Since it is currently hard to find a copy of the Battle Royale Limited Edition, I will try to make this review as quick as possible, which will be tough anyway. I will not discuss the film itself since so much has been said and written about it already, but instead I will focus on the Limited Edition itself.
First, for those of you who are wondering whether or not the this UK release of Battle Royale will play on your U.S. Blu-ray players, don't worry it will. This set is not region locked (although the standard release of the film that comes out in Feburay 2011 will be, so be careful) so it will play on any Blu-ray player as well as PS3 consoles. Also, all the extras on Disk 1 and 2 are in 720p so they will also play without any problems. Disk 3 may be an issue for some since it is a PAL Standard Definition DVD. The PS3 console will not play this disk and you may have to check if your Blu-ray player allows PAL playback. As an alternative you could just play the disk on an Xbox 360 console since they play PAL disks. Also check your PC or laptop as many actually play PAL disks (like my eMachines PC for example).
Now here is a break down of the Limited Edition content:
Disk 1 - (Blu-ray) Theatrical Cut 114 Minutes
Extras include Trailer, 50 minute making of, and more.
Disk 2 - (Blu-ray) Director's Cut (or Special Edition) 122 Minutes
Extras include Trailer, TV Spot, Takeshi Kitano Interveiw, and more.
Disk 3 - (PAL SD-DVD) Special Features
This Disk has multiple extras, way too many to list but they are all worth sitting through despite some overlap between some of the extras from the first 2 disks.
32 Page Comic - "Battle Royale: Parent's Day"
I have to admit I did not know what to expect from this comic but surprisingly it is pretty good, albeit short. The best thing about it is how it ties into the first film since it is actually a prequel. A nice bonus to a great set.
36 Page Booklet
This booklet includes two well written essays on the Battle Royal film that give you an even better understanding of some of the films themes. It also has an interview with Director Kenji Fukasaku from 2001, and one chapter from the Battle Royale novel among other things. This booklet is one of my favorite extras within the Limited Edition and a must read for fans.
16 Page Booklet
This booklet includes some nice unused concept art for the the Limited Edition.
5x7 Postcard (8 Total)
These postcards use stills from the film, all of them are of good quality.
Foldout Double Sided Poster
This poster includes new artwork on one side as well as original artwork on the other. Unfortunately the poster is rather small, but this is a slight complaint for a nice bonus to the set.
Now there is one last thing I should mention about the set, and that is the picture quality for the film. Some have expressed disappointment with the quality, feeling the picture could have looked better. In all honesty, there might be some truth to that but I think it is safe to say Battle Royale has never looked this good on home video. My previous copy of Battle Royal was the Starmax release, and I can see the improvement from that DVD release to this Blu-ray release. This may not be the best the film could look on Blu-ray but Arrow Video did a fine job with this Limited Edition. If your a fan of Battle Royale you should not hesitate to pick this release up if you still can.
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BATTLE ROYALE 3D Trailer (2010)by DJMixDeadly37,335 views
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