The Hunger Games - Part 1

[Project862006]

jen at hunger games screening

 

[Bats123]

Apparently, this film is so good that the sequel already has a good review.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

I only knew it was a matter of time before someone used that lightsaber smiley for "other reasons"

 

[Project862006]

Apparently, this film is so good that the sequel already has a good review.

i would'nt doubt it anyways

Simon Beaufoy(127 Hours,Slumdog Millionaire) is writing the script For Catching Fire

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

For someone who has seen Battle Royale 1 & 2, and the Tournament...what does this movie's story have that stands out from these? (puns aside)

 

[craigdbfan]

Two words: Jennifer Lawrence.

 

[jmc]

I somehow lost faith in RT. There are a couple of movies that has high RT rating but totally sucked in my opinion.

I must admit that this movie is really good but this movie is really not my type of genre. I'm not into survival and reality tv fan sp I find it meh. However, it's pretty much well directed and well acted.

What's with Jennifer Lawrence? She got a nomination in Academy Awards right? I don't find her acting that special. Well, even Kiera Knightley got nominated twice in Oscars so I don't need to be critical about it. But that's just me because I saw JL in X-men first class.

Jennifer Lawrence will win an Oscar before she's 30. Bet on it, this film series will cement her future.

 

[jmc]

jen at hunger games screening

nice

 

[jacobed]

For someone who has seen Battle Royale 1 & 2, and the Tournament...what does this movie's story have that stands out from these? (puns aside)

Besides the idea of kids fighting. They are absolutely nothing alike. I cant wait for this to come out so people can see how its so different then finally shut up about Battle Royale.

 

[Project862006]

now i haven't seen battle royale but dont they just drop the kids in the battlefield and lets them fight it out?

because in this film the hunger games is more like an event their Olympics in a way lol

the kids get pampered with tons of food get groomed get shown off in the tribute parade

get sponsors

haymitch is basically like their fight promoter lol

they get to train in the training grounds on all sorts of skills

get to do live interviews in front of all of the capitol

all before they even enter the arena

 

[jacobed]

Yeah basically. There is no emotional investment or anything just an excuse for lots of bloodshed. This is waay more than teen on teen violence.

 

[lililatigresse]

Yeah basically. There is no emotional investment or anything just an excuse for lots of bloodshed. This is waay more than teen on teen violence.

Actually, I was way more touched by the deaths in Battle Royale than those in the Hunger Games.
In Battle Royale, the kids have a history together. They are classmates, some of them are friends, lovers...
In the Hunger Games, only one death kind of touched me and it was more because of the age of the person.
But yeah, Hunger Games is not about teen violence. I don't even think it's that violent.

What the author borrowed from Battle Royale is the concept of the games, but she added the poverty/starvation theme and the concept of Panem and the districts which I think was a really good idea.
And there's the whole reality tv/sponsors thing which is completely dumb in my opinion.
And of course, the big romance.

I like the Hunger Games like a guilty pleasure, but I think Battle Royale is better.
In your opinion, Battle Royale is just an excuse for lots of bloodshed, in my opinion, the Hunger Games are just an excuse for a teenage romance.

 

[Project862006]

an article i found had great differences between them :

It might shock you - if you haven't discovered this yourself - when I tell you that there is very little in common with The Hunger Games and Battle Royale. Their only real similarity between them is they're both about kids killing each other. That's it. They're about as similar as Kick Ass and Super, The Prestige and The Illusionist, or A Bugs Life and Antz.

TONE:

The Hunger Games, at it's core, is a science fiction adventure story with a dash of political drama. The dystopian setting, futuristic vehicles and genetically modified whatnots add to this formula. It functions with a realistic voice from the narrator who is contained within a world that she doesn't agree with and has many disputes with. It's supposed to be a fun and exciting story to experience, something that is relatable because of the bond that we can form with the characters. In regards to the violent centerpiece of the story, the actual Hunger Games, within the context of the story, it is viewed purely as entertainment. Which speaks volumes about how we should view the story itself.

Battle Royale is quite different. The idea that the country has descended into madness is only a setup for what the story holds. There is no real subtext within the killing or the love story of the two leads that relates back to the idea of the country in turmoil or the purpose of the BR act (punishing the children). It also handles its violence with a very tongue-in-cheek quality at times. Examining the amount of blood that shoots out of a freshly made wound in Battle Royale is proof enough what kind of style it's taking.

Characters:

The behavior of characters in a story is a very important - albeit sometimes overlooked - aspect. It takes their decisions and actions that form what the story becomes and why you remember a character from the story anyway. This is entirely true for both of these stories.

The Hunger Games' Katniss is a relatable young woman with pathos and and fervor behind her. She serves as our gateway into the story, and does so well. As a character, she is, of course, familiar with The Hunger Games and, though she never anticipates actually playing in them, strategy and forethought are always at the back of her mind. The supporting cast in the story are also important regarding what's happening here. Not all of them are in cahoots with The Capitol's devious ways, some of them are there for Katniss. They help them get into a mindset that is necessary in their achievement throughout the story.

