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The film was labeled "crude and tasteless" by members of [[Japanese parliament]] and other government officials after the film was screened for them before its general release.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://mediacircus.net/battleroyale.html|title= Battle Royale Movie Review|accessdate=2007-01-08 |last= Leong|first= Anthony|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= 2001|month= |work= |publisher= Issue 33 of Asian Cult Cinima|pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref> The film created a debate over government action on media violence. At one point, director Kinji Fukasaku allegedly gave a press statement directed at the age group of the film's characters, saying "you can sneak in, and I encourage you to do so."<ref>http://www.npr.org/2012/03/21/148991013/battle-games-cold-brutality-a-common-theme</ref> Many conservative politicians used the film to blame [[popular culture]] for a youth crime wave. Ilya Garger of ''[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]]'' magazine said that ''Battle Royale'' received "free publicity" and received "box-office success usually reserved for cartoons and TV-drama spin-offs."<ref name="Garger"/> The Japanese reaction to the film in the early 2000s has been compared to the British outrage over ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' in the early 1970s.<ref name="variety_br"/> Critics note the relation of ''Battle Royale'' to the increasingly extreme trend in [[Cinema of Asia|Asian cinema]] and its similarity to [[reality television]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/09/05/battle_royale_2001_review.shtml|title= Battle Royale (2001)|accessdate=2007-01-08 |last= Korsner |first=Jason |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2001-09-13|month= September|work= |publisher= BBC|pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>
The film was labeled "crude and tasteless" by members of [[Japanese parliament]] and other government officials after the film was screened for them before its general release.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://mediacircus.net/battleroyale.html|title= Battle Royale Movie Review|accessdate=2007-01-08 |last= Leong|first= Anthony|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= 2001|month= |work= |publisher= Issue 33 of Asian Cult Cinima|pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref> The film created a debate over government action on media violence. At one point, director Kinji Fukasaku allegedly gave a press statement directed at the age group of the film's characters, saying "you can sneak in, and I encourage you to do so."<ref>http://www.npr.org/2012/03/21/148991013/battle-games-cold-brutality-a-common-theme</ref> Many conservative politicians used the film to blame [[popular culture]] for a youth crime wave. Ilya Garger of ''[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]]'' magazine said that ''Battle Royale'' received "free publicity" and received "box-office success usually reserved for cartoons and TV-drama spin-offs."<ref name="Garger"/> The Japanese reaction to the film in the early 2000s has been compared to the British outrage over ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' in the early 1970s.<ref name="variety_br"/> Critics note the relation of ''Battle Royale'' to the increasingly extreme trend in [[Cinema of Asia|Asian cinema]] and its similarity to [[reality television]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/09/05/battle_royale_2001_review.shtml|title= Battle Royale (2001)|accessdate=2007-01-08 |last= Korsner |first=Jason |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2001-09-13|month= September|work= |publisher= BBC|pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>


