Arrow Video has released package shots and further details for their upcoming (November 29th) Blu-ray Disc (and DVD) release of Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale. The Blu-ray Disc edition is limited to 10.000pc and is currently available at Amazon.co.uk for £16.99. According to a tweet (can’t find the link right now) from Arrow, the Blu-ray Disc will be region free!

Brand new restored transfer in high definition 1080p of both theatrical and director’s cut
Brand new subtitle translation on both features
Limited edition packaging numbered #/5000 with certificate
Limited edition exclusive special features

Disc 1 – Theatrical Cut
Original theatrical trailer, The making of Battle Royale: The Experience of 42 High School Students, Conducting Battle Royale with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra

Disc 2 – Special Edition (Director’s Cut)
Special Edition Trailer, TV Spot: Tarantino Version, Shooting the Special Edition, Takeshi Kitano interview, The correct way to make Battle Royale [Birthday Version], Tokyo International Film Festival Presentation

Disc 3 – Special Features
Opening day at Maru no Ichi Toei Movie Theatre, The Slaughter of 42 High School Students, Premiere Press Conference, The Correct way to fight in Battle Royale, Royale Rehearsals, Masamichi Amano conducts Battle Royale, Special Effects Comparison, Behind the Scenes featurette, Filming on Set, TV Spots, Promos and Commercials, Kinji Fukasaku Trailer Reel

32 Page Comic
36 page booklet including: ‘A Battle Without An End’ by Tom Mes, author of ‘The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film’, Printed interview with director Kinji Fukasaku, ‘Today’s lesson is… you kill each other’ by Jay McRoy, author of ‘Japanese Horror Cinema’ [LE Exclusive], Extract from Koushun Takami’s original novel [LE Exclusive], Original promotional material including director’s statement, cast and crew biogs [LE Exclusive]

16 page booklet including: Concept artwork and drawings for the limited edition set [LE Exclusive]

[via DVD Times & Amazon.co.uk]

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I stopped (re)buying films just because of a nice package some time ago, but I just love the cover design on the Canadian Blu-ray Disc steelbook (re)release of Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead coming from Alliance Pictures on November 2nd…

[via amazon.ca]

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The story revolves around a down-and-out teen prostitute in Mardock City named Rune Ballot. One day, she’s picked up by an ambitious casino manager named Shell who gives her everything she could want. Renewed by a false innocence, a false past, and now the false life Shell has given her, Ballot feels grateful. However, she can’t help but be curious about why he’s done so much for her, so she does some research about his past on a computer. This turns out to be a mistake which will change her life greatly. When Shell finds out what she’s done, he attempts to burn her to death by blowing up her car.

Due to the high crime rate in Mardock, a new law called “Scramble 09” has given police carte blanche to take extreme and otherwise illegal measures to revive crime witnesses. With this in mind, they allow a professor to bring Ballot back from the brink of death by reassembling her entire body with reinforced synthetic fiber. When she finally wakes up, her confused mental state eventually turns toward revenge as Shell is revealed as her killer.

[via Can you Moe?]

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Looks like you just can’t keep Appleseed down. Two years after the Appleseed Genesis TV project has been declared dead, ANN reports that there will be another try to (re)animate Masamune Shirow’s manga. Appleseed XIII is supposed to adapt the manga in 13 22-minute OVA episodes and two compilation films. Production I.G and Jinni’s Animation Studios will produce the episodes which will be available next Spring. A first promotion image and a synopsis was released during TIFFCOM:

Following a world war that killed half the world’s population, the city-nation of Olympus stands as a beacon of hope in a world of chaos and conflict. The utopian metropolis is governed by Gaia, a vast artificial intelligence, and administered by a genetically engineered humanoids known as Bioroids.

Although Olympus seems like a peaceful city on the surface, racial (human vs. bioroids vs. cyborgs), religious, and political conflicts lurk underneath — threatening to overturn the delicately balanced “peace.” Security threats such as terrorists and anti-government criminals abound, so the use of force becomes a necessary evil even in this so-called “utopia.”

Deunan, a young female warrior, and Briareos, a veteran cyborg-soldier, are both partners and lovers, as well as members of ES.W.A.T., the elite special forces serving Olympus. They are deployed wherever trouble strikes.

Conspiracy, terrorism, deadly military weapons technology, greedy corporations, and power-hungry politicians — these are just some of the threats that Deunan and Briareos must contend with as they fight to protect Olympus and save mankind from plunging into another war.

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If you’re visiting Berlin this week, maybe you should check out the Asian Hot Shots Berlin festival that takes place in Germany’s oldest cinema, the Moviemento from October 20th to 24th. See the official film catalogue for a quick summary of the over 80 independent films from 15 Asian countries.

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Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and a little Cowboy…

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New trailer for spacey racing anime (guess that’s the new thing in Japan right now) TAILENDERS that was produced at the independant studio Picograph (supported by Anime Innovation Tokyo) and will get a home video release on DVD and Blu-ray Disc (no English subtitles listed so far) in Japan on January 28, 2011.

Synopsis:

The destiny of Tomoe Shiro, a formidable racer with a very promising career, experiments an U-turn when a serious accident puts his life at stake. He recovers miraculously, though, when his heart is replaced with the engine of his own racing car.
However, because of that very reason, race regulations demote him to the category of a mere mechanical part of the vehicle and is deprived from the right to participate as a pilot in regular races. Only in a far away colonial planet, along with a multitude of other charismatic pilots also vetoed from participating in regular competitions, he will be given the opportunity to race for his pride and the money of the prize. And so this exciting rally starts!

[via Anime Nation]

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Four beautiful simplistic poster designs for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan that will probably never hang in any theater:

[via Empire]

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FUNimation posted the dubbed theatrical trailer for Mamoru Hosoda und Satoko Okudera’s Summer Wars on their YouTube channel. The film will get a limited theatrical release in December and will also be available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Spring 2011.

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