If you took all of the characters from Battle Royale and lined them up and then threw a rock at one of them with your eyes closed chances are the one you hit would be a complete and utter psycho. Except for the two main characters in the story, almost every single other person is bat-**** insane. There is very little moderation in this story, everything is to one extreme or the other. While the two leads do act sensibly, and they do stand out for it, the moments when they break character and lose it for a second are far more memorable than when they're sitting in a ditch or a shack crying about how they love each other.

To me this is the defining difference between these two stories. Sure, there are some characters in The Hunger Games that are crazy, but literally almost every character in Battle Royale is totally off their rocker. There is little to no similarity in terms of character dynamics and behavior between these two.

The Games:

The actual "Hunger Games" event is made into an entire spectacle throughout the whole country. It was conceived and functions as a large-scale television even that is required viewing for the whole population of Panem. Every aspect of the game is part of the spectacle, too - the selection of tributes, the interviews prior to the games, the actual games, and the highlight reel/final interview with the victor.

Battle Royale's event is not televised. It is not known by anyone else in the country who was chosen for the challenge or who the victor is until the game is actually over, as seen in the start of the film. It's not even known to the participants that they're in the game until they've arrived at their destination. Many of them don't even seem to know what the Battle Royale act is even when the “rules” of the game are being explained to them.

When the Hunger Games start, the tributes are taken to the area where the games will be held and are placed at starting points all around each other. They are not given any supplies to start with, and, if they so choose, must go get supplies near the starting point, but risk being killed by the other tributes. They can also have supplies sent directly to them by their sponsors at any time during the games.

The children in Battle Royale are all given a survival pack before they're released into the playing field. Each pack contains different supplies that they might need, as well as a “grab bag” weapon which could range from an Uzi sub-machine gun to a crossbow to a frying pan.

Both stories do have a sort of “fail safe” in place in case things aren't going the way those in charge had planned. The Hunger Games can have anything occur in the event that The Capitol thinks things are getting boring for the audience at home. They change the games in the service of having a “more exciting” game for the viewers. The game in Battle Royale changes both because the “game masters” just want it to and because they're trying to encourage the participants to just go ahead and kill their competitors - a tactic used by The Capitol in The Hunger Games, but their primary concern is giving an enjoyable viewing product to the rest of the country.

The Setting

The general set up for the two stories is similar. A dystopian future where in a group of children are required to fight to the death until there is a victor. But is it really that simple? In Battle Royale, the country is in shambles for no particular reason; it can probably be linked to an economic crisis with so much of the population out of work as the prologue suggests. As a result of the downfall of Japan, the students have protested school and the adults being in fear of the teenagers pass the “Battle Royale” act. The act chooses one classroom of teenagers in the country and places them in a location to fight to the death in three days.

The Hunger Games, on the other hand, is set up with a country divided into different districts, all spread around the country of "Panem" - what remains of the United States and Canada. There was, at one point, an uprising against the totalitarian government known as “The Capitol” in which one of the districts was completely obliterated. As a result, every year two “tributes” are chosen from each district, a male and a female, to fight to the death as a way to acknowledge that The Capitol is still in control.

Now, it should be noted that “District 12,” where the main character Katniss Everdeen lives, is indeed a “poor” district, but this not a reflection of the country of Panem as a whole. So, as far as the setting is concerned, Battle Royale has a country falling into a chaotic downward spiral, The Hunger Games has a country that functions as a country does today with richer and poorer sections and a fully functioning class system.

The set-up for the games are also quite different. Part of the aesthetic of Battle Royale is that the group of children selected are in the same classroom and thus all know each other. This reflects the very sadistic nature taken on by the Battle Royale act itself. The children are also selected in an effort to teach the remaining population of children “behave or this could happen to you”.

When the children from The Hunger Games are selected, the only ones that know each other are the ones from the same districts. Presumably, they might not know each other either considering their ages could be range from 12 to 18. This works toward the favor of the games as it should make it easier for them to kill their fellow tributes if they don't know them. But in Battle Royale, where the very fact that they know each other and by their very nature should refuse to kill them is again part of the very sadistic nature of the story.

The Violence

Battle Royale being a Japanese genre film one knows what kind of violence level to expect from it, and it doesn't disappoint. The amount of graphically depicted violence and the bloodshed is very high. No punches are pulled when a character gets killed, and the violence is indeed glorified in it's presentation. The viewer could choose to be repulsed by the level of violence, but its continual use serves as a reminder for what the story is and why it is necessary.

Since we're seeing the world of The Hunger Games through the eyes of Katniss we're getting a viewpoint on the violence. There's also a lot more going on in her head than purely, “Oh, better kill everyone!” She has internal conflicts, she functions on a different level. She tries to justify her own use of violence against people. However, the violence committed by her fellow tributes is a little different. By my standards this was not a really violent story, but that's not to say that the death of some of the characters aren't gruesome, because they are.

Battle Royale clearly uses violence without thinking about it, it is - in essence - the centerpiece of the entire story. While the violence is a main threshold of The Hunger Games, it doesn't serve as the only building block and isn't presented as the primary focal point for the story.