For eleven years, the film was never officially released in the [[United States]] or [[Canada]], except for screenings at various [[film festival]]s.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/releaseinfo</ref> The film was screened to a test audience in the U.S. during the early 2000s, not long after the [[Columbine High School massacre]], resulting in a negative reaction to the film's content.<ref name="crunchyroll"/> According to the book ''Japanese Horror Cinema'', "Conscious of the Columbine syndrome, which also influenced the reception of the markedly inferior ''[[The Matrix]]'' (1999)," much of the test audience for ''Battle Royale'' "condemned the film for its mindless and gratuitous violence in terms very reminiscent of the British attitude towards [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s ''[[Straw Dogs]]'' (1971) on its initial release."<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Tony|title=Japanese Horror Cinema|year=2006|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|location=Edinburgh|isbn=0748619941|pages=130-143 [130]|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Yo4cY5Rcd4MC&pg=PA130|edition=Reprint.|editor=Jay McRoy|accessdate=27 March 2012|chapter=10. Case Study: Battle Royale's Apocalyptic Millennial Warning}}</ref> It has since been speculated that the film was banned in the U.S. and Canada. However, it was never banned in any capacity anywhere on the continent; rather, no [[North America]]n distribution agreement for the film had ever been reached due to myriad corporate and legal concerns on the parts of both the Japanese [[Toei Company]] and prospective North American studios, despite mutual interest.<ref>[[Max Allan Collins]], "Where the Battle Began", in ''Battle Royale: The Novel''. [[Haika Soru|Viz Media]], 2009.</ref> It was said in 2005 by a representative of a prospective American distributor that Japanese executives from the Toei Company were advised by American lawyers who attended test screenings in the early 2000s that they could "go to jail" had the film been mass-released in the USA.<ref>http://www.aintitcool.com/node/54255</ref><ref name="crunchyroll">http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/01/15-1/video-north-american-battle-royale-trailer</ref> In the company's best interests, Toei attached prohibitive rules, costs, and legal criteria to any possible North American distribution deal. Toei representative Hideyuki Baba stated that the reason for "withholding distribution" in North America was "due to the picture's contents and theme."<ref>http://www.battleroyalefilm.net/movie/banned.html</ref>
For eleven years, the film was never officially released in the [[United States]] or [[Canada]], except for screenings at various [[film festival]]s.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/releaseinfo</ref> The film was screened to a test audience in the U.S. during the early 2000s, not long after the [[Columbine High School massacre]], resulting in a negative reaction to the film's content.<ref name="crunchyroll"/> According to the book ''Japanese Horror Cinema'', "Conscious of the Columbine syndrome, which also influenced the reception of the markedly inferior ''[[The Matrix]]'' (1999)," much of the test audience for ''Battle Royale'' "condemned the film for its mindless and gratuitous violence in terms very reminiscent of the British attitude towards [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s ''[[Straw Dogs]]'' (1971) on its initial release."<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Tony|title=Japanese Horror Cinema|year=2006|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|location=Edinburgh|isbn=0748619941|pages=130-143 [130]|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Yo4cY5Rcd4MC&pg=PA130|edition=Reprint.|editor=Jay McRoy|accessdate=27 March 2012|chapter=10. Case Study: Battle Royale's Apocalyptic Millennial Warning}}</ref> It has since been speculated that the film was banned in the U.S. and Canada. However, it was never banned in any capacity anywhere on the continent; rather, no [[North America]]n distribution agreement for the film had ever been reached due to myriad corporate and legal concerns on the parts of both the Japanese [[Toei Company]] and prospective North American studios, despite mutual interest.<ref>[[Max Allan Collins]], "Where the Battle Began", in ''Battle Royale: The Novel''. [[Haika Soru|Viz Media]], 2009.</ref> It was said in 2005 by a representative of a prospective American distributor that Japanese executives from the Toei Company were advised by American lawyers who attended test screenings in the early 2000s that they could "go to jail" had the film been mass-released in the USA.<ref>http://www.aintitcool.com/node/54255</ref><ref name="crunchyroll">http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/01/15-1/video-north-american-battle-royale-trailer</ref> In the company's best interests, Toei attached prohibitive rules, costs, and legal criteria to any possible North American distribution deal. Toei representative Hideyuki Baba stated that the reason for "withholding distribution" in North America was "due to the picture's contents and theme." A representative for a prospective US distributor criticized Toei for expecting a wide release like ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'' rather than a limited [[Art film|art house]] run, noting that "in the US it will never get past the [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|MPAA ratings board]], and the major theater chains will never play it un-rated. If you cut it enough to get an R rating there'd be nothing left."<ref>http://www.battleroyalefilm.net/movie/banned.html</ref>


===Release===
===Release===
Line 146: Line 146:
;[[Yokohama Film Festival]]
;[[Yokohama Film Festival]]
*Best Supporting Actress - [[Kou Shibasaki]]
*Best Supporting Actress - [[Kou Shibasaki]]

;[[List of film festivals in Europe|San Sebastián Horror & Fantasy Film Festival]]
*Audience Award for the Best Feature Film<ref>{{cite web|title=12TH HORROR AND FANTASY FILM FESTIVAL (2001)|url=http://www.donostiakultura.com/terror/2011/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=41&lang=en|work=History Awards|publisher=San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival|accessdate=28 March 2012|year=2001}}</ref>


