Import CD Reviews: Battle Royale and Battle Royale II
Battle Royale (2000) ****
MASAMICHI AMANO
Volcano CPC8-3035
23 tracks - 71:08
Battle Royale II (2003) *** 1/2
MASAMICHI AMANO
Dynamord/Zealot ZEY-2007
22 tracks - 74:28
As most film buffs probably know, Japan produces a whole lot more than
Godzilla-movies and anime -- they also churn out a lot of very strange
live-action movies which tend to be very, very bloody, full of gruesome
violence and sexual content. Some of these are highly respected pieces
of art (Audition), other
movies are just weird nonsense (Ichi
-- The Killer). There seems nothing too offensive to put on
screen. So, western audiences would have to wonder what kind of movie
could actually create such the kind of small scandal in Japan that
something like Basic Instinct
did when it came out in the US. Well, Battle
Royale was such a movie. Not necessarily because of its
violence, but probably more due to its central story: In the near
future the youth of Japan is wild, crazy and doesn't listen to the
grown-ups anymore [not so far off the truth]. Schoolteachers have to
fight for survival everyday and the ongoing recession doesn't make the
future look bright.
To control the disobedient teenagers (and teach them the lesson that
grown-ups have to be taken seriously) the government creates the Battle
Royal Act: Each year a class of students is picked at random. This
class is sent to a remote island where each student gets a weapon --
and an explosive collar around his or her neck. The students are given
three days to kill each other off until only one is left. If after the
three days more than one student is alive, all the collars will
explode. So, will your best friend still be your best friend in a
situation like this? And could you kill your best friend or lover?
This situation (controlled by the famous Beat Takeshi) is basically all
you see in this two-hour killing marathon. For me it was a dark comedy
in the vein of Starship Troopers
-- a hilarious satire on the Japanese school system and society. But it
is also a very touching, moving statement on friendship. Nevertheless,
most westerners seem to find it a senseless and horrific collection of
schoolgirls in tight dresses wreaking havoc with machine-guns and
machetes. In Germany, for example, more than 20 minutes were cut from
the film and it was still was doomed with an X-rating. It may not be a
movie for kids (though it got a 15-rating in Japan), but it's great fun
-- at least for sickos like me [and the editors of FSM].
One thing critics agreed upon is that Masamichi Amano's score is a
wonderful piece of work. It's a full orchestral effort with large choir
and cleverly interpolated classical music. The CD and movie opens with
Verdi's fantastic Requiem -- this great classical thunderstorm paired
with the cool opening credits perfectly sets the tone for this movie.
Amano's underscore consists mainly of a haunting friendship theme,
which in its purest form (sung by a choir) does bring tears to your
eyes. It's sung by a female vocalist, first over a humming choir, and
later joined by male voices. It's very much in the style of Alan
Silvestri's "Prince's Day" cue from Blown
Away. There are also orchestral variations on this theme, but
track 21 is really the standout version and is used in several of the
movie's trailers. There's another theme a worth mentioning -- a
brilliant six-note melody for the main villain (a guy who voluntarily
joined the game just for the fun of it), with low-end male choir
chanting -- really scary. Actually, if you don't count the friendship
theme, the bulk of the score maintains a constant feeling of threat,
relying heavily on action and horror. And that's not to say it's not a
valid approach to the picture. Better yet, there's almost always a full
orchestra at work, overdone at times, but also with a typically
Japanese feel to it -- they seldom play something small. For instance,
in the middle of the lengthy opening cue, there is a big orchestral
outburst that sounds as if some monster is chasing a little girl. In
actuality, a teacher is attacked for about a second and then lays on
the floor -- really nothing to get all that excited about, but the
music plays as if there is all hell breaking loose. It's fun to listen
to on CD, but that was one of the few moments in the movie where the
overwriting was distracting -- maybe that's just my western point of
view.
There is definitely an Eastern feel to this score, but not in
instrumentation (there isn't a single eastern instrument in it). It
comes more from the overall style and use of music. It's very big and
brassy, almost old-Hollywood-stylish and very classical -- not as cute
as Spirited Away obviously,
and certainly not such simple throwaway stuff like Media Venture's
shameful Pirates of the Caribbean.
