Battlefield Baseball (2003) Jigoku Kôshien (original title)

Director:

Yudai Yamaguchi

Writers:

Yudai Yamaguchi (screenplay)
Isao Kiriyama (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

10 September 2004 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sport

Plot:

Battlefield Baseball is a tough game--it doesn't end until all the members on the opposing team are dead...

Plot Keywords:

Beating | Baseball | Pitcher | Falling From Height | Alcoholism

Cast

Tak Sakaguchi	...	Yakyû Jubei
Atsushi Itô	...	Megane
Hideo Sakaki	...	Hôichi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shôichirô Masumoto	...	Umpire
Akiko Mishiro
Alex Revan	...	Blaster
Kanae Uotani	...	Young mother

Directed by
Yudai Yamaguchi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Isao Kiriyama		screenplay
Gatarô Man		comic
Ryuichi Takatsu		writer
Yudai Yamaguchi		screenplay

Produced by
Yoshinori Chiba	....	executive producer: Media Suits
Itaru Fujimoto	....	executive producer: KlockWorx
Ryûhei Kitamura	....	producer
Hidemi Satani	....	planner

Original Music by
Daisuke Yano

Film Editing by
Shûichi Kakesu

Makeup Department
Susumu Nakatani	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Carl Shimkin	....	production manager

Stunts
Gô Ohara	....	stunts
Hiroyuki Yoshida	....	utility stunts

Production Companies

• Klock Worx Co.
• Media Suits
• napalm FiLMS

Distributors

• Klock Worx Co. (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Starmedia Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Subversive Cinema (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Kid's Company (special makeup effects)

Other Companies

• U'Den Flame Works  stunts

Also Known As:

"Jigoku Kôshien" - Japan (original title)
"Battlefield Stadium" - International (English title)

Runtime:

Japan:87 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Germany:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | USA:Not Rated | South Korea:15

Company:

Klock Worx Co.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Hagan Reviews: Chopping Mall (#2.28)" (2012)

Army of Darkness meets Excel Saga

Or is it the other way round? ^^ Anyway, with cheesy SFX, over-the-top acting, and absolutely nonsensical jokes, Battlefield Baseball comes out as one hilarious film that doesn't take itself seriously for nary a minute - mixing some neat AoD tricks with the kind of Japanese humor, which is pretty typical of manga and anime.

I haven't had the pleasure to read the original manga, but the closest comparison I can call, considering all the lampooning going on here, is the anime version of Excel Saga (which incidentally has an episode about baseball heroes - make sure you watch that if you haven't yet!) The movie is quite successful in what it was trying to do (and probably one the few that manages to pull it off): it's guaranteed to make you laugh - provided you like the styles of the source material. And Tak Sakaguchi is simply great as the archetypal anti-hero a.k.a. the bad 'student with long hair and a dirty uniform'.

Two thumbs up!