===Legacy===
===Legacy===

Revision as of 14:11, 28 March 2012

Battle Royale
File:Battle royale pochette.jpg
French release poster
Directed byKinji Fukasaku
Screenplay byKenta Fukasaku
Produced byMasao Sato
Masumi Okada
Teruo Kamaya
Tetsu Kayama
StarringTatsuya Fujiwara
Aki Maeda
Taro Yamamoto
Chiaki Kuriyama
Kou Shibasaki
Masanobu Ando
Takeshi Kitano
CinematographyKatsumi Yanagishima
Edited byHirohide Abe
Music byMasamichi Amano
Production
companies
Toei Company
AM Associates
Kobi
Nippon Shuppan Hanbai
MF Pictures
WOWOW
Gaga Communications
Distributed byToei Company
Release date
  • December 16, 2000 (2000-12-16)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film Japan
LanguageJapanese
BudgetUS$4,500,000
Box officeJP¥3,110,000,000 (US$25,000,000) (Japan)

Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル, Batoru rouaiaru) is a 2000 Japanese action-drama-thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Koushun Takami. It was the final film directed by Kinji Fukasaku, was written by his son Kenta Fukasaku, and stars Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Kou Shibasaki, Masanobu Ando, and Takeshi Kitano. The film tells the story of Shuya Nanahara, a high-school student struggling with the death of his father who is forced by the government to compete in a deadly game, where the students must kill each other in order to win. The film aroused international controversy and was either banned or excluded from distribution in many countries;[1][2] however, the film was a mainstream domestic blockbuster, and is one of the 10-highest grossing films in Japan.[3] It received worldwide audience and critical acclaim and is often regarded as one of Japan's most famous films, as well as one of Fukasaku's best films. Kinji Fukasaku started working on a sequel but he died of prostate cancer on January 12, 2003, after shooting only one scene with Takeshi Kitano. His son, Kenta Fukasaku, completed the film in 2003 and dedicated it to his father.

Plot

Shuya Nanahara, a Japanese middle school student, attempts to cope with life after his father's suicide by hanging. Meanwhile, schoolmate Noriko Nakagawa is the only student seen attending class - 3-B. Their teacher, Kitano, quietly leaves upon her tardy, apologetic arrival, but is attacked by student Yoshitoki Kuninobu and resigns after recovering from his wound.

One year later, class 3-B makes a field trip after completing their compulsory studies; however, the class is gassed and sent to a "briefing room" on a remote island, wearing electronic collars. Kitano explains that the class has been chosen to participate in this year's Battle Royale as a result of the BR Act, which passed after 800,000 students walked out of school. The orientation video has the class forced to kill each other for three days until only one student remains. Students resistant to their rules or entering one of the randomly placed "death zones" for each day are killed by the collar's detonation. Kuninobu refuses to cooperate and Kitano slashes his back with a knife before detonating his collar while Shuya watches in horror, which quickly turns to rage and is held down by Shinji Mimura and several other students. Another student, Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, is also killed before the game begins. Each student is provided with a bag of food and water, plus one item containing either a weapon (a shotgun, a pistol, a knife) or an item (a saucepan lid, a fork, a paper fan, binoculars). The weapons are supposed to eliminate any natural advantage any one student might have over the others.

The first night sees several deaths, four of which are suicides. Exchange student Kazuo Kiriyama and Mitsuko Souma become the most dangerous players in the game, while another exchange student, Shogo Kawada seems more merciful. Shuya promises to keep Noriko safe for Kuninobu because he was in love with her, but never told her. Other students have more legitimate goals in the game: Mimura and his friends plot to hack into the military's computer systems and destroy their base of operations; Hiroki Sugimura searches for his best friend Takako Chigusa and his love interest Kayako Kotohiki. Chigusa runs into Kazushi Niida, who is sexually obsessed with her; Chigusa kills him after forcing himself on her, but is herself killed by Mitsuko. Kawada teams with Shuya and Noriko, and reveals that he won a previous Battle Royale at the cost of his girlfriend; he is now seeking revenge. The trio are forced to separate when Kiriyama attacks, and Sugimura rescues Shuya.

