address how he felt about the struggles of young people in Japan who were being increasingly alienated, disillusioned and forgotten by society. Ironically, when the film came out, it was rated such that a lot of young people couldn't watch it. The film also became a political football for groups wanting to blame media (i.e. anything but society!) for youth misbehaviour, despondency and violence. The director was reportedly quite furious about how the social commentary of his film was being ignored, and the people he was trying to talk to were barred from seeing it. It was particularly frustrating that the controversy was encouraging certain political groups to further alienate and victimise young people (as violent, criminal, slackers etc.). Apparently he said in a press release that young people should simply sneak into the cinema.
The Battle Royale itself isn’t televised but the winner is slapped all over the media (hence the beginning of the movie). But the actual game isn’t televised. As for why the kids aren’t aware of the program: it’s not that they aren’t aware but they don’t believe it could happen to them as it’s a random lottery. In the book though, the kids are very much aware of the program
That's sounds like bs to me, if you have a system where your entire classroom can be taken to the battle royale and some of that has to do with bad behavior, you are going to be aware, paranoid and stressed out about, the social landscape amongst teenagers would be completely different you wouldn't be able to act non chalant about it.
@@lampad4549 Sure, the same way that if drugs killed people nobody would ever take drugs, that's why nobody ever do drugs right, or drunk driving, or eating until you are 600 pounds, or committing crimes, that's why people don't do any of those things, never, lmao, people ALWAYS think it won't happen to them, kids are even worst, it's amazing that people even survive to become adults, and I bet the kids in the class thought that they were kind of bad mannered but in no way actually bad , there's for sure many worst classes out there, that's the rationalization.
As brutal as it is, it’s one of my favorites, Chiaki Kuriyama that plays Chigusa, was cast as Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill because Quentin Tarantino loves Battle Royale too
Shibasaki Kou who played Mitsuko Souma(compared to the manga and book the character was toned down for the movie) was the first pick but she couldn't do it due to other contractual obligations
@@Filodude Technically her manga character was turned up from the movie and the novel. The manga chapters came out after the movie and did her character dirty.
The director of this film was approaching 70 when he made this film. As a child in WW2 he was witness to some pretty harrowing events which very much informed his approach to this movie. The idea that the state could be so callously indifferent to the lives of its young people is not so far-fetched in that context.
Yes! This is where I was stumbling in my comment just now. It seems a ballsier take on such a story to not try and explain a society that would do something like Battle Royale. "Hunger Games" moves heaven and earth to make their system make sense to the viewer so that the audience accepts it, and they don't do that in "Battle Royale." You hear from people who lived in Nazi Germany how arbitrary and chaotic day to day life could be and how little the lives of the citizens were valued - and the debate about how far we may or may not have come since then is ongoing. American audiences in particular take for granted that the way things are organized must make some kind of sense and be 'fair' if you only know all the facts. I mean, it would be nice, wouldn't it?
In the manga the "transfer student" Kiriyama wasn't a transfer student. He was a rich prodigy who was on the top of his class, but completely emotionless, dead inside. This was because in the past, he was in an accident where he lost his mother and suffered brain damage, making him sociopathic, unable to feel emotions. He was also somewhat part of Mitsuru's "gang". When the game started, he basically decided if he would join the others in trying to escape and try to take the game down or play the game to win by himself via a coin toss, and so he ended up playing against everyone as the result of the coin toss was "tails". Mitsuko was a bit more messed up in the manga too. She was basically a very manipulative bitch, who used her sexuality to seduce and frequently had sex with older rich men, then ended up either killing them, mugging them or extorting them for money. She also arranged her adoptive dad's(who was molesting her) and mom's murder by seducing a criminal into killing them both, who she then betrayed by leaving him to the police. She had her own girl gang which included Hirono and Yoshimi. She was known by the nickname "Hardcore" Souma among her class.
@@TequilaToothpick Since the manga came from the pen of Koushun Takami, the author of the book himself, I think it is more faithful to his vision of the characters. IMO, the movie is the worst adaptation, not the manga.
@@TWANDTW Takami didn't write, he simply oversaw it, while it is a little more faithful i prefer the movie, even though I think all 3 have a good narrative storywise
The book goes much harder, giving every single student a full backstory, humanizing them and explaining their personalities… And then brutally kills them.
"Am I supposed to enjoy this as much as I am?" - The perfect quote to describe this movie, and The Boys, and The Sopranos, and so many other wonderfully twisted films that so many of us check ourselves for being invested in and loving so, so much. You remain my favorite reactors and people I'd most like to grab drinks and dinner with. Seriously, you both rock. Thank you. xo
This movie blew my mind back in the early 2000s and is still one of my favorites. The basic concept is more than a little well-worn at this point though, so I can imagine it wouldn't have quite the same impact on a lot of people watching it for a first time now.
Just wanna say that this movie wasn't the inspiration for The Hunger Games. Fans of this movie accused The HG author of lying when she said she'd never heard of this film, which is possible since not everyone watches foreign movies or, even if they do, is aware of BR. I've watched foreign films since I was a kid, especially Japanese films, and heard of this movie because it was recommended by Netflix because... I was watching anime and other Similar Japanese movies. And I'd had Netflix for quite some time. Also, the author of The HG has many other Western literature and films to be inspired by for the HG, including the movie which likely inspired Both films -- The Lord of the Flies. Just thought I'd mention that because it's the chatter in every reaction of this movie
@@LA_HA nah that's B.S. hollywood has tried ignoring source material before. Recently the makers of the halo tv show said they are ignoring most of the events of the game. The industry loves to rip stuff off an feign ignorance when they get called out
@@LA_HA it's obvious asf dude. Hunger games creators tried being sneaky. If I remember correctly the author said that her agent or somebody else told her to ignore battle royale as she only heard about it but didnt know what it was exactly
@@BurntBattleBagel Ay. You're back. How are you? I didn't think to hear from you since it's been a year, so I thought you just moved on. The last time I suddenly heard back from someone in the comments they were sick and everything. I sincerely hope that's not the case with you. Now, about the topic... Listen, after this year, I absolutely understand your suspicion of Ho-wood and their shenanigans more than ever, and I mean I completely understood your position before. I actually have a couple family members who were directly in "the business". It's shady af. Publishing can be as well. However, the fact that you say the author's agent told her to just ignore comparisons isn't an indictment of her guilt. Why address it if she never heard of it? And no one ever seems to accuse the Japanese artists about how much they "borrow" from Western stories, film, and artists. You know why? They simply Ignore it and Don't address it. That's the truth. So, it never occurs to the fans of Battle Royale that they stole...uh, "borrowed" from Western novels and movies, like Lord of The Flies, for example. Another accusation was hurled at Disney when people began comparing The Lion King to Kimba The White Lion anime. Yet, basic research would have shown The Truth -- that Kimba was based on a Lion King draft that Disney had the Japanese studios they were helping get started after WWII work on. But, Disney abandoned it in favor of other titles based on popular fairy tales; and the Japanese artists took those sketches and stories with them when they left said studios to start their own. Disney didn't care because they had no plans for it. The names of the artists are the same. That's how you know the story is true. It's just no one said anything when, decades later, Disney revisited The Lion King and produced it. These accusations get tossed around All The Time. JK Rowling was accused of stealing from a variety of sources, such as Neil Gaiman (who wrote a novel about a boy wizard who was described as looking a Lot like Harry Potter), Labyrinth, and even The Lord of The Rings. John Carpenter was accused of stealing from Psycho, Black Christmas, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, among others, even though the authors of those scripts have told everyone it's Not True. The reason being -- most storytellers draw from the same wells for inspiration. And as readers/viewers, we see certain similarities and start accusing people of theft, when The Truth is simple. They All borrowed things from the stories we're all familiar with encountering at some point. Anyway, that's my point. I agree with you that theft occurs A Freaking Lot. And if you point something out that I honestly think is outright theft, I'll gladly back it unless I find out different. But I can't back accusations when it's just a case of ignorance of literature and films, facts and history of which fans are simply unaware. I apologize for this being so long. I just wanted to explain through examples. Hope that clarifies things
I went to see this in the cinema when it came out and it absolutely blew me away. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I was practically wetting myself with excitement by the time they were getting assigned their weapons. Brilliant film.
