It doesn't make much sense when you see it written down (as you are about to), but there are two things which movie geeks love to do. They love to be the only ones to have seen an obscure movie so that they can lord it over their movie geek friends, but they also encourage these same movie geek friends to see the movie so that they can all discuss it. One such film was 2000's Battle Royale. This Japanese film was truly shocking, as it featured teenagers killing one another. Given that this was only one year after the shootings at Columbine High School, it was readily accepted that the movie would never see the light of day in the U.S. So, movie devotees were forced to buy import DVDs of the movie. Now, over a decade later, Battle Royale is finally being released in America.

Battle Royale is set in Japan in a not too distant future which unemployment has spiraled out of control and teenagers refuse to go to school. To combat this, the government has implemented the Battle Royale Act. A group of middle-school students are on a field trip when everyone on the bus is gassed and passes out. When they awaken, they find themselves in a decrepit classroom with Kitano (Takeshi Kitano), a teacher who had once worked at their school. Kitano explains that this class has been randomly chosen for Battle Royale. The rules are simple. The group is now on a deserted island. They are all wearing collars which will explode if they attempt to escape. They will each be given a duffle bag which contains a map, food, water, and a weapon of some sort. They will be on the island for a maximum of three days. All that they have to do is kill one another. The last student left alive will be declared the winner and be set free. The kids are then dismissed and scatter across the island. Some take the situation very seriously and immediately begin to kill. Others feel that they are in some sort of nightmare and try to make the best of it. A small group begins to work on a plan to escape. The story focuses on Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara), a nice boy who doesn't want to kill, and Nakagawa (Aki Maeda), a girl who has a crush on him. They align with Kawada (Toro Yamamoto), a mysterious boy who isn't in their class. As the days wear on, the number of students dwindles and the survivors grow more and more desperate.

Based on a book by Koushun Takami, Battle Royale is a wacky movie. The plot bears some resemblance to some sci-fi movies from the 80s and of course, one could also make the argument that the central premise is cribbed from the classic short story "The Most Dangerous Game". But, the thing which makes Battle Royale unique is its inclusion of teenagers, and not just teenagers, but teenagers who are being to fight against their will. Again, coming immediately in the wake of Columbine, it was especially shocking to see a movie where teens were not only shooting one another, but one where some were taking pleasure in it. Despite the plot-point that teens have been shirking school, the kids shown here are mostly pleasant and normal and we can tell that the idea of killing horrifies them.

In the wrong hands, Battle Royale would have simply been an exploitation film. But, Director Kinji Fukasaku and Writer Kenta Fukasaku have injected the film with story and heart. These could have easily been faceless kids who shot and stabbed each other. Instead, we see several flashbacks, showing what the teens were like before they came to the island. Some of these memories are sad (Nanahara's father) and some are pleasant (the school basketball game), but they all help to further reveal who these kids are. A healthy dose of reality is added to the film in the way that the characters reveal true feelings which they have for each other, and how one character in particular drops their mask of platitude and starts killing everyone which they can.

If you are wondering if Battle Royale is a violent movie, it is. The movie doesn't revel in gore, but it also doesn't pull any punches when portraying the shootings and stabbings and there are several scenes where the blood flows freely. But, Fukasaku (who also directed the cult sci-fi film The Green Slime and some sequences in Tora! Tora! Tora!) shows an ability to mix the violence with true suspense, most notably in the scene with the big standoff. But, keep in mind that this is a Japanese film and they are more tolerant of melodrama than we are in the West. Thus, some scenes feel overdone, but that's simply the style there.

Last summer, my daughter was assigned a book entitled The Hunger Games. When I read the jacket, my immediate response was, "This is just a combination of Battle Royale and some early books by Stephen King." As The Hunger Games grew in popularity and anticipation for the movie began to grow, more and more articles mentioned a comparison to Battle Royale. I'm glad that the movie is now going to be available for all to see, especially those who doubted that The Hunger Games resembled anything else. Over a decade later, the movie still packs a punch and shows that The Lord of the Flies was only the beginning.

Battle Royale has too many characters with similar names on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 30 Mbps. The image is fairly sharp and clear, showing a mild amount of grain and no overt defects from the source material. The picture certainly looks better than my old Region 3 DVD. The colors are good, most notably the reds, and the picture is never overly dark or bright. The image is a bit soft and we don't get as much detail as we are accustomed to with Blu-ray Discs. The depth isn't bad, and we don't get any haloes on the characters. The Disc carries a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Someone placed a lot of care in this track, as the rear channel effects are some of the most detailed that I've ever heard. The surround effects weren't always as prevalent as I'd like, but there were moments when very, very specific sounds were present in the surround speakers, making me very aware of what was happening. The stereo effects are well-done and nicely detailed. The subwoofer effects aren't overwhelming, but they do add to the action scenes.

The Blu-ray Disc release of Battle Royale contains no extra features. Although extras can be found on the separate Battle Royale: The Complete Collection release, which also contains Battle Royale II.