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Finch wrote:Do Arrow have the rights though?

colinr0380 wrote:Blu-ray of Battle Royale coming in October. I wonder if this will just be the theatrical version or will also include the director's cut.

I prefer the original as the constant flashbacks to the basketball match introducing each character was clunky and hurt the pacing, but would kind of like both to be available for posterity!

Both versions of the feature are included on separate discs and each is presented at 1.78:1 (1080/24p AVC), opened up slightly from the original 1.85:1 theatrical ratio. Both transfers are fairly similar in the quality stakes, and that quality is best described as variable largely due to the fact that they appear to have been taken from an old HD master. I'd prefer to get the negative stuff out of the way first, so let's start with some of the problems. Both versions open with a considerable amount of telecine wobble, but thankfully this becomes less obvious as the film progresses. There's also a lot of dirt on both versions (although more so the SE), with black and white flecks and other film artefacts (such as lines) popping up a little too frequently for my liking. I also spotted some blocking artefacts at various intervals, mainly in the darker areas of the screen. The most contentious issue is most likely that of DNR, and to be honest I had a little trouble accurately establishing whether or not the transfers suffer in this regard. Because I never saw the film theatrically it's hard to say whether Battle Royale should feature heavy or fine grain, and while some grain is present it's much lighter than I was expecting. It’s possible that the master was filtered, but it’s just as likely that the film never looked particularly grainy to begin with. Either way, there’s not much Arrow could do about it. Edges also look a little odd, almost like they have a ghost outline, but again this appears to be an issue with the original materials as the same artefact is visible on the DVDs (it’s just harder to discern because of the lower resolution).

With all of that said there are some definite positives to take away from this release. For one thing, the level of detail offered by both versions is much better than any DVD release of the film. Another major bonus is the absence of the hideous interlacing artefacts that marred the DVD releases, rendering them almost unwatchable at times. The aforementioned issues excepted, the Blu-ray transfers are also generally much better than any of the DVDs when it comes to compression. Colour rendition is more natural than the DVDs, staying closer to the cooler, gloomier Japanese versions of the film than the warmer European releases (e.g. the French and German DVDs). There are slight variations between the two colour-wise, but nothing drastic. While some of the shortcomings are lamentable, I still feel that this release offers an appreciable upgrade over the standard-definition versions of the film is the visual department. Given that the sort of money spent on high-profile restorations of American films simply isn’t available for something like Battle Royale I’m inclined to forgive many of the deficiencies, which are less obvious in motion than these captures suggest. If you can do the same you should be fairly happy with what’s on offer, even if you know in your heart that better results could probably be achieved with access to the original film materials, a truck load of money and a lot of TLC. Even so, I’m actually quite pleased with the visuals all things considered.

Collector’s booklet by Tom Mes, author of ‘The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film’ illustrated with stills, artwork and a printed interview with director Kinji Fukasaku

Bürgermeister wrote:It's supposed to have a booklet.
From Arrow's website.

Collector’s booklet by Tom Mes, author of ‘The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film’ illustrated with stills, artwork and a printed interview with director Kinji Fukasaku