Here’s to hoping you react to more foreign/international films! I would love to see you both react to Jet Li’s “Hero” or some popular Asian horror as well. Either way, take care, and thank you always for your fun, thoughtful, and honest reactions. 👏
@@TBRSchmitt I suggest reacting to The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) if you haven’t seen it already. It is an instant favorite if you like animals like rhinos and elephants, and it shows why we must protect them from poachers.
@@TBRSchmitt Hero is a great film along with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I hope these two win a poll somewhere down the line, or you two just watch them on your own. They are both top tier. I'll be along for the ride to watch whatever you react to, I need the good vibes you two send off. 🐾🐾🍻🍻
It was explained in the book that because of an accident in a brain surgery the psycho transfer student had the cells in the area of his brain responsible for empathy scraped away by a doctor when he was very young or a baby, so in a sense he is a psycho without empathy, but not by choice. He's doing what they told him to to survive because it's the most logical thing to him Ps. Originally they were all in the same class, guess they had the veterans be transfer students to explain why they're so good at the game.
Not his favourite film ever. The Good, the Bad And the Ugly is his favourite of all time. BR is his favourite film that came out between 1992 and 2009.
I’m so glad you two recognize that there can be something lost in translation. This is the only channel that recognizes that different languages can have different meaning and different impact of a certain audience. THANK YOU for being honest in expressing your opinions on this, including stating that there might be more you did not understand. My favorite reaction channel indeed, for your perceptions and insight. As a multilingual speaker, I’m quite proud. And yes: Japan does have a great amount of stories that deal with a lot of darker, psychological issues. While we in the West view Japan in a certain light, Japan, like other countries, also feels the weight of their own society. Fun reaction, as always. (Please never watch the live-action version of Mulan 😂)
I think BR does a really good job of making the audience care about select characters from a 40+ cast. It cuts the numbers down really quick, and focuses across several characters as they die off until we are left with Shuuya, Noriko, and dying Kawada.
"All right that was battle royale what didi you think ?" "I don t know." Epic laugh, but yeah, that pretty sums up the movie in a way, like "what did I just see ?". Another good share, thank you.
The book explains it better, it’s not just Japan but if I remember correctly a big chunk of Asia that is under the rule of some regime. The classes are chosen at random, the winner gets announced but the parents don’t know much about what’s going on. In the book there’s obviously even more backstory for several characters, Kiriyama there was part of the class but it’s revealed that he always had mental issues and that’s why he has no problem killing everyone. The book is pretty good, there is a sequel but it’s not very good. Takeshi Kitano is a retry great actor you should check some of his other movies.
The regime is The Greater East Asia. Yes, the novel is set in a victorious, post-WW2 Japan. Shogo himself also was an actual transfer student who enrolled in Shuya's class a month before they're selected for the program
If you notice , Kiriyama , the psycho volunteer , is a mute. He never speaks ; and even when he kills the two 📣 girls , he just blows into the 📣 to see if it makes a noise , and that's why he makes her yell into it.
Holy crap, Kill Bill, Sopranos, and now Battle Royale?? (Plus Samantha loved Jackie Brown) Y'all are batting in my wheelhouse like 1000% in the "my favs" category. My favorite reaction channel hands-down. Lady Snowblood is an awesome movie that inspired a lot of the aesthetic of Kill Bill Vol. 1. Would love for you two to check it out. :) Thanks for the great content
The teacher was played by Takashi Kitano aka beat Takashi He's really famous Japanese actor, filmmaker, author and comedian. He has also appeared in some North American films as well. May I recommend Johnny mnemonic starring Keanu Reeves as a fun place to start.
Another film that Tarantino loves and credits as inspiration is 'Hard Boiled' from 1992. It set a new standard for filming gunfights and action sequences.
Oh hell yes one of my fave films and it's influence can still be felt today, a fact about this film is that the painting of the killed students around the girl was painted by Tekashi Kitano the actor who played Kitano, he is a man of many talents including actor, singer, writer, comedian, TV host, game designer, artist (painter) and more.
That 'battle' on the poll with Oldboy was such neck and neck. It was tense! Hope Oldboy is coming soon. That and 'Vertigo' are my two favorite movies of all time and to see you guys SUPER close to both is amazing lol.
Oldboy is one of only three movies that I regret watching (along with Ichi the Killer and Sausage Party). I understand why people love it, just don't even want to watch a reaction of it. But! Hope all of you that love it enjoy the reaction when it happens.
@@L77045 😂I can't get over how you included "Sausage Party" on your list of regret-watches. It's such a completely different kind of movie than the other 2 you listed lmao
@@rollfizzlebeef6619 lol...it really is, and appreciate someone else seeing my comment and recognizing that. I've watched an obscene amount of content, and it can be really hard to say absolute things like favorites or things I regret (especially in short form like in youtube comments), but I stand by those three. Like...some people might just assume that I couldn't take them because of them being "rough" or "shocking" in a certain way, but I'm still glad I watched movies like Audition and Suicide Club.
@@L77045 Lol, ok I have to know now: what was it about "Sausage Party" that made it such a regrettable watch? I know there's a lot of over-the-top gross-out and sexual humor in it, but you must've expected that both from the trailers, and from it being a Seth Rogen movie. Was it the anti-religion stuff? Admittedly that caught me off guard too when I first saw it, but I personally didn't mind it since I kind of share the same views
the book, believe it or not, is even more intense, and worth reading! the actor that played the teacher was is famous. Among other things, he was the host of a competition show in the 80's called Takeshis Castle, which was kind of a more casual Ninja Warrior. So to have him somewhat reprise his role as a competition host in Battle Royale was a fun spin on what he was well known for. xD
It inspired Kill Bill too, prompting Tarantino to cast the actress in the yellow track suit as the schoolgirl killer in "Kill Bill". So, that scene always had more weight to it to everyone who saw Battle Royale.
I stayed up hours to watch this, it's always great to see people watch it for first time, and definitely great reaction material. I should note the author of The Hunger Games says she'd never seen or heard of this movie when writing her books, both were likely inspired, like a pile of other movies, by 'Most Dangerous Game'.
@@themetalpig7613 'Most Dangerous Game' is not a movie, it's an influential short story from almost a 100 years ago that's inspired many stories since and likely had a knock on effect into much media. :)
@@VonPunk The Most Dangerous Game is a movie, too. But, definitely one of the inspirations is The Lord of the Flies. There are also similar themes in dystopian science fiction and even animal stories like, Watership Down. It's a bit sad that there are people who just keep accusing Western writers and directors of "ripping off" Japanese anime and media when they don't actually know that the Japanese use a whole lot of Western stories and ideas for their own stories. Kurosawa is just one famous example. Yet, he was still able to add his own flavor of Japanese culture and stories to make his Shakespearean-influenced movies so incredibly special. Does it make his films lesser movies because they have a Western basis? Not at all. People borrow stories, techniques, and ideas from each other all the time. So, The Hunger Games author didn't copy, rip off, or was inspired by this movie. But, you can definitely trace this movie to a couple Western, classic novels/movies. Myself, I think I detected a little A Clockwork Orange in here, as well. Haha
Kiriyama's eyes were damaged by the explosion. I've loved this movie for almost 20 years. The book is great as well. (The manga is weird, though) It started my interest in fictional death games like Danganronpa, Your Turn to Die, Alice in Borderland and the like.
Violent Cop, Sonatine, Boiling Point, Hana-Bi and Kikujiro are essential "Beat" Takeshi Kitano films, all of which, amongst others he wrote, directed and edited himself...He's known as "Beat" because he was half of a famous Japanese comedy duo called "The Two Beats", an accomplished poet, artist and filmmaker, his own films are beyond brilliance.
