Anchor Bay has announced the Japanese cult-classic Battle Royale for Blu-Ray in March. This is the first time the film will be released on Blu-Ray in North America and it will be coming in two separate packages, one for the everyday collector (Battle Royale Director’s Cut) and one for the die-hard fans (Battle Royale: The Complete Collection). Oddly enough the film will be tying in with the theatrical release of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games, which shares very similar plot points.
I’ve admittedly never seen Battle Royale, but I’ve heard nothing but great things about it. I’ll be looking forward to the Blu-Ray because I’d rather not waste my money seeing The Hunger Games, which looks like a watered down version of Battle Royale with a little Twilight added in for “flavor”.
Battle Royale will sport a 1080p video transfer and a Japanese 7.1 Dolby TrueHD Master Audio track for the first film, with an optional English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Master Audio track. The second film will also be available if you get the Complete Collection, which comes with a Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Master Audio track. Here’s the full list of specs for the Complete Collection set, the regular set will just come with the Director’s Cut.
- Battle Royale Director’s Cut
- Battle Royale Theatrical Cut
- Battle Royale II: Revenge Director’s Cut
- The Making Of Battle Royale
- Battle Royale Press Conference
- Instructional Video: Birthday Version
- Audition & Rehearsal Footage
- Special Effects Comparison Featurette
- Tokyo International Film Festival 2000
- Battle Royale Documentary
- Basketball Scene Rehearsals
- Behind-The-Scenes Featurette
- Filming On-Set
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Special Edition TV Spot
- TV Spot: Tarantino Version
Battle Royale Director’s Cut and Battle Royale: The Complete Collection will hit shelves on March 20th, 2012.
Check out the official trailer for the film below.
Full Press Statement:
Beverly Hills, CA – Battle Royale. A title that has shocked, thrilled and unnerved audiences. A film whose fiendishly simple premise has inspired many imitations, including the upcoming The Hunger Games motion picture. Based on the 1999 global best-seller by Koushun Takami, the futuristic tale first came to the screen in 2000, directed by the legendary Kinju Fukasaku. Authors, filmmakers and film fans the world over consider the film and its 2003 sequel Battle Royale II: Requiem sacred cinematic classics. And now, fans can own them on high-definition Blu-ray™ and DVD!
On March 20th, Anchor Bay Entertainment proudly brings the Battle Royale: The Complete Collection to Blu-ray™ and DVD for the first time in North America. Featuring state-of-the-art HD transfers, hi-res audio and a wealth of bonus features that delve deep into this truly international phenomenon – the three disc Blu-ray™ plus bonus DVD set has an SRP of $49.99 and an SRP $44.98 for the four disc DVD. Battle Royale will also be released separately on Blu-ray™ for an SRP of $29.99 and DVD for an SRP of $24.98. Pre-Book on both is February 22. Battle Royale will be available digitally via select outlets including iTunes® and Xbox LIVE®.
42 students, Three days, One survivor – No Escape. Welcome to the world of Battle Royale!
Battle Royale
In the near future, the economy has collapsed, unemployment has soared and juvenile crime has exploded. Fearful of their nation’s youth, the Japanese government passes The BR Law: Each year, a 9th grade class is sent to a remote island where they will be locked into exploding neck collars, given a random weapon, and forced to hunt and kill each other until there is only one survivor left. Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill) and screen legend Takeshi Kitano (Boiling Point, Brother) star in the movie that has been argued, acclaimed and banned around the world. More than a decade later, it remains one of the most savage, shocking and emotionally powerful films of all time. Now experience the complete Director’s Cut of Kinji Fukasaku’s uncompromising masterpiece – nominated for 10 Japanese Academy Awards® – available uncensored and unrated for the first time ever in America.Battle Royale: The Complete Collection
In 2000, director Kinji Fukasaku unleashed Battle Royale, his violently poetic epic about an innocent group of Junior High students forced by the government to hunt and kill their classmates for sport. It was nominated for 10 Japanese Academy Awards®, launched a global phenomenon, and banned from screens by frightened civic groups and distributors across America. Three years later, the equally disturbing sequel – featuring a new class, new rules, and a brutal terrorist plot by the first film’s young survivors – triggered its own tragic firestorm around the world. Now for the first time ever, you can see it all: Experience the entire Battle Royale saga on 4 discs that forever blasts open one of the most potent, shocking and savagely influential sagas in motion picture history.