Shuya awakens in the island's lighthouse where Yukie Utsumi and the school's cheerleading squad are, and have been hiding out. Yuko Sakaki, thinking that Shuya murdered a friend of hers, attempts to poison Shuya's food, but it is inadvertently eaten by one of the girls, causing a gunfight resulting in all the girls' deaths - except Yuko. She realises the enormity of her paranoia and jumps to her death.

Shuya returns to Noriko and Kawada, and they set out to find Mimura's group. To a small warehouse, Sugimura tracks down Kotohiki, who panics and kills him shortly after; Sugimura professes his love before dying. Kotohiki cries in despair, and is found and killed by Mitsuko. Watching from the rafters of the warehouse, Kiriyama guns down and kills Mitsuko. Mimura's group is shot by Kiriyama before the firebomb built by the group explodes. When Kawada, Noriko and Shuya arrive at the hackers' burning base, Kawada confronts and kills the shrapnel-blinded, Uzi-armed Kiriyama with his SPAS-12 shotgun.

On the morning of the final day, Kawada takes Shuya and Noriko aside and fakes their deaths. Knowing that Kawada has won through manipulating the BR system, Kitano ends the game and dismisses the troops before establishing final protocol, intent on killing him. Kitano realizes that Kawada, and not Mimura, has hacked into the game system months beforehand, and has now disabled Shuya and Noriko's tracking devices. Kitano unveils a homemade painting of the dead students with Noriko indicated as the winner. He confesses that he always thought of her as a daughter, having been rejected by his real daughter, Shiori. After being shot by Shuya, Kitano takes a final phone call from Shiori before dying. Shuya, Noriko and Kawada leave the island on a boat but Kawada dies from injuries sustained in his gunfight with Kiriyama. Shuya and Noriko are declared fugitive criminals, and last seen on the run in the direction of a Tokyo JR train station.

Cast

See also: List of Battle Royale characters

Production

Creative process

Kinji Fukasaku stated that he decided to direct the film because the novel it was adapted from reminded him of his time as a 15-year-old munitions factory worker during World War II. At that time, his class was made to work in a munitions factory. In July 1945, the factory came under artillery fire. The children could not escape so they dived under each other for cover. The surviving members of the class had to dispose of the corpses. At that point, Fukasaku realized that the Japanese government was lying about World War II, and he developed a burning hatred of adults in general that he maintained for a long time afterwards.[4]

Beat Takeshi, a long-time, frequent collaborator with Kinji Fukasaku, told a documentary crew during filming that he believes "an actor's job is to satisfy the director... I move the way I'm told to. I try to look the way I'm told to. I don't know much about the emotional side," before adding "Mr. Fukasaku told me to play myself. I did not really understand, but he told me to play myself, as I ordinarily would be! I'm just trying to do what he tells me."[5]

When asked in an interview with The Midnight Eye if the film is "a warning or advice to the young," Kinji Fukasaku responded by describing the words "warning" and "advice" as "sounding very strong to me" as if they were actions which one tries to accomplish; therefore the film would not be "particularly a warning or advice." Fukasaku explained that the film, which he describes as "a fable," includes themes, such as crime by young people, which in Japan "are very much real modern issues." Fukasaku said that he did not have a lack of concern or a lack of interest; he used the themes as part of his fable. When the interviewer told Fukasaku that he asked the question specifically because of the word "run" in the concluding text, which the interviewer described as "very positive." Fukasaku explained that he developed the concept throughout the film. Fukasaku interpreted the interviewer's question as having "a stronger meaning" than "a simple message." Fukasaku explained that the film has his "words to the next generation" so the viewer should decide whether to take the words as advice or as a warning.[4][6]

Music

Main article: Battle Royale Original Soundtrack

The music soundtracks for both movies were composed, arranged and conducted by Masamichi Amano, performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and features pieces of classical music with some original composition. The choral Western classical music used as the film's overture theme music is the "Dies Irae" from Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem.

