Battle Royale (2000) aka Batoru Rowaiaru aka バトル・ロワイアル, directed by Kinji Fukasaku, Capelight Picture 4k remaster, encoded in 10 bit HEVC with AAC sound, including original Japanese theatrical 5.1, commentary track, and subtitles in four languages.
IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/
Video encoded in two-pass 11.0 Mbps x265 10bit with the veryslow preset for archive quality image.
English subtitles proofed and corrected. All other subtitles converted to VobSub and repositioned.
Note : Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale is pretty nuts, but it plays things admirably straight, which is probably why it works, and also why we now have Fortnite. In this story of teenagers forced to kill each other in a near future Japan, there's both character development, psychological drama, and lots of ultra-violence, in short, something for everyone. The cast features several recognizable faces, perhaps first and foremost "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, but even the unknowns, apparently picked through a wide-ranging casting process, do a very good job. If you want heartwarming friendships and lots and lots of automatic weapons, this is for you.
In future Japan, facing soaring unemployment rates and the ever-present bugbear of juvenile delinquency, the government passes the "Battle Royale Act", a law that picks one 9th grade class per year to be transported to a remote location to battle it out to the death until only one remains. Why this would in any way help with crime or unemployment is unclear, but in this case, the class is drugged on a bus trip, and awaken to find their embittered ex-teacher in charge of a group of military who will equip them and send them out across a deserted island to kill each other. Each one has an explosive collar, and certain parts of the island are off limits at certain times, forcing them to stay on the move. Some get automatic weapons, others get considerably less impressive equipment, at random. As could be predicted, the teenagers' reactions range from immediate suicide to going full-on psychopath mass murderer with a vengeance, while some try to stick together and organize, and others strike out on their own. But some participants have previous experience that might be relevant, and the teacher might have ulterior motives...
This 4k remaster is for once a decent-looking transfer of a Japanese film. I wouldn't have minded a bit more color saturation, but otherwise it looks quite good, with well managed grain, good detail and nice contrast. 5.1 sound is as it should, and the commentary track is informative and entertaining.