Asian Film Festival of Dallas

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An instant classic when it debuted in 2000, and the final complete directorial effort of the legendary Kinji Fukasaku, BATTLE ROYALE is a jarring, jaw-dropping look at a future Japan where a group of 42 largely delinquent ninth-graders are chosen through a governmental lottery to kill each other off.  The reason?  To reduce crime and a general lack of respect by the youth in the country.  Sound insane?  Not as crazy as the in-your-face, unflinching manner in which Fukasaku toys with taboos and breaks the rules by graphically showing the death sport while also making us care about the many, varied personalities involved.  Teacher Kitano (Takeshi Kitano, in a fun, brutally frank role) oversees the latest bout.  Some kids are psychopaths, while others garner our sympathy.  But just like highlanders, there can ultimately only be one…who will win the Battle Royale?

Brought to the AFFD by our good friends at Anchor Bay, BATTLE ROYALE is being shown on the big screen in its new, HD Blu-ray format.  All the better to watch the ensuing mayhem.

A film unsurpassed in its giddy, chaotic assault on our sensibilities (and one that Americans will thankfully never be able to remake), we are very proud to present an AFFD: YEAR ONE presentation of BATTLE ROYALE.

Director

Kinji Fukasaku

Cast

Takeshi Kitano, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda

Country

Japan

Language

English Subtitles, Japanese

Release Date

2000

Runtime

114 minutes

Print Source

Anchor Bay

Exhibition Format

HD Blu-ray