Battle Royale (novel)
Battle Royale (Katakana: バトル・ロワイアル or Batoru rowaiaru) is a controversial Japanese film directed by longtime Japanese director Fukasaku Kinji and adapted from the novel by Takami Koshun. It was released in 2000. Kitano Takeshi stars in the film. There was a sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem, released in 2003.
Battle Royale
Battle Royale is set in a dystopian future Japan in which a group of middle school students are chosen to participate in a death game after the Japanse government has passed an act to deal with overpopulation and unmotivated students.
A class of ninth-grade students and two outsiders are taken unwillingly to a small isolated island. Each student is given a map, water and a randomly-chosen weapon. Some students get weapons like headbands and feathers, but othes get swords, guns and grenades. The students are forced to fight each other to the death for three days until the last one remains. Each is forced to wear a special collar which will explode when they break a rule. Friends and lovers are forced to set their emotions aside as the bloody battle ensues.
Fukasaku Kenta adapted Battle Royale from the novel by Takami Koshun. The book and film bear some parallels to the story The Most Dangerous Game, as well as the William G. Golding novel Lord of the Flies and the Stephen King book The Long Walk. Takami was an admirer of King, and named the students' home town and school "Shiroiwa," which translates to "Castle Rock," the name of a town frequently used by King as a setting for his stories. King, in turn, had borrowed the name from a location in Golding's novel. (One might also find weak similarities to Robert Heinlein's novel Tunnel in the Sky.)
Battle Royale was generally well received among critics who appreciated it as a satire of the Japanese education system and a metaphor for the perpetuation of violence in today's teenage generation. The film also aroused much controversy. Some educators and politicians objected to the violence depicted in the film because of the large number of children involved. Attempts by these politicans to have the film banned in Japan failed, however, and it was released with an R-15 rating to tremendous box office success. A Special Version later released was actually more gory than the original, contrary to it being advertised as more "toned down" to suit the general public's taste. CGI blood enhancement and additional close-ups and extra sound effects emphasized the violence.
The soundtrack, composed by Masamichi Amano and performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, features several pieces of classical music. The end credits are accompanied by Dragon Ash's "Shizuka na Hibi no Kaidan Wo" (静かな日々の階段を Climb the Stairs of Quiet Days), which does not appear on the soundtrack.
Battle Royale II: Requiem
Kinji Fukasaku started work on a sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem in 2003 but died of bone cancer on January 12, 2003, after shooting only one scene. His son Kenta, born 1973 in Japan, who wrote the screenplay for both films, completed the film in his honour.
In the sequel, survivors of previous Battle Royales, led by Shuya Nanahara, have formed a terrorist group called "Wild Seven." The government creates a new Battle Royale game where the chosen class must storm Wild Seven's island stronghold and kill its leader. The sequel was panned by critics and fans and is considered far inferior to the original. It is generally accepted that the original's fresh concept, innocent characters, and occasional dark humor outshines the teen-angst driven action of the sequel.
The sequel has also gained criticism for containing some questionable politics. It is revealed (but never explicitly stated) that America is the true villain, forcing the Japanese government to conduct the Battle Royales. The United States is also shown unfairly attacking some countries and becoming involved in the politics of others. A flashback sequence in which the "Wild Seven" terrorist group blow up several buildings in Tokyo is reminiscent of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Critics have cited this as an attempt at making a blatant but flawed political statement, but others have praised the films outspokenness.
The sequel's soundtrack has more original work by Amano and fewer classical pieces.