Just finished showing my boys Hunger Games series - and I kept mentioning 'just wait til you're old enough for Battle Royale' And you could (should?) have a whole channel dedicated to the huge list of movies not in the English language that are utterly brilliant.
I watched it in the cinema and got the DVD shortly after. I only used VHS to record stuff off TV at that point. A year or so later I got an extra DVD player with a harddrive to record onto so I stopped using VHS all together. The end of an era for me, lol. I'd been using VHS for nearly two decades at that point.
19:21 ... and that's how she got the part for Kill Bill. Some interesting facts: Tarantino also wanted the girl who played Mitsuko, Ko Shibasaki, as well, but couldn't get her due to a scheduling conflict. Ko would later get to be in an America film, 47 Ronin. As far as Chiaki Kuriyama, (Chigusa), Kill Bill was the only American movie she was ever in, but has been in plenty of Japanese ones
this movie is an indictment on just the insane work/study culture in japan, i remember when i first went there in the mid 2000s, there had just been a kid who murdered his whole family because he couldnt bare to reveal he wasnt getting passing grades in school. all too often people die from overworking themselves, because they are expected to come in early and work late without overtime pay, some even hide from their families that theyve been fired and pretend to go to work everyday even while they dont have a job anymore, because they cant bare the shame of having been let go. its pretty grim.
9:43 ....."Am I supposed to enjoy this as much as I am ?"...... Quoting the master Quentin Tarantino "Violence in real life is violence in real life. But in movies, violence is so much fun".....
The movie is abt the system that’s going in Japan. The competition amongst each other yet u have to be obedient & submissive to the rules make by the government. The problems that most people faced in Japan, suicide, child molestation, drunk & loneliness etc. If you notice there’s a lot of love going but they never dare to express it, this shows the shyness of the society despite looking cool on the outside. You’ll also notice there’s a lot of brutal violence which just goes to Japanese history on brutality and to just let everything out like their anger etc. There’s a lot of deep meaning in Japanese movies and it very relatable to what they are going through in their society. That’s why they create movies in terms “what if” or “what could happen” and just let everything that they want to let out but not able to express it in real lives because Japanese people tend to keep to themselves. You’ll notice that the teacher is being nice to Noriko, one scene was giving her the umbrella. Plus the fact she didn’t kill & didn’t die. This shows how their society is those who are nice & obedient lives. It’s sad but true. That’s why the movie has been one of the greatest movie despite the bloody scenes and killing amongst students. Although in real life the killing is not in the weapon but there’s another word called back stabbing 😉. Thank you for watching this movie! It’s a great choice! Love both of your reactions 😂❤. But ya once you check out the meaning behind the movie & Japanese society, you’ll understand better. 👍 Fun Fact: This movie not only inspired Tarantino movies but The Squid Game (the Korean TV show) as well.
That was intense, love the reaction. The amount of times those kids got shot & still manages to move around is crazy. They soak up bullets better than body armor 😂.
Takeshi Kitano has made some great films He writes, directs and stars in most of them He started off as a well-known Japanese comedian). Zatoichi is one of his best and well worth a look
The pretty psychopath girl with the scythe was supposed to be in Kill Bill as Go Go's sister who follows Kiddo to the U.S. to kill her but she couldn't be in the film due to prior film responsibilities so she was written out of the script.
Crouching Tiger, hidden Dragon! (China) Snatch! (UK) In Bruges! (UK) Doberman! (France) Open your Eyes! (Spain - there was a remake with Tom Cruise: Vanilla Sky) War and Peace! (1968, Soviet Union, 8 hours running time, production costs as of todays money 700 Million Dollars)
The rehearsals were also tough. The director needed the actors to let their emotions run wild. He drilled them to actually imagine that their best friends got seriously injured or killed. That movie mirrors a lot of what he had witnessed in WW2, so he wanted people to act as authentic as possible.
Battle Royale is one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite movies , he even said The Hunger Games is an insult to this movie ( or something along those lines)
Aki Maeda who portrayed Noriko was also in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, (1996), Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys, (1999), and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, (2001).
Such a classic . Even squid game they take examples from Japanese movies. ( South Korea )also let’s not forget killing your self in Japan is common for dishonour ect so it is quite cultural.
Training Video Girl portrayed by Yūko Miyamura! She was the voice of Casca in Berserk (1997) voice of Seong Mi-na in the game Soul Edge/Blade in 1995, and has been the voice of Chun-Li in Street Fighter games since '94.
Thanks for the reaction! One of my favorite movies, and yes it helps if you’re into Japanese movies and culture but it seems you both still liked it. Seems everyone in comments has already filled you two in on the lore of the movie so I’ll refrain from repeating. All I’ll say is it kicked off a few careers for some of the people in it, Ko Shibasaki “Mitsuko” ( she went on to star in 47 Ronin with Keanu Reaves), Chiaki Kuriyama of course you two knew who she was and Aki Maeda (the main girl) she was a singer, model, actress. There’s a great fan tribute on RUclips for Mitsuko and Kiriyama set to the song Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamen if you want to check it out….
I haven't watched this in 11 yrs! I'm so getting my copy out. I forgot all about it, but it's somewhere on my shelf. If you haven't seen "A Tale Of Two Sisters", you will love it. It's definitely my favorite foreign movie along with Battle Royale.
Reading the book was how I discovered this movie. Highly recommend the book, which has a translated for English version, it's by Koushun Takami. Goes much more in depth with a few characters, especially the guys trying to hack into the system and get their collars off. Edit: It's also no surprise that this movie is one of Tarantino's all time favs and why that girl was in his movie Kill Bill.
Definitely get the most recent translation published by Haika Soru publisher. It says on the cover: "a new translation by Nathan Collins". I have the old version too. The new one is much better to read.
Movie is one of my favorites, but I then got the book and loved it even more. Really fleshes out a lot of the other characters so you actually feel worse for them when they die.
the Novel builds the world a lot better ... it is more like the hunger games in that the "program"'s purpose is to keep the people in line, the idea that even these kids would kill each other to survive, they would turn on their friends, there's no point in banding togther to go against the government because you can't fully trust anyone. that's why they don't televise the actual events to see they try to band together. I do wish they could have shown some of the danger zone kills. man the novel is so good ... I love the movies (there is a sequel). but I love the novel even more ...
the reason why they were criminals after is because they did not follow the rules- only 1 winner is allowed, yet they had 2. this is why they were charged because they had broken the rules of the game and the government is trying to find them
My #1 foreign language movie is "Seven Samurai" by legendary director Akira Kurosawa. It's an older movie (filmed in black & white) but is bursting at the seams with character, action, outstanding acting (Toshiro Mifune is a god!) and it's understandable why so many other directors, writers and actors rate the movie as one of their favourites. It's well worth a watch, doubly so if you're interested in Samurai and their culture.
@@joebloggs396 Never too late to widen ones horizon. They've already watched A Fistful of Dollars so maybe they could start with Yojimbo as an intro to Kurosawa and move on from there.
Long-time viewer, first-time poster. If you are considering international cinema, I'd recommend Amores Perros (Mexico), In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong), A Separation (Iran), The Flowers of War (China-Hong Kong), City of God ( Brazil), Gomorah (Italy), Y Tu Mama Tambien (Mexico), Todo Sobre Mi Madre (Spain), Incendies (Canada), Persepolis (France), Oldboy (Korean), Carandiru (Brazil), Princess Monoke (Japan), and El Crimen del Padre Amaro (Mexico). Just throwing ideas out there. And ,yes, there is a sequel to Battle Royale, and you must avoid it all costs!
