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IMDbPro

Battle Royale

Original title: Batoru rowaiaru
  • 20002000
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
185K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,590
196
Battle Royale (2000)
ActionAdventureDrama
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
185K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,590
196
    • Kinji Fukasaku
    • Koushun Takami(novel)
    • Kenta Fukasaku(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Tatsuya Fujiwara
    • Aki Maeda
    • Tarô Yamamoto
    • Kinji Fukasaku
    • Koushun Takami(novel)
    • Kenta Fukasaku(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Tatsuya Fujiwara
    • Aki Maeda
    • Tarô Yamamoto
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 726User reviews
    • 226Critic reviews
    • 81Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos143

    Takeshi Kitano in Battle Royale (2000)
    Ko Shibasaki in Battle Royale (2000)
    Masanobu Andô in Battle Royale (2000)
    Takeshi Kitano in Battle Royale (2000)
    Tatsuya Fujiwara and Aki Maeda in Battle Royale (2000)
    Tatsuya Fujiwara, Chiaki Kuriyama, Aki Maeda, Sayaka Kamiya, Takako Baba, Shin Kusaka, and Sayaka Ikeda in Battle Royale (2000)
    Battle Royale (2000)
    Battle Royale (2000)
    Battle Royale (2000)
    Ko Shibasaki in Battle Royale (2000)
    Tatsuya Fujiwara and Ko Shibasaki in Battle Royale (2000)
    Ko Shibasaki, Tsuyako Kinoshita, Mai Sekiguchi, and Anna Nagata in Battle Royale (2000)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tatsuya Fujiwara
    Tatsuya Fujiwara
    • Shuya Nanahara - Boy #15
    Aki Maeda
    Aki Maeda
    • Noriko Nakagawa - Girl #15
    Tarô Yamamoto
    Tarô Yamamoto
    • Shôgo Kawada - Boy #5
    Chiaki Kuriyama
    Chiaki Kuriyama
    • Takako Chigusa - Girl #13
    Takashi Tsukamoto
    Takashi Tsukamoto
    • Shinji Mimura - Boy #19
    Sôsuke Takaoka
    Sôsuke Takaoka
    • Hiroki Sugimura - Boy #11
    Yukihiro Kotani
    • Yôshitoki Kuninobu - Boy #7
    Eri Ishikawa
    • Yukie Utsumi - Girl #2
    Sayaka Kamiya
    • Satomi Noda - Girl #17
    Takayo Mimura
    • Kayoko Kotôhiki - Girl #8
    Yutaka Shimada
    • Yûtaka Seto - Boy #12
    Ren Matsuzawa
    • Keita Îjima - Boy #2
    Hirohito Honda
    • Kazushi Nîda - Boy #16
    Ryou Nitta
    • Kyôichi Motobuchi - Boy #20
    Sayaka Ikeda
    • Megumi Etô - Girl #3
    Anna Nagata
    • Hirono Shimizu - Girl #10
    Yukari Kanasawa
    • Yûkiko Kitano - Girl #6
    Misao Kato
    • Yumiko Kusaka - Girl #7
      • Kinji Fukasaku
      • Koushun Takami(novel)
      • Kenta Fukasaku(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Many members of the Japanese Parliament tried to get the novel banned, but to no avail. When the film was released, they attempted to ban it also. Both efforts resulted in the novel and film becoming even more successful as people bought the book and went to the movie to see what the fuss was all about.
    • Goofs
      (at around 12 mins) When Kitano throws the knife and hits the first girl to die we see the knife land in the middle of her forehead, yet when he kneels down to retrieve the knife he pulls it out of her eye. (In later versions of the film this error was digitally fixed)
    • Quotes

      [Shougo has just finished bandaging Noriko's leg]

      Shuya: You know a lot about medicine.

      Shougo Kawada: Well, my father was a doctor.

      [a few minutes later, Shougo serves Noriko and Shuya food]

      Noriko Nakagawa: Wow! This is pretty good!

      Shougo Kawada: It should be. My father was a chef.

      [later, After escaping the island]

      Shuya: You even know how to drive a boat?

      Shougo Kawada: Hey, my father was a fisherman.

    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in Japanorama: Episode #1.2 (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      Shizuka na hibi no kaidan wo
      (Stairway of Quiet Everyday Life)

      Performed by Dragon Ash

      Courtesy of Victor Entertainment, Inc.

    User reviews726

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A compelling & haunting masterpiece.
    Based on a Japanese novel by Koushun Takami, "Battle Royale" is the story of a group of ninth graders who are transported to a small isolated island with a map, food and different arms. They are told to fight each other for three consecutive days until there remains but one student, who will then be named the 'winner'. All students are forced to wear a metal collar with a radar so that their teacher is aware when a rule is being broken.

    The film is set in Japan and is in Japanese (and if you do come across a dubbed version, dispose of it immediately because it's only worth it to watch the original). It's hard to classify this film, as despite the extreme violence in it, it isn't action and despite its nightmarish feel, it isn't horror. It's just in between. There are many themes to this story; from to trust to complete selfishness (killing your best friend to save your own life) to suicide to disloyalty, and the list goes on.

    The actors in Battle Royale were amazing. It is rare to find young talents like these, for instance, in Hollywood. These actors were by far the best young actors I have seen in all my life (though most of them weren't as young as their characters were). Tatsuya Fujiwara plays the main character, Shuya, a young man who is struck by tragedy when he becomes an orphan. All he has now is his best friend and the girl with whom he is madly in love. Fujiwara did a great job of transmitting the feel of despair that one would probably feel if he/she were to see his best friend die before their eyes, or to have to see classmates killing each other and then to portray that never-ending trust that two lovers share. The other actors all did a generally good job as well.

    The first actor I'd like to criticize is Taro Yamamoto, who played the compassionate Shougo Kawada, who helps the protagonist and his girlfriend as the game of Battle Royale goes on. I thought that Yamamoto overplayed the character's casualty and I didn't feel as attached to him watching the movie as I did reading the comic book. The other actor I thought did a terrible job relative to the other actors was Masanobu Ando, who played the haunting character Kazuo Kiriyama, who basically seemed immune to everything. While reading the book, that guy really creeped the sh*t out of me. But in the movie, he just basically did the "undercover" thing and sort of leaped from place to place and tortured and killed people and that was it. You didn't feel anything, and in my opinion, that character was one of the most important so it was pretty disappointing. But putting those two aside, the acting WAS splendid, just as the directing of (sci-fi/Japanese gangster movie director) Kinji Fukasaku was.

    I thought that the story was very haunting and compelling, and that you should read the novel or the comic book before watching the movie because just the use of your imagination and attachment to the characters while reading the books is so much more real. I really enjoyed the movie too, though, and would recommend it to anyone who has the stomach for constant shootings, hangings, blowing-up, abandoned corpses and a lot of blood squirting everywhere.

    And so if it fits the shoe, rent it out. You probably won't regret it.
    helpful•75
    28
    • stoned_bunnies
    • Jun 10, 2006

    FAQ6

    • who is the the child that appears at the beginning of film is she connected to the story?
    • What is the relevance of the girl seen at the beginning of the film?
    • Is the Battle Royale supposed to symbolise anything or is it just a gore-fest?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 16, 2000 (Japan)
      • Japan
      • Filmymen
      • Official site (Japan)
      • English
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Hachijo Island, Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Toho Company
      • AM Associates
      • Fukasaku-gumi
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 54 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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