Batoru rowaiaru (2000)

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

Director:

Kinji Fukasaku

Writers:

Koushun Takami (novel), Kenta Fukasaku (screenplay)

Stars:

Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto

7 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tatsuya Fujiwara	...	Shuya Nanahara - otoko 15-ban
Aki Maeda	...	Noriko Nakagawa - onna 15-ban
Tarô Yamamoto	...	Shôgo Kawada - otoko 5-ban
Takeshi Kitano	...	Kitano-sensei (as Bito Takeshi)
Chiaki Kuriyama	...	Takako Chigusa - onna 13-ban
Sôsuke Takaoka	...	Hiroki Sugimura - otoko 11-ban
Takashi Tsukamoto	...	Shinji Mimura - otoko 19-ban
Yukihiro Kotani	...	Yôshitoki Kuninobu - otoko 7-ban
Eri Ishikawa	...	Yukie Utsumi - onna 2-ban
Sayaka Kamiya	...	Satomi Noda - onna 17-ban
Takayo Mimura	...	Kayoko Kotôhiki - onna 8-ban
Yutaka Shimada	...	Yûtaka Seto - otoko 12-ban
Aki Unone	...	Fumiyo Fujiyôshi - onna 18-ban (as Aki Inoue)
Ren Matsuzawa	...	Keita Îjima - otoko 2-ban
Hirohito Honda	...	Kazushi Nîda - otoko 16-ban

Storyline

Forty-two students, three days, one deserted Island: welcome to Battle Royale. A group of ninth-grade students from a Japanese high school have been forced by legislation to compete in a Battle Royale. The students are sent off to kill each other in a no-holds-barred game to the death, until one survives -- or they all die. Some decide to play the game like the psychotic Kiriyama or the sexual Mitsuko, while others are trying to find a way to get off the Island without violence. However, as the numbers dwindle is there any way for Shuya and his classmates to survive?

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Plot Keywords:

japanese schoolgirl | miniskirt | jgirl | social commentary | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Their Game, No Rules, No Prisoners

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R18

Did You Know?

Trivia

Weapons provided include: Uzi submachine guns, handguns, kama (the scythe-like weapon), Spas 12 shotgun, nunchaku, taser, knife, handgrenade, hand axe, crossbow, wakizashi (a sword), potassium cyanide (poison). Non-weapons provided include: megaphone, electronic collar tracer, paper fan, saucepan lid, binocular & a bullet proof vest

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Goofs

(at around 52 mins) After Chigusa stabs Niida repeatedly, she gets up and finds Mitsuko standing distantly behind her. In the same shot, Mitsuko smiles at Chigusa, but when the camera cuts to Mitsuko, she smiles again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Reporter: This year Zentsuji Middle School number 4's Class E was chosen from among 43,000 Ninth grade classes. This year's game, said to be more blistering than the last - - Oh look there! There she is! The winner's a girl! Surviving a fierce battle that raged two days, seven hours, and 43 minutes - the winner is a girl! Look, she's smiling! Smiling! The girl definitely just smiled!

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Crazy Credits

As the credits roll, a class picture is displayed, showing all of the students that have been killed in the Battle Royale, including the two transfer students.

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Alternate Versions

The Special Version includes the following:

• Redone opening titles
• Redone sound effects
• Added CGI blood to make the shootouts more graphic Also, many shots were added, deleted, reedited, and extended for pacing and clarity purposes, including the following:
• A longer basketball sequence
• Added reaction shots of the kids in the classroom to Kitano's "Do you know this law" question, and after Kuninobu's death.
• A flashback shot of Mizuho and Inada and Kaori Minami to remind us of who they were when we see their bodies.
• Closer shots of Takiguchi and Hatagami's corpses
• An additional shot of Nanahara weeping at the top of the lighthouse
• Additional shots of postcards from Mimura's uncle
• Kitano shutting down power to the computers and ordering the soldiers to reboot after the Third Man attack
• A scene with Mitsuko as a 9-year-old coming home to find a pedophile in her house.
• An additional shot of Mimura triggering the explosives on the truck
• Requiems that show the real flashbacks, and we hear the dialog during Noriko's dream.

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Connections

Referenced in Honest Trailers: The Purge (2018)

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Soundtracks

Air
from Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068
by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

Dark, dystopian, original, pretty girls and Takeshi

This film has been ripped off and sequeled and become something of cult movie, but it cannot be duplicated. The acting is superb, the schoolchildren play it very seriously. The authority as depicted by the army (grown-ups) is quite sinister and the action entertaining. It is non-stop, which makes for a great film. Who doesn't like a whole bunch of thin pretty girls in skirt? So there is that. Yes, it is a superb film.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 December 2000 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Battle Royale

Filming Locations:

Hachijo Island, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$958,989

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, AM Associates, Fukasaku-gumi

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 122 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1