Even though it's generally pretty faithful there's some notable differences between this film version and the original book, like Shogo and Kazuo not being a part of the class initially (the group of students he kills in the film were a 'gang' that hung around with him in the book, and he decided to play along with the killing game on a whim when he had also considered trying to take down the organizers), Kazuo's backstory (suffered a brain injury at birth that left him unable to process emotions) being left out, and Noriko being the one who kills Kazuo (as well as what happened to a lot of the other students- unlike say The Hunger Games, the book reveals what happens to all of the kids without exception). One interesting thing is that instead of being a more layered character like in the film, the teacher in the book was a dark parody of Kinpachi-sensei, the central character of a Japanese school drama from the 70s that dealt with realistic social issues, but while that character was known for his sincerity and idealism the one in the book was of course a sadistic monster who only wanted to put the students through hell.
You should really read the Manga, there is so much characterization for every person, it's incredibly engaging. This movie has to cram so much information into its runtime that it skips a lot and some of it makes no sense.
I highly recommend BATMAN Mask Of The Phantasm: The Animated Movie from 1993. It's based on the Batman Animated Series from 1992. Its now considered to be one of the best Batman movies ever made.
The Manga is way more violent and brutal. This inspired Hunger games and modern games such as PUBG and Fortnite etc. Old school Japanese movies especially from directors such as Takashi Miike, Kitano & Fukasasku etc dont shoot their movies in the Traditional Hollywood way where the movie is much linear etc. Its more symbolic and artistically played out (Japanese audience know how to break it all down) which wasnt popular for us western audience etc
Tatsuya Fujiwara, the lead role of Shuya Nanahara, later played Light Yagani in the Japanese live-action Death Note films, and Shishio Makoto in the Japanese live-action Rurouni Kenshin films.
I had the pleasure of reading the novel this film is based off of when I was in high school. This is still to this day one of my favorite books of all time. If you ever get the chance it’s a must read. The film is definitely legendary but wouldn’t be here without that great book!
The teacher actor is Takeshi Kitano, a very famous actor/director in Japan who does mostly gangster movies. He did a LOT of great movies. A few good ones : Hana-Bi/Fireworks, Gonin/The Five, Kikujiro, Violent Cop, Sonatine and Brother.
My personal opinion is that “The Most Dangerous Game” is the single most adapted piece of popular media ever made. This film and others like it are carrying on the concept.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Royale_(novel)#Origin The author never mentioned the short story and it is perfectly possibly he never heard of it. I genuinely don't know if it was ever published in Japanese.
"Price of Peril" by Robert Sheckley is another one. Basically the basis for "Running Man", aside from the Stephen King 'Richard Bachman' novel it supposedly is based on.
Oh it’s entirely possible. But the premise was adapted sooo many times throughout popular fiction even before Battle Royale so tons of material was there floating around. Turkey Shoot (an Aussie film) is probably my personal favorite.
Loved this movie when I was younger so I’m a little biased but definitely can see the flaws now. Never seen this edition & prefer the original I did see. This special edition seems like they just randomly inserted deleted scenes in. Was hyped for this Reaction & it delivered!!
It was a novel, first (and a manga). And this movie, for all its success, was condemned by the Japanese parliament/Diet. Having lived in Japan for ten years, it does make sense to me that the older generation blaming the younger generation for all societies ills (and Japan is extremely old, the average age is around 50). It takes place in a world where Japan won WWII and uses "experiments" like this to keep the population in fear (as they are aware the government has these BR military "experiments").
YESSSSSS!!!! This movie shaped the future of media INSANE amounts from Hunger Games to Fortnite and even the newest Kamen Rider. The sequel is awesome as hell too, but the original can't be beat. I cannot wait to see your reaction to this!
I’ve never seen the special edition. It’s paced a bit weirder compared to the regular version. I’m curious what y’all would think of the sequel, at least conceptually
@@tommyhooligan5795 Kids killing each other is the "fun" part? LOL did you watch the movie? The director had politics in mind when he made the movies and it seems to get lost in the translation to the Western "Monster Truck" audience.
I love this movie. I used to refuse to watch hunger games because I would say “I’ve already seen this movie… it’s called battle royale and it’s done way better!”
This movie was the epitome of all major Battle Royale based games, and honestly that would bee a good law to have when society should fail and the kids get more out of control and disobedience.
![Ice On My Teeth - ATEEZ エイティーズ 에이티즈 [Music Bank] | KBS WORLD TV 241115](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/c-n92OgbbwA/mqdefault.jpg)
The impact this movie made in not just films with the same concept…but with video games too, it spawned its own sub-genre
Dangan Ronpa was definitely inspired this
@@SilhouetteJudas Fortnite, PUBG, Day Z, etc.
@@SilhouetteJudas This movie would've highly benefitted from a psychotic teddy bear
Not Pubg and Fortnite, they came out in 2017 which is earlier than this film.
@@Smokie_666 This movie released in 2000.
The actor who played Kitano is Takeshi Kitano, very famous actor and director, and he is also a painter. He started painting after a motorcycle accident, and in his 1997 film Hana-Bi (Fireworks), his paintings featured. The painting at the end of Battle Royale is also one of his paintings.
The director of Battle Royale Kinji Fukasaku was very famous for very violent gangster films, but he wanted to make a film that could address how he felt about the struggles of young people in Japan who were being increasingly alienated, disillusioned and forgotten by society. Ironically, when the film came out, it was rated such that a lot of young people couldn't watch it. The film also became a political football for groups wanting to blame media (i.e. anything but society!) for youth misbehaviour, despondency and violence.
The director was reportedly quite furious about how the social commentary of his film was being ignored, and the people he was trying to talk to were barred from seeing it. It was particularly frustrating that the controversy was encouraging certain political groups to further alienate and victimise young people (as violent, criminal, slackers etc.). Apparently he said in a press release that young people should simply sneak into the cinema.
Kitano has some badass Yakuza films. Brother is great.
@@thaistomp seconded for Brother
I LOVED Takeshi's Castle when they aired it in my country in the 90s.
@@MrTuubster Mostly known in the west for "Takeshi's Castle"
@@thaistomp Sonatine and Boiling Point for sure.
The Battle Royale itself isn’t televised but the winner is slapped all over the media (hence the beginning of the movie). But the actual game isn’t televised. As for why the kids aren’t aware of the program: it’s not that they aren’t aware but they don’t believe it could happen to them as it’s a random lottery. In the book though, the kids are very much aware of the program
That's sounds like bs to me, if you have a system where your entire classroom can be taken to the battle royale and some of that has to do with bad behavior, you are going to be aware, paranoid and stressed out about, the social landscape amongst teenagers would be completely different you wouldn't be able to act non chalant about it.
@@lampad4549 Not in Japan
@@lampad4549 it's amazing what people can get used to...
@@lampad4549 Sure, the same way that if drugs killed people nobody would ever take drugs, that's why nobody ever do drugs right, or drunk driving, or eating until you are 600 pounds, or committing crimes, that's why people don't do any of those things, never, lmao, people ALWAYS think it won't happen to them, kids are even worst, it's amazing that people even survive to become adults, and I bet the kids in the class thought that they were kind of bad mannered but in no way actually bad , there's for sure many worst classes out there, that's the rationalization.
hello
As brutal as it is, it’s one of my favorites, Chiaki Kuriyama that plays Chigusa, was cast as Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill because Quentin Tarantino loves Battle Royale too
I was a fan of hers until she underwent jaw surgery and most people said she looked worse.
It goes to show you shouldn't change what makes you you.
Shibasaki Kou who played Mitsuko Souma(compared to the manga and book the character was toned down for the movie) was the first pick but she couldn't do it due to other contractual obligations
@@Filodude I can't imagine Shibasaki Kou in kill bill.
I also forgot she was in this movie so that was a nice surprise.
@@Filodude Technically her manga character was turned up from the movie and the novel. The manga chapters came out after the movie and did her character dirty.
This is the movie that Quentin says he wishes he'd directed.
The director of this film was approaching 70 when he made this film. As a child in WW2 he was witness to some pretty harrowing events which very much informed his approach to this movie. The idea that the state could be so callously indifferent to the lives of its young people is not so far-fetched in that context.
