"Considering Tarantino's penchant for championing Asian cinema and his taste for stylized hyper-violence, the pick certainly didn't come out of nowhere. But for many of those watching him chat about his favorites, the movie was as much of a myth as an actual product. Battle Royale hadn't been officially released on home video in the United States, so if you'd missed its few theatrical showings, you were left scrabbling for a bootleg version"
"But Battle Royale has since become so internationally renowned that Lionsgate has prepared a nice-looking steelbook set for its 25th anniversary. While no longer infamous, Battle Royale remains a thrilling experience, equal parts a high-concept bloodbath and a troubling look at the deranged trajectory of totalitarianism in motion. Battle Royale's director, Kinji Fukasaku, spent his entire career crafting films about the violent underbellies of society, three-dimensional gangsters, and action-fueled set pieces."
Battle Royale became internationally renowned despite limited U.S. home video availability and early mythic status among viewers. Lionsgate released a 25th-anniversary steelbook acknowledging the film's impact. The film balances a high-concept premise and extreme violence while critiquing the trajectory of totalitarianism. Director Kinji Fukasaku, a veteran known for films about society's violent underbellies and action set pieces, crafted what is often considered his magnum opus. Based on Koushon Takami's novel, the plot forces a class of high schoolers into a lethal 'battle royale' resolved by a single survivor, enforced by explosive collars that prevent dissent.
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