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Battle Royale (2000)
"Batoru rowaiaru" (original title)

Not Rated  |   |  Action, Drama, Sci-Fi  |  16 December 2000 (Japan)
7.8
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Ratings: 7.8/10 from 130,819 users   Metascore: 81/100
Reviews: 583 user | 292 critic | 7 from Metacritic.com

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.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
Kitano-sensei (as Bito Takeshi)
...
Sôsuke Takaoka ...
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
Aki Inoue ...
Fumiyo Fujiyôshi - onna 18-ban
Takayo Mimura ...
Kayoko Kotôhiki - onna 8-ban
Yutaka Shimada ...
Yûtaka Seto - otoko 12-ban
Ren Matsuzawa ...
Keita Îjima - otoko 2-ban
Hirohito Honda ...
Kazushi Nîda - otoko 16-ban
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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 each given a bag with a randomly selected weapon and a few rations of food and water and sent off to kill each other in a no-holds-barred (with a few minor rules) game to the death, which means that the students have three days to kill each other until one survives--or they all die. The movie focuses on a few of the students and how they cope. Some decide to play the game like the psychotic Kiriyama or the sexual Mitsuko, while others like the heroes of the movie--Shuya, Noriko, and Kawada--are trying to find a way to get off the Island without violence. However, as the numbers dwell down lower and lower on an hourly basis, is there any way for Shuya and his classmates to survive? Written by Prissy Panda Princess

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

One Dead. 41 To Go. See more »


Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

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Release Date:

16 December 2000 (Japan)  »

Also Known As:

Battle Royale  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

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Technical Specs

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| (director's cut)

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1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the top-10 highest-grossing films in Japan. See more »

Goofs

When Kitano brings an umbrela to Noriko in the forest you can see the mic just above Noriko's left shoulder, it tries to hide itself with the actress's body but fails. You can easily identify it with the fur cover on it to cut down wind. See more »

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!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Atrocious (2010) See more »

Soundtracks

Radetzky March
Op 228
Johann Strauß Sr.
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Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Quite brilliant
4 January 2008 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

There have been contrasting cries of "greatest film ever made" and "pointless gore fest" made about BR, and neither are accurate in my opinion. What it is, is a commentary about "perceived" (real or otherwise) problems among Japanese teens in the late 90's.

In one review, someone basically likened it to a movie involving young Japanese girls running around in school uniforms acting violent....DUH, thats the whole point. A lot of peoples only knowledge of Japan is Manga and Hentai.

If people bothered to watch the news once in awhile, they may know that the establishment in Japan were VERY worried about young people getting out of control, and BR portrays all this perfectly.

Its NOT ultra violent, although the fact that they are supposed to be teens makes it disturbing. Battle Royale is no worse than Lord of the flies, but for some reason that has been deified as a work of art, and BR is classed as trash. I'd say its more about cultural snobbery than actual appreciation of a truly magnificent film.


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