Yes! This is where I was stumbling in my comment just now. It seems a ballsier take on such a story to not try and explain a society that would do something like Battle Royale. "Hunger Games" moves heaven and earth to make their system make sense to the viewer so that the audience accepts it, and they don't do that in "Battle Royale." You hear from people who lived in Nazi Germany how arbitrary and chaotic day to day life could be and how little the lives of the citizens were valued - and the debate about how far we may or may not have come since then is ongoing. American audiences in particular take for granted that the way things are organized must make some kind of sense and be 'fair' if you only know all the facts. I mean, it would be nice, wouldn't it?
In the manga the "transfer student" Kiriyama wasn't a transfer student. He was a rich prodigy who was on the top of his class, but completely emotionless, dead inside. This was because in the past, he was in an accident where he lost his mother and suffered brain damage, making him sociopathic, unable to feel emotions. He was also somewhat part of Mitsuru's "gang". When the game started, he basically decided if he would join the others in trying to escape and try to take the game down or play the game to win by himself via a coin toss, and so he ended up playing against everyone as the result of the coin toss was "tails".
Mitsuko was a bit more messed up in the manga too. She was basically a very manipulative bitch, who used her sexuality to seduce and frequently had sex with older rich men, then ended up either killing them, mugging them or extorting them for money. She also arranged her adoptive dad's(who was molesting her) and mom's murder by seducing a criminal into killing them both, who she then betrayed by leaving him to the police. She had her own girl gang which included Hirono and Yoshimi. She was known by the nickname "Hardcore" Souma among her class.
The manga is a very poor adaptation imo. It ruined Mitsuko
@@TequilaToothpick The manga was mostly about shock value. See how extreme they could push it.
@@TequilaToothpick Since the manga came from the pen of Koushun Takami, the author of the book himself, I think it is more faithful to his vision of the characters. IMO, the movie is the worst adaptation, not the manga.
@@TWANDTW Takami didn't write, he simply oversaw it, while it is a little more faithful i prefer the movie, even though I think all 3 have a good narrative storywise
@@TWANDTW It didn't come from the author it changes just as much as the movie.
What a fun reaction. The two funniest moments: “I would let you kill me” and “Why does this girl know everyone’s period schedule?” 🤣
Funnier when you realise Samantha didn't say it back 😂
@@fredfredburger5150 He called dibs.
The book goes much harder, giving every single student a full backstory, humanizing them and explaining their personalities… And then brutally kills them.
"Am I supposed to enjoy this as much as I am?" - The perfect quote to describe this movie, and The Boys, and The Sopranos, and so many other wonderfully twisted films that so many of us check ourselves for being invested in and loving so, so much. You remain my favorite reactors and people I'd most like to grab drinks and dinner with. Seriously, you both rock. Thank you. xo
Same here
Also the perfect quote (nowadays, anyway) to describe what happens to O. J. Simpson in his first scene in *The Naked Gun.* 😉
This movie blew my mind back in the early 2000s and is still one of my favorites. The basic concept is more than a little well-worn at this point though, so I can imagine it wouldn't have quite the same impact on a lot of people watching it for a first time now.
Just wanna say that this movie wasn't the inspiration for The Hunger Games. Fans of this movie accused The HG author of lying when she said she'd never heard of this film, which is possible since not everyone watches foreign movies or, even if they do, is aware of BR.
I've watched foreign films since I was a kid, especially Japanese films, and heard of this movie because it was recommended by Netflix because... I was watching anime and other Similar Japanese movies. And I'd had Netflix for quite some time.
Also, the author of The HG has many other Western literature and films to be inspired by for the HG, including the movie which likely inspired Both films -- The Lord of the Flies.
Just thought I'd mention that because it's the chatter in every reaction of this movie
@@LA_HA nah that's B.S. hollywood has tried ignoring source material before. Recently the makers of the halo tv show said they are ignoring most of the events of the game. The industry loves to rip stuff off an feign ignorance when they get called out
@@BurntBattleBagel I agree with your general statement. But, what does that have to do with my statement about This movie? Please clarify
@@LA_HA it's obvious asf dude. Hunger games creators tried being sneaky. If I remember correctly the author said that her agent or somebody else told her to ignore battle royale as she only heard about it but didnt know what it was exactly
@@BurntBattleBagel Ay. You're back. How are you? I didn't think to hear from you since it's been a year, so I thought you just moved on. The last time I suddenly heard back from someone in the comments they were sick and everything. I sincerely hope that's not the case with you.
Now, about the topic...
Listen, after this year, I absolutely understand your suspicion of Ho-wood and their shenanigans more than ever, and I mean I completely understood your position before. I actually have a couple family members who were directly in "the business". It's shady af.
Publishing can be as well.
However, the fact that you say the author's agent told her to just ignore comparisons isn't an indictment of her guilt. Why address it if she never heard of it?
And no one ever seems to accuse the Japanese artists about how much they "borrow" from Western stories, film, and artists. You know why? They simply Ignore it and Don't address it. That's the truth.
So, it never occurs to the fans of Battle Royale that they stole...uh, "borrowed" from Western novels and movies, like Lord of The Flies, for example.
Another accusation was hurled at Disney when people began comparing The Lion King to Kimba The White Lion anime. Yet, basic research would have shown The Truth -- that Kimba was based on a Lion King draft that Disney had the Japanese studios they were helping get started after WWII work on. But, Disney abandoned it in favor of other titles based on popular fairy tales; and the Japanese artists took those sketches and stories with them when they left said studios to start their own. Disney didn't care because they had no plans for it.
The names of the artists are the same. That's how you know the story is true. It's just no one said anything when, decades later, Disney revisited The Lion King and produced it.
These accusations get tossed around All The Time.
JK Rowling was accused of stealing from a variety of sources, such as Neil Gaiman (who wrote a novel about a boy wizard who was described as looking a Lot like Harry Potter), Labyrinth, and even The Lord of The Rings.
John Carpenter was accused of stealing from Psycho, Black Christmas, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, among others, even though the authors of those scripts have told everyone it's Not True.
The reason being -- most storytellers draw from the same wells for inspiration. And as readers/viewers, we see certain similarities and start accusing people of theft, when The Truth is simple. They All borrowed things from the stories we're all familiar with encountering at some point.
Anyway, that's my point.
I agree with you that theft occurs A Freaking Lot. And if you point something out that I honestly think is outright theft, I'll gladly back it unless I find out different.
But I can't back accusations when it's just a case of ignorance of literature and films, facts and history of which fans are simply unaware.
I apologize for this being so long. I just wanted to explain through examples.
Hope that clarifies things
Man, I love this movie. It is freaky wild. Old Boy would be a great reaction.
What year was this?
Yeeeeessss
If they're gonna do Oldboy, they should do the whole trilogy.
@@tiananesbitt7156 2000. It's based on the book by the same name released in 1999. The author had finished writing it in 1996 though.
I went to see this in the cinema when it came out and it absolutely blew me away. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I was practically wetting myself with excitement by the time they were getting assigned their weapons. Brilliant film.
Here’s to hoping you react to more foreign/international films! I would love to see you both react to Jet Li’s “Hero” or some popular Asian horror as well. Either way, take care, and thank you always for your fun, thoughtful, and honest reactions. 👏
Hero is currently on a poll!
@@TBRSchmitt I suggest reacting to The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) if you haven’t seen it already. It is an instant favorite if you like animals like rhinos and elephants, and it shows why we must protect them from poachers.
@@TBRSchmitt Hero is a great film along with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I hope these two win a poll somewhere down the line, or you two just watch them on your own. They are both top tier. I'll be along for the ride to watch whatever you react to, I need the good vibes you two send off. 🐾🐾🍻🍻
REACT TO CHUNGKING EXPRESS
It was explained in the book that because of an accident in a brain surgery the psycho transfer student had the cells in the area of his brain responsible for empathy scraped away by a doctor when he was very young or a baby, so in a sense he is a psycho without empathy, but not by choice. He's doing what they told him to to survive because it's the most logical thing to him
Ps. Originally they were all in the same class, guess they had the veterans be transfer students to explain why they're so good at the game.