Theatrical release

Controversies

Kinji Fukasaku originally opposed the R15 rating given by the Eiga Rinri Kanri Iinkai (Eirin) because of Fukasaku's experiences as a teenager, the novel's use of 15-year-olds, and the fact that many of the actors were around fifteen years of age. After he submitted an appeal and before Eiga Rinri Kanri Iinkai could rule on the appeal, members of the Diet of Japan said that the film harmed teenagers; the Diet members also criticized the film industry ratings, which were a part of self-regulation by the Japanese film industry. Fukasaku dropped the appeal to appease the Japanese Diet in hopes they would not pursue increasing film regulation further.[4][6]

The film was labeled "crude and tasteless" by members of Japanese parliament and other government officials after the film was screened for them before its general release.[7] The film created a debate over government action on media violence. At one point, director Kinji Fukasaku allegedly gave a press statement directed at the age group of the film's characters, saying "you can sneak in, and I encourage you to do so."[8] Many conservative politicians used the film to blame popular culture for a youth crime wave. Ilya Garger of TIME magazine said that Battle Royale received "free publicity" and received "box-office success usually reserved for cartoons and TV-drama spin-offs."[1] The Japanese reaction to the film in the early 2000s has been compared to the British outrage over A Clockwork Orange in the early 1970s.[9] Critics note the relation of Battle Royale to the increasingly extreme trend in Asian cinema and its similarity to reality television.[10]

For eleven years, the film was never officially released in the United States or Canada, except for screenings at various film festivals.[11] The film was screened to a test audience in the U.S. during the early 2000s, not long after the Columbine High School massacre, resulting in a negative reaction to the film's content.[12] According to the book Japanese Horror Cinema, "Conscious of the Columbine syndrome, which also influenced the reception of the markedly inferior The Matrix (1999)," much of the test audience for Battle Royale "condemned the film for its mindless and gratuitous violence in terms very reminiscent of the British attitude towards Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (1971) on its initial release."[13] It has since been speculated that the film was banned in the U.S. and Canada. However, it was never banned in any capacity anywhere on the continent; rather, no North American distribution agreement for the film had ever been reached due to myriad corporate and legal concerns on the parts of both the Japanese Toei Company and prospective North American studios, despite mutual interest.[14] It was said in 2005 by a representative of a prospective American distributor that Japanese executives from the Toei Company were advised by American lawyers who attended test screenings in the early 2000s that they could "go to jail" had the film been mass-released in the USA.[15][12] In the company's best interests, Toei attached prohibitive rules, costs, and legal criteria to any possible North American distribution deal. Toei representative Hideyuki Baba stated that the reason for "withholding distribution" in North America was "due to the picture's contents and theme." A representative for a prospective US distributor criticized Toei for expecting a wide release like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon rather than a limited art house run, noting that "in the US it will never get past the MPAA ratings board, and the major theater chains will never play it un-rated. If you cut it enough to get an R rating there'd be nothing left."[16]

Release

Battle Royale was released on December 16, 2000 in Japan. It grossed ¥3.11 billion domestically (around $25 million US).[1][17] Over the next two years, the movie was distributed to cinemas throughout Asia, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and South America.[18]

The Japanese theatrical version of the film began its first North American theatrical run at the Cinefamily Theater in Los Angeles on December 24, 2011 – 11 years after its original Japanese release.[19] The planned 9-day run was extended another 6 days due to popular demand.[20] Beginning in early 2012, the film has been publicly exhibited at screenings in many American universities, including those in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Texas and Massachusetts, with a New York City premiere at the IFC Center planned for dates yet to be determined. As of March 2012, it has been showing at The Projection Booth Theater, site of the former Gerrard Cinema in Toronto, Canada.[21][22][23] The Cleveland Cinematheque also announced that it will hold a screening of the film on April 3, 2012.[24]

Special version

A special version of the film was released after the original which has eight extra minutes of running time. Unusually, the extra material includes scenes newly filmed after the release of the original. Inserted scenes include (but are not limited to):

  • Flashbacks to a basketball game which is used as a framework for the entire story.
  • A flashback that explains Mitsuko's personality.
  • Three epilogues (referred to as "requiems"). The first is an extension of the basketball scene. The second is a vision of Nobu telling Shuya to take care of Noriko. The third is a scene between Kitano and Noriko, who talk casually by a riverbank.
  • Added shots of the lighthouse after the shoot-out
  • Added reaction shots in the classroom, and extensions to existing shots.
  • Extra CGI throughout the film.