So if you like a score that is versatile and takes some time to get
really into (although it never gets boring despite this lengthy album), Battle Royale is one you have to
check out.
Well, big scandals usually guarantee huge success and such was the case
with Battle Royale (it even
got seven Japan-Oscar-nominations, including score). Thus, a sequel was
inevitable. This summer saw Battle
Royale II open to mixed reviews and audience reaction in Japan.
For me personally, this was the summer blockbuster event, and I was
lucky enough to be in Japan when it opened.
This time Shuya, the survivor of Part 1 has become a notorious
terrorist. He hides on an island together with his Terrorist-Gang Wild
Seven. The government, still horrified by the youth of Japan, kidnaps a
new class, but this time it's war: The kids don't have to kill each
other, but instead defeat Shuya's terrorist group. They still have the
three days and the collars, which have some nice twists this time
around. But this island is really dangerous and many of them don't even
make it past the beach.
The film is basically a war movie, and like almost all war movies, it's
pretty senseless. The first hour is both tense and touching, with
inventive action scenes (and some clear rip-offs of Saving Private Ryan). But overall,
I had the impression it is actually glorifying violence instead of
criticizing it in the satirical way the original film did. It's even
more brutal, and has a larger body count. I've never before seen so
many exploding heads on screen -- gruesome.
Like the original, this film will probably never see a release in the
U.S., not just because of the violence, but because the whole movie is
very anti-American and actually opens with a totally tasteless sequence
in which eight (!) skyscrapers are blown up and crumble to the ground.
Nevertheless, I have to admit that this opening is chilling and done
incredibly well, at least so far as the artistry goes. The photography
of Tokyo during the rising sun is breathtaking, and Amano's choir
version of the friendship theme makes for an amazing companion piece.
When the skyscrapers suddenly fall the Verdi Requiem comes in again and
you know that the Battle Royale Survival Program is on again.
Amano's music for this sequel is in every aspect as good as his work
for the first. This time it relies more heavily on military action
music, emphasizing military percussion. For the landing on the island
the temp track was obviously Starship
Troopers, and cue no. 5 follows in the same vein.
The CD doesn't open with the scoring from the film's chilling opening,
but rather with a grand overture filled with the main military/action
themes. It builds slowly before kicking into full gear with a James
Horner-Courage Under Fire-styled,
quasi-classical action rampage. A fantastic action cue, which I
nevertheless wouldn't have made the first track on the disc.
Amano does reuse thematic material from the original throughout the
sequel score, but overall this effort is quite different. Many cues
focus on building suspense or on short outbursts as our kid-soldiers
sneak through the dangerous, boobytrapped island. There are many big
action cues, some of them with clever variations on the "hero-military"
theme, sometimes getting very atonal and frenzied (Track 9 perfectly
captures the panic when one of the kids' collars is going to explode,
and he runs screaming for help, unfortunately into a mine field,
creating a fateful chain of events -- one of the best and bloodiest
moments in the movie). Track 11 is the longest cue, with almost seven
minutes and features great variations on the friendship theme. It's one
of the most touching cues written in a long time, and it's hard to
believe it's used in such a brutal context. Closing the CD is an
overlong song by a Japanese rock band -- not as bad as you might think,
but also unnecessary.
Again, there are no eastern instruments featured in this score. It's
another great listening experience, but I have to admit that the heroic
theme is used in a way that confused me. There's nothing heroic about
kids blowing up skyscrapers and killing hundreds of soldiers -- at
least, nothing I can pinpoint. Maybe this time I didn't get the
message, but in all the bloodshed I just didn't see anything heroic and
wondered what the music was trying to tell me.
Most westerners will never see this movie, but for your own sake get
the CD! That is, unless you want me to put a collar around your neck
and blow off your head. -- Roman Deppe
The CD is available at http://www.amazon.jp
or www.amazon.fr
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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