Battle Royale (film)
A dystopian film about students forced to fight to the death.
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Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, the 2000 Japanese dystopian action film Battle Royale was adapted from Koushun Takami's 1999 novel, with a screenplay written by Kenta Fukasaku.[1] The film received positive reviews from critics and, particularly through its home video releases, attracted a substantial international cult audience.[2]
Making and release
Roughly 6,000 actors auditioned, which was narrowed down to 800 potential cast members.[3] The actor-director-comedian Takeshi Kitano was cast as the teacher, and his casting helped draw a large audience to the film.[4] Anchor Bay Films eventually acquired the film in 2010 for a direct-to-video release.[5] Kinji Fukasaku said the novel's content brought back memories of his own experience as a 15-year-old working in a munitions factory during World War II, which motivated him to take on the directing role.[6]
From a pool of 800 finalists who completed a half-year of physical conditioning led by Fukasaku, 42 actors were ultimately chosen for the cast.[3] Toei Company gave Battle Royale its Japanese theatrical debut on December 16, 2000, with an R15+ classification.[5] The movie sparked controversy and faced bans or distribution restrictions in multiple nations.[5] For more than ten years, Toei declined to license the film to any U.S. distributor because they feared possible legal disputes and backlash.[5]
What the cited sources add
Current Toei international sales manager Tadayuki Okubo stated that Japanese insurance companies rejected coverage of any potential lawsuits in the US in 2001.[7] Okubo noted that Toei may have overestimated the film's potential negative influence in the US market after Columbine.[7] In a 2001 interview, Fukasaku described the film as "a fable" and said the themes include juvenile crime, which in Japan "are very much real modern issues"[8][9] Bradshaw praised Takeshi Kitano's performance and described the opening as "a stunningly proficient piece of action film-making".[10][11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Requiem" (Verdi) ~ Dies irae (「レクイエム」(ヴェルディ)~プロローグ) | 6:38 |
| 2 | Millennium Education Reform Act (BR Act) (新世紀教育改革法(BR法)) | 3:01 |
| 3 | Teacher (戦慄の教師) | 3:28 |
| 4 | The Game Begins (ゲーム開始) | 4:27 |
| 5 | Memory (施設の想い出) | 2:45 |
| 6 | Kiriama e Mitsuko Theme (殺戮者たち) | 3:32 |
| 7 | Radetzky March (Strauss) (ラデツキー行進曲(J.シュトラウス1世)) | 1:43 |
| 8 | Ceux Qui Ont Pris Goût Au Jeu Et Ceux Qui Ont Abandonné (ゲームに乗った者,そして降りた者) | 4:37 |
| 9 | Blue Danube Waltz (Strauss) (美しく青きドナウ(J.シュトラウス2世)) | 1:21 |
| 10 | Escape (七原と典子の逃避行) | 1:46 |
| 11 | Nanahara and Noriko Friendship (友情~盗聴) | 2:15 |
| 12 | Auf dem Wasser zu singen (水の上で歌う(シューベルト)) | 2:36 |
| 13 | Kawada's Theme (悲しみの勝利者) | 2:18 |
| 14 | Kiriyama Attacks (桐山の襲撃) | 4:30 |
| 15 | Mimura's Determination (三村の決意) | 1:13 |
| 16 | Utsumi and Nanahara ~ Poison Medicine (幸枝と七原~毒薬) | 5:29 |
| 17 | The War of the Girls, without Faith nor Law (少女たちの仁義無き戦い) | 4:28 |
| 18 | Reunion (再会) | 2:09 |
| 19 | death Mitsuko Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major (Bach) (G線上のアリア(バッハ)) | 2:32 |
| 20 | THE THIRD MAN (THE THIRD MAN) | 3:33 |
| 21 | Teacher and Students / Final Battle (教師と生徒/ファイナル・バトル) | 1:56 |
| 22 | Bitter Victory (苦い勝利) | 2:17 |
| 23 | A New Journey (新たなる旅立ち) | 2:17 |
Track listing from the source article.
References
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The 50 Best Action Movies Of All Time: Battle Royale", Complex, March 27, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "'Battle Royale'", Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 Favorite Films; Sharf, "Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: Over 25 Films the Director Wants You to See", IndieWire, 2019-05-16 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "『ねえ、友達殺したことある?』の強烈キャッチコピー！20世紀最後の問題作！「バトル・ロワイアル」衝撃シーン10選", Middle Edge（ミドルエッジ） (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Taylor-Jones, "Rising Sun, Divided Land: Japanese and South Korean Filmmakers", Columbia University Press, 2013, p. 67 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herskovitz, "The 'Battle' rattle", Variety, 19 December 2000; Herskovitz, "Japanese pols target pic of violent youth", Variety, 5 December 2000; Groves, "Japan sees 'Battle' over pic violence", Variety, 28 November 2000; Garger, "Royale Terror", 30 June 2003; Ito, Robert. "Lesson Plan: Kill or Be Killed ." The New York Times. July 9, 2006.; Gray, Jason, "Toei continues strong sales on Battle Royale 3D", ScreenDaily.com, 2010-11-25 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Director's statement" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Gray, Jason, "Toei continues strong sales on Battle Royale 3D", ScreenDaily.com, 2010-11-25. facts only, no text reused. screendaily.com
- Sharp, "Kinji Fukasaku", Midnight Eye, 2001-04-09. facts only, no text reused. midnighteye.com
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Director's statement"; Sharp, "Kinji Fukasaku", Midnight Eye, 2001-04-09 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Bradshaw, "A time to kill – Ironically, this week's best film deals with violence – and how the state reacts to it. Peter Bradshaw applauds its honesty", The Guardian, 14 September 2001. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bradshaw, "A time to kill – Ironically, this week's best film deals with violence – and how the state reacts to it. Peter Bradshaw applauds its honesty", The Guardian, 14 September 2001; "Battle Royale", Deep-focus.com; Ross, "Film new releases", MGN, 2001; "'Battle Royale'", Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 Favorite Films (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Battle Royale (film) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Battle Royale (film) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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