3D re-release

The film was released to theaters in 3D in Japan on November 20, 2010. Director Kinji Fukasaku's son and screenwriter of Battle Royale, Kenta Fukasaku, oversaw the conversion.[25] Anchor Bay Entertainment planned to release the 3D version in the United States sometime in 2011,[26] but that did not happen.[19] This 3D version was screened at the Glasgow Film Festival on 24 February 2011.[27]

Home media

Sasebo slashing controversy

The creators of the sequel postponed the release of the DVD (originally scheduled for June 9, 2004) to later that year because of the recent Sasebo slashing. The killer had read Battle Royale.[28]

Limited edition release

Arrow Video released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in a Limited Edition version in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2010 as a three-disc collector's edition set, featuring both cuts of the film. The DVD version was limited to 5,000 copies. The Blu-ray version was initially being released as limited to 5,000 copies but due to the large volume of pre-orders was increased to 10,000 copies. The Limited Edition Blu-ray is region-free, meaning it can play on Blu-ray players worldwide.[29] The DVD is also region-free.[30]

United States release

Bootleg copies of the film imported from China and South Korea have widespread availability in North America. A Special Edition DVD of the film was carried to a limited extent by retailers such as HMV and Starstruck Entertainment in Canada and Tower Records in the United States; the legal status of this edition is not clear. Also, the film's UK distributor, Tartan Films, released an all-region NTSC DVD version of the film that is available in North America from specialty outlets. One widely available Hong Kong import is a special edition without English subtitles that contains Both Films. Battle Royale and its sequel are available on Netflix, a major home-entertainment distributor in the United States.

An official Blu-ray of the film (and its sequel) was released on 20 March 2012 by North American distributor Anchor Bay.[31]

Reception

Critical reception

The film was highly acclaimed, with an 85% "fresh" critical rating and 90% "fresh" audience rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[32] Robert Koehler of Variety commented, "Given the most basic characters to work with, the mostly teen cast attacks the material with frightening gusto, and Fujiwara dutifully invokes the voice of inner moral conflict. Production is exceedingly handsome and vigorous, offering no sign that Fukasaku is slowing down." He stated that, "returning to his roots as Japan's maestro of mayhem, Kinji Fukasaku has delivered" one of "his most outrageous and timely films," comparing it to "the outrage over youth violence" that A Clockwork Orange "generated in early-'70s Britain."[9] Jason Korsner of BBC News gave Battle Royale four out of five stars, stating that it is "a heart-stopping action film, teaching us the worthy lessons of discipline, teamwork, and determination, but wrapping them up in a deliberately provocative, shockingly violent package." BBC users also gave the film five out of five stars.[33] Almar Haflidason of BBC gave the film five out of five stars.[34] In a review for Empire, critic Kim Newman gave the film four stars out of five. He compared it to Lord of the Flies in how it makes audiences "wonder what they would do in the same situation," but notes that Battle Royale gives "even harder choices for its school-uniformed characters." He concluded that, "Some will be uncomfortable or appalled, and the mix of humour and horror is uneasy, but this isn't a film you'll forget easily. And, seriously, what would you do?" [35]

The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw gave the film four stars in September 2001, choosing it as the best film of the week. He praised Takeshi Kitano's performance as the teacher and some of the scenes as "a stunningly proficient piece of action film-making, plunging us into a world of delirium and fear." He notes that, among "the hail of bullets and the queasy gouts of blood, troubling narratives of yearning and sadness are played out. It is as if the violence of Battle Royale is not a satire of society at all, but simply a metaphor for the anguish of adolescent existence." He concluded that, while some "will find the explicit violence of this movie repulsive," it "is a film put together with remarkable confidence and flair. Its steely candour, and weird, passionate urgency make it compelling."[36] Bryant Frazer of Deep Focus gave it a B+ rating and called it "a vicious take-off on reality TV that turns a high-school milieu dominated by cliques and childish relationships into a war zone."[37] Despite widespread acclaim, some critics have criticized the unadorned style of extreme violence,[who?] where some of the aftermaths of "shootings" consisted of stage blood having been freshly-poured onto cast members' intact clothing, with some CGI added to later extended-editions.[38] British critic Jonathon Ross stated that "if you want to catch a wildly original and super-cool slice of entertainment before it gets remade and ruined by the Americans, then I suggest you try hard not to miss it" and concluded that "it's a wildly imaginative example of just what can be achieved in a teen movie."[39] In 2009, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino praised Battle Royale as the best film he had seen in the past two decades, stating that, "If there’s any movie that’s been made since I’ve been making movies that I wish I had made, it’s that one."[40]