9th graders are 15 in Japan. They do the three year route for middle and high school. You guys have to watch second one. It's awesome.
Fun fact this is Quentin Tarantinos favorite film ever you can see the influence for Kill Bill 1 and 2
Not his favourite film ever.
The Good, the Bad And the Ugly is his favourite of all time.
BR is his favourite film that came out between 1992 and 2009.
@@MissGigglesdotcom that makes more sense my bad
I’m so glad you two recognize that there can be something lost in translation. This is the only channel that recognizes that different languages can have different meaning and different impact of a certain audience. THANK YOU for being honest in expressing your opinions on this, including stating that there might be more you did not understand. My favorite reaction channel indeed, for your perceptions and insight. As a multilingual speaker, I’m quite proud.
And yes: Japan does have a great amount of stories that deal with a lot of darker, psychological issues. While we in the West view Japan in a certain light, Japan, like other countries, also feels the weight of their own society.
Fun reaction, as always.
(Please never watch the live-action version of Mulan 😂)
Did you get sexual release to them saying they don't know Japanese? You seem so personally satisfied by this.
I think BR does a really good job of making the audience care about select characters from a 40+ cast. It cuts the numbers down really quick, and focuses across several characters as they die off until we are left with Shuuya, Noriko, and dying Kawada.
"All right that was battle royale what didi you think ?" "I don t know." Epic laugh, but yeah, that pretty sums up the movie in a way, like "what did I just see ?". Another good share, thank you.
The book explains it better, it’s not just Japan but if I remember correctly a big chunk of Asia that is under the rule of some regime.
The classes are chosen at random, the winner gets announced but the parents don’t know much about what’s going on.
In the book there’s obviously even more backstory for several characters, Kiriyama there was part of the class but it’s revealed that he always had mental issues and that’s why he has no problem killing everyone. The book is pretty good, there is a sequel but it’s not very good.
Takeshi Kitano is a retry great actor you should check some of his other movies.
Yeah, the sequel is really bad.
The regime is The Greater East Asia. Yes, the novel is set in a victorious, post-WW2 Japan. Shogo himself also was an actual transfer student who enrolled in Shuya's class a month before they're selected for the program
If you notice , Kiriyama , the psycho volunteer , is a mute.
He never speaks ; and even when he kills the two 📣 girls , he just blows into the 📣 to see if it makes a noise , and that's why he makes her yell into it.
yes!, Its been a long time since anyone has reacted to this. I was a senior in highschool and watching this with my friends was a great time.
Holy crap, Kill Bill, Sopranos, and now Battle Royale?? (Plus Samantha loved Jackie Brown) Y'all are batting in my wheelhouse like 1000% in the "my favs" category. My favorite reaction channel hands-down.
Lady Snowblood is an awesome movie that inspired a lot of the aesthetic of Kill Bill Vol. 1. Would love for you two to check it out. :) Thanks for the great content
Here's another favorite foreign film to add to the list- I Saw the Devil, An excellent revenge film.
Love that movie. Great performance by Choi Min-Sik, who is also the lead in Oldboy.
This was when the internet was not common. Part of the delinquency of the kids in general is just ignoring news or not paying attention as you said.
It's such an underated movie. I'm so happy you watched this, this is one of my favorite movie ever and you're the best reaction channel!
The teacher was played by Takashi Kitano aka beat Takashi He's really famous Japanese actor, filmmaker, author and comedian. He has also appeared in some North American films as well. May I recommend Johnny mnemonic starring Keanu Reeves as a fun place to start.
Another film that Tarantino loves and credits as inspiration is 'Hard Boiled' from 1992. It set a new standard for filming gunfights and action sequences.
The actioniest of action flicks, lol!
Hard Boiled AKA the greatest action movie ever not called 'Die Hard'.
Oh hell yes one of my fave films and it's influence can still be felt today, a fact about this film is that the painting of the killed students around the girl was painted by Tekashi Kitano the actor who played Kitano, he is a man of many talents including actor, singer, writer, comedian, TV host, game designer, artist (painter) and more.
That 'battle' on the poll with Oldboy was such neck and neck. It was tense! Hope Oldboy is coming soon. That and 'Vertigo' are my two favorite movies of all time and to see you guys SUPER close to both is amazing lol.
Oldboy is one of only three movies that I regret watching (along with Ichi the Killer and Sausage Party). I understand why people love it, just don't even want to watch a reaction of it.
But! Hope all of you that love it enjoy the reaction when it happens.
@@L77045 😂I can't get over how you included "Sausage Party" on your list of regret-watches. It's such a completely different kind of movie than the other 2 you listed lmao
When will they react to Paramount+’s _The Offer?_
@@rollfizzlebeef6619 lol...it really is, and appreciate someone else seeing my comment and recognizing that.
I've watched an obscene amount of content, and it can be really hard to say absolute things like favorites or things I regret (especially in short form like in youtube comments), but I stand by those three.
Like...some people might just assume that I couldn't take them because of them being "rough" or "shocking" in a certain way, but I'm still glad I watched movies like Audition and Suicide Club.
@@L77045 Lol, ok I have to know now: what was it about "Sausage Party" that made it such a regrettable watch? I know there's a lot of over-the-top gross-out and sexual humor in it, but you must've expected that both from the trailers, and from it being a Seth Rogen movie. Was it the anti-religion stuff? Admittedly that caught me off guard too when I first saw it, but I personally didn't mind it since I kind of share the same views
the book, believe it or not, is even more intense, and worth reading!
the actor that played the teacher was is famous. Among other things, he was the host of a competition show in the 80's called Takeshis Castle, which was kind of a more casual Ninja Warrior. So to have him somewhat reprise his role as a competition host in Battle Royale was a fun spin on what he was well known for. xD
It inspired Kill Bill too, prompting Tarantino to cast the actress in the yellow track suit as the schoolgirl killer in "Kill Bill". So, that scene always had more weight to it to everyone who saw Battle Royale.
I stayed up hours to watch this, it's always great to see people watch it for first time, and definitely great reaction material. I should note the author of The Hunger Games says she'd never seen or heard of this movie when writing her books, both were likely inspired, like a pile of other movies, by 'Most Dangerous Game'.
My suggestion would be the Swedish film Let The Right One In.
This movie wasn't inspired by another movie, it's based on a book of the same name, Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. It also spawned mangas.
@@themetalpig7613 'Most Dangerous Game' is not a movie, it's an influential short story from almost a 100 years ago that's inspired many stories since and likely had a knock on effect into much media. :)
@@VonPunk ahh gotcha.
@@VonPunk The Most Dangerous Game is a movie, too. But, definitely one of the inspirations is The Lord of the Flies. There are also similar themes in dystopian science fiction and even animal stories like, Watership Down.
It's a bit sad that there are people who just keep accusing Western writers and directors of "ripping off" Japanese anime and media when they don't actually know that the Japanese use a whole lot of Western stories and ideas for their own stories.
Kurosawa is just one famous example. Yet, he was still able to add his own flavor of Japanese culture and stories to make his Shakespearean-influenced movies so incredibly special. Does it make his films lesser movies because they have a Western basis? Not at all.
People borrow stories, techniques, and ideas from each other all the time. So, The Hunger Games author didn't copy, rip off, or was inspired by this movie. But, you can definitely trace this movie to a couple Western, classic novels/movies. Myself, I think I detected a little A Clockwork Orange in here, as well.
Haha
Kiriyama's eyes were damaged by the explosion.
I've loved this movie for almost 20 years. The book is great as well. (The manga is weird, though) It started my interest in fictional death games like Danganronpa, Your Turn to Die, Alice in Borderland and the like.
Seeing this uploaded has made this the best Sunday 10 AM I have ever seen.
Violent Cop, Sonatine, Boiling Point, Hana-Bi and Kikujiro are essential "Beat" Takeshi Kitano films, all of which, amongst others he wrote, directed and edited himself...He's known as "Beat" because he was half of a famous Japanese comedy duo called "The Two Beats", an accomplished poet, artist and filmmaker, his own films are beyond brilliance.