 

[jacobed]

First off she didnt borrow crap from Battle Royale, she like many many many people had never even heard of it. Secondly, I dont think we're suppose to feel for the deaths of anyone in the games. All our feelings belong to Katniss and how shes doing.

 

[Any Carolina]

I somehow lost faith in RT. There are a couple of movies that has high RT rating but totally sucked in my opinion.

I must admit that this movie is really good but this movie is really not my type of genre. I'm not into survival and reality tv fan sp I find it meh. However, it's pretty much well directed and well acted.

What's with Jennifer Lawrence? She got a nomination in Academy Awards right? I don't find her acting that special. Well, even Kiera Knightley got nominated twice in Oscars so I don't need to be critical about it. But that's just me because I saw JL in X-men first class.

Keira was not nominated twice, but only once. Have you ever watched Winter's Bone, Like Crazy, The Beaver? In these films, you'll see the great talent of Jennifer Lawrence, which is far superior to Keira. Besides that, Jennifer was very praised, by specialized critical, for its interpretation of the Raven/Mystique, in X-men first class.

 

[Crockett]

Keira was not nominated twice, but only once. Have you ever watched Winter's Bone, Like Crazy, The Beaver? In these films, you'll see the great talent of Jennifer Lawrence, which is far superior to Keira.

I like both actresses and I don't think either one of them is better than the other, Keira has a lot of detractors and the reason tend to be because she's always in period-piece. It's not like she's outstanding in every single role but she's always been consistent.

 

[Any Carolina]

I love this trio...

 

[Any Carolina]

I like both actresses and I don't think either one of them is better than the other, Keira has a lot of detractors and the reason tend to be because she's always in period-piece. It's not like she's outstanding in every single role but she's always been consistent.

I think Keira is talented, but I think Jennifer Lawrence is the most talented, versatile and consistent also, think Jennifer deserves all "status", that criticizes specialist gave her, the girl is really, the best of their generation, but their generation is opposite of the Keira, which for me, is one of the best of her generation, as well.

I'm not the person, who gives value for an Oscar, but he wanted to use, the indication of Keira, as demerit, this sense, I disagree, she deserved the nomination.

 

[lililatigresse]

First off she didnt borrow crap from Battle Royale, she like many many many people had never even heard of it. Secondly, I dont think we're suppose to feel for the deaths of anyone in the games. All our feelings belong to Katniss and how shes doing.

First off, lol I know most Americans had never heard of Battle Royale before this and it will probably remain like this even after the release of the Hunger Games, but I don't believe her when she said she had never heard of it (that's my opinion).

Secondly, I think that's exactly one of the big failures of the books because it makes the whole games far less awful especially since

Spoiler

it was obvious than both her and Peeta would survive. And as much as I loved Peeta (he was my favourite character), the only way to make the book interesting other than in a romantic way, would have been to kill him. But then I'm not sure the books would have been so succesful with teenagers.

That's why I think that in the end, it's a book written for teenage girls with some sci-fi elements while Battle Royale is a violent film about human nature. There's your big difference.

Anyway, I won't talk about Battle Royale anymore because I actually like and want to see the Hunger Games. And it opens today in France t:

 

[Crockett]

I think Keira is talented, but I think Jennifer Lawrence is the most talented, versatile and consistent also, think Jennifer deserves all "status", that criticizes specialist gave her, the girl is really, the best of their generation, but their generation is opposite of the Keira, which for me, is one of the best of her generation, as well.

I'm not the person, who gives value for an Oscar, but he wanted to use, the indication of Keira, as demerit, this sense, I disagree, she deserved the nomination.

Oh, I can agree with this and it's good that she's working on this film, she's been real tremendous so far with her roles and has this screen presence to her, with this her career may rocket sky-high even more than it already is and the good thing is that it's completely deserving.

 

[Any Carolina]

Oh, I can agree with this and it's good that she's working on this film, she's been real tremendous so far with her roles and has this screen presence to her, with this her career may rocket sky-high even more than it already is and the good thing is that it's completely deserving.

I loved gif of Charlize, in your profile, you have this gif in a larger size?

 

[terry78]

I liked Gary Ross' interview on the front page and his thoughts on CG. He says that they used a lot of it, but to him it's like music, you shouldn't notice it.

 

[marvelman2006]

Im about a 100 pages away from the finishing the book and I must say if the movie is even somewhat close to the book it will be a homerun. I dont read much and heard lots of good hype about this and how its not like twilight despite what FYE and hot topics does and downloaded it on my wifes ipad kindle app and since saturday I have been obssesed with reading it. Every chapter and every character is great and the story is very good. Im hoping to be done by friday and maybe checking it out on sunday night or monday night.

 

[kvz5]

I love this trio...

Damn. How short is Josh?

 

[Raiden]

For someone who has seen Battle Royale 1 & 2, and the Tournament...what does this movie's story have that stands out from these? (puns aside)

Two words: Jennifer Lawrence.

Craigdbfan is right...

jen at hunger games screening