There has been renewed interest in the film following its 2012 Blu-Ray release in the United States. Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly rates the film as "A" grade, positing that examination of the students' different motives for survival or subversion of the Program is a "sick blast".[41] Alexandra Cavallo of the Boston Phoenix writes, "Battle Royale is The Hunger Games not diluted for young audiences" while giving the film three stars out of four.[42] Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, calling it a "gloriously sick and twisted story," and that that it is "endlessly entertaining, by turns gory and hilarious, disturbing and exciting."[43] In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert's Australia correspondent Michael Mirasol praised Battle Royale for its "thoughtful characterization" that is "lavished upon all the students" and concluded that it is an "intensely violent fable aimed at a young audience, but with true feeling, intelligence, and respect."[44] Jake Mulligan of The Suffolk Voice gave it five out of five stars, stating that "the influence of “Royale” on works as disparate as “Kill Bill” and “The Hunger Games” cannot be measured" and describing Battle Royale as "Provocative, funny, violent, and aided by a script that somehow gives equal attention to most of the students while also displaying the well-thought out minutia behind the narrative."[45]

R.L. Shaffer of IGN gave the film a score of 8 out of 10, taking "a moment to thank The Hunger Games for reminding us how awesome Battle Royale really is" and concluding that Battle Royale is "a masterpiece of mayhem, violence and unfettered teen melodrama."[46] J. Hurtado of Twitch Film noted that many "reviews of Battle Royale focus on the violence, which is extreme to be sure, and not so much on the humanity of the film." He stated that "cranking up that already elevated hormonal level of emotional hysteria by throwing these students into a real life-or-death situation is incredibly effective" and that "the story of Battle Royale is the story of those teenage years and just how wrong we all were about the extent of our emotional turmoil."[47] DVD Talk gave the original theatrical cut of the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and 4 out of 5 for the Director's Cut, concluding that it gives "a glimpse into what might very well happen should the rules of society, such as they are, ever do crumble to the point where it's everyone for themselves. There's enough black humor here and enough tense action that the film never quite feels bleak or depressing (though it does come close) - but most importantly it makes you think."[48] Devon Ashby of CraveOnline gave the film a score of 8.5 out of 10, referring to it as "Japanese legend Kinji Fukasaku’s adolescent shooting spree opus" and "a compassionate and technically accomplished masterpiece."[49]

Accolades

At the 2001 Japanese Academy Awards, the film was nominated for nine awards, including Picture of the Year and won three of them. [50]

Ceremony Category Nominee Result
Japanese Academy Awards Picture of the Year Nominated
Japanese Academy Awards Director of the Year Kinji Fukasaku Nominated
Japanese Academy Awards Screenplay of the Year Kenta Fukasaku Nominated
Japanese Academy Awards Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Tatsuya Fujiwara Nominated
Japanese Academy Awards Outstanding Achievement in Music Masamichi Amano Nominated
Japanese Academy Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording Kunio Ando Nominated
Japanese Academy Awards Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing Hirohide Abe Won
Japanese Academy Awards Popularity Award Won
Japanese Academy Awards Newcomer of the Year Tatsuya Fujiwara and Aki Maeda Won

It also received the following awards from international film festivals:[51]

Blue Ribbon Awards
Sitges Film Festival
  • Best Film - Kinji Fukasaku
Yokohama Film Festival
San Sebastián Horror & Fantasy Film Festival
  • Audience Award for the Best Feature Film[52]