Know what they call The Hunger Games in France? Battle Royale with cheese.
Because of the metric system?
Just finished showing my boys Hunger Games series - and I kept mentioning 'just wait til you're old enough for Battle Royale'
And you could (should?) have a whole channel dedicated to the huge list of movies not in the English language that are utterly brilliant.
9:40 "am I supposed to enjoy this as much as I am?" - I'm a high school teacher, the premise behind this movie is inspirational!
Wow I never would have thought to see this movie on your channel. Shoutout to everyone who watched this on VHS.
I watched it in the cinema and got the DVD shortly after. I only used VHS to record stuff off TV at that point. A year or so later I got an extra DVD player with a harddrive to record onto so I stopped using VHS all together. The end of an era for me, lol. I'd been using VHS for nearly two decades at that point.
Watched the whole movie in black and white on vhs the first time. Was still a great experience. ✌️❤️
19:21 ... and that's how she got the part for Kill Bill. Some interesting facts: Tarantino also wanted the girl who played Mitsuko, Ko Shibasaki, as well, but couldn't get her due to a scheduling conflict. Ko would later get to be in an America film, 47 Ronin. As far as Chiaki Kuriyama, (Chigusa), Kill Bill was the only American movie she was ever in, but has been in plenty of Japanese ones
light house scene is best in reading in original novel
if the Nobel Prize did not have a code of ethics, the book would certainly be awarded
this movie is an indictment on just the insane work/study culture in japan, i remember when i first went there in the mid 2000s, there had just been a kid who murdered his whole family because he couldnt bare to reveal he wasnt getting passing grades in school. all too often people die from overworking themselves, because they are expected to come in early and work late without overtime pay, some even hide from their families that theyve been fired and pretend to go to work everyday even while they dont have a job anymore, because they cant bare the shame of having been let go. its pretty grim.
9:43 ....."Am I supposed to enjoy this as much as I am ?"...... Quoting the master Quentin Tarantino "Violence in real life is violence in real life. But in movies, violence is so much fun".....
The movie is abt the system that’s going in Japan. The competition amongst each other yet u have to be obedient & submissive to the rules make by the government. The problems that most people faced in Japan, suicide, child molestation, drunk & loneliness etc.
If you notice there’s a lot of love going but they never dare to express it, this shows the shyness of the society despite looking cool on the outside.
You’ll also notice there’s a lot of brutal violence which just goes to Japanese history on brutality and to just let everything out like their anger etc.
There’s a lot of deep meaning in Japanese movies and it very relatable to what they are going through in their society. That’s why they create movies in terms “what if” or “what could happen” and just let everything that they want to let out but not able to express it in real lives because Japanese people tend to keep to themselves.
You’ll notice that the teacher is being nice to Noriko, one scene was giving her the umbrella. Plus the fact she didn’t kill & didn’t die. This shows how their society is those who are nice & obedient lives. It’s sad but true. That’s why the movie has been one of the greatest movie despite the bloody scenes and killing amongst students. Although in real life the killing is not in the weapon but there’s another word called back stabbing 😉. Thank you for watching this movie! It’s a great choice! Love both of your reactions 😂❤. But ya once you check out the meaning behind the movie & Japanese society, you’ll understand better. 👍 Fun Fact: This movie not only inspired Tarantino movies but The Squid Game (the Korean TV show) as well.
That was intense, love the reaction.
The amount of times those kids got shot & still manages to move around is crazy.
They soak up bullets better than body armor 😂.
The first girl in the light house thought he killed her boyfriend the one with the hatchet but it was an accident
Takeshi Kitano has made some great films He writes, directs and stars in most of them He started off as a well-known Japanese comedian). Zatoichi is one of his best and well worth a look
Agreed! I went on a Kitano Binge after originally seeing this movie, bought alot of dvds.
@@tommyhooligan5795 same here
@@IronFreee Definitely not his best. Besides the old series of Zatoichi films from the 60s and early 70s are much better.
The pretty psychopath girl with the scythe was supposed to be in Kill Bill as Go Go's sister who follows Kiddo to the U.S. to kill her but she couldn't be in the film due to prior film responsibilities so she was written out of the script.
Crouching Tiger, hidden Dragon! (China)
Snatch! (UK)
In Bruges! (UK)
Doberman! (France)
Open your Eyes! (Spain - there was a remake with Tom Cruise: Vanilla Sky)
War and Peace! (1968, Soviet Union, 8 hours running time, production costs as of todays money 700 Million Dollars)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is currently on a poll! Thanks for the recommendations!
This movie is unbelievable. Hunger Games never rose as high as Battle Royale.
The rehearsals were also tough.
The director needed the actors to let their emotions run wild. He drilled them to actually imagine that their best friends got seriously injured or killed.
That movie mirrors a lot of what he had witnessed in WW2, so he wanted people to act as authentic as possible.
Battle Royale is one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite movies , he even said The Hunger Games is an insult to this movie ( or something along those lines)
And he's right.
Aki Maeda who portrayed Noriko was also in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, (1996), Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys, (1999), and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, (2001).
Heisei Gamera series（1～3） is awesome.
Thanks for the great reaction! Really hope you do Amelie (followed by Delicatessen and City of Lost Children) too! You're really really gonna love it.
Such a classic . Even squid game they take examples from Japanese movies. ( South Korea )also let’s not forget killing your self in Japan is common for dishonour ect so it is quite cultural.
"These kids all hate each other"
"Everybody's got a crush on each other"
Yeah, welcome to high school.
What really interests me about these sorts of movies is that they're basically saying "It doesn't take a psychopath to be a killer".
City of God deserves a reaction from that list of films in that poll.
Training Video Girl portrayed by Yūko Miyamura! She was the voice of Casca in Berserk (1997) voice of Seong Mi-na in the game Soul Edge/Blade in 1995, and has been the voice of Chun-Li in Street Fighter games since '94.
Thanks for the reaction! One of my favorite movies, and yes it helps if you’re into Japanese movies and culture but it seems you both still liked it. Seems everyone in comments has already filled you two in on the lore of the movie so I’ll refrain from repeating. All I’ll say is it kicked off a few careers for some of the people in it, Ko Shibasaki “Mitsuko” ( she went on to star in 47 Ronin with Keanu Reaves), Chiaki Kuriyama of course you two knew who she was and Aki Maeda (the main girl) she was a singer, model, actress. There’s a great fan tribute on RUclips for Mitsuko and Kiriyama set to the song Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamen if you want to check it out….
I haven't watched this in 11 yrs! I'm so getting my copy out. I forgot all about it, but it's somewhere on my shelf. If you haven't seen "A Tale Of Two Sisters", you will love it. It's definitely my favorite foreign movie along with Battle Royale.
Reading the book was how I discovered this movie. Highly recommend the book, which has a translated for English version, it's by Koushun Takami. Goes much more in depth with a few characters, especially the guys trying to hack into the system and get their collars off.
Edit: It's also no surprise that this movie is one of Tarantino's all time favs and why that girl was in his movie Kill Bill.
Definitely get the most recent translation published by Haika Soru publisher. It says on the cover: "a new translation by Nathan Collins". I have the old version too. The new one is much better to read.
The book is amazing, I was fully invested in the fertilizer plan and was actually devastated when kazou showed up.
@@UberNoodle Thank you very much for this information!
I remember how iconic the paperback cover is, also how thicc it was
Movie is one of my favorites, but I then got the book and loved it even more. Really fleshes out a lot of the other characters so you actually feel worse for them when they die.
The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins said she'd never heard of Battle Royale. Until people started mentioning how similar their concepts are.
