Rent Battle Royale (2000)
3.9 of 5 from 247 ratings
1h 49min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is in a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and violence amongst the nation's youth is spiralling out of control. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing their teachers, a beleagured and near-defeated government decides to introduce a radical new measure: the Battle Royale Act. Overseen by a former teacher, (Takeshi Kitano), and requiring that a randomly chosen school class be taken to a deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death, the Act dictates that only one pupil be allowed to survive the punishment. He or she will return, not as the victor, but as the ultimate proof of the lengths to which the government are prepared to go to curb the tide of juvenile disobediance. - Actors:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Takeshi Kitano, Chiaki Kuriyama, Sôsuke Takaoka, Takashi Tsukamoto, Yukihiro Kotani, Eri Ishikawa, Sayaka Kamiya, Takayo Mimura, Yutaka Shimada, Aki Unone, Ren Matsuzawa, Hirohito Honda, Ryou Nitta, Sayaka Ikeda, Anna Nagata, Yukari Kanasawa, Misao Kato
- Directors:
- Kinji Fukasaku
- Producers:
- Kenta Fukasaku, Kinji Fukasaku, Kimio Kataoka, Chie Kobayashi, Toshio Nabeshima, Masumi Okada
- Voiced By:
- Ai Maeda, Doug Erholtz, Erin Fitzgerald, Stephanie Komure, Stephanie Sheh, John Snyder, Spike Spencer, Kaiji Tang, Julie Ann Taylor
- Writers:
- Koushun Takami, Kenta Fukasaku
- Aka:
- Batoru Rowaiaru
- Studio:
- Tartan
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Thrillers
- Countries:
- Japan
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 10/07/2017
- Run Time:
- 114 minutes
- Languages:
- Japanese DTS 2.0, Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- The Making of 'Battle Royale': The Experience of 42 High School Students
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 26/04/2021
- Run Time:
- 236 minutes
- Languages:
- Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Japanese LPCM Stereo
- Subtitles:
- English
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Various
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Brand new audio commentary by critics Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
- Battle Royale at 20: Back to School, an exclusive new 42-minute documentary about the legacy of Battle Royale
- Bloody Education: Kenta Fukasaku on Battle Royale, a brand new exclusive interview with the film's producer and screenwriter
- The Making of Battle Royale: The Experience of 42 High School Students, documentary featuring footage from the shooting of the film and cast and crew discussions
- The Slaughter of 42 High School Students, a look behind the scenes of the shoot
- Behind the scenes footage with comments from the cast and crew
- Filming on Set, a look at the shooting of key scenes from the film
- Conducting Battle Royale with the Warsaw National Philharmonic, archive footage of Masamichi Amano conducting the soundtrack rehearsal
- Shooting the Special Edition, on-location featurette with footage of the cast and crew reuniting for the shoot of the Special Edition
- Royale Rehearsals, featurette on Kinji Fukasaku directing the film's young cast
- Masamichi Amano Conducts Battle Royale, archive featurette
- Takeshi Kitano Interview, filmed on location with the Japanese star
- The Correct Way to Fight in Battle Royale, instructional video explaining the rules of the game
- The Correct Way to Make 'Battle Royale': Birthday Version, a new version of the original instructional video made to celebrate Kinji Fukasaku's birthday
- Premiere Press Conference, preceding the film's first public screening
- Tokyo International Film Festival Presentation, with footage from the gala screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival
- Opening Day at the Marunouchi Toei Movie Theatre, archive footage of the Japanese opening
- Special Effects Comparison showing how the film's violent killings were created
- Original Trailers and TV spots
- Kinji Fukasaku trailer reel, a collection of original trailers for Fukasaku's classic yakuza films from the 70s
- Image Gallery
- Disc 1:
- This disc includes the following:
- The Original Theatrical Version
- Special Features - Disc 2:
- This disc includes the following:
- Special Edition - Director's Cut
- Special Features
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Reviews (3) of Battle Royale
Japanese filming at it's best - Battle Royale review by CP Customer
A twisted tale of a government gone mad. But once you get your head around that fact it is compelling viewing. A must see. Not just for the Stylised killings, but the direction and the background knowledge that can be found on the extras about each death. Why some commited suicide and others turned into serial killers overnight.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Godd funny Japanese horror movie - Battle Royale review by PV
Is this Japanese film at its best? Probably. OK, so the soundtrack - and hammy acting - are perhaps more of a south-east Asian taste, and they grate with me. But there is no doubt that this movie is entertaining - as well as an excuse for plenty of grand guignol bloodletting. There are screeching Japanese schoolgirls aplenty too, for those who like that kind of thing. This film also has a plot that sort of makes sense, with characters' motivations justifying their actions, and a good dose of Japanese shame and suicide too. A bit overblown, a bit nutty (but now on in the same mentalist league as The Happiness of the Katakuris) - but good horrific fun. The only thing missing is reality TV cameras (and just how the organiser can afford his own private army and island is anyone's guess!). Was the writer of this script a teacher exploring a fantasy maybe? Anyway - Recommended.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Cult Japanese Action - Battle Royale review by GI
If you want to know where the idea for The Hunger Games came from here it is. This Japanese cult film is a taut action film set in a dystopian near future where the fear of social collapse and a rise in violent youth crime forces the government to pass the Battle Royale Act in an attempt to bring moral and adult authority back into society. Under the legislation a class of teenagers are taken to a remote island and given a variety of weapons and forced to fight until only one survivor remains. They have necklaces attached that explode if they fail to comply with the 'game'. Friendships, loyalties and morality are all brought into question as some of the kids quickly resort to killing whilst others attempt to maintain their humanity and find another solution. It's in this that the film is focused, the philosophical debate around whether people, in desperate straits will resort to their base animalistic nature and murder or are humans inherently good and would refuse to participate even if it meant their own death. As a piece of cinema this is both exciting and shocking with strong bloody violence. As an action film it's really good and an example of foreign cinema that has been a huge influence, it's a firm favourite of Quentin Tarantino and his Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003) bears a stylistic similarity. Certainly a controversial film although it's not gratuitous in its depiction of violence but definitely a film worth checking out.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.