Legacy

In 2009, Quentin Tarantino listed Battle Royale as his favorite film released since he began directing in 1992.[53] That same year, Moviefone included it in the top five of its "50 Best Movies of the Decade" list.[54] Bloody Disgusting ranked the film fifteenth in its list of the Top-20 Horror Films of the Decade, with the article calling the film "a go-for-broke extravaganza: fun, provocative, ultra-violent, and bound to arouse controversy (which it did)...the film [is] more than just an empty provocation—it builds character through action, a method all good filmmakers should seek to emulate."[55] In 2010, Empire ranked Battle Royale #235 and #82 on their lists of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" and "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" respectively.[56][57] Jon Condit of Dread Central called it "one of the best movies" he's "ever seen."[58] In 2012, The Independent included it in its "10 best sports movies ever made" list.[59]

Since its release, the film has had an influence on filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino,[60] most notably his Kill Bill films;[45] the character Gogo Yubari, played by Chiaki Kuriyama, is modelled after the character she plays in Battle Royale, Takako Chigusa.[61] V.A. Musetto of the New York Post also compared it to The Condemned, which the critic called "a bad rip-off" of Battle Royale as well as The Most Dangerous Game.[62] Critics have also noted the influence of Battle Royale on other later films, such as the 2008 release Kill Theory,[63] and the 2012 blockbuster The Hunger Games.[64][65]

Inspired by the movie, Filipino theater group Sipat Lawin Ensemble staged a "Battle Royale"-themed live performance under the act name of "Battalia Royale". The story followed students from the fictional Our Lady of Guadalupe High School of Manila, who are hijacked into the game of "Battalia Royale" by a teacher. The well-attended performances were promoted via YouTube, WordPress and other online social media.[66]

Sequel

Main article: Battle Royale II: Requiem

Kinji Fukasaku, who directed the first film, began work on a sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem, but died of prostate cancer on January 12, 2003, after shooting only one scene with Takeshi Kitano. His son Kenta Fukasaku, who wrote the screenplay for both films, directed the rest of the film, which was released on May 18, 2003.

Unlike the first film, the sequel is not adapted from a novel, but was based on an original screenplay written by Kenta Fukasaku. The plot revolves around the survivor Shuya Nanahara leading a terrorist rebellion, but was controversial for its provocative anti-American sentiments and criticized for being inferior to the original.[67]

Remake plans

In June 2006, Variety reported that New Line Cinema, with producers Neil Moritz and Roy Lee, intended to produce a new adaptation of Battle Royale.[68] Several Web sites echoed the news, including Ain't It Cool News, which claimed the remake would be a "an extremely Hard R—serious-minded Americanization of BATTLE ROYALE."[69] New Line tentatively set a release date of 2008.

The next month, The New York Times reported on an Internet backlash against the remake. Through the article, Lee assured fans of his respect for the original work, claiming, "This is the one I'm going to be the most careful with." He stated that, despite earlier concerns, the movie would not be toned down to PG or PG-13, the characters would remain young teenagers, and that it would draw elements equally from the novel and the original movie and the manga.

The reporter noted "the hubbub...was at least slightly premature [as] New Line hasn't yet purchased the remake rights."[70]

Following the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007, Roy Lee claimed that prospects for the remake had been "seriously shaken." While he remained willing to proceed, he stated, "we might be a little more sensitive to some of the issues." The reporting article noted that New Line still had not secured remake rights—its spokeswoman claimed "no news" when asked about progress on any deal.[71]

The 2008 novel The Hunger Games, and its subsequent 2012 film adaptation, has been criticized for its similarities to the 1999 novel Battle Royale. Although its author Suzanne Collins maintains that she "had never heard of that book until [her] book was turned in," The New York Times reports that "the parallels are striking enough that Collins’s work has been savaged on the blogosphere as a baldfaced ripoff," but argues that "there are enough possible sources for the plot line that the two authors might well have hit on the same basic setup independently."[72] The 2012 film adaptation has also faced similar criticisms for similarities to Battle Royale.[64][65] In March 2012, Roy Lee reported that a remake of Battle Royale would no longer be possible due to the release of The Hunger Games, stating that “Audiences would see it as just a copy of ‘Games’ — most of them wouldn’t know that ‘Battle Royale’ came first. It’s unfair, but that’s reality.”[65]

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