Yes, there is a Battle Royale 2 and it features Kitano's daughter as one of the students
Battle Royale delivers while the Hunger Games failed us with its empty promise of free for all teen murder.
the Novel builds the world a lot better ... it is more like the hunger games in that the "program"'s purpose is to keep the people in line, the idea that even these kids would kill each other to survive, they would turn on their friends, there's no point in banding togther to go against the government because you can't fully trust anyone. that's why they don't televise the actual events to see they try to band together. I do wish they could have shown some of the danger zone kills. man the novel is so good ... I love the movies (there is a sequel). but I love the novel even more ...
the reason why they were criminals after is because they did not follow the rules- only 1 winner is allowed, yet they had 2. this is why they were charged because they had broken the rules of the game and the government is trying to find them
"You never got to taste my cookies."
Me: Well that's a double entendre if I've ever heard one. 🤣
The manga is darker and better but still love this. This film influenced so many things like the belko experiment, fortnight, pubg, hunger games.
My #1 foreign language movie is "Seven Samurai" by legendary director Akira Kurosawa. It's an older movie (filmed in black & white) but is bursting at the seams with character, action, outstanding acting (Toshiro Mifune is a god!) and it's understandable why so many other directors, writers and actors rate the movie as one of their favourites.
It's well worth a watch, doubly so if you're interested in Samurai and their culture.
That's higher caliber Japanese film, I think they mainly look at mainstream stuff.
@@joebloggs396 Never too late to widen ones horizon. They've already watched A Fistful of Dollars so maybe they could start with Yojimbo as an intro to Kurosawa and move on from there.
Currently on a Patreon poll!
@@Fedorevsky "Yojimbo" is another must-see movie! Toshiro Mifune is incredible as the lone samurai!
@@bhurzumii4315 For sure! Great movie! Great actor!
Long-time viewer, first-time poster. If you are considering international cinema, I'd recommend Amores Perros (Mexico), In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong), A Separation (Iran), The Flowers of War (China-Hong Kong), City of God ( Brazil), Gomorah (Italy), Y Tu Mama Tambien (Mexico), Todo Sobre Mi Madre (Spain), Incendies (Canada), Persepolis (France), Oldboy (Korean), Carandiru (Brazil), Princess Monoke (Japan), and El Crimen del Padre Amaro (Mexico). Just throwing ideas out there. And ,yes, there is a sequel to Battle Royale, and you must avoid it all costs!
Even though it's generally pretty faithful there's some notable differences between this film version and the original book, like Shogo and Kazuo not being a part of the class initially (the group of students he kills in the film were a 'gang' that hung around with him in the book, and he decided to play along with the killing game on a whim when he had also considered trying to take down the organizers), Kazuo's backstory (suffered a brain injury at birth that left him unable to process emotions) being left out, and Noriko being the one who kills Kazuo (as well as what happened to a lot of the other students- unlike say The Hunger Games, the book reveals what happens to all of the kids without exception).
One interesting thing is that instead of being a more layered character like in the film, the teacher in the book was a dark parody of Kinpachi-sensei, the central character of a Japanese school drama from the 70s that dealt with realistic social issues, but while that character was known for his sincerity and idealism the one in the book was of course a sadistic monster who only wanted to put the students through hell.
The book is fantastic. I recommend it to everyone. Avoid the manga though, I think it's terrible
this movie is origin of PUBG
developer says they were influenced
and 5:59 she is VA of asuka in evangelion though
You should really read the Manga, there is so much characterization for every person, it's incredibly engaging. This movie has to cram so much information into its runtime that it skips a lot and some of it makes no sense.
I highly recommend BATMAN Mask Of The Phantasm: The Animated Movie from 1993.
It's based on the Batman Animated Series from 1992.
Its now considered to be one of the best Batman movies ever made.
As a high school teacher, I find this film somewhat cathartic.
This is my favorite book, so glad you two watched the film!
Yeah this film is SOMETHING
The Manga is way more violent and brutal. This inspired Hunger games and modern games such as PUBG and Fortnite etc.
Old school Japanese movies especially from directors such as Takashi Miike, Kitano & Fukasasku etc dont shoot their movies in the Traditional Hollywood way where the movie is much linear etc.
Its more symbolic and artistically played out (Japanese audience know how to break it all down) which wasnt popular for us western audience etc
Tatsuya Fujiwara, the lead role of Shuya Nanahara, later played Light Yagani in the Japanese live-action Death Note films, and Shishio Makoto in the Japanese live-action Rurouni Kenshin films.
I had the pleasure of reading the novel this film is based off of when I was in high school. This is still to this day one of my favorite books of all time. If you ever get the chance it’s a must read. The film is definitely legendary but wouldn’t be here without that great book!
The teacher actor is Takeshi Kitano, a very famous actor/director in Japan who does mostly gangster movies. He did a LOT of great movies. A few good ones : Hana-Bi/Fireworks, Gonin/The Five, Kikujiro, Violent Cop, Sonatine and Brother.
Hell yeah. His Yakuza films are fire.
Brother was so underrated and I love it’s soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi
No mention of Takeshi's Castle? For shame! ;-)
My personal opinion is that “The Most Dangerous Game” is the single most adapted piece of popular media ever made. This film and others like it are carrying on the concept.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Royale_(novel)#Origin
The author never mentioned the short story and it is perfectly possibly he never heard of it. I genuinely don't know if it was ever published in Japanese.
"Price of Peril" by Robert Sheckley is another one.
Basically the basis for "Running Man", aside from the Stephen King 'Richard Bachman' novel it supposedly is based on.
Oh it’s entirely possible. But the premise was adapted sooo many times throughout popular fiction even before Battle Royale so tons of material was there floating around. Turkey Shoot (an Aussie film) is probably my personal favorite.
Love this movie….definitely one to take off the shelf and watch again. Unfortunately the sequel wasn’t so great.
Oh, it was horrible. The sequel I mean. So bad.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Put that on your watchlist for Halloween.
Like 99% of movies made are foreign to me, but it still feels funny that if I watch a Marvel movie for example, it's a foreign movie to me. 😃
Loved this movie when I was younger so I’m a little biased but definitely can see the flaws now. Never seen this edition & prefer the original I did see. This special edition seems like they just randomly inserted deleted scenes in. Was hyped for this Reaction & it delivered!!
It was a novel, first (and a manga). And this movie, for all its success, was condemned by the Japanese parliament/Diet. Having lived in Japan for ten years, it does make sense to me that the older generation blaming the younger generation for all societies ills (and Japan is extremely old, the average age is around 50). It takes place in a world where Japan won WWII and uses "experiments" like this to keep the population in fear (as they are aware the government has these BR military "experiments").
The reason they are wanted for murderer is because they didn't end the game by the rules: ending with 2 survivors.
YESSSSSS!!!! This movie shaped the future of media INSANE amounts from Hunger Games to Fortnite and even the newest Kamen Rider. The sequel is awesome as hell too, but the original can't be beat. I cannot wait to see your reaction to this!
I love that you guys reacted to this! This has been a hidden gem for a long time!😎👍🏼
I’ve never seen the special edition. It’s paced a bit weirder compared to the regular version. I’m curious what y’all would think of the sequel, at least conceptually
I remember not enjoying the sequel. Takes the Actual fun BR part of this & just rushes it just to get to the political stuff.
The Sequel was horribly bad.
@@tommyhooligan5795 Kids killing each other is the "fun" part? LOL did you watch the movie? The director had politics in mind when he made the movies and it seems to get lost in the translation to the Western "Monster Truck" audience.
21:09
The actor is currently a member of the House of Councillors.
I love this movie. I used to refuse to watch hunger games because I would say “I’ve already seen this movie… it’s called battle royale and it’s done way better!”
Thanks guys . Modern classic
"She had an ice-cream date with the teacher?" why does it sound so wrong coming out of your mouth?😂
This movie was the epitome of all major Battle Royale based games, and honestly that would bee a good law to have when society should fail and the kids get more out of control and disobedience.
Remarkable film based on a remarkable novel. Felt so timely and still very powerful.
This movie deserves hundreds reaction like the scream and Forrest Gump, and I love the end credits song too, it got me dancing